[hollpe]

My iX3 M Sport should arrive next week all being well and we have a weekend away in Scotland (Dumfries & Galloway) booked for the last weekend in January. We live in the Peak District so it's about a 200 miles to get there.

It will be our first long trip in an EV (always had diesels in the past) so I'm just doing a bit of planning for charge stops etc.

So I had a couple of questions..... The car will be fully loaded 2 adults, 2 kids, 2 dogs, luggage and possibly the roof box. I have had a search through the forums, reviews etc but I've not really found any estimates on the motorway range with the car fully loaded.

Have any of you folks got any idea as to what sort of range I'm likely to get? I know there are quite a few factors involved but just a rough idea would be helpful.

The second question is around using the granny charger. I've had a look at the toughleads extensions as the cottage we are staying at doesn't have an EV charger or outside 13amp sockets. However I'm not sure of the state of the wiring in the cottage and there are a few horror stories of granny chargers melting sockets etc! I'm tempted not to risk it and just use a public charger. Just wondering if you guys have had any issues using the granny charger?

Thanks in advance

[lakmus]

You should be pretty safe with the granny as long as you set the AC Charging limit to 8A from the car, I've charged from 50 year old outlets over night with no issues

[RedJon]

Your roof box will be the biggest drain on the range, so if you can get by without it great. We have 2 adults, 2 kids and 3 dogs so have to resort to a roof box so I’m looking at this for when I pick up my iX3 (still in X3 20D at the mo) https://youtu.be/Z0P6i1YsgII

[hollpe]

Originally Posted by lakmus

You should be pretty safe with the granny as long as you set the AC Charging limit to 8A from the car, I've charged from 50 year old outlets over night with no issues

Thats helpful - thanks I suspect the wiring in the cottage we're going to is a similar age.

Originally Posted by RedJon

Your roof box will be the biggest drain on the range, so if you can get by without it great. We have 2 adults, 2 kids and 3 dogs so have to resort to a roof box so I’m looking at this for when I pick up my iX3 (still in X3 20D at the mo) https://youtu.be/Z0P6i1YsgII

Thanks for the link, it's very interesting about the 'reverse' roof box! I lose about 5 mpg in the 5 series with the BMW one on. I'll do a bit of a write up of the trip and put a post on here. One of the reasons I went for the iX3 is that the boot is a good size, but more importantly a good shape. Our dog cage is quite big and once the boot liner and mat is in it makes it quite tight at the top in a lot of cars.

Whilst the iX3 boot depth is slightly shorter than my 5 series touring, it's actually a bit wider and taller. When I get the car I'll do some photo comparisons as there isn't much out there on the internet with the exact dimensions when looking to fit a dog cage.

[the_ape]

Yeah just make sure you set the car to a max of 8amp, if unsure 6amp. Overnight still give you 2.7kW speed of charge, make sure to graze charge wherever you can as well, tesco, plug it in, even if only 30mins, its still taking on charge rather than doing nothing.

[GDEvans]

Originally Posted by the_ape

Yeah just make sure you set the car to a max of 8amp, if unsure 6amp. Overnight still give you 2.7kW speed of charge, make sure to graze charge wherever you can as well, tesco, plug it in, even if only 30mins, its still taking on charge rather than doing nothing.

It is impossible to get 2.7kW when set to 6A or 8A. Physics won't allow it!

6A will give 1.3kW.
8A will give 1.8kW.

I consistently get 2.4kW using the supplied charger when visiting my parents. That is 10.4A at 230V. No problem with that current from the original 1970s wiring in their house.

[DaveCV]

Originally Posted by GDEvans

I consistently get 2.4kW using the supplied charger when visiting my parents. That is 10.4A at 230V. No problem with that current from the original 1970s wiring in their house.

People often say that until there is an issue. Most problems appear to be related to the condition of the socket not the home wiring per se.

[GDEvans]

Originally Posted by DaveCV

People often say that until there is an issue. Most problems appear to be related to the condition of the socket not the home wiring per se.

Over 100 hours of charging so far, without any problems, trips, or heat in the socket.

[gray1x]

My Wallbox is tripping pretty regularly - lowered the current to 29A which helped for a bit but started doing it again

[the_ape]

Originally Posted by GDEvans

It is impossible to get 2.7kW when set to 6A or 8A. Physics won't allow it!

6A will give 1.3kW.
8A will give 1.8kW.

I consistently get 2.4kW using the supplied charger when visiting my parents. That is 10.4A at 230V. No problem with that current from the original 1970s wiring in their house.

Yeah my bad, head maths broken 😂

[the_ape]

Originally Posted by gray1x

My Wallbox is tripping pretty regularly - lowered the current to 29A which helped for a bit but started doing it again

I'd get in touch with the installer, should be able to pull 32amps just fine. If it's tripping out regular it's probably an issue elsewhere or in the install. Might be worth asking for a current detector on it to shuffle the load down if the house isn't upto delivering 32amps to that circuit.

[Hud78]

Originally Posted by GDEvans

Over 100 hours of charging so far, without any problems, trips, or heat in the socket.

I was under the impression there's some heat detection to give a layer of safety in the 13A plug of the BMW granny charger anyway - can anyone confirm?

[supersebbo]

Originally Posted by gray1x

My Wallbox is tripping pretty regularly - lowered the current to 29A which helped for a bit but started doing it again

Which breaker is tripping? That will help narrow down what is happening. There will be 2 or 3 'breakers' between your wallbox and the incoming mains, depending on how your charger was installed.

The first is the MCB for the charger itself (which is usually 40A rated), this will either be in your consumer unit or your meter cabinet (or ocasionally in a seperate enclosure). If this is breaking, I would call out an electrician straight away, it suggests there is a pretty major problem if a dedicated circuit for a 32A appliance is tripping a 40A breaker.

The second possibily is it's tripping your consumer unit RCD (if it was wired through the CU RCD) or a dedicated RCD for the charger. If it's this, then it's possible there is current leakage on the circuit causing the RCD to trip, if this is the case then it's got nothing to do with the Amps the car is pulling, it will keep tripping no matter what setting you have the charger on. Another electrician job I'm afraid - but you could narrow this down by charing at half-power for a while and seeing if you get any trips, if so, almost certainly RCD/current leakage issue.

The third is it's tripping your main consumer unit MCB or the incoming meter-box MCB (if your property has one). These are usually 80A or 100A breakers, but they operate on your home's total current draw - which can quickly add up. If you're on full speed charging at 32A, running an electric shower at 40A and have the oven running at 20A - you'll likely trip an 80A main breaker.

[gray1x]

Thanks. It's the dedicated RCD for the wallbox. I'll call the installers. It's only 3 months old so should be covered .

[esslera]

hollpe sorry to jump on an old thread, but after some advice. We are just south of Sheffield, and I was wondering how you fared with the RWD in winter when the roads are a bit slippier. We have a diesel X3, and I'm struggling to understand whether the IX3 will be OK without winter tyres etc.

[SpaceRock]

Originally Posted by esslera

hollpe sorry to jump on an old thread, but after some advice. We are just south of Sheffield, and I was wondering how you fared with the RWD in winter when the roads are a bit slippier. We have a diesel X3, and I'm struggling to understand whether the IX3 will be OK without winter tyres etc.

Below 5 degrees they won't be good. I'd recommend changing them to winter tyres as soon as temperatures drop. I crashed my iX3 last winter, so take my word for it

[GaSelle]

Always use dedicated winter tires with temperatures below 7 degrees...

[esslera]

Originally Posted by SpaceRock

Below 5 degrees they won't be good. I'd recommend changing them to winter tyres as soon as temperatures drop. I crashed my iX3 last winter, so take my word for it

Yeah - I was just trying to get away without the additional outlay, as it's going to be a fully maintained lease, so didn't;t really want to then have to start shelling out for my own set of winter wheels + alloys on top

Sounds like I'm going back through the previous threads on winter tyres to see where people got up to, as from initial scanning it looked like BMW were being less than useful.

[hollpe]

Originally Posted by esslera

hollpe sorry to jump on an old thread, but after some advice. We are just south of Sheffield, and I was wondering how you fared with the RWD in winter when the roads are a bit slippier. We have a diesel X3, and I'm struggling to understand whether the IX3 will be OK without winter tyres etc.

Sorry I'm a bit late replying on this one! It wasn't really that cold when I got mine at the end of Jan so there wasn't any snow. It was ok in the slippery conditions. However I will be putting winters on later this year. 2+ tons of car, snowy conditions and hills is not a great combination! We also do a few trips up to Scotland in the winter as well, so it's better to be safe than sorry.

Sytner's bodyshop is full of 4WD's on summer tyres with front end damage in the winter! Even with all the fancy trickery of the latest x-drive, Quattro etc it can't do much to stop the momentum of hard summer rubber sliding towards some object when the conditions are bad.

I've always had winters on my cars (mostly RWD BMW's) and never had an issue with getting about. The only thing that has stopped them has been ground clearance when the snow gets really deep! Depending on how long you keep your car you are not too far off breaking even when you factor in the reduced wear on your summer tyres and the value when you come to sell them.

I'll start looking for some soon and report back with what I can find!

[esslera]

Thanks.
Got some great advice on this other thread that you might find useful
https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showt...1859716&page=2