New Shoes

Now that I've done exactly what I knew would eventually happen (falling-off the blog wagon) - Zippy demanded an update. He did this by finally chewing almost all the way through the Bridgestone Ecopias that came with the car at the time of purchase - 12,532 miles... abysmal tire lifetime by most standards. We do drive Zippy on a mountain gravel road about 3 miles per day - and log about 15 miles per day on a winding, paved mtn road... but honestly. The tires were literally bald - dangerous to drive with some careful attention. We were planning to install new tires but were trying to wait-out the inevitable snow so that we could transition straight to snow tires. The final straw was last week when Zippy could barely creep up our gravel road in the rain because the road was slightly slick - and the tires had no traction.

I found this blog post by Chuck Vossler quite helpful. We went with the Blizzaks mostly due to the fact that Zippy get about 20 highway miles per day and we wanted the additional durability of the Bridgestone tire. 

Next - I need to fine where to get these show chains. I've talked to our local BMW dealer and searched all over the web - to no avail.

Top End Consumption

When we began the drive down the mtn today we noticed that we had forgotten to plug-in Zippy overnight - so the battery was at about 75%. This is likely what allowed us to hit 99.9 mi/kWh on the consumption dashboard in the car as we exited the steepest part of the decent... and we still had 4 miles of gentle downhill to go. I suspect that the car charges differently depending on the battery level.

• Distance: 21 miles
• Duration: 39 minutes
• Average Speed: 33.2 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 9
• Temps: 65

Whoa!

A great drive down the mtn today - and a new consumption record at the bottom of the descent of 86.3 mi/kWh... the car only goes to 99.9 and I don't think we will ever hit that. Perhaps this is the top-end.

• Distance: 21 miles
• Duration: 43 minutes
• Average Speed: 31.5 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 8.4
• Temps: 65

Back and Forth

Quick update with the full stats from Monday - including the previous morning post. Had a short midday charge at Chautauqua while climbing. 

• Distance: 70 miles
• Duration: 2 hrs 31 minutes
• Average Speed: 28.8 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 4.9
• Temps: 60-90

Morning Commute in Ideal Temps

Just the standard drive to work this morning - but the temperatures, as previously mentioned, really seem to positively impact consumption - even better than Friday

• Distance: 21 miles
• Duration: 39 minutes
• Average Speed: 32.9 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 8.3
• Temps: 60-65

Weekend Driving

First and foremost - new consumption record on Saturday morning 53.5 mi/kWh coming following the same route down the mtn that we do for work each day. It was in the low 70s.

Sunday we took Zippy up and down the mtn twice, all around Boulder and drove four people to Lyons for dinner - highway driving over rolling hills and windy roads. We did charge the car at home for about 2 hours mid-afternoon.

• Distance: 79 miles
• Duration: 2 hrs 56 min.
• Average Speed: 27.8 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 4.5
• Temps: 75-90

Ideal Temps?

I've read a fair number of accounts about the ideal temperature for EV operation and specifically the i3... I'm not an engineer like most of the folks who offer thoughts on this topic but my general impression is that there are a lot of factors.

For Zippy and the conditions under which we drive him, the mid-60s seems to be very ideal. As we reached the end of the long descent on our "to work" commute today, we had a new consumption record - 40.6 mi/kWh!

And the overall consumption by the time I reached work was 7.8 mi/kWh - well above the uppers 5s that I saw in the spring.

• Distance: 21 miles
• Duration: 44 minutes
• Average Speed: 30.1 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 7.8
• Temps: 60-72

Nimble

So there we were - premier of Run Free - the moving and inspiring story of trail running legend Micah True - at the Dairy Center in Boulder where parking is limited... and people are choosing to park so lazily - leaving large spaces, but not large enough to fit another car.

Then there is Zippy - kapow!

 

Downpour

So it seems like the rain is never going to stop in Boulder... by the time I left the house today almost 1 inch had fallen since midnight. Zippy handled like a champ in the slippery mud, during the wet and windy decent of the mtn and through all of the standing water on the highway.

• Distance: 18 miles
• Duration: 32 minutes
• Average Speed: 35.5 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 5.4
• Temps: 35-42

Of note - had a new record for consumption while coming down the mtn last week - 33.7 mi/kWh!

Big, Big Day for Zippy

A fair bit of driving today - down the mtn, around town, back up the mtn:

• Distance: 64 miles
• Duration: 2 hrs 8 minutes
• Average Speed: 28.6 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 4.4

When we got home though... our PV solar power system had been generating power for it's first day of sunlight! Free dinner for Zippy. 28.54 kWh by 6pm is well more than enough to charge the car and power the house for a full day. Awesome!

just the stats

• Distance: 21 miles
• Duration: 41 minutes
• Average Speed: 31.7 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 7.3

another day without a bath for Zippy

More rain... this car needs a cleaning inside and out SOOOO bad.

• Distance: 24 miles
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Average Speed: 25.5 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 5.9

Friday

• Distance: 21 miles
• Duration: 40 minutes
• Average Speed: 31.9 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 6.6 (according to the dashboard) / 6.1 (according to the app)
• Recuperation (mi/kWh): 8.9

new record - and those who must be punished

This'll be a quick post as duty calls today... but some excitement for sure.

First - yesterday. I headed into Boulder for a midday climb above the Chautauqua Meadow. One of the awesome aspects of traveling to this locale with Zippy - they have an EV charging station which is "free." Actually, it is paid for with the EXTRA fee that I pay to register an EV in Colorado. Seriously - we pay an extra $50, not less for a lower impact car - more. Sometimes the station at this location isn't available - there are a lot of EVs in Boulder... including this one I guess. What you aren't appreciating is that this pickup truck must be electric, hence feeling entitled to park in this spot... and since it doesn't need the power cord, it must be the first vehicle on the planet to support inductive charging... or this person is an asshole.

As for this morning's drive - a new consumption record coming down the mtn - 35.7 mi/kWh! The warmer temp must have something to do with this.

• Distance: 27 miles
• Duration: 62 minutes
• Average Speed: 27.5 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 6.8 (according to the dashboard) / 6.1 (according to the app)
• Recuperation (mi/kWh): 15.5
• Temperature: 54

Not all CK

L was at the helm for the start of the drive today - after the gym Ana and I brought Zippy out to work.

• Distance: 23 miles
• Duration: 50 minutes
• Average Speed: 28.8 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 6.2 (according to the dashboard) / 6.1 (according to the app)
• Recuperation (mi/kWh): 10.4

And on the way down the mtn - we had a curious onlooker!

Statistics

For such a progressive company - and even more progressive vehicle in the i3... BMW really needs to up there game when it comes to capturing and accessing statistics on the car.

Today's morning drive:

• Distance: 21.1 miles
• Duration: 39 minutes
• Average Speed: 32.5 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 6.8 (according to the dashboard) / 6.1 (according to the app)
• Recuperation (mi/kWh): 10.4

The iRemote app tells me that our consumption for all trips is now 5.0 mi/kWh with the community way down at 3.8 (heck yeah Zippy)... interestingly the dashboard in the car reports that we are at 3.8 overall.

Alas.

Just the AM stats

• Distance: 21 miles
• Average Speed: 31.1 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 6.5
• Recuperation: 10.4 mi/kWh
• Time: 41 minutes
• Temperature: 27 degrees

Irony?

And then I did exactly what I promised myself I wouldn't do in the very first post on Mountain i3... got out of the habit. Perhaps this will be my re-introduction. Just a few interesting notes today:

• I have been trying like crazy to find these - http://bmwi3.blogspot.com/2014/11/bmw-i3-tires-get-ready-for-winter.html - I have contacted my local BMW dealer, they pointed me to the actual manufacturer of all BMW-branded chains... no luck so far.
• Last week Zippy (with my assistance) achieved his most efficient consumption rating to-date during our drive down the mountain - 31.7 mi/kWh
• And here's the really exciting one - my EV (full disclosure - REX - it does have a small gas engine for regeneration) - smells like gas... because I bought a small can of gas for our chainsaw and dumped it all over the backseat! Ugh... I am testing a clean-up procedure involving the spread of coffee grounds all over the carpeting in the backseat which will be vacuumed off after two days.

I'm resolving myself to post more diligently... and a big announcement coming from Zippy in the next few weeks!

Zippy in exile

Well - Zippy has been hanging-out in downtown Boulder for a full week due to the drifts of snow up at our house in the mtns. As I've documented, the i3 handles very well in snowy and slippery conditions... but it is understandably incapable of pushing through 24 inches of snow - especially up steeper inclines.

After sitting for seven days in temperatures ranging from -4 to 30 F the battery had only decreased from 80% to 75% - awesome.

Just a short drive this AM:

• Distance: 11.6 miles
• Average Speed: 40.3 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 3.0
• Time: 16 minutes

The real test will be making it up the snowy driveway tonight - power-up Zippy.

After the snow

I was definitely out in the driveway last night from 10-11pm shoveling snow as we needed to drive both cars today and, though a winter champion, Zippy doesn't deal well with 14 inches of heavy snow. Thankfully it didn't snow after my shoveling, so things were looking pretty good for the descent this AM.

The drive into town for my AM workout as excellent - and I think a might bit easier in the i3 than in our Xterra despite the slippery conditions. I was curious to see how the return trip would be as I needed to be back at the house for some AM appts before heading back down to the office. The climb went great despite the snow covered (plowed) and sanded road that was quite slippery.

The main event was the final climb up the driveway. Though I shoveled, the passage was narrow and the surface covered in fine snow - like sand on the beach. I came at the driveway doing about 25mph and sailed right up - around the curves and into the garage! Now Zippy is having a nice drink before we head back down for a day in-town.

• Distance: 26 miles
• Average Speed: 21.9 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 3.1
• Time: 1hr 15min
• Temperature: 8-22 degrees

Flexible Mobility

Back at home in the mountains of Boulder it is snowing like crazy this Sunday evening... though it was in the 60s when we dropped Zippy at Gebhardt BMW on Friday morning for some quality time with his brethren. 

This weekend Laura and I were set for an adventure to Moab for the Red Hot 33k trail race so we decided to inquire if Gebhardt was participating in the i Flexible Mobility program. Per the usual, the team at our relatively small Boulder BMW home is out-in-front - even though this program is optional for BMW dealers they already have it going and were happy to accommodate. We dropped Zip on Friday AM and hopped into a 2015 328xi - and off to Moab we went. 

Before concluding this story - sincere thanks to the Gebhardt team for embracing the comprehensive program that BMW NA is designing in order to enable true adoption of EVs in the US... and for contributing to a great weekend for Laura and me. On Saturday morning Laura completed not only her longest race ever - but her longest run - almost 19 miles! And one year after crutching my way to the start line to watch two of my dearest friends (Andy and Peter) start the race I should have been running if it weren't for my recently broken leg - I ran too... and finished 15th.

So that brings us to Sunday. A drive back over the Rockies, into snow by Dillon and even harder snow upon arriving in Boulder. After dropping the 328, we were re-united with Zippy and drove back home with the temp dropping from 32 to 22 by the time we were home and "awesome" roads as we drew near :)

Gebhardt - ya'll are the best. We hope you will have us again soon when the open road calls.

After a few days away

I seem to have fallen off the blogging wagon for a few days - many miles driven but nothing too noteworthy. We did have one morning with decent snow and ice, but Zippy's exceptional performance in these conditions is now just assumed. A quick drive down the mountain today:

• Distance: 21.1 miles
• Average Speed: 31.9 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 5.6
• Recuperation: 10.4 mi/kWh
• Time: 40 minutes
• Temperature: 31 degrees

All Around Town

Evening of 02/02/2015

• Distance: 34 miles
• Duration: 1:38 minutes
• Average Speed: 24 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 3.0

Swinging in the Wind

Nothing fancy about the drive down the mountain this morning - just dropped L at work and then headed to my office with our dog Ana. What was interesting was the whipping wind and the fact that the temperature was 32 (F) at our home, 20 degrees midway to Broomfield and then 35 when I arrived at the office.

• Distance: 21.1 miles
• Duration: 44 minutes
• Average Speed: 29.8 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 5.0
• Recuperation (mi/kWh): 8.9
• Temp: 32 to 20 to 35 degrees (F)

Range Anxiety?

We woke on Sunday morning to about 3 inches of fresh snow in the mtns - and the weather showed that 5-6 inches had fallen in Boulder-proper. After a nice run in the snow I headed down into Boulder and then out to Longmont in order to fetch a dear friend who doesn't drive very far from home anymore and who hadn't yet been to our new home. Given that the temp was relatively cold for Boulder and that I knew the mtn road would be a mix of tracked snow, slush, solid ice and gravel from the plows, I had some trepidation... though I should know better by now. The conditions were exactly as expected - and the highway out to Longmont (speed limits varying 55-65 mph) was a total mess with many sections of deep slush - and Zippy performed perfectly. 

55 miles, 3200+ vertical feet of climbing (and 3200+ descent), 1 hour 40 minutes... and there was still 10% left on the battery. Maybe we should go back to one car :)

• Distance: 55 miles
• Average Speed: 34.1 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 3.3
• Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
• Temperature: 15 to 33 degrees
• Conditions: snow (up to 2 inches), ice, deep slush

Zippy turns 2000!

One of our first big milestones today - 2000 miles!

We headed down the mtn mid-afternoon in order to run some errands outside the boundaries of Boulder - ooh, scary :) As we parked at the Home Depot in "outer Broomfield" we were approached by a fellow who also has an i3 - he was curious about how many miles we are getting on a charge. Our story is definitely much better than what he is experiencing, though I shared the frequently reported differences in mileage based upon city vs. highway driving and the effects of temperature.

Interestingly for us, we traveled 57 miles over the usual very hilly terrain and still had 25% charge when we got home... must be the skilled driver!

• Distance: 57 miles
• Average Speed: 27.1 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 3.9
• Recuperation (mi/kWh): X

a tale of two descents

As I have noted on BMW's iForum (and I believe) in a recent post on Mountain i3 - I am eagerly awaiting the day when BMW gives us full access to i3 statistics online. Until then, I am left to take pictures of my trip computer, record them in a spreadsheet, consult the app if I remember before it resets AND only when I am not at home as my garage prevents the car from accessing the internet... ugh.

And this is too bad, because Zippy got quite the workout this past Tuesday. We drove all around Boulder, then to Denver for lunch and then back up the mtn. There were a few L1 charges in the mix and I even found an L2 charger near my downtown Denver lunch destination - but this was one of the first times that I have put 100+ miles on the car while finding effortless opportunities to charge while attending to other matters.

On Tuesday morning I noted the consumption statistics at the bottom of the descent from our home into Boulder... and was pretty darn impressed with my mi/kWh - 15.6! The drive to work is far from over at this point, but I thought I might check consumption at this same point from time-to-time to measure how I am driving and also the effects of other conditions like temp and precip.

My overall drive on Tuesday AM was as follows:

• Distance: 23 miles
• Average Speed: 33.1 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 5.9
• Recuperation (mi/kWh): X

And then there was Wednesday morning. The below pic was taken at the same place as the above - 19.6 mi/kWh!

And the final tally for that drive:

• Distance: 18 miles
• Average Speed: 35.2 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 7.8
• Recuperation (mi/kWh): X

Up and Down and Up (and through the snow)

What a great day of i3 mountain driving! We left the car in Boulder overnight Wednesday as it snowed a decent amount in-town during the day, we weren't sure how much snow would be up at home and, since we needed to come into town on Thursday AM at the same time, didn't see the need to both drive. It was probably a good idea that we drove our Xterra home that evening as there was about 8 inches of snow on the ground at our house and the mtn road literally hadn't been plowed all day.

Then we come to Thursday. Zippy sat in the cold all night but the charge hadn't dropped at all when I began my drive to work (rolling terrain). I fully charged it (as full as L1 can get) while at work. At the end of the day I picked Laura up from work in Boulder and we headed-up the mtn. The road was plowed by this point, but a mixture of sand and ice. The i3 tires performed admirably per the usual. When we arrived at the base of our narrow, twisting, uphill, gravel driveway I was skeptical. There was at least 6 inches of snow that had now been sitting for 24 hours along with a small bump at the entry from the snowplow. Our neighbors who also use the driveway with their two large 4x4s had cut some tracks, but they are far wider than Zippy's nimble stance. At any rate, Laura was undeterred. I hit the accelerator and we shot right through the snow, around the corner and into our garage - what a victory - I shouldn't have doubted!

My elation was partly due to the fact that we were only going to be home for 10 minutes before heading back down the mountain to have dinner with friends, and then drive back home. I knew we'd be approaching the bottom of the battery by the end of the second ascent and so I'd be shoveling a long driveway in order to get to the charger if Zippy couldn't navigate the snow. 

The night ended successfully - once again Zippy showing his mtn prowess.

• Distance: 49 miles
• Average Speed: 24.5 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 2.9
• Recuperation (mi/kWh): X
• Temp: mid teens
• Ascent: just over 5k vertical feet
• All electric miles

Snowy Descent

Another great morning for Zippy. Throughout the drive there was variable snow - anywhere from a dry paved road covered in sand, to .5 inches to an inch of drifted snow... and the car performed admirably. My wife followed me in our Xterra and slid through a few corners while the i3 stuck to every corner and allowed me to maintain very consistent speeds even given the conditions. I previously described the topography of the hilly part of our commute - a quick elevation profile from Google is included in this post.

• Distance: 23 miles
• Average Speed: 29.1 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 4.5
• Recuperation (mi/kWh): X
• Temp: 
• All electric miles

Zippy's new friend

Yesterday was a great morning in our EV garage! A very talented and efficient electrician from Boulder headed up the mountain and installed our BMW i Charging Station - yep, I was one of those people that went for the branded charger. There was no specific reason for going with the BMW charger, but it does look nice and Zippy appreciates the high-end treatment. If anyone in the Boulder area needs installation services - I strongly recommend the individual who assisted us. 

And stay tuned for the next evolution in how we charge the i3 - it's gonna be great!

Back up the mtn

Pretty straight-forward drive home tonight with one stop in-town for an after work run up one of the Boulder peaks. Unfortunately I cannot get the recuperation stats for the drive as, once I park the car in my garage, no more app connectivity (which I ask about in this post on BMW's new forum).

• Distance: 22 miles
• Average Speed: 29.4 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 3.1
• Recuperation (mi/kWh): X
• Temp: 58 to 45 degrees
• All electric miles

BMW=awesome! BMW Financial Services - reputation risk :(

While my intent for Mountain i3 is to be focused on performance (and misadventures) of daily EV driving in a mountain environment, I can't help but share just a bit about the phone call that I just had with BMW Financial Services - it was both frustrating and comedic.. when viewed through the right glasses.

As a disclaimer - I know that there is a disposition fee ($350) at the end of a BMW lease... I'm not claiming that I was ignorant and should therefore be forgiven. I always remember learning the Latin phrase "ignorantia legis non excusat" as a young child helping his Mom to study for her degree as a legal secretary. 

At any rate - I called BMW FS because I received the lease disposition bill which also included a number of excessive wear charges for the BMW 335xi that I returned immediately prior to our recent i3 purchase. This took me particularly off-guard as the representatives at my local BMW dealer remarked about what a well appointed car our particular i3 was and also noted the great condition even after three years of extensive driving (on many mtn roads, no less). Without prompting they told me there would be no issues. Though the BMW FS representative was very hard to understand, he basically chastised me for thinking that the car was in good condition and, when I inquired about the role of the excessive wear coverage that I purchased at the beginning of the lease, told me a in a very rapid and condescending tone that I'd need to take that up with the 3rd party insurance company and I ought to know that. This, of course, leaves me very dissatisfied. Besides thoroughly enjoying the performance and comfort of BMW automobiles, a primary reason for my continued business is the excellent service and support that I have literally experienced at every turn over the last seven years... until now.

Of note - my local BMW dealer - Gebhardt BMW - is a pillar of service, support and positive experiences. Both the sales (Kory, Brandon) and service (Bill - you rock) are both professional and a pleasure.

Since I was on the phone with captain rudeness, I decided to ask him about the disposition fee. I noted that I just purchased a <$ exact amount omitted - expensive) experimental vehicle from BMW that, though great so far, is still a risk - and that I showed my confidence in BMW by fully purchasing the vehicle. He said that he could only do me the courtesy of waiving the fee if I continued to "do business with BMW." Of course, this was the wrong thing to say - I quickly pointed-out that I'm not only still doing business but I have invested and see myself as partnering with BMW given the unique nature of the i3. He quickly corrected himself and said that he could only "do me the courtesy if I continued to do business with BMW Financial Services." I asked for an escalation path and he told me that he was a senior manager - I respectfully expressed my concern for the customer service habits he was then modeling for others in his organization. I once again calmly expressed that I was disappointed that my recent investment was of no interest to BMW FS and he basically told me that the loans are all that matter to him.

I'm obviously paraphrasing and, again, I'm not debating whether I am obligated to pay for at least part of the bill I received... I just expected a higher quality experience. I'm still proud to be part of the revolution.

First post - down the mtn

I always start endeavors like this with the best intentions to keep consistent records... let's just home that Mountain i3 gets more attention that my trail running blog! 

At any rate, my wife and I live at about 7200 feet in the foothills above Boulder, CO and we purchased a 2014 i3 REX GigaWorld in December 2014. The first 1.5 miles from our home are on a gravel road with 207 vertical feet of descending and then 291 feet of climbing until we reach the paved road which then climbs another 600 vertical feet before a 5 mile winding descent of around 2400 vertical feet. I then drive an additional 12 miles over hilly highway terrain to my office - reversing this route on the way home. We try to carpool most weekdays - driving the i3 about 50 miles on a typical weekday through a combination of mtn roads (gravel and paved), city streets and highway.

The roads were clear today and the temp when leaving our house was in the mid-40s. Key stats:

• Distance: 21.7 miles
• Average Speed: 28.1 mph
• Consumption (mi/kWh): 6.8
• Recuperation (mi/kWh): 8.9
• All electric miles