Don’t understand that at all in the UK the M50 top speed is 140 mph, how can that be?

 

@Green_on_tan I'm with you. Went a few times driving in Germany on the Autobahn.... A lot of Porsche's and others are not able to ... cope with the m50. but then they go over the 228km/h and pfffff. why ? I'm pretty sure the m50 can go faster within the safe limits of the 2 electro engines.......

 

Hopefully, they come out with a tune to increase top end. Not a subscription like MB.

 

Don’t think they can, something to do with the electric motor speed limit, it’s geared at maximum rev at 140 mph, Porsche has a 2 speed gearbox, so has good low speed acceleration and a decent top speed, I guess they could increase the top speed but they wouldn’t want to otherwise it would be an M60!

 

It's not a M-car of course

 

My understanding is that it is limited by how much power can be pulled from the battery. The limit is to protect the car from damaging itself and the battery in particular not protect the driver from jail. The car already does similar things for instance if you DC charge too often within a short time period. I can't remember what I was reading, but they walked through how much energy the motors would have to pull as they increased the RPM's. You reach a point that exceeds the discharge rate of the battery. I suspect that 140MPH some German engineering safely low enough value.

The apparent difference of 130MPH for the US and 140MPH for Europe, does sound like a compliance issue though.

If one did find the codes to increase the limit, wouldn't you be concerned about voiding the warranty?

 

My understanding is that it is limited by how much power can be pulled from the battery. The limit is to protect the car from damaging itself and the battery in particular not protect the driver from jail. The car already does similar things for instance if you DC charge too often within a short time period. I can't remember what I was reading, but they walked through how much energy the motors would have to pull as they increased the RPM's. You reach a point that exceeds the discharge rate of the battery. I suspect that 140MPH some German engineering safely low enough value.

The apparent difference of 130MPH for the US and 140MPH for Europe, does sound like a compliance issue though.

If one did find the codes to increase the limit, wouldn't you be concerned about voiding the warranty?

Not really concerned with the reason behind it, I’m sure it would hurt range etc. I just think it’s physically possible to remove that limiter and safely go 170. Someone hacked a Tesla model S and achieved 217mph this way

 

I’m shocked this car tops out at 130mph. I’ve called a few tuners around me that all say they can’t work on it. Has anyone figured out a way to remove the speed limiter from their m50?

And before the Karens show up, remember BMW M is for performance, some people actually like to drive their cars.

 

I did some research. The equivalent 440i gran coupe has a top speed of 167mph / 270kmh

And here’s a link to the aforementioned model is getting unlocked to hit 216mph-

Watch Tesla Model S Plaid Hit Record-Setting 216 MPH

A Tesla Model S Plaid has reached a top speed of 216 mph. The Plaid was modified by Canadian tuners Ingenext.

insideevs.com

 

I did some research. The equivalent 440i gran coupe has a top speed of 167mph / 270kmh

And here’s a link to the aforementioned model is getting unlocked to hit 216mph-

Watch Tesla Model S Plaid Hit Record-Setting 216 MPH

A Tesla Model S Plaid has reached a top speed of 216 mph. The Plaid was modified by Canadian tuners Ingenext.

insideevs.com

The 440 has nothing whatsoever to do with what is limiting the i4. You need to get the specs for the motors, find out what the top-end RPM is for the motors, look at the gearing from the motors to the drive wheels, and figure out what the max is. This has nothing to do with Tesla, either, since the motors are completely different in their design.

 

I guess I have to say that I have never driven any car over 130 nor do I have much interest in doing so.

 

Wow I didn‘t know it was 130 in the US, which definitely sounds like a compliance thing!

I‘ve done 140 on the autobahn a couple times, and before had a Tesla M3P which was able to go 165.
What I can say is that the Tesla was able to do that for about 1 minute max, then it started reducing power due to battery tenperature.

Haven‘t done extended speed runs in the i4 yet but I‘m quite sure it can sustain 140 for quite a lot longer. So perhaps they limit it not to create too much noise about overheating / power limiting issues.

 

I did 145 in my G35 for a few minutes in Montana back in 2003, and the car still had plenty more, but my comfort level was closer to 120-125. Doin' 100mph on the Autostrada in my 200SX was fun, too.
I'm sure that the upcoming M car with 3 or 4 electric motors will be more your cup of tea, lol.

 

The limit is there to prevent battery drain/overheating.
The full battery size is 80kwh
If you consider usage between 30%-80% there is 40Kwh
Both engine combined are 400kw
That would give you just a few minutes of actual usage

 

From the i4 press release:

The BMW i4 M50 has an electronically governed top speed of 225 km/h.
The BMW i4 eDrive40 is electronically limited to 190 km/h.

i4 eDrive40 has more than enough power and torque to go beyond the 190 km/h and the battery can certainly handle it as it can handle it in M50.

Of course the motors are different between eDrive40 and M50 models and it might be physical limit of the motors even when the press release talks about electronical limits.

In comparison,
iX M60 can do 250 km/h with bigger battery thought.
i7 xDrive60 can do 240 km/h but it has bigger battery, same power as i4 M50 but lower torque. New info that I haven't seen before, i7 xDrive60's sustained power is 135 kW.

I just noticed from updated BMW website that the sustained power of the i4 M50 is 125 kW and i4 eDrive40 only 105 kW.

So is the sustained power actually the limiting factor of the top speed? And is it a limit of the electrical system and/or the motor(s) as the sustained power is different for M50 and eDrive40 and for M50 it should be much higher as it has two motors instead of one even when the eDrive40's motor is stronger than what M50 has in the back...

Who knows 😄

 

From the i4 press release:

The BMW i4 M50 has an electronically governed top speed of 225 km/h.
The BMW i4 eDrive40 is electronically limited to 190 km/h.

i4 eDrive40 has more than enough power and torque to go beyond the 190 km/h and the battery can certainly handle it as it can handle it in M50.

Of course the motors are different between eDrive40 and M50 models and it might be physical limit of the motors even when the press release talks about electronical limits.

In comparison,
iX M60 can do 250 km/h with bigger battery thought.
i7 xDrive60 can do 240 km/h but it has bigger battery, same power as i4 M50 but lower torque. New info that I haven't seen before, i7 xDrive60's sustained power is 135 kW.

I just noticed from updated BMW website that the sustained power of the i5 M50 is 125 kW and i4 eDrive40 only 105 kW.

So is the sustained power actually the limiting factor of the top speed? And is it a limit of the electrical system and/or the motor(s) as the sustained power is different for M50 and eDrive40 and for M50 it should be much higher as it has two motors instead of one even when the eDrive40's motor is stronger than what M50 has in the back...

Who knows 😄

Don't forget that the M50 has two motors, as opposed to the e40, so even if everything else is the same, it is most likely that the top speed limit of the e40 depends on that missing front motor. Some say the batteries are different also, though I don't think that's a fact, but I won't continue that discussion. The rear motors are the same in the M50 and the e40.

 

I am not Karen, and in fact the top speed of the e40 was a bit of a concern for me initially, but then I realized that my fast driving crazy days are over. The fastest I ever dared to drive was just above 130 mph with my current car, but that was on my "good bye fast driving" trip last year. I realized there how crazy it is to drive that fast on public roads with all the others, except a few, around me driving slower. Who knows who is making the first mistake, I or one of the others I am passing... so after some considering I realized that the top speed of 120 mph is more than enough for my future car. I haven't had such slow car since 1998, but I think I will not miss the higher speed and will let everyone else win over me when driving through or in Germany with that car.

I don't know why the speed is limited, but maybe (probably) there are some technical reasons. I doubt that hacking the car is such a good idea unless you are ready to brick it in case something goes wrong.

 

Are you sure the rear motors are the same, the e40 should have 20kw more on the rear axel.

 

You are right. I should have checked. The M50 has a weaker rear motor than the e40. I wonder why.

 

In the iX the eDrive40 has 240kw and a whooping 630nm…

 

So... there is no way to increase the speed limit for both m50 and eDrive40... is the conclusion? Really wish we can increase the limit on the eDrive, and if so...wouldn't that mean the torque can possibly increase as well?

 

At the moment no, you can’t increase it. Maybe at a later stage there will be a way to code it.

This has nothing to do with torque.

 

Apparently, you get increased top speed with the M enhanced track package. I haven’t tried….yet.

 

The limit is lifted to 140mph.

Won't really know until I get my car.


Waiting for my M50......

 

Need larger diameter tires.

 

I'm interested of trim my eDrive aswell. It feels that it really can handle 20km/h more, without any problems. I drove 20 km in max speed (190km/h) and it felt like nothing.
My speed days are over (apperently not) but it would feel a little better if it just made 210km/h. Right?!

 

Did you happen to catch the power consumption at that speed?

 

Is it confirmed then the top speed of the m50 is 130mph and there is nothing at this time one can do to change this? Or was it determined that is for safety (battery health etc.) Not that I'll ever drive that fast....

 

Yeah, I don't drive that fast either. But I can say with a high degree of certainty that in the US the speed limit on the M50 is 130mph (odometer reading) or about 128mph actual/GPS reading. A friend told me.

I do not know if the speed limit they're getting in Europe can be coded

 

I think that you are missing the marketing factor. I mean, most probably the speed limit in the edrive 40 is, to some extent, artificial. The M50 can obviously go faster, but it seems to me credible that more speed will compromise the lasting of batteries because of the excessive temperature, but in the other hand, as both models share the same battery, in the case of the 40 edrive I think that the reason is to preserve a performance superiority for marketing concerns. Just under 120 miles per hour, or 200km/h, to frustrate people, as me, that have this speed limit as a minimum.

 

Here's the specs:

2024 BMW i4 Review, Pricing, and Specs

The 2024 BMW i4 M50's intense performance warms our hearts to an all-electric future but the xDrive40's 307-mile driving range is worth celebrating too.

www.caranddriver.com

M50 rear motor is 308hp, e35 and e40 motor is 335hp.

 

130 that's a little lite

 

Old thread, but anyway:
The 210 km/h (130 mph) limit has been in place for a long time. My old 1999 ICE tops out at 250 km/h, the US version was limited to 210 (which limited its resale value here).

The domestic version is limited to 190/225 which is 16500 RPM for the two different engines with their respective transmission ratios. These cars seem to be rev limited.

I had doubts about the low top speed, and indeed I used to say I will not buy a vehicle that does not reach 250.
But opportunities to safely drive 250 are rare these days, and the battery capacity is just not sufficient for high speed.

An interesting question is if the sustained output (105 kW for the idrive40, 125 for the M50) corresponds to the top speed.
Our registration papers have sustained engine output & top speed, and I can remember enough models to have a feeling about what engine output should allow what speed. An 1990s Audi 80 with 90 PS will reach 177, the 100 TDI with 115 PS tops out at 195, a 2010 C class Diesel with 100 kW/136 PS does 218 km/h. My A8 D2 with 260 PS reaches 252 km/h. Those are models I or my parents have owned and driven at top speed.

125 kW should be more good enough to hold more than 240 km/h, but modern vehicles often require a lot more power than the "classic" models above. They are heavier, and most of them simply are higher and more bulky. 250 km/h requires as much as 400 hp for an SUV (a european one, not your trucks).

Once I get my M50 and figured out what I need to get its OBD data, I'll see what its output is at 225 km/h - I expect something between the 100 kW of the C Class and the M50's 125 kW. The car is a lot heavier and while it's not a wall closet on wheels like many modern cars, it's still less sleek.
Anyway, the lower US limit does not have technical reasons.

 

Once I get my M50 and figured out what I need to get its OBD data, I'll see what its output is at 225 km/h

You can easily see this using Live Vehicle app, as long as “kW” is selected in the units section, instead of hp. No OBD2 adapter / data / app needed.

 

The i4M50 requires very little energy to cruise at 225 KMH (140MPH).
While accelerating from 180 to 225 the consumption goes up to 99 KWH/100 KM, but that is probably a limitation of the display.

Constant 130 (18 inch winter tires and zero celsius) approx 24 KWH/100 KM = 3,5 hours, 455 km range.
Constant 160, same conditions is aprox 28 KWH/100 KM = 2.5 Hours, 400 km.

Constant 225, same conditions, at least 1 hour, maybe 1 hours 30 minutes : 225 km - 337 km ?

In my experience, it is quite difficult to have a speed of 160 without a lot of braking and acceleration in Germany because of other cars, while 130 is much easier. I managed an average speed of 160 for one hour - then consumption was 30 KWH/100 KM - because of acceleration/braking.

(All of the above (Except 225 kmh) was from test two weeks ago in Germany on Nordic type winter tyres with max speed 180 KMH, while 225 was done in April on summer tires)