Real World Highway Range

[Daleyplanit]

I'm slated to pick up our lease transfer '17 REx this weekend. So excited. Our first electric car,

But, as we have 165 miles between the car and home, well I know I need at least one DC charge on my trip. I plan to run in Eco-pro. Thankfully no heat or A/C is needed on this trip.

The way back is almost all highway, and I can't help but drive 65-70 the whole way back. I hope to make a station 83 miles in to recharge, then chug the remaining 80 miles back home at the same pace.

What have people been experiencing for real-word range on he highway? The Rex makes me more comfortable, but on the NYS thruway I'm nervous about keeping a a safe pace if it's running.

Thanks!

 

[n1o2c3a4c5h6e7t]

From another thread regarding the 60Ah REx:

someone in the Tesla forum did a very nice chart on the Rex range and consumption. You may want to check it out.
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/19331-BMW-i3/page105

Mine is a BEV. I do get better range than listed.

My results are also slightly better with the 60Ah BEV, but I would still expect to fast charge every 50-60 miles at highway speeds with a full charge. Our driving is usually 90% city/10% highway, and we get approximately 75 miles in comfort.

Insisting on driving at 65-70 mph will consume a lot of energy, perhaps unnecessarily.

 

[Srivenkat]

Is it a 60Ah or 94Ah model battery? If the latter, perhaps you can make it all the way home without an intervening charge? I would follow Bob Wilson (bwilson4web on this forum) in coding for the Hold SOC option, and hold SOC at 75%, so if the charger on the way isn't functional, you still would have the REX that should let you hold 70MPH on flat land without much degradation in SOC. Before leaving the dealership, I would also make sure the REX is functional by running it in emissions mode for 20 minutes (which can only be done if the SOC is below 75% from what I hear) and then top off the charge at the dealership before leaving. Good luck!

 

[Daleyplanit]

Thanks for help, folks. We have the 94 Ah battery.

@blue20's math estimated a 50-60 mi. highway range but that's the 60 Ah battery. (would need three stops on the way home)

I would hope I can go 80 miles and avoid breaking it to three charges - maybe just one, but we'll see. I prefer to plan on NOT using the REx if I can avoid it, if only because thats the reserve.

I'm not picking up at a dealer, but at private home and "seller" promises to have a full charge in the car prior to our pick up. I can ease off 70mph for sure, but I don't want to be piddling along at 50 on the thruway - that's scary slow!

Will check out the coding. It's a lease so I'm a little scared of making a code change that may violate the terms.

 

[Srivenkat]

It's also possible the current owner has already coded for Hold SOC.

 

[Daleyplanit]

Without question they did not code, lol.

 

[Anonymous]

lease so I'm a little scared of making a code change that may violate the terms.

Code changes are easily reversed - a lot of people who have coded their cars, reset them to factory when they take them in for warranty service, to avoid any questions.

Basically, to code'Rex-on-demand' you are just turning on an option built in to the car which is enabled in Europe, but disabled in the U.S.

 

[jadnashuanh]

FWIW, at 65mph, the REx should be able to maintain your SOC except when climbing a grade...but, it should recover on the way back down. Most of the grades on the NYS Thruway aren't really all that long, unlike some you might find out west. The speedometer on the BMW cars intentionally reads about 2mph higher than actual so that you don't ever get in the situation where you're going faster than you think you are.

If you pick up a compatible adapter for the OBD-II port and the Bimmercode app, you can do the reprogramming in a couple of minutes, or buy the USB memory stick from DVD In Motion and just plug it in.

 

[Anonymous]

you can do the reprogramming in a couple of minutes, or buy the USB memory stick from DVD In Motion and just plug it in.

From the DVDinMotion web site, appears they no longer do BMW.

 

[Daleyplanit]

Well folks,

I made it home and we're now lessees of a beautiful 17 REx. The trip from Old Westbury to Plattekill was as follows:

-left OW with 120 miles of range
-Ran EP+ until we reached 87 (the traffic was moving slowly enough for 56mph ceiling to be more than we needed)
-Ran EP from 17/87 all the way to plattekill and pulled to DC charger with 30 miles left

Used 90 miles of charge for an ~85 mile trip!

Charged in 50 minutes (i wanted to see how long it would really take to get to 100% but after ~85 % it became a situation of diminishing returns.

I ran in EP from Plattekill all the way to Albany, with the CC in 65. Started with 110 miles of range and finished with 30 miles of charge. Another 80 mile trip. Nailed the range exactly. I was very impressed.

We trickle charged all night and woke up with 70 miles of range. May never need the level 2 charger.

I'm very pleased with this car. There are some quirks, and some negatives (the stereo and nav system stink) but overall I love it. Didn't see a single i3 the whole way home. Saw Bolts, Teslas and Leafs. Even an e-golf. I like being weird.

 

[vreihen]

Congratulations on the new ride! Glad to hear that the Plattekill charger is working. Plugshare has mixed reports recently, with intermittent problems northbound and no recent successful checkins southbound.....

 

[AndersB]

Nice to hear your story.
We have a similar one coming up. Next monday we are picking up our 2017 i3s, 94 Ah. No REX! Pure electric! And we are driving 300 km to our home with one overnight at a hotel that of course needs to offer charging. New criterias for selecting hotels from now on, for sure. It's an exciting adventure for us and I'm thrilled. I have though about going electric the last 6-7 years or so and now it's happening! It's a black beauty we have bought with around 10000 km mileage.

 

[Daleyplanit]

I made a 240mi trip this past weekend (120 up and 120 back).

In the way up, I drove 40 miles to a DC fast charger and used 33% of the battery in my 2017 REx going 65mph. After a full charge, I made the rest of the 80 miles on the highway (15 miles) at 65mph and 55mph state roads (65 miles) at 56mph in EP+ mode. I had 30 miles left of charge at arrival. A lot of the trip up was up hills.

In the way back, I did the reverse. I was at 33% at the DC fast charger (the advantage of coming down from the mountains) and returned home with 50 miles on the battery.

Overall, very impressed. my second long trip in the car and my range anxiety is going down by the day.

 

[sipabit]

Good call on cutting the charging short. YOu don't want to go past 80% on a public charger if you don't have to. The last 20% takes forever and if the charging stations are like they are here in the Bay Area, you're paying by the minute, not by the kwh