[maxxfish]

Hi all, I'm looking at getting an i3 to build into a camera car to use for motion picture production (we already have a Porsche Cayenne that we use for high-speed work and when noise isn't an issue). Typical payload would be four people plus a few hundred pounds of gear (while staying within the i3's GVWR).

I know that the i3 is already pretty light, but I'd love to put it on a diet. Does anyone know the weight of the seats? Other modern BMW seats I've removed for car builds are extremely heavy, so hoping some race seats could save a good bit. How about the door cards? I'd be fine with replacing them with thin ABS if it's worthwhile.

I'd also plan on pulling the speakers, center console (need the space anyway), and any other trim that's significant. Any other places that could save some weight? Thanks, Max

[vreihen16]

The i3 is *not* your father's BMW, and I think you'll be surprised at how much weight they shaved during the engineering process. IIRC, they even used the thinnest window glass allowed by law for the weight savings, and I'd be willing to wager that the sheet metal aluminum bucket seat in my open-wheel formula car is not significantly lighter than the i3's thin/light front seats.

Look at how little of the front seats survived this i3 garage fire:



Your biggest weight savings would be to start with a non-REx i3. Keep in mind that your wheel/tire choices and off-the-shelf suspension options are *extremely* limited, so don't make your plans around the assumption that you can do the usual tricks to make it more stable as a camera platform.....

[maxxfish]

Vreihen,

That's all great info, thanks. I'm impressed with how much engineering went into this car! I'm looking forward to finding one and tearing into it!

[vreihen16]

Think of the i3 as a halo car, with a carbon fiber tub, rear-engine, and every ounce of weight scrutinized. I'm pretty sure that my 2015 BEV (non-REx) model is around 2,500 pounds...with the batteries.

You may want to look at the possibilities of the frunk, as well as not having a transmission tunnel through the cabin. You may be able to cut your crew count by one person. Another feature of the i3 is that there is no transmission per-se, and the car in theory should do the exact same speed in forward and reverse since there's no gears to shift.....

[Obioban]

The stock seats are <30 lbs each, with sliders. You're not going to save any weight there.

If it were me, I'd get a non sunroof, non REx car, and put a REx/sunroof factory BMW suspension in it. The REx is ~300 lbs, so you'll be properly suspended for 4 people and a couple hundred pounds of gear.