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      11-19-2021, 11:01 PM   #1
2mAn
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2mAn’s ‘17 Protonic Blue REx

This seems to be a good place to share this thread and my build. It won’t be a whole lot of madness, but I’m a guy who can’t leave well enough alone.

Basically, I’ve owned a lot of cars and love making build threads even when the car is a daily and isn’t likely to get modified a lot. We’ll see how long that lasts.

When I finally decided I wanted an i3, it seems the world also wanted one too as suddenly their prices jumped from the low teens to basically $20k for any sort of REx. I had planned on getting a 60Ah REx, but ultimately picked this one up last Sunday. Already loving it.

How about some pics?...

The daily it’s replacing and the garage








The plan always was to ‘hack’ the ECU to unlock the Full fuel tank but I read that it’s pointless on a 94Ah. I had already purchased the Bimmercode app at that point though so I went in and activated it anyways. I also activated the Hold State of Charge (HSOC) Menu.

I forgot to take a before pic, but I’m pretty sure the fuel tank was reading in the 75-80 mile range, and afterwards on my way home it was sitting at 97. So who knows, but between that and the fully charged battery I was smiling at the range I was seeing.



It was even better after my commute home!... loving this car



Tomorrow will be the 1/3 of the main changes that’s planned on this car. Another thread here convinced me, but you’ll get those details tomorrow.
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      11-20-2021, 01:47 AM   #2
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Why are you using the traction mode on a dry and sunny day?
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      11-20-2021, 05:31 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ovekvam View Post
Why are you using the traction mode on a dry and sunny day?
I’m pretty sure I turned traction control off... but who knows

Anyways, visited European Auto Source this morning and got the AST lowering springs and 12mm & 15mm spacers installed. Got a before and after but couldn’t get them in the same spot...










Last edited by 2mAn; 01-15-2022 at 09:51 PM..
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      11-21-2021, 08:13 AM   #4
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Very nice.
Fabulous little city car.
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      12-01-2021, 02:53 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coastali8 View Post
Very nice.
Fabulous little city car.
Thanks!

Just noticed you have a 914-6, very nice! Ive been wanting a 914 forever... maybe someday...

In other news, CarMax forgot to smog the car befire letting me take it home so they reached out to me to smog it and get it done. I took it to the same shop that did it before and they said it was 'Not Ready' and the cat is the monitor Not Ready... he was trying to test it with the car off and it seemed weird to me, but I wasnt ready to tell the smog guy otherwise.

I cannot believe this...
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      12-15-2021, 02:25 AM   #6
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nice touring)
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      12-17-2021, 10:47 PM   #7
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A few clicks of the button and look what I have!..



Some contradicting messages about whether or not it actually makes the changes or if it’s just a placebo. Feels quicker, but I’m going to need to do some scientific experiments this weekend
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      12-17-2021, 11:03 PM   #8
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I have an i3S which had a sport setting from the factory. The difference in pedal mapping is very significant. The sport setting is about as different from Comfort as Eco Pro is. The steering weight is also somewhat heavier, but that is not so easy to feel.
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      01-31-2022, 11:37 PM   #9
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Well, hopefully the Sport Swaybar that shows up is actually larger than my OEM one. I’m genuinely curious how the handling will improve. I also plan to get the Sport mode upgrade done so when I select sport mode it actually does something...

Question, now with the Sport mode that means there are 5 total modes (Sport, Comfort, Comfort +, Eco and Eco+) I think the 2 Comfort modes are excessive and I want to turn one option off, but I’m sure it’s buried in the Professional or Expert mode of Bimmercode where I added the Sport option... question is which option is to turn it off? I can try to trial and error it but I’d rather follow instructions and do it right the first time. Thanks!
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      02-01-2022, 12:53 PM   #10
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You might consider an app called Draggy. Post the results of Comfort vs Sport. From what I understand, hacked Sport mode does not improve 0-60 times. Only a factory i3S with OEM Sport setting will improve acceleration.

What’s the difference between Comfort and Comfort+?
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      02-01-2022, 10:37 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BL 5 View Post
You might consider an app called Draggy. Post the results of Comfort vs Sport. From what I understand, hacked Sport mode does not improve 0-60 times. Only a factory i3S with OEM Sport setting will improve acceleration.

What’s the difference between Comfort and Comfort+?
Why is the acceleration improved in Sport mode of the factory i3S? Isn't it just more sensitive pedal mapping and slightly less power steering force?

I would think that Traction Mode would make more of a difference.
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      02-15-2022, 11:49 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BL 5 View Post
What’s the difference between Comfort and Comfort+?
Not sure, I’d love to just have Sport, Comfort, Eco Pro and Eco Pro+

I’m sure the same way I unlocked the Sport option (even if it’s not doing anything yet) I can lock the Comfort+ option. Just not brave enough to do it yet.

In other news, I ordered the i3s Swaybar and it finally arrived to bluntech and then they will ship it to me. I hope the combo of that and a square tire setup will make the car a little more to toss around. I thought I saw that the Ecopia 500 was available in 175/60/19, but I looked at tirerack today and they only had the 155/70/19 and the rest were all 20”... kinda annoying

edit: looks like Discount Tire Direct has the 175s... $238/each lol
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Last edited by 2mAn; 02-15-2022 at 11:59 PM..
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      02-17-2022, 12:54 PM   #13
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2017-2021 base i3 has the capability to accept i3S motor software. It's been available for well over a year now through specialists who figured out how to apply i3S software onto compatible base i3 models.

It adds the more aggressive throttle mapping and additional power supplied by the i3S electric motor software. Another extra capability unlocked is a higher speed limiter, now capped at 100mph.

The motor hardware in the i3 and i3S is the same, but the "tuning" as we used to call it in the ICE age, simply delivers more output from it and is exactly what BMW did for the i3S model in terms of power improvement.

That's the difference between enabling sport mode via Bimmercode on a base car which simply gives you another menu option on drive mode selector, vs actually applying the software onto the computer controlling electric motor output.

There have been Draggy and other tests done proving the performance upgrade. It is significantly improved and matches that of an OEM i3S vehicle. The most improvement can be felt in BEV models as they are simply lighter. A 2017 or 2018 base i3 BEV will have the same 0-60 and top speed as a OEM 2018 i3S BEV (the fastest i3 out there).

For those interested in getting this done, a search for Gabor in the main i3 Facebook groups will yield contact information. There is a private facebook group called "PremiumRetrofit- worldwide group" if you cannot find his contact info directly. That's how performed this software update on our i3. There are other companies available to do this work remotely. Cost is quite reasonable and return on investment gets delivered every time you want to stomp on the go pedal.

Last edited by thrifty3; 02-17-2022 at 12:56 PM.. Reason: typo
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      02-17-2022, 10:06 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thrifty3 View Post
For those interested in getting this done, a search for Gabor in the main i3 Facebook groups will yield contact information. There is a private facebook group called "PremiumRetrofit- worldwide group" if you cannot find his contact info directly. That's how performed this software update on our i3. There are other companies available to do this work remotely. Cost is quite reasonable and return on investment gets delivered every time you want to stomp on the go pedal.
I don’t have Facebook but my buddy did get added to the FB group. I just need the cable and a compatible laptop, but I definitely plan to get it done. I believe the Sport version also changes the traction control settings and increase feedback through the steering wheel
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      02-18-2022, 08:10 PM   #15
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​I took the i3 up to Newcombs Ranch today. I was chasing a 996 C4S and he was shocked that I was able to hang with him for so long.


On the way down a photographer heard me coming (think about that for a second) and got his camera ready and managed to get this pic



I turned around to ask if he actually took a picture & he said it was the hilarious at what he saw after what he heard... again, think about what he was hearing

Also, this arrived today. Less than 1 month to install it and maybe you'll see this thing at an autocross on 3/12 haha

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      06-11-2022, 06:53 PM   #16
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Well, it’s been a few months so I have a few updates on the daily.

Update #1. I purchased the amplifier and speaker combo box from orange fever here on Bimmerpost. It’s a great little set up and though I didn’t install it exactly where I wanted to, I am quite happy with how it is now. Not the type of bass I had in my car ‘s in high school LOL but a great complement to the rest of the stereo

No Harmon Kardon amp, but we press on


Wiring completed


Speaker box installed...


Update #2
I finally installed the i3S swaybar. After dropping the front subframe enough to get this thing out it looked shockingly identical to the new one that we wanted to put in.

We even went to compare the part numbers and there is certainly a different part # between my car and what came on the i3s. We had to measure it and the difference was less than 1mm lol...

And I got a kick out of this while the car was on the left, so I had to take a picture for you guys. Should I put a fat exhaust tip right out the middle?


I also made a little video after taking the i3 to Newcombs a ranch again. Fun note: The MR2 owner came up to me later and to,d me that my pace was good and I didn’t need to get out of the way. He said it was hilarious following me and watching me toss the i3.
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      06-20-2022, 10:35 PM   #17
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The horn was embarrassing so I did something about it haha

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      06-21-2022, 01:32 AM   #18
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I have read that several i3 owners think the original horn is embarrassing, but it sounds completely normal to me, and not very different from the Hella horn you installed. Here is a more unique i3 horn I came across on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.bu...ZMvhHAvB9cowil
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      07-02-2022, 03:03 PM   #19
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Yea I think I need to add the second horn, the relay and the whole setup to try and get the full beans noise

In other news, I had an idea when I first bought the car and after my “///M mirror covers” the excuse to move forward with the plan happened.

Without further adieu, a less-funky looking i3. Dare I say, a more aggressive looking i3? Lol





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      07-28-2022, 02:20 PM   #20
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Love the progress so far! I've been really contemplating getting into an i3 before making the jump into a more expensive EV.
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      08-01-2022, 11:20 PM   #21
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Quote:
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Love the progress so far! I've been really contemplating getting into an i3 before making the jump into a more expensive EV.
Thank you, I, enjoying it quite a bit as my daily
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      08-26-2022, 10:08 PM   #22
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Looking good just noticed the amp matches your whole car...lol enjoy it !!!
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