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      07-18-2017, 02:30 PM   #1
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i8 Engine Question and General Car Anxiety

Hi All!

This is my first time posting on the forum, so please forgive me if I am posting this in the wrong section. I own a BMW i8 and I'm absolutely in love with it. I prefer not to keep it in the garage, so on the weekends, or days that I am not busy, I tend to take it out and drive for about 45 minutes to an hour just for fun. During the winter, the car isn't driven as I worry that it's very low and some roads aren't plowed that well (plus the salt would be annoying to the body). My question is about the engine. Since this is a hybrid, I am pretty sure that the engine is actually off, not running, when in Comfort Mode (unless you accelerate faster or maybe get up to a certain speed). That being said, do I have to let the engine warm up before I put it in Sport Mode and drive a bit faster? If I'm in Sport Mode, I love using the paddle shifters and getting up to 100+ speeds in short bursts (20 seconds at most). Is this bad for the car if I don't let the car sit in Sport Mode (just because engine is turned on) for awhile, or drive not so fast in Sport Mode? I know that driving hard will lead to shorter engine life, but this car was made to go fast. The reason I have so much anxiety over this car is because I was in an accident last year and the car was totaled (got rear ended by a guy going 50 mph-luckily insurance took care of it and got another i8 without any cost because it was the other driver's fault). Even when I have to drive somewhere that I don't know that well, I do get a bit anxious because of speed bumps, potholes, low roads, and simply just leaving the car parked on the street or near other cars/people who will key the car (I've had a car keyed before). Thanks for your feedback!
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      07-18-2017, 08:43 PM   #2
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On the one hand, common sense suggests one should never ask 100% performance from a cold engine that has just fired up. The oil just isn't in all the right places. On the other hand, one might think that BMW has thought of that - e.g. by using materials, coatings and tolerances that may help the engine to live with this sudden strain. Which may be one of the reasons why the engine fires up when you first start the car again after letting is sit for a week or so - even in e mode.

Personally, I always try to warm things up before going pedal-to-the-metal.
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      07-18-2017, 09:17 PM   #3
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I definitely run it in Sport mode to let it warm up before pushing it too hard. As you said, Comfort isn't even necessarily running the ICE at all. The owner's manual states that Launch Control isn't available until after running the ICE for about 6 miles. I think this is a good metric to go by, and typically what I find myself doing anyways (~5-10 minutes of driving in Sport).
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      07-18-2017, 11:08 PM   #4
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Awesome, thanks for the replies! I'll keep it in sport for a few minutes before actually driving harder
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      07-19-2017, 03:32 AM   #5
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I feel exactly the same, however the climate in the UK is relatively mild so probably less of an issue.

I live on the top of a hill so my initial drive is usually 1-2 miles without the gas engine engine being needed at all so I have anxiety that I'm often 5 miles into a journey before the engine fires up.
With this in mind, I sometimes activate the 'hold charge' function that basically tells the engine to fire up when you're moving with the intention of keeping the battery topped-up, it will stop at traffic light stops etc...
Another option is run in sport for a while but manual shift to keep the revs low when cold to get the oil warmed up and properly circulated and ready for fun.

I have also noticed on cold days, maybe <5 Celsius that the gas engine will start briefly at the start of a journey when it usually doesn't (i.e. when it's warmer). In other words, BMW have thought about this and the software will run the gas engine for a period it deems necessary to put the engine in a state where you can use sport mode at will.

To summarize, I think BMW have thought of all the possibilities and understand oil, components, tolerances etc... however, I like to warm things up a bit myself just in case
Problems may start to show-up after 50k miles or maybe there'll be no problems at all - who knows?

As an aside, my V8 X5 has an oil temp display and it usually takes 10 miles to get the oil up to operating temp! It's an old car though and has lights on the rev counter telling you how far you can push it as it warms up - with newer oils I suspect this can be largely disregarded though.
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      07-19-2017, 01:10 PM   #6
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All good advice.

I think the i8 starts the combustion engine automatically if you haven't driven the car for a couple of weeks just to get oil on all the parts. Not to heat it up, as that would mean it runs for much longer.

I too ALWAYS run the combustion engine for up to 10 minutes before driving it hard. It's common sense to get it & the oil up to temperature, and will extend its life, and maintain its power output and efficiency. I do that on all my cars - except the i3
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      07-19-2017, 11:00 PM   #7
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Could you tell me more about the "hold charge" function? I've never heard of that-is it a button or something else? Thanks for all the replies everyone!
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      07-20-2017, 02:55 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AA123 View Post
Could you tell me more about the "hold charge" function? I've never heard of that-is it a button or something else? Thanks for all the replies everyone!
If you can find the menu that shows battery %, it's a tick box on the screen (I think it's under vehicle info, Auto e-drive). I've got it programmed into a key and can toggle it without looking through the menu so can't remember exact location. When activated, the little arrow above the battery meter turns amber and moves to the right of the display.
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      07-20-2017, 02:58 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JasH View Post
All good advice.

I think the i8 starts the combustion engine automatically if you haven't driven the car for a couple of weeks just to get oil on all the parts. Not to heat it up, as that would mean it runs for much longer.
Yep, definitely not long enough to warm it up, just get the oil around the engine so at least if you do hit the throttle hard, you've got oil in the right places at least.
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      07-20-2017, 06:58 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NGR View Post
If you can find the menu that shows battery %, it's a tick box on the screen (I think it's under vehicle info, Auto e-drive). I've got it programmed into a key and can toggle it without looking through the menu so can't remember exact location. When activated, the little arrow above the battery meter turns amber and moves to the right of the display.
I've made it my soft button no. 8. I press it and I activate the ICE and keep it on.
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      07-20-2017, 04:35 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MalibuBimmer View Post
I've made it my soft button no. 8. I press it and I activate the ICE and keep it on.
Exactly the same here

And I have tyre pressure monitoring on another button, and Energy Flow on another.
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      07-20-2017, 04:47 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JasH View Post
Exactly the same here

And I have tyre pressure monitoring on another button, and Energy Flow on another.
Ditto for tire pressure but I've put some navvie functions and Sirius radio stations on the rest. As for Energy Flow for me it's TMI but I can see for others it would be interesting.
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      07-20-2017, 05:28 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MalibuBimmer View Post
As for Energy Flow for me it's TMI but I can see for others it would be interesting.
It's useful when you are actively trying to manage battery usage, or, more importantly want to know how long the ICE has been running for to estimate when its fully warmed up.

...as BMW didn't see fit to permit us oil & water temperature readouts
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      07-20-2017, 05:30 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JasH View Post
It's useful when you are actively trying to manage battery usage, or, more importantly want to know how long the ICE has been running for to estimate when its fully warmed up.

...as BMW didn't see fit to permit us oil & water temperature readouts
When in doubt I drive electric and watch the range. Bit I agree the circa 1950's lack of gauges is problematic. Apparently the 3 cylinder engine is so bulletproof that . . . Well that sentence may have gotten off to a good start but even I don't believe it.
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      07-21-2017, 02:26 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JasH View Post
It's useful when you are actively trying to manage battery usage, or, more importantly want to know how long the ICE has been running for to estimate when its fully warmed up.

...as BMW didn't see fit to permit us oil & water temperature readouts
Indeed, very annoying especially as the car has sensors for all of those things and more and a full-on hi-res display, it would simply be software to give you a decent read-out of what the engine/battery are up to.

I have a cheap bluetooth OBDC dongle that I occasionally plug into the X5, the phone app (paid a few quid for it) let's you customise and display that info on your phone like a second dashboard even down to battery voltage, ignition timings, fuel trim, intake temps plus the basic stuff like oil temp.

Might try it on the i8 to see if it's compatible and can read anything.
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      07-21-2017, 05:02 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NGR View Post
As an aside, my V8 X5 has an oil temp display and it usually takes 10 miles to get the oil up to operating temp! It's an old car though and has lights on the rev counter telling you how far you can push it as it warms up - with newer oils I suspect this can be largely disregarded though.
It's probably noteworthy that a V8 X5 has a much bigger engine with a lot more oil in it. That takes longer to warm up.
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      07-21-2017, 05:09 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NGR View Post
Might try it on the i8 to see if it's compatible and can read anything.
Please let us know. Could be interesting.
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      07-21-2017, 07:06 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aye-eight View Post
It's probably noteworthy that a V8 X5 has a much bigger engine with a lot more oil in it. That takes longer to warm up.
I think takes about 7 or 8 litres of the black stuff - that'll take some warming up but it does have eight cylinders to help it along

Just tried the obd2 dongle and it worked first time - the port is on the door side of the steering wheel, under the dash pointing towards the floor, no cover surprisingly.

I got a few bits of data like fault codes, ambient temp, coolant temp, 12v battery voltage, inlet pressure but couldn't get a few more interesting things like boost, waste gate, oil temp, traction battery status.

Interestingly, the app I bought has a few values for hybrids but couldn't get a reading, need to play a bit more. The OBD2 has a few things that may be relevant like....

Accumulated Time of Battery Low
Accumulated Time of DC Inhibit
Accumulated Time of Battery too High
Accumulated Time of Hot Temperature
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      07-22-2017, 11:49 PM   #19
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If anyone else is wondering, I found where "Hold State of Charge" is: on the main menu go to settings-->Active eDrive--> It should be somewhere in there. thx
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      07-24-2017, 01:52 PM   #20
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You can also program the Hold Charge function on your memory buttons so next time just press the button to toggle between the settings without going through the menu.
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