Feedback from BMW or other premium brand converts?

[jjrandorin]

Oh @destructure00 on your charging, as others said get the longer cable. As others said, it allows you to possibly get another EV or park on the other side of the garage, and / or allow a family member / friend to charge in your driveway with your permission of course.

The electrician I hired to do my install (similar to yours in almost the exact same spot in my garage) installed mine with the wall spacer that makes the HPWC stick out a bit... BUT provides a place to coil the cable around the HWPC itself so its out of the way:

 

[destructure00]

Thanks @jjrandorin , I did end up ordering the 24 foot cord. And will likely do the spacer just like yours, thanks for sharing pics

 

[destructure00]

Spent about 6 hours on this today...4 trying to fish the wire up 7" and over 7" through a stud. I really didn't want conduit on the wall, but after 4 hours of trying I gave up and ran the wire straight through the wall from the panel and put it in conduit instead. Blah...at least it's done, and for about $60 on top of the cost of the HPWC. It's on a 60 amp breaker with 6 gauge wire, should be good for the 48 amp charge rate.

Now all I need is a car...

 

[kbecks13]

Alright i gotta ask....is that a massive potato cannon to the left of the charger?

 

[destructure00]

Alright i gotta ask....is that a massive potato cannon to the left of the charger?

It's a marshmallow cannon...compressed air instead of a hairspray explosion. Figured it was marginally safer for kids

 

[kbecks13]

It's a marshmallow cannon...compressed air instead of a hairspray explosion. Figured it was marginally safer for kids

Really? Wow i was guessing haha it looks very similar to something i made ~15 years ago that had changeable barrel diameters (but was hairspray powered). Still remember getting it taken away after i almost hit the neighbors house about 1/4 mile away

You probably made the right/safe choice haha

 

[destructure00]

Really? Wow i was guessing haha it looks very similar to something i made ~15 years ago that had changeable barrel diameters (but was hairspray powered). Still remember getting it taken away after i almost hit the neighbors house about 1/4 mile away

You probably made the right/safe choice haha

Awesome!!! I had a friend growing up who had a potato cannon. We were shooting it in his back yard with his dad, aiming at the block wall. One went over the wall, through a chain link fence and nailed the neighbor's RV. Never saw his dad pucker up before, it was hilarious.

I got so used to seeing that thing there I forgot about it. I think my 5 year old daughter is about ready to learn how far a giant marshmallow can travel

 

[TeeEmCee]

Awesome!!! I had a friend growing up who had a potato cannon. We were shooting it in his back yard with his dad, aiming at the block wall. One went over the wall, through a chain link fence and nailed the neighbor's RV. Never saw his dad pucker up before, it was hilarious.

I got so used to seeing that thing there I forgot about it. I think my 5 year old daughter is about ready to learn how far a giant marshmallow can travel

Thank you, you just gave me another project ... as if I didn’t have enough work already.
Now I have to have one of those!

 

[destructure00]

Updated my order from Pearl White to Red this morning. Stared at pics of the two side by side for a long time...I think the red makes the proportions look a little better.

 

[voip-ninja]

Updated my order from Pearl White to Red this morning. Stared at pics of the two side by side for a long time...I think the red makes the proportions look a little better.

Those are the two best colors IMO you really can't go wrong with either one. White is going to be a lot easier to maintain than red though.

 

[destructure00]

Agreed....the low maintenance is the main reason I ordered white to begin with. After staring at the pics side by side for an hour though, I felt like a lot of the body lines are lost in the white, where they stand out more in the red. The two angles where I really don't care for the look of this car (straight on from the front, and straight on from the back) look marginally better in red IMO, due to less contrast between the paint color and darker glass. White is the most common color here in AZ, red will be more unique. Plus my wife's SUV is white, can't have two white cars in the same garage

 

[Jbidwal]

Agreed....the low maintenance is the main reason I ordered white to begin with. After staring at the pics side by side for an hour though, I felt like a lot of the body lines are lost in the white, where they stand out more in the red. The two angles where I really don't care for the look of this car (straight on from the front, and straight on from the back) look marginally better in red IMO, due to less contrast between the paint color and darker glass. White is the most common color here in AZ, red will be more unique. Plus my wife's SUV is white, can't have two white cars in the same garage

I wish they had more of a hot rod, Ferrari red option. I love the red in certain lights and in others it looked too dark. We wanted to go with red for our next car but the shade wasn’t what we had in mind.

 

[Lhshockey24]

I didn't have enough time to search through this entire thread, so I'm sorry if this has been talked about before...

This weekend I had the pleasure of experiencing the one day M school at the BMW Performance Center in Thermal, CA. What a day! It was so fun learning a little more about racing techniques, weight distribution, braking, cornering, etc. We were able to track the M2, M4, and M5. As exciting as the experience was, one thing that kept popping up in my mind was, NONE of these cars gave me the feeling of thrill that even flooring it in our S 100D did. My wife's X P100D is untouchable in terms of throw you back in your seat driving fun. The lag in acceleration, even when in manual shift mode on these M cars was really startling after having not experienced that for so long. These cars/engines are literally the best BMW can put together, w/the M5 costing well over $100k. And even given that, the driving experience still pales in comparison to what we get the joy of driving every day - not even on a track.

I have never even driven a Model 3P, but I can imagine how exhilarating that must be. The ONLY thing I really loved about these Bimmers were the brakes. Those ceramic brakes grab hard. That was awesome. Again, never tried braking from 80mph-20mph into a corner in a 3P, but I can guess it's still pretty nice w/regen on track mode.

On fit+finish, yes, the M5 was REALLLLLY nice. I enjoyed those massaging seats when I was waiting my turn for the rat race or slick track drifting. However, there wasn't much about the M4 or M2 I found more comfortable or better than our S or X.

The conclusion I came to is that even the best of the best of one of the world's iconic brands (M cars) feel like dinosaurs now compared to our cars. Their time has come, it's over.

 

[Jbidwal]

I didn't have enough time to search through this entire thread, so I'm sorry if this has been talked about before...

This weekend I had the pleasure of experiencing the one day M school at the BMW Performance Center in Thermal, CA. What a day! It was so fun learning a little more about racing techniques, weight distribution, braking, cornering, etc. We were able to track the M2, M4, and M5. As exciting as the experience was, one thing that kept popping up in my mind was, NONE of these cars gave me the feeling of thrill that even flooring it in our S 100D did. My wife's X P100D is untouchable in terms of throw you back in your seat driving fun. The lag in acceleration, even when in manual shift mode on these M cars was really startling after having not experienced that for so long. These cars/engines are literally the best BMW can put together, w/the M5 costing well over $100k. And even given that, the driving experience still pales in comparison to what we get the joy of driving every day - not even on a track.

I have never even driven a Model 3P, but I can imagine how exhilarating that must be. The ONLY thing I really loved about these Bimmers were the brakes. Those ceramic brakes grab hard. That was awesome. Again, never tried braking from 80mph-20mph into a corner in a 3P, but I can guess it's still pretty nice w/regen on track mode.

On fit+finish, yes, the M5 was REALLLLLY nice. I enjoyed those massaging seats when I was waiting my turn for the rat race or slick track drifting. However, there wasn't much about the M4 or M2 I found more comfortable or better than our S or X.

The conclusion I came to is that even the best of the best of one of the world's iconic brands (M cars) feel like dinosaurs now compared to our cars. Their time has come, it's over.

As far as interior goes, I don’t know long term but the Tesla’s are on par with the mid range car for luxury brands. The C class is a cut above but the a4 and the older 3 series is similar in quality and features. The larger flagships are a different story. That’s where the X and S can’t compete as far as price and luxury

 

[schnieds]

Updated my order from Pearl White to Red this morning. Stared at pics of the two side by side for a long time...I think the red makes the proportions look a little better.

I was in a hard debate with myself between white and red for my first Tesla, but I ended up ordering a white M3P on Sunday. I live in the gloomy, cloudy, rainy PNW and I think white will look better here day to day. I think you made a great choice for sunny AZ, the red looks amazing in the sun!

 

[Nocturnal]

+1 Data point. I am a former owner of a 335i. I was very close to ordering an M3 back in May 2018 when I received the invite to order my P3D. I'm very happy with my choice. The only thing I miss is having a manual transmission. All in all I prefer the P3D to the M3.

 

[schnieds]

I did an overnight test drive of a Model 3 Performance last weekend and my thoughts are below. I currently drive a 2014 BMW 335xi in Sport Mode, so that is my comparison point.

TLDR: I ordered a Telsa Model 3 Performance on Sunday and it beats my 3 series in every aspect.

Driving
While I (used to, the M3P ruined me) love my 3 series from a driving standpoint, the M3P ruined that experience for me pretty quickly. Acceleration is instant and amazing in the M3P. No lag at all from pushing down the accelerator to the car going FAST. Acceleration in the M3P is unbelievable. Handling is crisp, responsive and beautiful. Cornering is amazing, the low center of gravity from the battery weight in the bottom of the car makes it hug the road so well. M3P beat my 3 series in every conceivable way from a driving standpoint. So. Much. Fun.

Interior
I know the interiors of Telsas are lambasted as not being luxury enough. Our overnight test drive M3P had the white interior and I found it better than my 3 series by a mile. The seats are softer and more comfortable. There is better use of space, giving more legroom and space to everyone, including my two kids in the backseat, than my 3 series. At first I didn't like the minimalistic design of the interior, but after driving it for a couple of days I began to really appreciate it and now find my 3 series cluttered. I think the white interior feels a lot more spacious, luxurious and higher quality. That may not be the case over the black interior, but my family and I felt that way. I also felt that the vegan leather in the Tesla is much nicer than the leather seats in my 3 series, the soft surfaces are much better than the hard plastics in my 3 series and overall more comfortable.

Tech
No comparison here. Autopilot is amazing. I know there is a lot of complaining about NOA, phantom braking, etc. However, compared to my 3 series where all I have is a GPS nav system and parking sensors, Autopilot is awesome. I am am in a tech geek career, so the fact that Telsa adds new features and functionality to the car over time is very appealing. I love the idea that the car I buy isn't static and I get new features for my Tesla as time goes on. Soooooo different than the 3 series. I know there are still a lot of issues with Autopilot features and they don't always work perfectly, but I am excited to help them test and improve. The screen in the M3P is great. I love the usability, performance and clarity.

General
I love that Tesla and Elon has disrupted the industry. I know they don't always deliver on time and what they promise and I am perfectly fine with that. I would rather have them take risks and push the envelope, knowing they won't be able to deliver on everything, rather than have them act like a normal stodgy car company. For this reason I paid for FSD. Supporting the move to clean energy is great imo since I have the means to do so. I also really like Elon going on Twitter and interacting with customers.

Happy to answer any specific questions.

 

[MTSN]

I didn't have enough time to search through this entire thread, so I'm sorry if this has been talked about before...

This weekend I had the pleasure of experiencing the one day M school at the BMW Performance Center in Thermal, CA. What a day! It was so fun learning a little more about racing techniques, weight distribution, braking, cornering, etc. We were able to track the M2, M4, and M5. As exciting as the experience was, one thing that kept popping up in my mind was, NONE of these cars gave me the feeling of thrill that even flooring it in our S 100D did. My wife's X P100D is untouchable in terms of throw you back in your seat driving fun. The lag in acceleration, even when in manual shift mode on these M cars was really startling after having not experienced that for so long. These cars/engines are literally the best BMW can put together, w/the M5 costing well over $100k. And even given that, the driving experience still pales in comparison to what we get the joy of driving every day - not even on a track.

I have never even driven a Model 3P, but I can imagine how exhilarating that must be. The ONLY thing I really loved about these Bimmers were the brakes. Those ceramic brakes grab hard. That was awesome. Again, never tried braking from 80mph-20mph into a corner in a 3P, but I can guess it's still pretty nice w/regen on track mode.

On fit+finish, yes, the M5 was REALLLLLY nice. I enjoyed those massaging seats when I was waiting my turn for the rat race or slick track drifting. However, there wasn't much about the M4 or M2 I found more comfortable or better than our S or X.

The conclusion I came to is that even the best of the best of one of the world's iconic brands (M cars) feel like dinosaurs now compared to our cars. Their time has come, it's over.

Interesting perspective. I'm an admitted petrolhead and have owned 51 cars and motorcycles (I'm several years away from 40 years old...), but as soon as I drove a Model 3 last weekend I placed an order and pick it up in 7 days. You are right - everything else feels very old and dated as soon as you drive you a Tesla, and I'm afraid I will be ruined once I actually take delivery and start driving one every day. I'm bullish about the Rivian pickup and hope that will be able to replace one or even both of our modified Toyota Land Cruisers.

 

[Lhshockey24]

Interesting perspective. I'm an admitted petrolhead and have owned 51 cars and motorcycles (I'm several years away from 40 years old...), but as soon as I drove a Model 3 last weekend I placed an order and pick it up in 7 days. You are right - everything else feels very old and dated as soon as you drive you a Tesla, and I'm afraid I will be ruined once I actually take delivery and start driving one every day. I'm bullish about the Rivian pickup and hope that will be able to replace one or even both of our modified Toyota Land Cruisers.

It sounds like we're probably about the same age. I'm not close to 51 cars, but 20 is not an unreasonable estimate. Going back to M cars after a year of not driving a performance ICE and it was almost laughable. Again, brakes brakes brakes (are the only plus side I saw versus the Teslas). I'd love to know if anyone has done some modifications to the 3P brake pads to see how they stack up against BMW's carbon ceramic or anything Porsche puts out.

 

[destructure00]

Got a VIN assigned this morning, delivery scheduled for Saturday Can't wait!