[Longboarder]

Thinking out loud here looking for some help from modding enthusiast who currently have or like me thinking about this car.

It's a cool looking car with good tech, but it doesn't do it for me accel wise which means I can hold out, or maybe do what I've been doing for years and just mod it up a little. I'm no stranger to being the first in the world to do something...my 997.2 Turbo S is the first working version of an upgraded fuel system for the 3.8 DI platform and my 991 Turbo S and e92 supercharged M3 are the first to use high concentrations of ethanol gas.

So for the i8. I don't have a lot of info so please correct me if I'm wrong. From what I gather, this car utilizes a battery to operate the front wheels and a 3 cyl turbo motor to power the rears. The BMW stability control system modulates tire spin, angle, etc. No front/rear drive line. Upgrading the power output of the rear drive 1.5 litre motor has been done with a tune seeing around 40 or so hp increase.

So for those with a tune, how does this affect the off-the-line launch? I'd assume it would cause more wheel spin?

This info would be important for making the next step beyond a tune which is turbo upgrade, downpipe and intercooler. This isn't a special motor from what I understand, it's just a 1.5 turbo 3 cyl from the mini, 218 and 318 correct? So therefore assuming these parts for other cars are available.

I understand the battery is very expensive and I wouldn't mess with that. But getting another 125 crank hp out of the rear petrol motor is possible and yes there would be some lag but hopefully mitigated by the battery's instant torque. I would not be worried about building the front motor. If it blows it blows.

What do you guys think? Is this possible or am I just nutz?

[Twitch Massacre]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

Thinking out loud here looking for some help from modding enthusiast who currently have or like me thinking about this car.

It's a cool looking car with good tech, but it doesn't do it for me accel wise which means I can hold out, or maybe do what I've been doing for years and just mod it up a little. I'm no stranger to being the first in the world to do something...my 997.2 Turbo S is the first working version of an upgraded fuel system for the 3.8 DI platform and my 991 Turbo S and e92 supercharged M3 are the first to use high concentrations of ethanol gas.

So for the i8. I don't have a lot of info so please correct me if I'm wrong. From what I gather, this car utilizes a battery to operate the front wheels and a 3 cyl turbo motor to power the rears. The BMW stability control system modulates tire spin, angle, etc. No front/rear drive line. Upgrading the power output of the rear drive 1.5 litre motor has been done with a tune seeing around 40 or so hp increase.

So for those with a tune, how does this affect the off-the-line launch? I'd assume it would cause more wheel spin?

This info would be important for making the next step beyond a tune which is turbo upgrade, downpipe and intercooler. This isn't a special motor from what I understand, it's just a 1.5 turbo 3 cyl from the mini, 218 and 318 correct? So therefore assuming these parts for other cars are available.

I understand the battery is very expensive and I wouldn't mess with that. But getting another 125 crank hp out of the rear petrol motor is possible and yes there would be some lag but hopefully mitigated by the battery's instant torque. I would not be worried about building the front motor. If it blows it blows.

What do you guys think? Is this possible or am I just nutz?

We know the gas engine can be tuned with moderate over boost to produce an additional 60hp at the crank. The electric motor which is the same as the i3 has been detuned by 40hp to prevent the front wheels from spinning, that's another 40hp that can be added to the car again with some computer wizardry. We are looking at 100hp over stock with some minor over boost and returning the electric motor to the original state in the i3. I assume with a little more boost than what the guys at BR performance are running you can achieve the 125hp over stock you're after which in this car should be really noticeable because of its relatively lightweight construction + fast torque delivery + AWD. As far as traction, my guess is that since BMW detuned the electric motor to prevent the front axle from spinning the additional power in the rear axle should compensate for that, but that's just a guess with no scientific research to support it. Anyways I'm considering doing some tuning myself whenever a reputable shop nearby begins to offer this service. Let me know if you get around to it first.

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by Twitch Massacre

We know the gas engine can be tuned with moderate over boost to produce an additional 60hp at the crank. The electric motor which is the same as the i3 has been detuned by 40hp to prevent the front wheels from spinning, that's another 40hp that can be added to the car again with some computer wizardry. We are looking at 100hp over stock with some minor over boost and returning the electric motor to the original state in the i3. I assume with a little more boost than what the guys at BR performance are running you can achieve the 125hp over stock you're after which in this car should be really noticeable because of its relatively lightweight construction + fast torque delivery + AWD. As far as traction, my guess is that since BMW detuned the electric motor to prevent the front axle from spinning the additional power in the rear axle should compensate for that, but that's just a guess with no scientific research to support. Anyways I'm considering doing some tuning myself whenever a reputable shop nearby begins to offer this service. Let me know if you get around to it first.

Cool thanks didn't know about the electric motor - 40 more to get back to stock i3 output would be terrific. And just read the BR thread too thanks.

This would be a fun project. Only issue is I don't have any more garage space so one of my cars would have to go

Just texted my buddy who is a sales advisor for BMW. I'll check these out next week.

Cheers.

[phoenixbmwlife]

I also didn't know the electric motor was detuned to 40 less hp. My guess would be that wider and stickier tires up front and in the rear would be required to handle the 100+hp increase from both front and rear motors.

[MalibuBimmer]

With 492 HP this car should equal the Tesla S85D in ludicrous mode -- 3.2 0-60 times. Of course, when it blows its going to be your party. Right now BMW is investigating every BMW drivetrain warranty issue very carefully. To learn why the car failed. They've done that with mine a couple of times so far.

[carholic]

Originally Posted by Twitch Massacre

We know the gas engine can be tuned with moderate over boost to produce an additional 60hp at the crank. The electric motor which is the same as the i3 has been detuned by 40hp to prevent the front wheels from spinning, that's another 40hp that can be added to the car again with some computer wizardry. We are looking at 100hp over stock with some minor over boost and returning the electric motor to the original state in the i3. I assume with a little more boost than what the guys at BR performance are running you can achieve the 125hp over stock you're after which in this car should be really noticeable because of its relatively lightweight construction + fast torque delivery + AWD. As far as traction, my guess is that since BMW detuned the electric motor to prevent the front axle from spinning the additional power in the rear axle should compensate for that, but that's just a guess with no scientific research to support it. Anyways I'm considering doing some tuning myself whenever a reputable shop nearby begins to offer this service. Let me know if you get around to it first.

Please give us posted. Very interesting.

[Twitch Massacre]

Originally Posted by PhoenixWolf

I also didn't know the electric motor was detuned to 40 less hp. My guess would be that wider and stickier tires up front and in the rear would be required to handle the 100+hp increase from both front and rear motors.

I can attest to getting better traction and cornering after swapping the tires and bicycle wheels. MalibuBimmer I wouldn't count on the drivetrain suffering massive failure with the little amount of boost over stock required to reach the numbers spoken of here. From my experience of having tuned and driven plentiful miles in tuned BMWs the headroom left in these engines before hey reach a dangerous stress level is a lot. I expect you would need to push the car far more than 125hp over stock before you really start reaching the limits. Now granted the i8 is far more complicated than the M cars I've tuned before but I don't expect complicated to mean it's also far more fragile. But I guess time will tell. Also remember they need to catch you before they void your warranty and I've found being caught involves a little bit of negligence by the owner and malicious intent by the SA and/or dealership. As long as you're smart about taking a modded car into the dealership, use a dealership known for being "mod friendly" and have a good relationship with your SA I don't see why anyone should feel panic about attempting to tune their i8 just like any other BMW.

[Aye-eight]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

...
This info would be important for making the next step beyond a tune which is turbo upgrade, downpipe and intercooler. This isn't a special motor from what I understand, it's just a 1.5 turbo 3 cyl from the mini, 218 and 318 correct? So therefore assuming these parts for other cars are available. ...

Space may be an issue. The engine is crammed in tight and shares the rear end with the car's mini-trunk. Not sure where you'd want to fit the extra hardware.

As for the electric motor, I'm not sure if the i3 also uses the two-speed gearbox, as the i8 does up front. This might be a concern for two reasons: (a) can the box handle more power, and (b) of you're also after higher top speeds, how much faster can it spin safely?

[Longboarder]

Good point regarding the space. Not sure whether the configuration will allow for larger intercooler and downpipes. Have to check into that. Also wonder if the battery motor disengages at high speed like the Porsche 918. The front battery in the 918 is done at 250kph using only the rear v10 for top speed runs.

[Aye-eight]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

Good point regarding the space. Not sure whether the configuration will allow for larger intercooler and downpipes. Have to check into that. Also wonder if the battery motor disengages at high speed like the Porsche 918. The front battery in the 918 is done at 250kph using only the rear v10 for top speed runs.

According to my own observations, the e motor in the i8 still draws a charge at 250 km/h. As that's where the car is limited, I don't think there even is that disengagement mechanism. But it may be geared such that that's as fast as the e motor can spin. And I believe the i8 needs that support at high speeds, it's more than a thrid of the car's power, after all.

[Twitch Massacre]

Originally Posted by Aye-eight

According to my own observations, the e motor in the i8 still draws a charge at 250 km/h. As that's where the car is limited, I don't think there even is that disengagement mechanism. But it may be geared such that that's as fast as the e motor can spin. And I believe the i8 needs that support at high speeds, it's more than a thrid of the car's power, after all.

Which is why I plan on leaving the top speed limiter on after the tune until I can confirm that speeds above the current limiter are still safe for the e-motor.

[Longboarder]

Well I don't have much of an update on any power upgrades but I did a test drive the i8 yesterday. When I was driving to test the car, my buddy was at Burger Motorsports getting a JB4 on his m4 and so i asked my buddy to tell terry he needs to do a tune on the i8 and he laughed so who knows. There little market for tuning for this car and maybe none for a piggy back - most would want a flash.

Anyway I found the build I want - white exterior with twist wheels and all the blue accents (terra world - blue seatbelts, stitching etc) at a local dealer. They have 8-9 in stock. Had em for like 6-7 months for what I understand so they are willing to deal. Or so I thought.

Anyway loved the car. Interior was like a combo of a McLaren (interior monocoque) with the typical bmw driver controls which I like, and interior room of a 911 with some unique hybrid guages unlike the other hybrid or plug in cars out there. Interior visibility is pretty bad particularly out of the rear side but the trade off is that I don't care because the rear side aero is so cool looking.

The driving experience is amazing. I fully realize how slow the car is but I don't really care. Will never need to take this car to the track. Found myself really enjoying how quiet the car is in normal battery mode driving and sport mode wasn't bad...the piped in sound of the motor - which doesn't sound like a 3 cyl lawn mower engine - was surprisingly terrific. Steering wheel paddles are ok prob wouldn't use them much. I liked the electric steering in sport mode. Too light in Eco battery-only mode.

Thought I had a deal done. In fact was in agreement with the sales guy but he had input the wrong incentive number and the sales Mgr corrected it. Was a USD $3,500 purchase price diff and I wasn't willing to do it. A little irritating so I walked.

The most surprising thing was I got back to my tuned 991 Turbo S which felt kinda bland after the i8 driving experience. Sure the 991 has incredible driving dynamics and is the fastest street car you can buy without going to a hyper car but on the street there aren't many opportunities to drive the 991 in an exciting manner.

So I'll get the i8 at some point. I think the lack of power may get to me sooner rather than later so I'll be continuing my research on engine / battery upgrading.

Cheers.

[JasH]

Good luck with the power modding

I'm interested in progress on this.

[Baron UK]

Me too