[GeorgeJ.]

It seems that the smart folks at Dinan and other outfits seem to quickly figure out the brains of BMW's up and down the line up and find ways to make improvements. I would think that the i3 would be (relatively) easy pickings to provide for additional power and torque, though for me the ability to control the range extender before the battery situation reaches critical (like i3's across the pond) would be a real value. An aftermarket 3-4 gallon tank would be nice as well. Either performance or rex control would certainly be counter to the dictates of CARB and other USA regulators though it sure would enhance the i3. I have not seen any discussions on the subject though I am interested in what others might think on the subject.

[jadnashuanh]

I doubt there is much tweaking you can do with an electric motor! It's not like you can feed it more gas which can make more power like in an ICE. There are ways to limit the power - they do that in the EcoPro mode, but making more is a different story.

Without changing the REx's generator, too, putting a larger motor or making it more powerful won't do anything...the REx is just driving the generator which has a max output. No idea if there's room for a larger generator, but most engines can be tweaked...that may affect longevity and certainly your warranty, though.

Now, adding more gas storage could be done and I'm pretty sure you could tweak the software to enable the REx to be activated at will (that capability is in those sold in Europe, as I understand it). That does have some merit, but CA would have big issues with that!

[bozola]

I want a BMW performance Exhaust for my Rex

[GeorgeJ.]

Originally Posted by jadnashuanh

I doubt there is much tweaking you can do with an electric motor! It's not like you can feed it more gas which can make more power like in an ICE. There are ways to limit the power - they do that in the EcoPro mode, but making more is a different story.

I imagine comfort mode (full power) is already dialed back. I am not an EE though it seems that the power could be bumped and battery more quickly depleted.

Originally Posted by jadnashuanh

I'm pretty sure you could tweak the software to enable the REx to be activated at will (that capability is in those sold in Europe, as I understand it). That does have some merit, but CA would have big issues with that!

My point exactly. thanks -

[jadnashuanh]

My guess is, and this is only a guess, that unless the system is in one of the Eco modes, upon full throttle, it applies max battery voltage to the motor...you can't get more than that out of it. If for some reason, they do not ever apply max voltage to the motor, modifying it may risk internal wiring problems from overheating and possibly arcing.

[Efthreeoh]

It's an electric car built with fancy carbon fiber and aluminum meant to conserve carbon-based fuels (and maybe some Uranium too) and save the planet. It should be illegal to modify it for enthusiastic performance enhancement.

[GeorgeJ.]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

It's an electric car built with fancy carbon fiber and aluminum meant to conserve carbon-based fuels (and my be some Uranium too) and save the planet. It should be illegal to modify it for enthusiastic performance enhancement.

Should it be illegal to allow the owner to kick in the range extender at 18% charge so you can manage a longer drive with added gasoline?

An M3 or my 135i has a good deal of engineering associated with efficiency. Tuning these cars expands the performance envelope and in doing so allows them to consume gas at a more rapid rate. . . . hmmm, sounds like that should be illegal.

If I had an i3 and found that Dinan had a software update that allowed me to control the rex and a added sport setting that allowed enhanced performance though more rapid depletion of charge you could count on me to buy it. Guess I am just a scofflaw, break out the handcuffs.

[jadnashuanh]

Originally Posted by GeorgeJ.

Should it be illegal to allow the owner to kick in the range extender at 18% charge so you can manage a longer drive with added gasoline?

This was an accommodation BMW made to get certain consideration from CA regarding access to the HOV lanes you could abide by the rules on occupancy, and drive there, but this is for just the driver - if you want to blame anyone, blame CA and the people there that elected the people that made the rules and regulations. While BMW could change the coding for other states that don't follow CA's lead, that would make it harder on inventory control, so we in the USA all 'suffer' from that 'feature' imposed. It is almost certainly a software thing, and I'd be surprised if it wasn't able to be changed. If you happened to be registering the vehicle in one of those states abiding by that requirement, and it was discovered, you may be in for a big fine and revocation of your access to the HOV lane. Until it happens, those are just guesses. So, it comes down to access to the HOV lanes, or breaking the law...only you can decide which is best for you - you could just buy one without the REx, then it's a moot point.

[ORIGIN M.]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

It's an electric car built with fancy carbon fiber and aluminum meant to conserve carbon-based fuels (and my be some Uranium too) and save the planet. It should be illegal to modify it for enthusiastic performance enhancement.

Good Lord...

I never want to live in that world.

[mindmachine]

Originally Posted by jadnashuanh

This was an accommodation BMW made to get certain consideration from CA regarding access to the HOV lanes you could abide by the rules on occupancy, and drive there, but this is for just the driver - if you want to blame anyone, blame CA and the people there that elected the people that made the rules and regulations. While BMW could change the coding for other states that don't follow CA's lead, that would make it harder on inventory control, so we in the USA all 'suffer' from that 'feature' imposed. It is almost certainly a software thing, and I'd be surprised if it wasn't able to be changed. If you happened to be registering the vehicle in one of those states abiding by that requirement, and it was discovered, you may be in for a big fine and revocation of your access to the HOV lane. Until it happens, those are just guesses. So, it comes down to access to the HOV lanes, or breaking the law...only you can decide which is best for you - you could just buy one without the REx, then it's a moot point.

Actually I am not 100% sure but I think it is also am important to customers in New Jersey and Vermont. New Jersey customers wont have to pay sales tax.

I live in Ohio though and would be ready to modify the software setting if I knew how. All us other non CARB state i3 owners we are being screwed by having the rex restricted the way it is to satisfy California. I think BMW dealers in non CARB states should be allowed to adjust this software setting at the customers request, as long as the car is licensed in a non CARB state.

[jadnashuanh]

Originally Posted by mindmachine

I think BMW dealers in non CARB states should be allowed to adjust this software setting at the customers request, as long as the car is licensed in a non CARB state.

That may end up being the case on a state by state basis to abide by their laws. As I understand it, there's no restriction on driving into or through a state with more strict rules, but you cannot sell the vehicle there unless it meets their requirements.

If we ever get the agreement between the USA and the Eurozone negotiated, what's legal there may become legal here, and you'd not need a special US or CA model...but, that is likely a long ways away yet, if ever.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by red-sauerkraut

Good Lord...

I never want to live in that world.

Nor do I.

[m_thompson]

The biggest challenge to getting more performance will be thermal issues with the battery, motor controller, and the motor itself.

More performance means more current to the motor. You might be able to get a short burst of higher than normal performance without design changes. If you ran at higher current for a significant time the motor would run hotter than it was designed for and might be damaged. You would need to improve the motor cooling solve this issue.

The motor controller has the same issue. The semiconductors that control the current are very temperature sensitive. The electronics cooling was designed for a specific thermal load. If you increase the current for more than a short burst you could cook the electronics. Again, you could improve the cooling to solve this issue. The interconnections inside the motor controller will also be designed for a specific maximum current and may need to be modified to handle higher current.

The battery would be a big challenge. Pulling more current from the battery than it was designed for will make it run hotter than expected. Modifying the battery cooling might be a significant challenge.

All of the cabling that interconnects the battery, motor controller, and motor were sized for specific maximum current. Increasing the current could lead to overheating and potential for a fire.

I am sure that some small performance improvements could be made without expensive design changes. It will be interesting to see if the tuners take on this challenge.

[mindmachine]

Originally Posted by m_thompson

The biggest challenge to getting more performance will be thermal issues with the battery, motor controller, and the motor itself.

More performance means more current to the motor. You might be able to get a short burst of higher than normal performance without design changes. If you ran at higher current for a significant time the motor would run hotter than it was designed for and might be damaged. You would need to improve the motor cooling solve this issue.

The motor controller has the same issue. The semiconductors that control the current are very temperature sensitive. The electronics cooling was designed for a specific thermal load. If you increase the current for more than a short burst you could cook the electronics. Again, you could improve the cooling to solve this issue. The interconnections inside the motor controller will also be designed for a specific maximum current and may need to be modified to handle higher current.

The battery would be a big challenge. Pulling more current from the battery than it was designed for will make it run hotter than expected. Modifying the battery cooling might be a significant challenge.

All of the cabling that interconnects the battery, motor controller, and motor were sized for specific maximum current. Increasing the current could lead to overheating and potential for a fire.

I am sure that some small performance improvements could be made without expensive design changes. It will be interesting to see if the tuners take on this challenge.

Look what is going on with the Toyota Prius now, Toyota is having problems with the power inverter, heat issues on the diode plate with the result being cracking and then electrical shorts. I don't think I would want to play around with this type of potential damage to my i 3 when I get it.

Toyota is currently recalling I think around 1.5 million Prius cars to detune the software in order to eliminate this heat problem. As I understand it this part of the inverter assembly is a $2000 part that would have to be replaced if the heat problem is encountered. I am sure the design is different on the i3, but similar type of issues would/could be encountered if you try to up the output beyond the design limits.

The only thing I would like to change on my i3 is to restore the function of the Rex, so that I can engage it like can be done in the euro version.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by mindmachine

Look what is going on with the Toyota Prius now, Toyota is having problems with the power inverter, heat issues on the diode plate with the result being cracking and then electrical shorts. I don't think I would want to play around with this type of potential damage to my i 3 when I get it.

Toyota is currently recalling I think around 1.5 million Prius cars to detune the software in order to eliminate this heat problem. As I understand it this part of the inverter assembly is a $2000 part that would have to be replaced if the heat problem is encountered. I am sure the design is different on the i3, but similar type of issues would/could be encountered if you try to up the output beyond the design limits.

The only thing I would like to change on my i3 is to restore the function of the Rex, so that I can engage it like can be done in the euro version.

This is EXACTLY the problem I had with my 1973 GE Electrak E-15 garden tractor around 1982.

[tiburonh]

Originally Posted by jadnashuanh

This was an accommodation BMW made to get certain consideration from CA regarding access to the HOV lanes you could abide by the rules on occupancy, and drive there, but this is for just the driver - if you want to blame anyone, blame CA and the people there that elected the people that made the rules and regulations. While BMW could change the coding for other states that don't follow CA's lead, that would make it harder on inventory control, so we in the USA all 'suffer' from that 'feature' imposed. It is almost certainly a software thing, and I'd be surprised if it wasn't able to be changed. If you happened to be registering the vehicle in one of those states abiding by that requirement, and it was discovered, you may be in for a big fine and revocation of your access to the HOV lane. Until it happens, those are just guesses. So, it comes down to access to the HOV lanes, or breaking the law...only you can decide which is best for you - you could just buy one without the REx, then it's a moot point.

One slight correction here: This was an accommodation BMW made to TRY to get certain consideration from CA regarding access to the HOV lanes.

Unfortunately, though CA's CARB people have still not issued any ruling on the i3 REX, it seems now like the odds are about 99 to 1 against them granting HOV access to it. If and when that becomes official, we can only hope that BMW will then immediately do the right thing and adjust the software on all US i3 REX's so that the driver can control when the REX comes on.

[ultraturtle]

The BEVx certification that BMW sought for the i3 REx never had anything to do with White Stickers, but rather vehicle counts to offset sales of immensely more polluting ICE vehicles. Hat's off to BMW for creating (by far) the second most environmentally responsible personal conveyance vehicle on the planet - the i3 BEV, but please do not think that California ever considered the gasoline range extending version of that vehicle, the i3 REx (by far, the most environmentally responsible personal conveyance vehicle on the planet) for "White Sticker" eligibility. The astonishingly primitive thinking of the CARB group would prefer two car families to own both a full-on gas-hog and a "pure" EV rather than two EVs that might need to tap into a couple of miles of gasoline range now and then for the next decade or two until the nation gets its electric charging infrastructure in place.

[AYEDEE]

Some custom dump pipes!

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by ultraturtle

The BEVx certification that BMW sought for the i3 REx never had anything to do with White Stickers, but rather vehicle counts to offset sales of immensely more polluting ICE vehicles. Hat's off to BMW for creating (by far) the second most environmentally responsible personal conveyance vehicle on the planet - the i3 BEV, but please do not think that California ever considered the gasoline range extending version of that vehicle, the i3 REx (by far, the most environmentally responsible personal conveyance vehicle on the planet) for "White Sticker" eligibility. The astonishingly primitive thinking of the CARB group would prefer two car families to own both a full-on gas-hog and a "pure" EV rather than two EVs that might need to tap into a couple of miles of gasoline range now and then for the next decade or two until the nation gets its electric charging infrastructure in place.

Please do not think a car can save the planet.

[ultraturtle]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Please do not think a car can save the planet.

?

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by ultraturtle

?

Cars are neither environmentally responsible nor irresponsible.

[ultraturtle]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Cars are neither environmentally responsible nor irresponsible.

Ok, but behavior is. Choosing to drive an i3 is more environmentally responsible behavior than choosing to drive any other 4 wheel vehicle currently available.