The BMW i3 was and still is a rather unique car. Its monocoque carbon-fiber construction, quirky design and peculiar wheels make it stand out wherever it goes. However, all of those things were done with a purpose: to make sure the i3 is a perfect city-car. And to most owners it truly is. The fact that this car is now almost 8 years old and it’s still selling rather well is a testament as to how good the work put into it was from the get go.
The thing is, buying a BMW i3 today brings about a couple of very important differences, compared to the original. The current i3 has a higher capacity battery pack, so it can hold more energy. The size of the battery remained the same from the first to the latest update, as it has to fit in the same space reserved under the floor.
Therefore, a lot of people have been wondering whether simply changing your battery pack is possible, without having to buy a new model just to double your range. The answer seems to be yes, according to the video below, but it’s definitely not something you can do yourself in your garage. The guys from Havrla in the Czech Republic, put together a short clip explaining what you’d have to do in order for this to work. And it’s definitely not an easy task.
You’ll have to work with cooling ducts, you’ll need a scanner and a way to replace the battery management system, you’ll have to find a way to unlock the battery (which will most likely be locked by BMW in case you’re thinking of getting one from a salvage title i3) and you may also need to do some coding. That’s definitely tricky but, if you’re ambitious enough, you could do it at the end of the day. Of course, the warranty of the car might be voided, so that’s another thing to take into consideration.
Also, check out our video on how to find the battery capacity of your BMW i3:
