Even less practical than the Z4 Coupe...

Love the car, and the model! 

Why not just get a 2nd set of wheels and tires for it? Did you already have some for the Z4? They'd probably work if they clear the brakes. 

Well, one part of the exotic car experience the i8 checks off is that it’s wide enough that parking can get interesting. 

Really no worse than an F150, and it’s more maneuverable in and out of the parking spot. 

Finding the “surround view” camera installation pretty useful— though I’m a bit spoiled coming out of the i3 that parks like the city car it was designed to be. 

Washed the car and worked some minor detailing tasks over the weekend.  Found one wheel has been just barely curbed, easy repair.  

Also, exposed rubber weather stripping around the doors and windows has taken a bit of a beating, we'll see how much I can bring that back with some appropriate dressing.  Same thing for the black plastic trim around the charging port, which likely also sees a lot of sun-- apparently the car spent a fair bit of time in Ft. Lauderdale, so, sunny there I bet.

Also, joined a closed i8 owners group on Facebook.  To fit in, it looks like I'm going to need to become a DJ.

Also, had to strategically modify and deploy some pool noodles to park car under the lift. 

Karacticus said:

Also, joined a closed i8 owners group on Facebook.  To fit in, it looks like I'm going to need to become a DJ.

That's hilarious.

Good news is you already have a good DJ name. "DJ Karacticus comin' at you live from the Bea Arthur memorial classic at the St Jude's Nursing Center outside Livonia!"

I also overheard my first "Wow! Look at that car!" shouted between a couple of 8-10 year old boys this weekend.

Since one of the primary approvers of this purchase was my inner 8 year old, I now feel validated. 

This is a fun thread to follow!

These are cool cars. It'll be interesting to read about what it's like to own one. 

Had to address a "well, duh", safety related issue last evening.

In the photo above in the thread, you can see the (SO cord, or whatever the current equivalent is) electrical drop normally used for the lift being used to run the 120 V (L1) charger for the car.  

This is supposed to draw 12 Amps max, and is on a 20 amp breaker for the lift.  Noticed that the receptacle end of the drop was getting pretty warm-- not too hot to touch, but enough to wonder about it.  This is a 20 amp rated receptacle that was installed when the lift was put up in 2012.

Pulled the plug off the end of the cord last night, and didn't really see anything out of the ordinary.  Still, cut back the cable and put a new receptacle (15A -- it was all the local hardware store had)  on and it doesn't get hot anymore!  I also checked the the junction box/strain relief in the ceiling to make sure it wasn't running warm.

I've got a Leviton 20A receptacle coming from Amazon I'll replace the unit with when it arrives.  Makes me also wonder about times I've had a hard time getting the pump to start on the lift without the breaker tripping-- maybe it was trying to tell me something?    The lift would never be run long enough to warm anything up.

Burnt up 120 volt outlets aren't uncommon stories in the electric car community-- I guess I've (nearly) had mine now.

Post wash photo. 

Though not showing that much in the photo, looking at the tire/fender gap versus stock photos, I’m thinking the previous owner (probably a DJ) had lowering springs installed.  I know they are available from H&R. 

I’ll take a look when I get the car up on the lift for the first time this coming weekend. I don’t know if I’m really a fan— the lack on concentricity between the wheels and the wheel arches triggers some kind of OCD on my part. 

I'll probably leave them regardless until there's some other maintenance required that makes it necessary to go in, unless I see some signs of the underbody dragging when I've got it on the lift.  I've not had any problems with that so far.

Also, filled the tank again for the first time after buying the car.  Commuting, I got 400 miles out of 9 gallons of gas.

Put the car up on the lift for the first time today.  Cleaned the rear wheel wells cleaned the wheels and dressed the  tires.   Saw learned some things. 

Picture on the lift

Underbody is pretty much totally flat

Just like the i3, BMW now appears to be using biodegradable dust boots

First time I’ve seen composite anti roll bar end links

Started on the front wheel wells today after a Father’s Day weekend trip to the in-laws. 

Found area behind the front fender liners packed with dead leaves and other debris that drained off of the windshield cowl. 

At least on this car, it was just between the carbon fiber tub and the plastic fender liner—it’d turn into a real mess on a steel bodied car. 

Also found dust boots for the front suspension to be in the same shape as those in the rear. Looks like I’ll be getting those addressed under warranty. 

Car has been on the lift since the weekend, but is back together again.  Will likely wait for the tints to get pulled on Friday before driving it much, as it's a $127 ticket (and $140 to remove the tints).  

Should also be getting it plated Thursday-- our local, small town DMV is open until 6 pm on Thursdays!

Downside news, with the 3kw charging rate of the car (i3 charges at 6+), charging at work costs on the order of $0.50/kwh at the $1/hr cost to use the charge point, about five times what it costs at home (charging the i3 at work costs 2-3 times more than at home).

Interesting car - appearance is striking, certainly.  On the whole, I think I prefer my Z4M, though - the engine noises it makes are real, not simulated, and it emits a glorious howl.    A family member just bought an electric car, though, so I guess it is the coming thing.  I just hope the gas supply holds out for as long as I am driving!

In reply to wspohn :

What is the range before needing a charge in pure electric mode and what does it get in hybrid mode?

Have a 240V dryer plug handy? 3rd party Level 2 fast chargers are very affordable ($200 for my Duosida) and are more efficient, anyway. 
I lightly toasted one of my 120V plugs before I got on the L2 train.  An extension cord may have been involved.

In reply to cdeforrest :

I have an L2 at home, so that’s not the the problem. 

My commute to work is 27 miles which can knock the battery down completely, so charging at work is nice. 

If I think of it as paying for a dedicated parking space at work (it’s a two plug charger, only ever seen some else there once) maybe the $/kWh doesn’t seem so bad. 

Took car to first "Cars and Coffee" event today.

Can verify that if you want attention, just open the doors-- my inner eight year old continues to feel validated.

Also found that Corvette guys look at what it takes to get in and out and understand.

So, update after taking the i8 out to a "Track Night in America" event at Blackhawk Farms Raceway--

• The extra 100+ hp of electric power lasts through maybe a little more than a single 20 minute session on the track.  It might have made it through two full sessions if I'd realized that the schedule air conditioning for my normal work departure time hadn't kicked in.  Demands are too high to really recharge the battery from the motor and brake regen while on the track.  While the car is still fun to drive without the extra power, I can't see taking it to a whole weekend at the track without charging facilities available on site.
• Paddle shifted automatic is awesome on the upshifts, but I'm still struggling a little on the downshifts.  At this point, I'm putting this more on me than on the car.  It doesn't really help that I was getting to know the car and not driving consistent laps with consistent shift points, etc.
• Brakes held out fine with no issues on this track
• Camber does not appear to be an issue at the front wheels-- the double wishbone suspension seems to be giving me a contact patch that isn't rolling the wear down the outside shoulders of the tires.  This is as opposed to the Z4 where I'd be on the track with 3-3.5 degrees of negative camber.
• While I went in thinking the car would feel pretty under-tired with 215s in front and 245s in the rear, it didn't really feel that way on this track.  The car felt much smaller on the track than it does in a parking lot, and the suspension that sometimes seems a little nervous over street irregularities actually felt awesome using curbs.
• Leaving the cabin fan running with the AC off blows damn hot air into the cockpit-- perhaps the result of a massive fan/radiator opening in front of the cowl?  You're better off turning off the fan when the AC is off
• Three twenty minute sessions on the track pretty much completely empties the gas tank

So, it's fun and worth doing, but not really the car's thing-- which is not unexpected.  It does feel easier to drive on the track than the Z4 was, but I can't yet say it's easier to drive well (or at least as well as I drive).  I can say that it's a very comfortable cruiser for the 7 hours spent driving to and from the track. 

Unfortunately, if you want to take more than an overnight change of clothes, a very small tool bag, some bottled water and a torque wrench, you're going to need a support vehicle.  I probably could have got the tools and parts in to do a brake pad change provided someone else has a jack to borrow.

There was another hybrid vehicle there-- a late model NSX.  It doesn't have the performance limitations I've, but the driver said he's paying for it with the weight of the car.

Sounds like an overall good result given that the predominant expectation from the hybrid-hating peanut gallery was probably that it would suck! 

Anyway, people (social media influencers ARE people, right?) love to put bike and ski racks on exotic cars so if such thing exists for the i8 a rooftop cargo box could be attached for travel things if not exactly track things. I only say this because it seems less likely that anyone sells a hitch for an i8 which would allow you to carry all sorts of good stuff on the back.

That's pretty cool you had it out on track, I doubt a lot of owners have even thought of doing that. Next I think we'd all like an autocross review 

Also, pics of car on track if available please!

Adam

In reply to Vigo :

Well, this image came up when I searched for “i8 roof box”, but I’m not finding anything real outside of a Seasucker. 

In reply to adam525i :

I've got no pictures, but this car has video of me slowing him down-- you can see me at the start and then for a couple of minutes about five minutes in.  

Unfortunately, it doesn't end well for him.

https://youtu.be/Q2ZtZWPCsno

Ouch.