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      06-14-2018, 08:44 AM   #1
nunosousa
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Upgraded battery for 1st. Gen i8

Hello.
My i8 is constantantly stuck at 18
Kms when fully charged. 2015 65 000 kms. I would really like to upgrade the battery pack to the new coupe spec. Is this possible ?
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      06-14-2018, 03:31 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nunosousa View Post
Hello.
My i8 is constantantly stuck at 18
Kms when fully charged. 2015 65 000 kms. I would really like to upgrade the battery pack to the new coupe spec. Is this possible ?
I thought my battery wasn't holding charge ie poor range, in December so I had my local dealer run the tests to determine if it was faulty.

This involves fully charging and then disabling/turning off everything not needed eg heating/aircon, radio. And driving in a particular style across a variety of road types and speeds. If the car won't drive 16 miles under this test then they will look at replacing batteries under warranty.

My car did 18 miles. So no new batteries for me!

Worth asking your dealer to test the car. But it may be that it is cold where you are (battery range is reduced in cold conditions) and/or that when running on battery only you drive really hard.
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      06-14-2018, 06:04 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveB_UK View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by nunosousa View Post
Hello.
My i8 is constantantly stuck at 18
Kms when fully charged. 2015 65 000 kms. I would really like to upgrade the battery pack to the new coupe spec. Is this possible ?
I thought my battery wasn't holding charge ie poor range, in December so I had my local dealer run the tests to determine if it was faulty.

This involves fully charging and then disabling/turning off everything not needed eg heating/aircon, radio. And driving in a particular style across a variety of road types and speeds. If the car won't drive 16 miles under this test then they will look at replacing batteries under warranty.

My car did 18 miles. So no new batteries for me!

Worth asking your dealer to test the car. But it may be that it is cold where you are (battery range is reduced in cold conditions) and/or that when running on battery only you drive really hard.
I must say that one of the pleasant surprises of my 2019 Coupe has been the e-range. I regularly get 30+ miles when driving in eco plus mode here in Southern California. Can get even more if I fully shut off the air con.
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      06-14-2018, 10:36 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nunosousa View Post
Hello.
My i8 is constantantly stuck at 18
Kms when fully charged. 2015 65 000 kms. I would really like to upgrade the battery pack to the new coupe spec. Is this possible ?
Is your projected range at 18 km or is that your actual range when driving? Aggressive driving can bring down the projected range until you change it by taking it easy. In eco pro I can get 20 miles (32 km) or even a little more if I really try. What mode are you driving in and how do you drive? 18 km of real range seems too low and probably does mean a problem unless you are driving hard all the time. Careful driving should get you nearly double that.
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      06-20-2018, 10:05 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveB_UK View Post
I thought my battery wasn't holding charge ie poor range, in December so I had my local dealer run the tests to determine if it was faulty.

This involves fully charging and then disabling/turning off everything not needed eg heating/aircon, radio. And driving in a particular style across a variety of road types and speeds. If the car won't drive 16 miles under this test then they will look at replacing batteries under warranty.

My car did 18 miles. So no new batteries for me!

Worth asking your dealer to test the car. But it may be that it is cold where you are (battery range is reduced in cold conditions) and/or that when running on battery only you drive really hard.
Hi. Thanks for you feedback.
Indeed in cold days it seems it’s stuck at 18 km fully charged. In hot weather I get 21 km. This is on startup. When I drive full electric in eco I get consistently more than that ( around 21 (cold) to 25 Hot) so it seems I’m lose to the limit. Anyway I hope the new battery pack can fit my 2015. Love the car.
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      06-20-2018, 10:08 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MichaelJohn View Post
Is your projected range at 18 km or is that your actual range when driving? Aggressive driving can bring down the projected range until you change it by taking it easy. In eco pro I can get 20 miles (32 km) or even a little more if I really try. What mode are you driving in and how do you drive? 18 km of real range seems too low and probably does mean a problem unless you are driving hard all the time. Careful driving should get you nearly double that.
Hi thanks for your reply. It’s, the projected range, since I get 3 to 5 more kms in ecoopro. Still I would really like to have 40 km as I suppose the coupe does.
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      06-23-2018, 10:55 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nunosousa View Post
Hi. Thanks for you feedback.
Indeed in cold days it seems it’s stuck at 18 km fully charged. In hot weather I get 21 km. This is on startup. When I drive full electric in eco I get consistently more than that ( around 21 (cold) to 25 Hot) so it seems I’m lose to the limit. Anyway I hope the new battery pack can fit my 2015. Love the car.
I’d be very surprised if that was an economical swap. The battery is bound to be one of the most expensive single items on the car. And that’s assuming it fits. There’s all kinds of reasons why it might not. Slightly different form factor, slightly different mounting points, your car’s wiring or charge management not being abke to take the extra capacity, cooling arranagements needing to be different for the larger pack, ... Lastly, they may not even have any available for the aftermarket, as it were, because they need them for new car production.

But please do let us know what you find out. I’m curious.
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      06-25-2018, 12:27 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aye-eight View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by nunosousa View Post
Hi. Thanks for you feedback.
Indeed in cold days it seems it’s stuck at 18 km fully charged. In hot weather I get 21 km. This is on startup. When I drive full electric in eco I get consistently more than that ( around 21 (cold) to 25 Hot) so it seems I’m lose to the limit. Anyway I hope the new battery pack can fit my 2015. Love the car.
I’d be very surprised if that was an economical swap. The battery is bound to be one of the most expensive single items on the car. And that’s assuming it fits. There’s all kinds of reasons why it might not. Slightly different form factor, slightly different mounting points, your car’s wiring or charge management not being abke to take the extra capacity, cooling arranagements needing to be different for the larger pack, ... Lastly, they may not even have any available for the aftermarket, as it were, because they need them for new car production.

But please do let us know what you find out. I’m curious.
Well not sure if the i8 follows the i3 but the form is the same but the batteries are more dense so they pack more energy so more mileage.

Also heard the Bmw only stock the newest level of batteries and if your cell goes bad they replace the bad cell and just match the newer denser battery with the old ones through software.

That way Bmw doesn't have to store older battery tech.

The USA currently does not support the battery upgrade program yet ...... sucks.
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      06-25-2018, 05:57 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by -c- View Post
Also heard the Bmw only stock the newest level of batteries and if your cell goes bad they replace the bad cell and just match the newer denser battery with the old ones through software.

That way Bmw doesn't have to store older battery tech.
Sounds very plausible to me - otherwise
I presume they have to store them with some kind of conditioning regime which sounds expensive..
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      07-04-2018, 10:21 PM   #10
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There are six batteries. Each one has a list price of about $1100. Google Search Part #61 27 8 678 565

So, assuming they are drop-in replacements (which is NOT reflected in the ETK), for under $9000 ($6600 parts + $2000 in labor--that's a total guess on the labor charge, it's not based on any actual factual data) you could have 10 miles of additional range.

$900/mi of added range.
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      07-05-2018, 02:34 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Louv View Post
There are six batteries. Each one has a list price of about $1100. Google Search Part #61 27 8 678 565

So, assuming they are drop-in replacements (which is NOT reflected in the ETK), for under $9000 ($6600 parts + $2000 in labor--that's a total guess on the labor charge, it's not based on any actual factual data) you could have 10 miles of additional range.

$900/mi of added range.
Even at UK gas prices, not really worth the effort! If the battery could sustain high discharge for longer (i.e. better overall performance) then maybe worth a look.

Does anyone know if the cell packs are interchangeable with all of the BMW hybrids such as the 330e? If they are, I would expect after-market items to eventually be available at a reduced price.
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      07-05-2018, 09:33 AM   #12
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In any case, Its likely NOT just the batteries themselves which would need to be changed...

Support systems (charging, cooling) and also software re-coding would likely be involved...
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      09-27-2018, 04:17 PM   #13
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So does anyone know if you can fit 2nd gen batteries to 1st gen i8? How much does it cost?

BUMP
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      09-29-2018, 01:25 PM   #14
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Yes you can. But not worth the money to do until the originals are worn out in 15+ years from now.
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      10-04-2018, 10:55 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JasH View Post
Yes you can. But not worth the money to do until the originals are worn out in 15+ years from now.
Not that I'd want to do it, but have any after market companies figured out how to plug in a charging brick (like we all use to charge our cell phones when away from a wall charger) to extend range?

Just curious. Seems like a natural progression when dealing with range anxiety.
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      10-05-2018, 05:41 AM   #16
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A couple of thoughts...

People have tried using generators and an outlet charger on EVs but found the car doesn't like it because the earth isn't good enough. A metal spike driven into the ground and connected to the generator chassis apparently can work. Might as well add some gas to the fuel tank and charge while you drive.

If you try a battery pack (like you've got for a cellphone), you're carrying a lot of weight around to make any meaningful difference - a gallon of gas/petrol would be easier, and you can charge while you drive.

I doubt the car would like to charge through the charge-port when in motion, some serious software changes would be needed - and where would you put the power source (on the passenger seat and run a cable out of the window?)

Filling the fuel tank sounds like the simple option - use the on-board charger that is built-in from the factory.

On my commute, I use e-drive to get to the freeway and try to top up the battery using sport so I've got enough juice to get in and out of town on electricity.
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      10-05-2018, 07:50 AM   #17
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LionSmart 100kwh i3 battery upgrade

https://youtu.be/wtkRAVxX5e0
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      10-05-2018, 05:00 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Groundhog View Post
Not that I'd want to do it, but have any after market companies figured out how to plug in a charging brick (like we all use to charge our cell phones when away from a wall charger) to extend range?

Just curious. Seems like a natural progression when dealing with range anxiety.
In the i8, it's called the petrol tank Why the range anxiety in an i8?
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      01-30-2019, 06:57 PM   #19
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Meanwhile i3 and i8 battery packs are used also in boats and other non-car applications.
Keen people have started to upgrade their 60Ah i3 with 120Ah batteries and it seems to work as far what I could read in European forums. It seems not to be the hermetic rocket science some suspect. That's interesting news.

So I'm confident we will see 3rd party offers for battery upgrades also for the i8 in the near future. A close to 100km pure electric range would be a bummer and make this fantastic car definitely outstanding (not a 6 cyl engine, who needs that ).
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      01-03-2021, 10:20 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aye-eight View Post
I’d be very surprised if that was an economical swap. The battery is bound to be one of the most expensive single items on the car. And that’s assuming it fits. There’s all kinds of reasons why it might not. Slightly different form factor, slightly different mounting points, your car’s wiring or charge management not being abke to take the extra capacity, cooling arranagements needing to be different for the larger pack, ... Lastly, they may not even have any available for the aftermarket, as it were, because they need them for new car production.

But please do let us know what you find out. I’m curious.
Ok. So BMW testing confirmed my batteries were below minimum rated conditions. And I am pleased to report they were exchanged at no cost for me. Back to 23 Km 100 % charged.
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      01-04-2021, 01:23 PM   #21
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What test did they execute to confirm the battery issue? Mine is 2014 and I would like to look into this as well..great resolution, congrats.
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      01-04-2021, 03:44 PM   #22
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My local dealership (Leeds, UK) tested the batteries for me. It involved discharging and recharging the batteries - they printed an extensive report with a load of figures with voltages of each of the cells and different figures. All within range although annoyingly despite the low age and mileage (20 months or so, and 7000 miles) it was at 91%.
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