As David patiently awaits the battery swap on his cheap BMW i3, the cogs in our brains have been turning. While a small electric hatchback doesn’t sound like an obvious vehicle to modify, the devil on my shoulder is urging David to look beyond stock. Whether livability upgrades, handling upgrades, or things that just make the i3 look cooler, let’s look at some of the most interesting out there for BMW’s incredible little hatchback.
Coding The Range Extender
One of the great perks of the i3 is that despite having a fairly low electric range, it was available with a range extender to quell range anxiety. However, to qualify as a zero-emission vehicle in America, BMW had to artificially restrict the fuel capacity of the range extender’s tank. The physical tank is the same size around the world, but American i3s carry around a half gallon of fuel that can’t be used due to regulatory reasons. With a bit of coding, that half-gallon can be unlocked to offer a longer total driving range.
In addition, the range extenders in American i3 REx models can’t be manually toggled on; it only fires up when your battery is really low, and when the battery is drained, the range extender can’t really keep the vehicle going 70 MPH, especially not uphill. The way around this is to run the range extender before the battery goes flat. That way, the car can drive much farther on the battery (which allows you to drive well over 70 MPH, even uphill); the battery will drain a little since the power needed to propel the car will exceed the power input to the battery (plus inefficiencies) from the generator, but it’ll take a very long time.
You can do this with a bit of coding. The end result is a more usable, more flexible powertrain. Nifty, right? All you need to unlock the full potential of the REx is a coding app like Bimmercode and a suitable phone adapter, which sounds like a small price to pay for huge usability gains. Oh, and to quickly turn on the range extender, you can store that function as a radio preset.
Rolls-Royce Warning Chimes
If you’re used to combustion-powered BMW ownership, the typical BMW warning chime can make the pit of your stomach drop. Thankfully, the BMW i3 uses a different warning chime, but an even nicer option exists. As Rolls-Royce is a BMW subsidiary, i3 owners can code their cars to play the Rolls-Royce warning chimes, which are soft, classical tones that feel like a gentle ahem as opposed to a blaring alert. Have a listen to the video above. As with fiddling with the REx settings, Rolls-Royce chimes can be added using a coding app and a suitable phone adapter. Wicked.
Extra Storage (Won’t Fit David’s i3)
The i3 is already a practical car but if you have one without the range extender, you can make it even more practical for around $300. A German company called Wokeby offers a new trunk floor for i3 BEV models that adds 35 liters of luggage space — there’s no internal combustion engine there, so you may as well use the leftover space, right?. It sounds great for storing charging cables and other vehicular flotsam. It’s a great way to take advantage of space otherwise used by the range extender and really optimize cargo room. Best of all, it’s made of recycled plastic, so it’s a feel-good sort of mod.
[Editor’s Note: I hate when not choosing a certain option means you just waste space. Like a smaller battery pack for example — what a waste of packaging volume! -DT].
Frunk Weather-Seal
Because the BMW i3’s frunk isn’t sealed from the elements, dirt and grime can contaminate whatever is inside. Apparently BMW really just saw this as a place to store charging cables and maybe other outdoor-friendly items. But that’s okay, because that aforementioned aftermarket parts company, Wokeby, offers this:
It’s basically a big foam cup that you tape to the underside of the hood using velcro tape (see above). When the hood is down, the rubber seals on the lip of the cup keep debris out of the storage area.
AC Schnitzer Kit
What if you want your i3 to look really sporty? Well, good news: Legendary BMW tuner AC Schnitzer has a full kit for these tiny plug-in hatchbacks. It’s expensive at $5,795, but it includes lower springs, new bump stops, wheel spacers, some interior trim bits, and a complement of spoilers. Okay, so it won’t make your i3 quicker and the chin spoiler doesn’t fit pre-facelift models, but the kit looks really cool and is high-quality stuff. It imbues this very green car with some hot hatch personality, not a bad thing to gain.
Aftermarket Springs
What if you just want to get rid of wheel gap on your i3? No worries, H&R has springs for you. On a range-extender model, these will drop ride height by 1.2 inches up front and 0.8 inches out back for a sweet-looking rake effect. Will it affect the handling? Probably, although whether that’s a good or bad thing is largely subjective. However, if you prioritize looks, this is a great bang-for-the-buck option that should set your i3 apart from the rest. If you really want to focus on handling, tuning company Evolve has a full set of springs and dampers that I’ve been told work a treat.
i3s Anti-Roll Bar
Shopping the factory parts catalog for go-fast bits is a time-honored tradition for car enthusiasts, and the BMW i3 can still benefit from an OEM upgrade or two. BMW geeks will likely remember the short-lived i3s, a hot hatch version of the i3. It gained a litany of upgrades focused on improving the i3’s fun factor, one of which is said to be a beefier front anti-roll bar. Looking at the parts catalog, the bushings, mounting brackets, and end links are identical between i3 and i3s models, so this is a great piece to swap onto older i3 models. The part number is 31306887535, and it seems to retail for between $200 and $250. Not bad.
Drop-In Audio Upgrades
One nice thing about the i3 is that despite being a sensible hatchback, it’s still a luxury vehicle. This means that its audio system isn’t bottom of the barrel, and it was even available with a very okay Harman/Kardon premium audio system. However, if you’re like me and want more, a variety of aftermarket vendors can fulfill your desires. For instance, BavSound sells high-quality drop-in replacement speakers that offer a marked improvement in sound quality without requiring any cutting, drilling, or soldering. Plus, these speakers are matched to the factory amplifier.
MMI Box
If you have a 2018 or newer i3, you’ll either have Apple CarPlay or be able to activate CarPlay with a cheap Wi-Fi antenna and a bit of coding. However, Android owners get left out in the cold, and earlier i3s didn’t even support CarPlay. Once again, the aftermarket provides with a variety of modules that can get phone mirroring going in your i3 through the factory infotainment screen. These aftermarket multimedia interface (MMI) boxes retail for a couple of hundred bucks and are a great way to bring your early i3 bang up-to-date.
From cosmetic bits to handling goodies to tech, the BMW i3 is more tweakable than you might think. While electric vehicles will force us to change the way we think of modifying cars, many of the upgrades we already like transfer over regardless of powertrain. After all, electric cars still have suspension, still have interiors, and still have bodies. Whether you want your EV to go further, corner harder, or simply be more livable, there are mods out there for you. The future doesn’t have to be dull, now does it?
(Photo credits: AC Schnitzer, Wokeby, BMW, BavSound, Bavarian Automotive)
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First thing it needs in upgrades is a giant Autopian stickers on the sides. They may need to be painted on in order to get tax breaks for a company car/advertising in California
If I know anything about David from his writing over the years, he’ll try to swap in the AMC/Jeep 6 for the REX. He’s got the parts, except the battery.
Jeep love dies hard.
We’ve owned a 2014 i3 and a 2018 i3s. By far the best thing you can do to the 2014 is add 10mm front and 15mm rear spacers, giving the stock wheels the same spacing as the i3s. It makes a night and day difference, especially in high crosswinds.
The sound system – even with the HK – is garbage. Best thing you can do is bypass the whole thing and put in a bluetooth speaker setup independent of the entire MMI. Even just a JBL Flip 5 in the front storage below the MMI screen is light years better.
Finally, since you have the REx, reset the tip odo when you put fuel in and ONLY reset it when you add more fuel. Your fuel may get stale with how little you’ll actually need it, so best to keep track if necessary throw a little Sta-Bil in there as needed to keep things fresh. I’m at 5600 miles since last fuel add to our i3s. I’d be unsurprised if we can get it to go over 10k with our usual use case, as so far we’ve only used a quarter of the tiny tank. (Be sure to recode the tank size to be accurate too.)
oh don’t lower it, that is a horrible idea.
it’s bad enough on LA roads.
If you are going to add Roller alert sounds, you should be obliged to also add Alpina wheels. They would look awesome on this model. The V12 swap that would lead to would also be interesting reading…
*buys audio equipment to enhance replica Jeep J-10 NHV experience*
Why not…
– Lift kit. Why not. Check out the off road potential.
– Body wrap. Normally one would suggest a nice rust patina motif to provide the proper ambiance. But since the move to LA, maybe Speed racer graphics work better
– 12 volt RV refrigerator. Then DT can continue the leave his groceries in his car .
One thing about coding. David may want to read the fine print on the battery replacement. Coding the computer may void whatever warranty the replacement battery comes with.
Great list, coding is a must and there are many other nerdy codes that can be played with thru BimmerCode. I suggest rear DRLs, window and sunroof closing with fob, frunk unlock with fob, climatization with fob, door handle lights on in Reverse to name a few good ones.
or even better Jeep noises / rust creaking to remind him of his roots
Notice how those mostly silent EVs now have to make some stupid noise? I’ve noticed many have what could best be described as a differential whine. That should be perfect for making a Jeep owner feel at home on the highway.
Law and Order dun-dun sound
I was thinking the two-note horn blast music when Spock neck-pinches some poor schmuck.
I’m picking up my i3 next weekend. I’d already found the MMI box and wokeby boot extender and planning to fit both. Would like the bavsound and dampers, but will have to wait for those.
Remove the Rex muffler and straight pipe it !!! The ridiculous sound will anger Tracy’s neighbors more than the imported rust from MI.
No.
First, with that new battery check and see what might void the warranty and DO NOT DO IT. Using every drop of fuel is a good idea but i think a aftermarket fuel tank with the egress on the bottom is better than an app to get the half gallon. Weather proofing the frunk? I cant believe it isnt. How much range do you lose with an opening in the front? I bet you can do better than a cup shaped thing taped to lid. Maybe he should create mods instead of already on the market? Tinting is a necesity for life let alone keeping it cooler. Good suggestion by live2ski. Also a tennis ball on his antennae. No way is he ready for the hell of finding a car in a LA sized parking lot. I wonder if you can put one of those pet finder things in your car and use the app to find your car?
Finally I doubt our thrifty Mr Tracy would even consider spending over $5,000 to make his car look sportier with no real improvement. If he does I would have to seriously reconsider my autopian membership. Now if he gets it donated by a sponsor I can live with that. Did anyone tell DT that in California you cant pick & pull at a salvage yard in the entire state?
Mike Drop.
What?!? I was just in a Pick Your Part (self-service junkyard) yesterday in San Bernardino. Well OF COURSE you can pick your own parts in California.
There are a few commenters hereabouts who apparently really dislike Southern California (or L.A. specifically) without seeming to know much of the truth about living here. Like our parking lots are apparently too large to find your car in, or that there aren’t a couple of square miles of pick-your-part junkyards in the northeast corner of the San Fernando Valley.
Some people are still trying to convince DT that it’s some kind of impossible pain-in-the-ass to try to be a car guy in L.A. God knows why.
I may have been incoreect but I have lived in Eureka and Santa Maria it is not like I was never in California, and I enjoyed it except for the traffic.
Google maps (and presumably other mapping apps) know where you parked your car. You can just tell it to direct you to your car and it will tell you which direction to walk.
My experience with a salvage yard in LA was that they made you pay an ENTRY FEE no matter if you bought parts or not. Looking at all the completely picked over carcasses (nothing but chassis left), I began to surmise that the profit for this particular yard was all in the entry fee. I felt ripped off.
Still love LA, though–my wife is from there.
Oh no! Now I am aware that a trunk extension exists! Knowing that there is wasted space somewhere in my car is going to keep me up at night.
I won’t last long before getting one…
I’d be installing a fuel cell for the range extender.
I’m getting set to do the MMI box on my 2012 X3. It will support Carplay and Android Auto. The only real drawback is that it uses the aux in jack for its audio.
I mean, these are all great, but I would start in the accessories isle of your local Autozone. Pick up some aftermarket cupholders, ashtrays, and whimsical floor mats!
Coding the Fuel tank and weatherproofing the frunk are the two things I’d do ASAP.
The other ones I don’t care for. I especially wouldn’t lower it, even if all the roads I drove on didn’t have potholes speed bumps and parking lots would still be a concern.
I think there should be a rack inside the car to hold at least one 5-gallon jerry can for additional range-extending. 🙂 Or at least a few of those sweet 1.5-liter aluminum fuel bottles.
Are there any mods available to enhance the output of the range extender? It sounds like it is very close to being able to run the car without depleting the battery at all. I suspect BMW didn’t want that to be a use case, but I’m wondering if there is a software tweak that could allow more juice.
Before I tried to juice the REx, I’d see if a Tesla P85 rear motor could get weaseled in place of the BMW motor. 400 HP in an i3s would be CRAZY FUN!
BavSound is a must and the lowering springs will probably result in more range, so he probably should go that route, too, looks like Evolve offers upgraded Bilstein’s for the i3 to improve the ride and handling https://www.evolvetuning.us/makes/bmw/i3/bmw-i3-suspension.html
Tint the driver and passenger windows. it will keep the car cooler from the SoCal sun and help the battery since it wont need to cool as much.
plus tinted windows make it look like you are going faster 😉
But the extra half-gallon of fuel, running the Rex with battery, and the frunk cap thing, and even the chimes I could definitely see him doing. It’s going to be fun reading the articles on this puppy!
I just found out about the magic that is Mazda’s All-In-One tweaks. Gonna start playing around with that soon, I think.
I fully support hacking your car for better options.
David should def do the carplay upgrade, best thing going, no need to use outdated factory gps.
But does anyone use factory-supplied nav these days?
Nav apps are in almost everyone’s pockets and can redirect you in case there’s a traffic jam.
I do in some cars. One of them has a heads-up display, and even though it also does CarPlay, that doesn’t work with the heads-up. I like having that info in the heads-up.
Plus, one time I was heading home out of Chicago, and could not get a connection to Maps – it was “down.” Thankfully I had built-in nav so I could get to the freeway (once there I could get home, but trying to navigate downtown Chicago would have been a nightmare without nav, as I had never been there before).
The built-in nav would definitely be a good backup.
I was thinking more about what people use as their go-to under normal day-to-day conditions, but your use cases make a lot of sense. Especially the one about Chicago. 🙂
Right, like David, Mr “I’m driving this pile of rust to Moab!”, is going to pay money to >lower< a vehicle.
Just fill it with old Jeep bits and you get the same look
Yeah, but that look will only last so long.
Every time he opens a door, more rust flakes will fall out, gradually reducing the load and raising the car back up to stock height.