Your first few 100 kilomters?

[BMWi3RexNL]

I understood that Fastned had chosen not to use the card but an app. For the time being, it's free.

The app isn't downloadable yet according to their website.

 

[i3me]

And this is at Fastned's ultra fast charging station near Utrecht, NL.
The charge was for free as they're still rolling out the network and try to attract future customers.

Well that works for me!

Hi i3me, do you need a charge card or something? I am also a future (rex) owner, end of february i will drive it! I have noticed that there are more fastned stations then are displayed on their website. I am curious of it is possible on the navi to search for quick (fastned) chargers??

Hi BMWi3RexNL (what a name!),

As another blogger has written, the idea is to pay by cell phone/ app at the Fastned charging stations.

The built in BMW navigation doesn't list Fastned stations yet but they can be found using the Oplaadpunten.nl app.
I made this station a contact in my iPhone and in i Remote a Favorite so it displays on my app-map. I then sent it to the car as a nav-destination. Don't forget to change the contact name to something with Fastned before sending, otherwise the i3's navigation displays a weird name!

PS: don't forget to mail Fastned and become "owner" as they are now crowd funding to realize their plans!
PPS: I hope they'll give owners a break on charging. There was mention of a flat fee between €10-15 per charge. For a Tesla S that's a bargain, but for i3 owners not! (gas is cheaper!) :?

 

[i3me]

And this is at Fastned's ultra fast charging station near Utrecht, NL.
The charge was for free as they're still rolling out the network and try to attract future customers.

Well that works for me!

I see you used the Fastned charger at Terschuur (judging from the broken lighting of the ''t'', yeah i was there some time ago as well and noticed somehow someone managed to destroy it already) Fun experience charging the i3 as we seemed to become an attraction, multiple cars (non-electric) decided to drive through the fast charger station curiously looking at the i3 trying to figure out what i was actually doing over there.
What i wondered is, how long did it take you to charge at the fast charger. The display indicates that it will take 1:45:00 to full charge, correct? I went there and plugged in while i had a charge of 78%. No need to get a full charge but I just visited the charger to check out how it worked and get some experience with the i3.
I was plugged in for about 20minutes and gained some 10% charge, as I than proceeded my trip to wageningen on the highway, not thinking about speed affecting the range, i lost more than double the kms from the battery compared to what i actually drove. Good lesson not to drive 130km/h in the i3!
But I thought that these fast chargers are supposed to give up to 80% charge in only half an hour? is that correct? what kind of charging speed did you achieve?
Does it really charge the first 80% that quick and slows down a lot at the last 20%?

PS: Any experiences i write about ''me using the i3'' is refering to me using my dads car as it has become sort of a sport for me to understand electric driving

Hi Pio and Dad,

You're right, it was near Terschuur! (the Pot Pol station to be exact)

It charged really quick, from 19% to 93% in 33 minutes (about 2% per minute).

I stopped at 93% because I assumed that the last part was going to be slow, but didn't check how fast it actually was when I uncoupled the charger. I just wanted to get home...

The time indicator on the display kept showing 1.45h through-out. Also broken!

 

[BMWi3RexNL]

Whats in a name, i had to fill in something! That sounds not very easy with the poi's! I thought the navi would be updated automatically.

I have sometime to figure that out. In the mean time no app and just put in the plug and charge by fastned?

 

[i3me]

During the meeting the charge status only increased by 8% per hour. What a let down!

It sounds like your setting on charging speed could be set to low (8A)?

If so, change this to high (12A), and it should charge 50% faster

I've checked the slow charging speed with the BMW i Service Desk here in NL.
They've received numerous complaints from i3 owners on slow charging at "quick charging" stations. Every i3 they've tested was able to charge at 7,4kW. It seems a charger problem!

Although the ANWB (Dutch Automobile Association) manages most stations, Municipalities install the hardware. BMW thinks that they've cut costs by using 16A current and not 32A!
They also mentioned that double chargers (with 2 sockets) will often drop the charge rate from 7,4 to 3,4kW when a second car hooks up!

There is a lot of room for improvement here!

BTW my charge speed is set to high!

 

[LMOR]

During the meeting the charge status only increased by 8% per hour. What a let down!

It sounds like your setting on charging speed could be set to low (8A)?

If so, change this to high (12A), and it should charge 50% faster

I've checked the slow charging speed with the BMW i Service Desk here in NL.
They've received numerous complaints from i3 owners on slow charging at "quick charging" stations. Every i3 they've tested was able to charge at 7,4kW. It seems a charger problem!

Although the ANWB (Dutch Automobile Association) manages most stations, Municipalities install the hardware. BMW thinks that they've cut costs by using 16A current and not 32A!
They also mentioned that double chargers (with 2 sockets) will often drop the charge rate from 7,4 to 3,4kW when a second car hooks up!

There is a lot of room for improvement here!

BTW my charge speed is set to high!

OK, I charged today with 14% in one hour with 12A...
And 16A should give you at least 20%

But there are 2 separate speed settings, one is for AC charging used for 16A and above.

 

[MikeS]

How do you change it?

 

[Pio]

During the meeting the charge status only increased by 8% per hour. What a let down!

It sounds like your setting on charging speed could be set to low (8A)?

If so, change this to high (12A), and it should charge 50% faster

I've checked the slow charging speed with the BMW i Service Desk here in NL.
They've received numerous complaints from i3 owners on slow charging at "quick charging" stations. Every i3 they've tested was able to charge at 7,4kW. It seems a charger problem!

Although the ANWB (Dutch Automobile Association) manages most stations, Municipalities install the hardware. BMW thinks that they've cut costs by using 16A current and not 32A!
They also mentioned that double chargers (with 2 sockets) will often drop the charge rate from 7,4 to 3,4kW when a second car hooks up!

There is a lot of room for improvement here!

BTW my charge speed is set to high!

It seems to me as if every time something is not correct or as promised with the i3 BMW is making up stupid excuses as to why it would not be their problem (like the 16A instead of 32A being a problem of the municipality placing the chargers).
The weird thing is that both you -i3me- and I charged the same type of vehicle at the same charger and mine charged extremely slow. whereas yours charged just about as quick as promised. My (Dad's i3) is currently at Ekris Utrecht for a 2 day service.. as the remote connection was not working (the icon with the car+exclamation mark in the display as described in other topic) and more software problems seemed to appear. it was supposed to be gone just one day but they decided they needed it for 2 days! curious what has changed when it returns and if all problems are solved now.
I will try to go back to the fast charger to test again how fast this charging really goes and let you guys know.
ow and yes, For now charging with the fastned chargers is free, but that will change soon i think.

 

[jfk]

I think it is true what bmw says.
Charging in NL is either 1-phase 16A (volvo, mitsubishi, bmw) or 3-phase 16A (tesla model s).
I don't think there is such a thing as 1-phase 32A on public infrastructure. The main fuse will be limited to 16A, so you can't get to 32A.
That's why i didn't order the fast chargers...

 

[Lecram]

I think it is true what bmw says.
Charging in NL is either 1-phase 16A (volvo, mitsubishi, bmw) or 3-phase 16A (tesla model s).
I don't think there is such a thing as 1-phase 32A on public infrastructure. The main fuse will be limited to 16A, so you can't get to 32A.
That's why i didn't order the fast chargers...

There are also 22kW chargers, 3x32A. I assume that the i3 will charge at 1 fase 32A (7,4kW) at these chargers.

 

[jfk]

there are, but not that many....

 

[Lecram]

there are, but not that many....

It's a matter of time. We are early adopters, don't expect the same infrastructure as the petrol infra.

 

[LMOR]

Can one of you check how many Ah the 12V battery have?

Thank you.

 

[Sperillen]

I can help with that!
In my spec under 609(Navigationsystem Professional):
Includes 12V battery, 40 Ah wet-call battery, replaces the standard battery 12V, 20 Ah AGM
So us with not getting the 609 for free, can choose. I think that everybody until now have the 40Ah!!

Thomas

 

[LMOR]

I can help with that!
In my spec under 609(Navigationsystem Professional):
Includes 12V battery, 40 Ah wet-call battery, replaces the standard battery 12V, 20 Ah AGM
So us with not getting the 609 for free, can choose. I think that everybody until now have the 40Ah!!

Thomas

Thank you!

But it could be country specific also? I know of one car in UK with 25Ah, and there are no cars with 606 yet?

 

[Sperillen]

606?????

 

[LMOR]

606?????

Navigation Business. You said that it was connected to 609, and there is at least one car in the UK with 25Ah, and I thought that all cars produced before march have 609.

 

[Sperillen]

agree! It was your 606/609 i did not understand!!
My information is only from a spec order, i have taken a picture but attaching it is a problem!!

 

[Nu2ecar]

i3me, thanks for both accounts of your trips. Together they give a good idea of the maximum range anyone might expect to get from the i3. I could see myself accepting the discomfort and limits on acceleration and speed a few times a year, but no more often. I live in San Diego, California. Distances within the city are greater than typical European cities, and the city is served by many freeways where I tend to drive just under 80 mph (128 kph) traffic permitting). What is your estimate of the likely range using comfort mode and driving without consciously conserving energy?

If anyone else has an average power consumption per mile/km I'd be grateful to know together with the driving conditions.

Nu2ecar

 

[kentheteaman]

I live in San Diego, California. Distances within the city are greater than typical European cities, and the city is served by many freeways where I tend to drive just under 80 mph (128 kph) traffic permitting). What is your estimate of the likely range using comfort mode and driving without consciously conserving energy?
Nu2ecar

Hello Nu2ecar,

I had the rex for 24 hours.
At 65miles/h speed in cruise control I got 50miles in comfort mode.

Best speed for i3 is around 55 to 60miles/h in which you can achieve 60 to 75miles in comfort mode and little longer in Uncomfortable modes euphemistically named as Eco pro and Eco pro +.

EVs do not like highway speeds.
Thats a fact.

If 80miles/h speed is important then you are looking at range of 30 to 40miles maximum in all the EVs available now including i3 except Tesla which will give you 200+ range.

You may need Tesla for your needs as "Sranger" did in this forum. However, if you still want to settle for i3 then you definitely need Rex unless you have a guaranteed charging at work.

I have ordered Rex. For me i3 Rex fits my needs which falls less than 120miles/day driving at 60miles/hour. Thats the maximum Rex will do in one full charge and one full tank. You will need to fill up every 60miles from then onwards like a yo-yo.

regards,
ken