Quote:
Originally Posted by jadnashuanh
EV's battery controllers will, typically, not allow you to run the battery flat. Similar to any battery technology, running it totally flat shortens the life quicker than never running it down below some value (often in the 10-20% range). If I remember properly, the RX on the i3 cannot be manually turned on until the charge gets to 20%, but it will turn on automatically when it gets to 18%. The Chevy Volt is similar. By limiting the max discharge, they can be relatively confident the battery will last through the warranty period without issues. I think there is also an 'emergency' mode that can override that minimum, but you may lose your warranty if you actually use it! By cooling and heating the battery, depending on needs, they do use some charge, but also help keep the battery within its ideal operating conditions and should help with longevity. IF the vehicle is hooked to a charger, I think you can tell it to condition itself (both battery and interior) while still hooked up, maximizing its range, especially when it is cold outside.
Now, if I can find one without a sunroof when they become available, I think I may fit fine (the designer is about my height, and he seemed to fit) - one may be in my future. Hassle is, BMW USA, the US dealers, and corporate seem to think a sunroof is mandatory in our market, and foist them on everyone, cutting as much as 3" of headroom out of the vehicle for the driver.
I wonder if the things might be available as a European delivery when the time comes...one with a RX would work for running around. Would be fun to go back again...
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The i3 has a 22kWh pack but as you indicated, the car limits how much you can use so you don't charge it to 100% or completely discharge it as there actions will damage the cells and cause you to lose capacity at the least. To guard against this only 85% of the packs capacity is available, which leaves 18.8kWh's.
As for manually turning on the REx, in Europe you 'll be able to manually turn it on once the state of charge drops below 80%. This allows the driver to maintain an 80%(or whatever level of charge it was when they turned it on) charge as they continue along. Perhaps they are climbing a mountain at the end or their journey and want to have the extra energy for that or they are going to be entering a special "zero emission urban zone" where the car need to be in pure EV mode for entrance, etc. The range extender will automatically turn on at 18% unless you've disabled it(you can turn it off manually).
However for the US, it's not clear if BMW will offer the ability to manually turn on the range extender because of the California Air Resource Boards new BEVx designation that BMW wants. I actually wrote
a lengthy blog post on this if anyone is interested in reading the full details.
Yes, you'll be able to precondition the battery and cabin while it's plugged in to heat it up in the winter or cool it down in the summer. My ActiveE has that ability also and I really have found it only necessary in the winter. You can set the i3 to pre-con on a daily schedule so it turns on 1/2 hour before you leave for work in the morning and you'll have a warm cabin and battery waiting for you as well as a fully charged battery. It's a nice feature and I use it all winter. Since I can plug in at work also, mine preconditions my car for the ride home also.
I think BMW will offer European delivery but on the i3 it's a little more difficult than on combustion cars. They use a different connector for charging in Europe than we do here in the US (Mennekes vs SAE J1772) so you wouldn't be able to charge it anywhere, severely limiting where you could drive it unless you drove all the time in REx mode. However my guess is BMW will make a Mennekes to J1772 adaptor and let the European delivery customers use that as well as provide you with a list of local public charging locations so you know where you can plug in. I would like to do this also when I get my i3 if the option ifs there.