BMW i3s EV Full Send on the Nürburgring Nordschleife BTG 10.08

The i3s is a cool everyday car for someone who drives short distances and wants to be a little "sporty" on the road. But it is certainly not a track tool, of course I already knew that before this test on the famous Nordschleife.
Overall, I drove 3 laps and the car has so far performed very well except for the power reduction that is practically immediately there. Already after about 1.5 km you have only felt half the power. The I3s has the tendency to understeer, not 1 time came the rear, not even when trailbraking.

What was good:
Chassis is amazingly good, but curbs should only be approached lightly.
The brakes have done surprisingly well, certainly also because of the help of the electric motor that has braked.
I could drive 3 laps with 1 charge.

Negative:
The ESP intervenes even if it is not really necessary.
The power control is very strong and the i3s is really slow, from Breitscheid to Hoheacht it felt like an eternity.

A very dear greeting to all i3s fans.
Stefan

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

[robertsaca]

One of BMW's best and most misunderstood vehicles. A shame it's discontinued.

[donswier]

Low Center of Gravity, good weight distribution, brake-saving regen, instant torque ☺️👍

[iNick]

I was trying to get a close look at that battery and I got to say it looks like that car can do about 8 laps driving like that. Impressive 👍

[Fordychap]

What excellent, smooth style that undoubtedly extracted a good performance from the i3S - a car not really suited to those long, wide straights.
I enjoyed the lines you took through the corners (seems a lot of them on full power) since as an ex-motorcycle racer, these seem similar lines to those I’d have taken on a bike.
Throughout, you kept maximum momentum and did little to scrub speed - which was great to watch.
We have two i3’s - an i3 and an i3S. I’ve had lots of cars (and bikes) but for where I live, with many smaller, twisty country roads there is little that can keep up with the i3 and i3S.
Small size, light weight and instant torque just leaves almost everything else on four wheels in the dust….
BMW built a gem with the i3 - and our two are both “keepers”. I don’t think it will be long before they’re more widely recognised for the classic drivers car they are.
A huge difference from the 3 tonne EV’s that seem to be the norm now.

[cedarcanoe]

I own a secondhand 2017 94Ah i3 and I just love it.

[henning.a]

Cool lap. I own an i3s and love it, such a fun citycar and a blast on the b-roads

[mundoracer]

Great video! Thanks for the info in the description.
I'm a proud i3s owner 😎

[vitormvpinto]

Great drive! Maybe adding a square setup in the tyres (195 in the front) to dial the understeer and roller mode to shut down the ESP will help?

[poobalu]

I miss owning one of these, there's something really enjoyable about the near silence being disrupted by tire squeal and curbs here

[MrMikejam]

One of the best driving displays I've seen on YT at the ring. Wringing every ounce of grip and torque out of the i3. Superb driving, well done. 👏👏

[DanceLarksfilms]

Very nice car I’m thinking of getting one

[andrewamidala]

I went from jaguar to a BMWi3 and I have been driving it for about a year. I love it, my journey from Kent to London and back costs me less than £2 a day
For my first BMW i was very surprised by the build quality.
I would buy another without hesitation!

Ich hatte so gehofft dass sich die Tuner Szene mehr mit diesem Auto beschäftigt aber leider beschränkt sich das Tuning bisher eher auf Spoiler und Co.
Einen Eingriff in die Motorsteuerung, eine Optimierung und Verstärkung des Motors (Kühlung), Anpassung des ESP und was halt sonst das Auto leistungsfähiger macht, hat sich nie jemand die Mühe gemacht.
Mit einem KW Gewindefahrwerk und sonstigen Standard -Tuningmaßnahmen könnte man schon was zaubern wo klassische Nürburgring Benutzer Respekt zeigen würden.
Wenn ich sehe was Opel mit dem e-Corsa macht dann bin ich umso enttäuschter von BMW denn der i3 würde eine wesentlich bessere Ausgangsbasis bieten.

[toteratte]

Nachdem ich mir dein Lehrvideo angeschaut habe, bin ich dieses Wochenende mit dem i3s auf die Nordschleife.
Die Leistungsreduzierung setzt spätestens ab Aremberg ein und ist einfach so frustrierend, mit voller Power und selbst mit reduzierter kann man sich in engen Kurven und bergab Passagen behaupten aber nach Bergwerk wird man von jeder Oma im Corsa überholt 🙈
Wenn man wenigstens eine Runde mit 184ps fahren könnte würde es echt Bock machen und bestimmt manche überraschen.

[ChrisZang]

Fantastic line, I think you drove the ring already a couple times :-)
Aber in den Bergaufabschnitten zieht sich’s dann doch etwas (ich hab auch einen i3 ich weiß wie sich das anfühlt)

[wiltse]

wonder if turning off the stability control systems via Roller mode would help. also... can an extra battery cooler be added?

[swecreations]

It's cool how well this car handles still, wonder how well it would do with some modifications like changing the final drive ratio, disabling ESP, improving motor cooling, plus going for a square 195mm setup or even 195mm/215mm (this fits the stock 20" wheels) with the Bridgestone Potenza S001.

You said you were running on the stock i3s tires, as far as I know these are the Bridgestone Ecopia EP500? I'm thoroughly impressed of the grip levels if that is the case because those are nowhere close to performance tires.

[lefteris]

There is a test mode where you can turn-off the traction control and "free up" perhaps some more torque and rotation in the corners...

[ironytony]

Hook up a noise generator to the fantastic HK soundsystem in the car and make the engine roar! Enjoyed the video! Greetings from another i3s owner!

[LavikkaPhotography]

Do you think changing the front wheels to the rear wheel size would help with the under steer? Did you put the car into rolling mode in the maintenance menu before you took it on the track?