[ohniner]

WE are loving our I4 M50 more than expected. So far only used it locally charging from our own level 2 charger to 85%.

In a few weeks driving from Hilton Head to Atlanta and have researched all the possible charging locations but would appreciate what the experienced travelers do to prepare the car for the trip and what mode etc. to get maximum range.

Thank you in advance.

[note46]

Inflate tire to appropriate level (depending on # of people/pets/luggage)

When I drive to Los Angeles from San Francisco area I do my best to keep at the posted speed limit and once on the freeway use D (not B) with regen level set to low. If you have DAPP use adaptive. With this I was able to go 186miles ~ 70mph and had 38% SOC at my first charging stop. This was during the summer where the climate control was set to 69F. Charged to 80% and made my next charging stop easily with 40% SOC. I only topped off because there is a 2000feet climb and didn't want to risk getting stranded or fall short of my ideal charging stop/station.

[ohniner]

Is there any battery pre-conditioning needed?

[GOLFFRR]

exciting. I think the first trip is always a little nerve racking but Im sure as you get started and going you will be fine and will be able to dial in the charge schedule etc..

have a safe trip and have fun

[ramkbmw]

Originally Posted by note46

Inflate tire to appropriate level (depending on # of people/pets/luggage)

When I drive to Los Angeles from San Francisco area I do my best to keep at the posted speed limit and once on the freeway use D (not B) with regen level set to low. If you have DAPP use adaptive. With this I was able to go 186miles ~ 70mph and had 38% SOC at my first charging stop. This was during the summer where the climate control was set to 69F. Charged to 80% and made my next charging stop easily with 40% SOC. I only topped off because there is a 2000feet climb and didn't want to risk getting stranded or fall short of my ideal charging stop/station.

Can you explain why "D" is better than "B" once in the freeway? I've always thought B is at least slightly more mileage efficient than D at all times due to the more pronounced regeneration.

[sourphish]

I've gone the San Francisco to Los Angeles trip a few times also (350+ miles each way). I mapped out all my EA charging locations along the route. When I got to my next charging stop, I typically left enough range to get me to the next one just in case the one I arrived at was all taken, long lines, or broken. We also commonly have high winds along the way so need to think about weather / hill climbs as it could highly impact your actual range.

[note46]

Originally Posted by ramkbmw

Can you explain why "D" is better than "B" once in the freeway? I've always thought B is at least slightly more mileage efficient than D at all times due to the more pronounced regeneration.

Coasting is more efficient than regen. This was also shared by different manufacturers as well. The amount of energy you could gain by regen at freeway speeds is a lot less than the distance you could travel (by coasting) vs regen then having to accelerate back up to speed.

[note46]

Originally Posted by sourphish

I've gone the San Francisco to Los Angeles trip a few times also (350+ miles each way). I mapped out all my EA charging locations along the route. When I got to my next charging stop, I typically left enough range to get me to the next one just in case the one I arrived at was all taken, long lines, or broken. We also commonly have high winds along the way so need to think about weather / hill climbs as it could highly impact your actual range.

Yeah the wind totally kills range. Last drive I did to LA and back was like that. Drive down nearly 0 wind. Charged once at Kettleman and was good to go. On the way back had 20-30mph head wind. I didn't anticipate this and to make my Kettleman charging station I had to slow down to 55mph and followed a semi for ~20miles or so. Of course once I got to the station there was a line of 15car waiting for 10 charger of which 1 was broken and 3 were only giving 50kwh I typically charge to 75-80 SOC from there but this time went up to just over 90% and ended up driving at 65mph vs 70mph limit. Was able to get home with 10% left.

[jpuffmasterpuffpuffpuff69]

Gonna drive down to an M school in Thermal this summer. I've got the sport package, so I expect some pretty miserable mileage. I was thinking of leaving extremely early in the morning so I could face no competition at chargers then sleep when I get to my parents' house.

[Windshieldfarmer]

Originally Posted by jpuffmasterpuffpuffpuff69

Gonna drive down to an M school in Thermal this summer. I've got the sport package, so I expect some pretty miserable mileage. I was thinking of leaving extremely early in the morning so I could face no competition at chargers then sleep when I get to my parents' house.

I love driving EVs…but road tripping with them is still a compromise.

[WallyF]

Use the Nav system to steer you to your charging station. This will set the preconditioning up for you.

If you have the free 30 minutes on EA, just plan on charging up for 30 minutes at the EA in Augusta(Grovetown). Should be no problem as it looks like each leg is around 160 miles.

[mlanes01]

The most frustrating thing about road tripping with the i4 is the unpredictable range estimates. Once you know your car and you have a better idea of what the range is it's a lot less nerve racking. When I leave my house and the range estimates says 189m for 80% charge I know full well that it's wrong, during that drive depending on wind, ambient temp etc it's going to be between 220 and 250 (e40 w/18's) possibly more depending on the route. Classic German is that you never normally get less than what they estimate but it is very conservative. I don't need to be a range hero but I try to never push it bc I don't want to be that stupid ev owner on the side of the road. I normally plan 15% SOC when I hit the charger. A couple places I drive have very shitty charging infrastructure like going from southern NH to Vermont so I normally try to get where I'm going in one charge of possible. Which in the winter is a bit of a nail biter but still very doable. The other thing I would recommend is try to take advantage of other networks.... EA is such a disaster, and normally gets a lot of traffic. I would rather pay for Tesla or some of the others for reliability and convenience...but another gripe I have with my e40 is that I can't manually precondition and the I drive nav doesn't yet include most of the networks like Tesla and applegreen ... But using abrp and making sure you have charge point, plug share etc on your phone is a big help. Also make sure you have a charge point account and also they recently added shell recharge to the bmw app. That makes it easy since it covers the vast majority of charging networks and saves you time downloading apps etc.... hoping they outlaw having to prepay to use the networks soon, it is frustrating to always have ten bucks tied up on 5 different apps

[gs6456]

Originally Posted by mlanes01

The most frustrating thing about road tripping with the i4 is the unpredictable range estimates.

I pretty much ignore the range estimate and just use the SOC as my guide.

[drexplode]

Just picked my I4M50 at PCD on Wednesday to complete a 700 mile road trip to Michigan. Charging was no issue at all including a spontaneous stop / charge in somewhere Ohio via Nav map charging recommendations. It routed me to a trade school with an open slot a few miles off of I-75. My highest point of anxiety was arriving at an EA station outside of Ann Arbor near 20% SOC. Recharged quickly at 150kW and then was on my way.

Seat comfort is ok, wish it was better - not my favorite seat from BMW all-time. This is my second road trip in a I4 from PCD to MI.

[cruzer666]

After doing several 1000+ mile road trips I recommend using ABRP app to plan your trip, set your preferred charging networks.

It makes road trip planning easier. Always cross check charger availability using the specific charging network apps.