iMiEV's around Bloomington/Normal

[RamblinBrad]

A few shots of the MiEV's from around town. There is a ton of them here so I'll add as I run across them if they aren't the basic color scheme.

Lineup downtown at a charging stating. There were 6 MiEV's in the lot there when I took this photo counting mine.

Closer shot of the Redbird iMiEV

The Normal Fire Departments i, though I have never seen it unhooked. There are two parking enforcement i's also.

The first preview of the vinyl for my i that I got from my vinyl guy. Once the final version is applied I'll update with a new photo. The smaller image is going on the hood.

 

[WyVern]

Love the skull/flame graphics. All it needs now are the words "Death on Silent Wheels"
:twisted:

 

[MLucas]

The raging EV! I love it, can't wait to see pictures of this. This IS the Revenge of the Electric Car!

 

[jray3]

Rage on, Brad! :shock: I wouldn't have imagined much more than a Jolly Roger working on an i, but this fits nicely!
WyVern, you've opened a floodgate of i-name calling, so stand back.

Silent Thunder
Blackballed Biker http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackballing
Harley Black Pearl (Arrgh!)
abNORMALly good
PiRATE
i-patch
jolly dodger

and for your biker buddies..

No Pipes Saves Lives

 

[RobbW]

Brad, that's pretty neat. Where do you get the vinyl images?

 

[RamblinBrad]

Few more from around town

Anyone want pizza?

 

[RamblinBrad]

Got the vinyls put on the car as well. In case you are wondering installing this stuff is a pain and there is a reason why people get paid a ton to do it. However if you do plan on doing something this big yourself have help and start on the passengers side. Why? Because that is where you figure out what not to do and when you get over to the drivers side...the side you see the most...you know what not to do The Z is the initial of my last name in case you are wondering.

 

[RobbW]

Now you just need a tag on the back that reads, "Silent but Deadly!"

 

[aarond12]

Having done full vehicle wraps, I have to agree with the statement that applying graphics is a pain in the a$$. Your graphics look INCREDIBLE!

 

[RamblinBrad]

Having done full vehicle wraps, I have to agree with the statement that applying graphics is a pain in the a$$. Your graphics look INCREDIBLE!

Thanks, they were a pain. They look better from a few few away when you don't see a few of the little imperfections. I'm happy with it though, that skull was intense to put on

 

[RamblinBrad]

Now you just need a tag on the back that reads, "Silent but Deadly!"

I did about take out someone in the parking garage downtown last weekend...of course he was texting so maybe it would have been ok. Thought he might hurt the bumper though so I just hit the horn and gave him a minor heart attack. Really need to upgrade that beep.

 

[MLucas]

Having done full vehicle wraps, I have to agree with the statement that applying graphics is a pain in the a$$. Your graphics look INCREDIBLE!

Thanks, they were a pain. They look better from a few few away when you don't see a few of the little imperfections. I'm happy with it though, that skull was intense to put on

I watched a ton of YouTube videos before I attempted installing my graphics, but nothing like doing it to learn the process. I chose to use the wet method with a hinge in the middle. That helped a lot but I still had a lot of bubbles. I had to work to get a lot of them out and still had a lot left over. I think I should have slowed down applying the graphics and carefully pressed the graphics to the body of the car. But, the good news is that over the past few weeks the heat has dried out all of the bubbles and I'm now left with a perfectly applied graphic. I also found using a hair dryer helped with forming the graphics around the door handles and any other obtrusions.

Now I'm Plasti-Dipping my roof. That is another whole level of pain in the ass.

 

[RobbW]

Now I'm Plasti-Dipping my roof. That is another whole level of pain in the ass.

How, exactly, does one go about dipping their MiEV? Sure, they're pretty light and all, but still, I'd think it would be a pain flipping it over and getting the dip just right!

 

[jlhiowa]

Got the vinyls put on the car as well.

That looks awesome!! Can't wait to see your car around town.

 

[MLucas]

Now I'm Plasti-Dipping my roof. That is another whole level of pain in the ass.

How, exactly, does one go about dipping their MiEV? Sure, they're pretty light and all, but still, I'd think it would be a pain flipping it over and getting the dip just right!

Dip is just spray on paint that is removable. dipyourcar.com

My paint has gotten some serious scratches including on including the roof. I don't haul anything on the roof, so I don't know how they got there. I'm using the plasti-dip to cover them up and keep the car from rusting. I live in the rust-belt and need to be aware of this problem on my car. I painted the roof red and got a lot of texture, a problem with plast-dip. The problem is caused by spraying too far from the surface, the plasti-dip dries before it hits. Unlike regular spray paint, keeping a distance of 12" and lightly dusting the surface until a nice build up helps avoid runs. Plasti-dip is a lot thicker stuff and dries really quickly. Watching the videos, keeping the can about 2" away from the surface and moving really slowly keeping a wet surface is best, no need to worry about runs or drips as this stuff is very thick. The advantage of using plasti-dip is that it is removable! This is not a permanent paint, its more of a rubber coating that can be removed leaving your paint intact as it was the day you applied the plasti-dip.

 

[RobbW]

Wouldn't rubber-coating your car create more drag and lower your range than the smooth stock paint?

 

[MLucas]

Wouldn't rubber-coating your car create more drag and lower your range than the smooth stock paint?

I'm not that worried about these miniscule drag coefficient changes. If I were that worried, I'd have pulled out the A/C unit and interior except for the driver's seat. I can do 43 km on 5 bars off my power meter which is about 8.6 km per kilowatt (apr.) or 5.1 miles per kilowatt. Which isn't bad at all on efficiency - and this is at 85 kmh average speed. You can really do more for your efficiency by slowing down than anything else. For me, my i-MiEV is my personal form of self-expression. I've never owned a car that I've felt this comfortable with that I'd want to modify it they way I have. Most vehicles for me are just mules, take me here and take me there - why bother doing anything with them. But, the i-MiEV begs for this level of owner's refinement of taste and convenience. Back in the day, people used to modify VW Beetles in all sorts of ways and I see the i-MiEV much akin to that old Beetle. They modified those Beetles because they loved them so much and that is the way I feel about this car.

When I first bought this car last year, all I thought about was increasing range and how far could I go. Honestly, that wasn't much fun - driving the car that way was becoming to dogmatic and flat out boring. Now that I've had the car a year, I realize I can drive it as I need to and I'll be able to get anywhere I need to go without a problem while having the car the way I like it.

My advice to new EV owners, get over range anxiety as soon as possible and just enjoy the damn thing. :lol:

 

[RobbW]

MLucas, would it be wrong of me to state that I absolutely 100% totally agree with you?!?! Ever since I joined these forums, I've gotten the vibe that the majority of members here are obsessed with range. Much like every "geeky" hobby I've ever been involved with, people are trying eek out every last drop of performance. To me, it seems fun at first when you can brag about how far you made it on a single charge, or how many miles you covered in a single day with opportunity charging, or how few bars you depleted on your daily commute. Unfortunately, I've found that gets tiresome and old very quickly. And I've only been an i-MiEV owner for not even three weeks now.

My i is super fun to drive! I love listening to how quiet it is, but then I love to crank up the tunes and cruise with the windows down. Now that I've determined without an ounce of doubt that I can easily do all my daily commuting and running around without any range anxiety, I want to let loose and have fun driving the darned thing! I enjoy seeing the confused and surprised look of BMW drivers when my little tin can beats them off the line at stoplights. I don't necessarily always want to drive super conservatively in order to keep my range at a maximum. Sure, I can see that range anxiety is an issue for anyone who has a long commute or is trying to complete epic road trips in their i-MiEV, but technically, that's not what this little car was marketed towards. It's not meant to be a long-haul workhorse!

So far, I'm having fun trying to give my little "Meepster" its own personality, or at least as much personality as my wife will allow. She didn't want anything gaudy on the car. So, I'm doing little things here and there that give it subtle style. OEM-looking emblems and badges, simple understated vinyl lettering, side wind deflectors, etc. "meep!" is getting her own look, and I'm finally starting to let myself have fun driving her instead of worrying about conserving her range!

 

[MLucas]

So far, I'm having fun trying to give my little "Meepster" its own personality, or at least as much personality as my wife will allow. She didn't want anything gaudy on the car. So, I'm doing little things here and there that give it subtle style. OEM-looking emblems and badges, simple understated vinyl lettering, side wind deflectors, etc. "meep!" is getting her own look, and I'm finally starting to let myself have fun driving her instead of worrying about conserving her range!

That's the idea! Electric cars are FUN - I wish more people would see it your way. You can do a lot of fun things to your car that aren't permanent, maybe you can sell your wife on that. My side graphics and my plasti-dip and my visor strip are all removable. None of it is permanent and its an excellent way to express your i-MiEVness.

http://decalfx.com - this is where I got my graphics from. I found they have the best selection.

The 'Meepster' - I love it. Maybe you can have a custom emblem made in the script of the Porsche Boxster and put that on the back. :lol:

 

[RobbW]

The 'Meepster' - I love it. Maybe you can have a custom emblem made in the script of the Porsche Boxster and put that on the back. :lol:

Well, I didn't have the Boxster emblem in mind at the time, but a custom emblem for the back has been ordered and is currently en route to my home. Instead of the Boxster script, it is an unassuming font that simple says, "meep!" I have an idea to get a visor decal that copies the Jeep junkies and says, "It's a meep thing...", but I haven't been able to sell my wife on that one yet.