[JasH]

Credit to John (arranm1) for this. I thought it merited a separate thread

https://www.celtictuning.co.uk/servi...e-1#t3-content


Interesting testimonial from an owner. Is it anyone here?

Excellent job done with the car it ran a higher figure than stock figure quoted on its first run but increased to an amazing 408bhp I need to GPS verify the 0-60 time from launch but it should be around 3.6 seconds based on similar vehicles which is great.
Also increased my mpg figures by at least 10% Excellent professional service highly recommended

[JasH]

They have also posted the following:


News of our excellent BMW i8 remap is spreading! This customer removed his ECU, packaged it well and sent it to us all the way from Texas for us to install our software. The i8 operates both a petrol turbo engine and a hybrid synchronous motor. The combustion engine is a 1499cc 3 cylinder petrol turbo unit which is capable of being tuned like any other BMW petrol turbo engine. The electric motor delivers the equivalent of 129bhp and 184lbft, and the combustion engine 228bhp and 236lbft, giving the i8 a total power output of 357bhp and 420lbft. Our performance tuning does not affect the electric motor or battery pack in anyway, we are only tuning the petrol engine, and as such the range and operation of the electric motor remains the same as stock. Final figures come in at 391bhp and 446lbft torque which is a remarkable achievement from only the 1.5 turbo petrol engine being tuned. If you are abroad and would like to see what we can offer your vehicle, please visit us at http://bit.ly/1WQLSbE

[skinrock]

Glad more folks are picking it up. I just hope someone in Southern California can do it soon, because I don't want to pull my ECU and ship it.

Also curious if anyone will have the balls to mess with the battery. Even stock, I see the heat waves like crazy if I'm sitting in heavy traffic.

[JasH]

I heard back from the company, and they charge £600 all-inclusive. This includes them travelling to your home, to do the performance tune. 14 day money back guarantee too.

Pretty tempting....

[Jo-Sta07]

Originally Posted by JasH

I heard back from the company, and they charge £600 all-inclusive. This includes them travelling to your home, to do the performance tune. 14 day money back guarantee too.

Pretty tempting....

Too bad they won't travel to Pittsburgh

[JasH]

If only some company would try adjusting the electric motor back up to normal (i3) spec.

That combined with the 10% ICE increase would make for a very noticeable improvement.

[skinrock]

Do we know why it was limited?

[JasH]

Originally Posted by skinrock

Do we know why it was limited?

I'd love to know the answer to that myself

The rumour I heard was that too much power through the skinny front tyres could lead to slip or understeer. Not a concern for me if that was the reason. But we need confirmation.

(My i3 can slip the rears, on uneven surfaces even with traction controls activated. Fronts are more likely to slip on i8, due to steering too.)

[Twitch Massacre]

Originally Posted by JasH

I'd love to know the answer to that myself

The rumour I heard was that too much power through the skinny front tyres could lead to slip or understeer. Not a concern for me if that was the reason. But we need confirmation.

(My i3 can slip the rears, on uneven surfaces even with traction controls activated. Fronts are more likely to slip on i8, due to steering too.)

Without the detune the front skinny tires would lose traction on launch. That's why I don't understand why BMW chose to detune the engine instead of fitting the car with proper tires. I have yet to learn the benefits of the narrow yet heavy wheels. I'm on much wider wheels and tires (and ironically lighter) than stock and my car's efficiency hasn't suffered that I can tell and as far as drivability, that's much improved. I believe with better wheels/tires restoring the electric motor's power output to i3 spec would be amazing.

[skinrock]

Originally Posted by Twitch Massacre

Without the detune the front skinny tires would lose traction on launch. That's why I don't understand why BMW chose to detune the engine instead of fitting the car with proper tires. I have yet to learn the benefits of the narrow yet heavy wheels. I'm on much wider wheels and tires (and ironically lighter) than stock and my car's efficiency hasn't suffered that I can tell and as far as drivability, that's much improved. I believe with better wheels/tires restoring the electric motor's power output to i3 spec would be amazing.

I wish adv.1 still sold your wheels

[Twitch Massacre]

Originally Posted by skinrock

I wish adv.1 still sold your wheels

They probably still will as an ADVX (custom build) they'll just tax you for it. In fact mine came out of the assembly line as an ADVX since that model was supposed to be "for Lamborghinis only". Or you could go with the new 2016 models, particularly the ADV5.3 which in my opinion looks like an upgraded/modernized version of mine.

[JasH]

Originally Posted by JasH

If only some company would try adjusting the electric motor back up to normal (i3) spec.

That combined with the 10% ICE increase would make for a very noticeable improvement.

They have now confirmed that they only remap the ECU, and know of "no protocols available to communicate with the electric motor as of yet".

[Aye-eight]

Originally Posted by Twitch Massacre

Without the detune the front skinny tires would lose traction on launch. That's why I don't understand why BMW chose to detune the engine instead of fitting the car with proper tires. I have yet to learn the benefits of the narrow yet heavy wheels. I'm on much wider wheels and tires (and ironically lighter) than stock and my car's efficiency hasn't suffered that I can tell and as far as drivability, that's much improved. I believe with better wheels/tires restoring the electric motor's power output to i3 spec would be amazing.

Frontal area is a main factor in aerodynamics - that's in essence the silhouette of the car when viewed from the front, incl. tires. It's one of the drivers of the cw coefficient. As wind resistance grows exponentially with speed, any reduction in frontal area will have a massive impact on top speed and fuel effiency at high speeds. Narrower tires also have lower rolling resistance. That's why i3, Prius, and i8 (although less so) come on narrow disks.

[Aye-eight]

Originally Posted by JasH

I'd love to know the answer to that myself

The rumour I heard was that too much power through the skinny front tyres could lead to slip or understeer. Not a concern for me if that was the reason. But we need confirmation.

(My i3 can slip the rears, on uneven surfaces even with traction controls activated. Fronts are more likely to slip on i8, due to steering too.)

What I heard is that the e motor in the i8 is geared differently to deliver a different performance profile. Apparently, it's at max "long-term sustainable" RPMs when the i8 is at top speed. This setup may physically not be capable of delivering the same output as in the i3.

[Twitch Massacre]

Originally Posted by Aye-eight

Frontal area is a main factor in aerodynamics - that's in essence the silhouette of the car when viewed from the front, incl. tires. It's one of the drivers of the cw coefficient. As wind resistance grows exponentially with speed, any reduction in frontal area will have a massive impact on top speed and fuel effiency at high speeds. Narrower tires also have lower rolling resistance. That's why i3, Prius, and i8 (although less so) come on narrow disks.

However, I have not seen any dramatic difference in efficiency since the switch. As far as top speed, well I'm not sure if it slowed the car down, but it sure doesn't feel like it. If anything I noticed improved traction.

[stevebgt1]

Originally Posted by JasH

I'd love to know the answer to that myself

The rumour I heard was that too much power through the skinny front tyres could lead to slip or understeer. Not a concern for me if that was the reason. But we need confirmation.

(My i3 can slip the rears, on uneven surfaces even with traction controls activated. Fronts are more likely to slip on i8, due to steering too.)

It`s funny you should mention this. The first few miles of my Journey each day, I do in electric only. I have to flick through a couple of roundabouts and if I just turn in at the wrong moment or throttle too soon on exit, I do get a lot of slip and under steer. With the petrol motor running in sport mode, this doesn't happen. Or , put it this way....you don`t notice !