BMW Active Hybrid 3
Discussion
ATM said:
They are smaller looking but the overall circumference is correct. BMW do supply this size wheel and tyre with some of these cars from the factory.
Its not a 330i its a 335i. It is slightly more expensive than a 335i. The more I drive it the more I like it. The power delivery is super smooth. The hybrid gubbins drives as well as the engine when you're pressing on. This and the x35i engine being very impressive makes for a package.
The ride before on the run flats wasn't anywhere near as bad as my e90. My dad has one now and it still surprises me how hard it is when we go in it. Now that I've tried the 17 inch go flats on mine I'm leaning more towards keeping the 19 inch but just switching to go flats.
I switched to vredestein ultrac sessanta, would have got vorti, but they didn't have any in stock. Fantastic tyres! Also bought the BMW mobility kit (£105)Its not a 330i its a 335i. It is slightly more expensive than a 335i. The more I drive it the more I like it. The power delivery is super smooth. The hybrid gubbins drives as well as the engine when you're pressing on. This and the x35i engine being very impressive makes for a package.
The ride before on the run flats wasn't anywhere near as bad as my e90. My dad has one now and it still surprises me how hard it is when we go in it. Now that I've tried the 17 inch go flats on mine I'm leaning more towards keeping the 19 inch but just switching to go flats.
The ride is far far less crashy than the Bridgestone Wheel Crackers!
anomaly said:
I may have missed this but does the electric motor power the rear or front wheels?
Good question, is this an xDrive?I'm watching keen with interest as I'd love a 335i but can't imagine the fuel used in the local roads around here in Zagreb, where you usually crawl around at slow speeds. This would be ideal with a cheeky remap for the x35i engine
Digitalize said:
Wonder why they don't do it with a diesel?
Whilst it can be done (Mercedes do diesel hybrids) in reality electric motors and diesels do not work as effectively as petrol and electric motorsElectric produce maximum torque from a start helping to plug the torque gap that most petrol engines have at low rpm - makes for a more linear power delivery
stuart-b said:
Good question, is this an Xdrive
No, rwd only for BMW Hybrids currentlyEdited by Andy665 on Monday 23 December 13:46
Andy665 said:
Digitalize said:
Wonder why they don't do it with a diesel?
Whilst it can be done (Mercedes do diesel hybrids) in reality electric motors and diesels do not work as effectively as petrol and electric motorsElectric produce maximum torque from a start helping to plug the torque gap that most petrol engines have at low rpm - makes for a more linear power delivery
Considering its a turbo you'd be hard pressed to know. Go is instant even if the engine is not running. It probably just jump starts. Even running on battery only you can feel the gearbox shifting. So as soon as you engage the engine drive is instant.
peteA said:
The brake pedal feel can be a bit odd - there's plenty off stopping power and feedback when you stand on them but a slow speed or trickling along in traffic they can grab or release suddenly and you're right its because of the brake harvesting system re-charging the battery pack. If you watch the gauge when you a free wheeling as it where (down hill) you will you one bar on the graphics charging - if you add braking, it goes to full recharging until you stop?
In most Hybrids, the regenerative braking from the electric motor is overlaid over the normal braking. The system utilises the small dead area at the top of the brake pedal stroke as a tiny window to regen on very light pedal applies, which gives the impression of quite a sharp pedal. The motor can't regen to a stop though, so at low speeds (sub 10kph usually) the motor doesn't provide any deceleration which means the pedal feels less responsive.If you want to experience the precise point at which the regen stops, do the very lightest pedal apply you can to feel some retardation from around 40mph (probably as little as 10-20mm at the pedal) and hold it steady as if you're intending on doing a chauffeur stop. You'll get to a point when the car will stop decelerating and just carry on at a relatively low speed until you press harder. That's the point at which the motor stops regenerating.
The next gen systems that are starting to appear now can command brake pressure from the ABS to mask this effect and allow for greater dead bands for greater levels of regen, so the odd pedal feel will eventually no longer be an issue! The calibration involved behind it all is a huge task though for something that's relatively simple.
I actually quite like the challenge of utilising the regen....it also encourages you to think a lot further ahead on motorways as you try to avoid bringing in the friction brakes!
Edited by RacerMike on Wednesday 25th December 22:53
ATM said:
I did some spirited driving this weekend with 3 friends in the car so 4 up. I think I could detect some brake fade after only a few stops. I'm now beginning to think the brakes are a bit of a week point given the car's weight over a standard 335i which has bigger brakes.
I'm not sure what a 335 would be like it that situation, but fast driving 4 up is a fairly rare usage case. You will be trying to probably slow down about 2000kg rather than 1750kg. Unladed, the car has 39.11kJ of energy at 100mph, whereas 4 up it has 44.47kJ. Doesn't sound much, but in percentage terms that 14% more energy to dissipate which is pretty significant when you consider it's compound across the number of stops you do.RacerMike said:
I'm not sure what a 335 would be like it that situation, but fast driving 4 up is a fairly rare usage case. You will be trying to probably slow down about 2000kg rather than 1750kg. Unladed, the car has 39.11kJ of energy at 100mph, whereas 4 up it has 44.47kJ. Doesn't sound much, but in percentage terms that 14% more energy to dissipate which is pretty significant when you consider it's compound across the number of stops you do.
Very helpful thanks. More on brakes below.Just looking back through this thread and thought it needed an update. If anyone is interested I've attached my best mpg effort below.
The good news is I have started exploring the cars abilities a bit more and stopped using Eco-mode all the time. My long term average had got as high as 41.2 but now its down to 40.9 and will probably continue downwards.
I recently read in the m135i thread that in sport plus mode the traction control is relaxed [a bit]. I'll need to try this when I find somewhere suitable.
The good news is I am really liking the livelier feel of the rear end now that the car is wearing the same size tyre front and rear. Obviously the budget Winters on the back make the biggest difference. I recently dropped them all by 2psi from the factory recommended setting.
Now back to the brakes. I'm trying to decide if I should start looking at the BMW Performance big brake setup or what the after market direction offers me. My car comes with some big 4 pots on the front and I think they're twin pots on the rear. The BMW Performance setup probably uses the same callipers [painted in pretty colours] but just pushed out a little to accommodate the bigger discs. I'll try to find some technical information and update this thread. Best price for these I've found is this German site for EUR 1549 but does that mean plus VAT -
http://www.leebmann24.de/bmw-m-performance-18-brem...
You might need to double check with BMW whether it's possible to fit them to the Hybrid as it might cause issues with the hybrid braking. The 'jump in' (point at which you actually start to get retardation after initially pressing the pedal) will quite probably be different on the bigger brakes which might mean you get either a dead zone where you loose deceleration or an area where the car gains too much deceleration for the pedal apply.
I would suggest instead trying a set of decent pads and possibly some higher temperature fluid. A good number of cars run low dust pads now as standard to avoid people complaining about their alloys getting coated in brake dust! These have their disadvantages obviously, and an cook quite easily if really start to lean on them.
I would suggest instead trying a set of decent pads and possibly some higher temperature fluid. A good number of cars run low dust pads now as standard to avoid people complaining about their alloys getting coated in brake dust! These have their disadvantages obviously, and an cook quite easily if really start to lean on them.
RacerMike said:
I would suggest instead trying a set of decent pads and possibly some higher temperature fluid. A good number of cars run low dust pads now as standard to avoid people complaining about their alloys getting coated in brake dust! These have their disadvantages obviously, and an cook quite easily if really start to lean on them.
I suppose a different pad compound could bite differently and cause the same problem. Also if these callipers are not so common my choice of pad compound may be limited too.My car is almost 18 months old now and may have been sat around for a while before it was registered. I suppose the fluid could be beyond its best.
ATM said:
I suppose a different pad compound could bite differently and cause the same problem. Also if these callipers are not so common my choice of pad compound may be limited too.
My car is almost 18 months old now and may have been sat around for a while before it was registered. I suppose the fluid could be beyond its best.
Yeah, a fluid change will probably help quite a bit if it's 18months old now.My car is almost 18 months old now and may have been sat around for a while before it was registered. I suppose the fluid could be beyond its best.
As for the pads, it's more the resistance to heat build up than bite that will make the difference. Fast road pads are generally a bit more resilient to sustained higher temps and will maintain friction for longer at higher temp. The low dust pads are designed to operate under slightly less extreme conditions and of course benefit the majority rather than the minority that actually drive enthusiastically! They're not unsafe by any stretch, but you loose some pedal feel and also loose some of the higher performance that a good fast road pad has.
RacerMike said:
I'm not sure what a 335 would be like it that situation, but fast driving 4 up is a fairly rare usage case. You will be trying to probably slow down about 2000kg rather than 1750kg. Unladed, the car has 39.11kJ of energy at 100mph, whereas 4 up it has 44.47kJ. Doesn't sound much, but in percentage terms that 14% more energy to dissipate which is pretty significant when you consider it's compound across the number of stops you do.
Think your calcs are a little out...blank said:
Still a factor of 10 out.
It's a lot of energy, Marty!
FFS. This is embarrassing! Schoolboy errors all over the shop It's a lot of energy, Marty!
It works out at some stupidly huge equivalent power value dissipated in to the brakes in an ABS stop though. In the region of 500bhp a second which kind of gives one an idea of how much work brakes have to do!blank said:
Have you looked at the 370mm M Performance kit?
BMW parts catalogue suggests they're compatible...
Yes BMW parts catalogue suggests they're compatible...
It looks serious and pretty cheap considering. Best price I've found is here:
http://www.leebmann24.de/bmw-m-performance-18-brem...
I've been monitoring the poor braking recently. During some spirited driving in sport mode last night I noticed some poor braking again but I dont think it was fade related. I think once the hybrid drive battery is charged up to 100% all the KERS stuff switches off. Then added to this as its in Sport mode it hangs on to the higher gears for longer. This seems to provide less engine braking as the car maintains the revs or for some other reason.
I'm also beginning to think I'm just not pressing the brake pedal hard enough. I did a hard stop last night exiting the motorway. The hazard lights came on automatically. That's a first for me.
I'm also beginning to think I'm just not pressing the brake pedal hard enough. I did a hard stop last night exiting the motorway. The hazard lights came on automatically. That's a first for me.
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