Range extender or Not?

[EVfan]

Hello,

I placed my order for my I3 (as a second city car) two weeks ago and decided not to order the range extender; however, after evaluating I am seriously considering adding this to my order.

How many vote for YES and how may for NO on the benefits of range extender motor?

Thanks

EVfan

 

[Bunter]

Hello,

I placed my order for my I3 (as a second city car) two weeks ago and decided not to order the range extender; however, after evaluating I am seriously considering adding this to my order.

How many vote for YES and how may for NO on the benefits of range extender motor?

Thanks

EVfan

What a bizarre question, it's all about your own circumstances.

Bill

 

[Ross]

Do you need to drive more than 80 miles without charging facilities? If so, buy the REx.

I bought the electric only version.

 

[EVfan]

Thanks in advance for the comments.

Totally understand my its all about each ones mission, but I've seen some reviews showing range can go down to 65 miles with all equipment on (AC, wipers, lights, etc.), and this gets me to incline on having the RE option as a back up.

I am curious to learn what the % ratios are for customers buying an I3 with Range Extender vs. non RE?

Any takers on YES or NO with RE for a first time buy?


EVfan

 

[i3cam]

Not really answering the question, but to phrase it another way: how much time waiting for charging en route are you prepared to accept, which depends on:
- your range of daily driving distances
- access to chargers en route or at destination (and speed of charger)

Waiting for a normal slow charge en route could be very painful indeed.

BMW has chosen to provide smallish batteries and use a DC charge standard that doesn't exist widely yet, which could be limiting. It's a shame they don't provide a 3phase option which is very common in Europe at either 21KW or 43KW... Or ChadEMo (but clearly some politics at play with that one)

 

[Hwy1rnr]

This topic had some responses over at http://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=467

I'm going BEV because...
After driving hybrids for almost 13 years now -- no more ICE!!
No:
- noise
- vibration
- gas stops
- ICE-related maintenance (so long, oil changes and tuneups)
- tailpipe emissions (goodbye, fume-filled garages and smog inspections).

Why would I want to drive long-distance?? That's what aircraft and motorcycles are for

 

[SanSerif]

I did a lot of analysis of our intended journeys before I decided. As there were a couple of borderline cases (the line itself being very wide - as no one really knows what real world ranges will be seen) I followed the maxim, "if in doubt, order the REx".

I've only had the car a week and I think I made the right call. The REx has given me a mental cushion on those borderline cases - even though it actually been needed. Hardened EV-ers may be used to arriving home with 5 miles of range remaining; I'm not there yet. And my wife (who will be the primary driver once I've played) certainly isn't there. Also, the REx has allowed me to use the i3 for one trip that the BEV (or rather, the lack of rapid charging infrastructure) would have meant dusting off the dino-juice burner.

That said, I'd have much rather had the purity of the BEV. But, for me, I felt the range just wasn't quite sufficient to allow it.

 

[Stevei3]

Hi,

our paradoxal reason for having the REx is that we want to drive on electricity as much as we can. This means the i3 is supposed to take over the stick as car#1 in our household, so it has to go 'the extra mile'. Without REx, we would take our diesel- or gasburner when going 100+ km (60+ miles) without sure means of or insufficient time for recharging along the way. A regular famliy visit, for instance, would mean going 100 km one way with only 10-16A charching when we're there. We are short 20-30 km for a trip like this. So, rather than burning 25 litres of diesel or 18 litres of gas we use just the 2.5 litres of gas the REx will take and some of my father's electricity. We've done 2660 km in the mean time, with only around 450 km with the REx on, so the plan is working...

Steven

PS: of course a bigger battery would have been better, but still: unlimited range with REx isn't such a bad thing

 

[ultraturtle]

...So, rather than burning 25 litres of diesel or 18 litres of gas we use just the 2.5 litres of gas the REx will take...

Very important point that few folks seem to understand. It is very difficult to wrap one's head around the reasoning a small gas engine can make an EV a better EV. Good on you.

 

[noakey]

Just a BEV for me... Am determined to go electric only and will adjust my motoring planning to suit (I hope)...

I think BMW should offer access to the Rex charging port such that companies can develop other tow-able range extending options for those rarer longer journeys (so long as it looked kewl like the i3).

BMW have hit the nail on the head with the options, and ultraturtle had a great point re "Very important point that few folks seem to understand. It is very difficult to wrap one's head around the reasoning a small gas engine can make an EV a better EV. "

spot on.

 

[EVfan]

Hello Steven,

You make a great point about having to use the other car (gas guzzler) for the longer trips, it sure does make sense to have the REx for those rare occasions.

Very excited to getting the I3 and wrapping my head around it!

Thanks,

Rick



Steven

PS: of course a bigger battery would have been better, but still: unlimited range with REx isn't such a bad thing [/quote]

 

[I33t]

In a 2 car household, we're keeping the economical diesel and ditching the petrol V6 for an i3 BEV.

Perhaps when the diesel needs updating we will get a REX, but in the meantime, the i3 will get used for most of the metro trips - the diesel will get used as required (when the i3 is out) and for longer trips beyond BEV range.

So, it our circumstances, it isn't an either/or situation (we need 2 vehicles) and the FF consumption will drop dramatically with the arrival of the i3. If we could get away with one vehicle, the REX would be the one to go for.

 

[scottlawrencelawson]

I selected 100% BEV! (aka non-rex?) But then, I work from home and have good access to DC chargers in the Los Angeles area. We have a 328i for the infrequent long trips.

 

[bailyhill14]

I have also been wrestling with the Rex/No Rex question. Has BMW officially announced the way REX will work in the US? Seems like it waits until 6% soc. I asked my dealer if I could continuously run the car on the REX. Say a 500 mile trip, once every 6 months. I was told no. I am reading that is not true. In Europe, the REX can be activated at 75% SOC and used. This is a deal breaker for me, and its probably all software. Will the i3 go down the motorway at 60 mph, after the battery is gone and you are on REX. Can you go 60 mph for 500 miles, if you stop for petrol every 100 miles?

What is the BMW USA official answer?

 

[TomMoloughney]

I have also been wrestling with the Rex/No Rex question. Has BMW officially announced the way REX will work in the US? Seems like it waits until 6% soc. I asked my dealer if I could continuously run the car on the REX. Say a 500 mile trip, once every 6 months. I was told no. I am reading that is not true. In Europe, the REX can be activated at 75% SOC and used. This is a deal breaker for me, and its probably all software. Will the i3 go down the motorway at 60 mph, after the battery is gone and you are on REX. Can you go 60 mph for 500 miles, if you stop for petrol every 100 miles?

What is the BMW USA official answer?

Yes, unfortunately the range extender will be electronically restricted in the US so it cannot be turned on until the 6% SOC point when it automatically turns on. However when that happens you can basically drive as far as you want to as long as you continue to fill up with gas every 60 or 70 miles. Driving at 60-70mph you'll have no problem driving hundreds of miles with the range extender on unless you are driving up very long, very steep mountainous roads since such driving consumes a lot of energy. It's not a problem if your journey goes up and down normal hills and inclines that most people encounter, I'm talking about continuous setup climbs for 10 or more miles. You could in fact drive the i3 REx from NY to CA if you wanted to, stopping to fill up every hour or so. Not sure why anyone would do that, but technically it's capable of it.

 

[dennis]

I selected 100% BEV! (aka non-rex?) But then, I work from home and have good access to DC chargers in the Los Angeles area. We have a 328i for the infrequent long trips.

Scott,

I'm in the LA area as well and aside from the NRG station in San Diego and a GM Advanced Powertrain Facility in Torrance, where are the other CSS DC chargers? There are a lot of CHAdeMO DC Chargers and the Tesla Supercharger in Hawthorne, but both of these are incompatible with the US and Euro i3. The Japanese one will have CHAdeMO jury-rigged in the frunk.

 

[pokiri]

Yes, unfortunately the range extender will be electronically restricted in the US so it cannot be turned on until the 6% SOC point when it automatically turns on. However when that happens you can basically drive as far as you want to as long as you continue to fill up with gas every 60 or 70 miles. Driving at 60-70mph you'll have no problem driving hundreds of miles with the range extender on unless you are driving up very long, very steep mountainous roads since such driving consumes a lot of energy. It's not a problem if your journey goes up and down normal hills and inclines that most people encounter, I'm talking about continuous setup climbs for 10 or more miles. You could in fact drive the i3 REx from NY to CA if you wanted to, stopping to fill up every hour or so. Not sure why anyone would do that, but technically it's capable of it.

Really? I would have thought the Rockies would be troublesome. I went BEV because I figured it would be completely impractical to drive long distances, even occasionally, and figured that whatever solution BMW ends up having for short-term gas vehicle usage in the US would be better on those occasions.

 

[TomMoloughney]

Yes, unfortunately the range extender will be electronically restricted in the US so it cannot be turned on until the 6% SOC point when it automatically turns on. However when that happens you can basically drive as far as you want to as long as you continue to fill up with gas every 60 or 70 miles. Driving at 60-70mph you'll have no problem driving hundreds of miles with the range extender on unless you are driving up very long, very steep mountainous roads since such driving consumes a lot of energy. It's not a problem if your journey goes up and down normal hills and inclines that most people encounter, I'm talking about continuous setup climbs for 10 or more miles. You could in fact drive the i3 REx from NY to CA if you wanted to, stopping to fill up every hour or so. Not sure why anyone would do that, but technically it's capable of it.

Really? I would have thought the Rockies would be troublesome. I went BEV because I figured it would be completely impractical to drive long distances, even occasionally, and figured that whatever solution BMW ends up having for short-term gas vehicle usage in the US would be better on those occasions.

Yes. I have had extensive conversations with i3 product managers about this. As long as you understand how it works, and drive responsibly, you can basically drive it wherever you want to and for as long as you want to, with the exception of very long(many miles) and steep climbs.

 

[DHP]

I have a rex on order but am concerned about drives into the mountains - a common day trip for people here in Colorado.

A common trip is driving to Vail, CO for skiing or hiking. On the face, its not that far away, about 105 miles of highway driving. There are level 2 chargers in the vail city parking garage.

However, the driving profile from downtown Denver is about 17 miles driving west on relatively flat terrain and then climbing up to the continental divide in 45 miles (elevation gain about 5500 feet). It is mostly an uphill climb but there is one downhill section (floyd hill) which is a drop of 600 feet over 2 miles. From the eisenhower tunnel/continental divide the freeway drops 2,250 feet in 10 miles (at the bottom of this drop is where Tesla has installed an 8 stall supercharger at Silverthorne). From here it is a 15 mile climb to the top of Vail pass with an elevation gain of 1900 feet. From the top of vail pass to the city of vail is all downhill for 15 miles and a loss of elevation of 2450 feet.

So in summary - 17 miles of flat, 27 miles of steep downhill, and 60 miles of steep uphill.

I'm pretty sure the rex would work fine if there was a hold mode (i.e the mountain mode in the Volt) like the setup in Europe where you are able to engage the rex at less than 80%. Without that, I don't think this trip is possible without putting the car into a serious depleted battery mode (especially the 45 miles uphill from Golden Co to the top of the continental divide. It will be interesting to see how much regen charging happens on these downhill sections as well.

There is a level 2 charger at a pizza joint in Idaho Springs halfway up that climb but that seems silly to have to stop if you have the rex.

 

[scottlawrencelawson]

I selected 100% BEV! (aka non-rex?) But then, I work from home and have good access to DC chargers in the Los Angeles area. We have a 328i for the infrequent long trips.

Scott,

I'm in the LA area as well and aside from the NRG station in San Diego and a GM Advanced Powertrain Facility in Torrance, where are the other CSS DC chargers? There are a lot of CHAdeMO DC Chargers and the Tesla Supercharger in Hawthorne, but both of these are incompatible with the US and Euro i3. The Japanese one will have CHAdeMO jury-rigged in the frunk.

OK, now I am confused. I went to http://www.plugshare.com/ and zoomed out to the greater LA area and filtered for just "DC Fast Chargers" and filtered out Tesla, too. It shows 38 chargers. Are you saying that most all of these are not BMW i3 compatible?