Norwegian I-Miev "Black Edition"

[jafo]

Just want to share my 2011 I-MIEV "Black Edition".

First picture from the day I bought the car:

In Norway there are no VAT or TAX on Electric cars and you can travel for free on most ferries, you don't have to pay at toll stations. So bying and owning /driving( With cheap electricity) a electric car in Norway is realy nice

My car is a 2011 With 44000 km on the meeter. Standard "Norwegian" With 4x electric windows, tinted windows, ESP and Satnav.

First thing to get rid of was the "i". I just don't wanna own an i-Product (i-phone, i-pad++) so the first modification was to get rid of that one:

Next up was removing the rest of the badges and adding a "carbon" logo... (still not sure if that one is "correct", it looks realy aftermarked close up)

Anyways it still there

At the end of summer me and the car went to a Mitsubishi meet at Fredriksten Festning (held by the Norwegian Mitsubishi Club).
In front of that meet the car got some lowering springs from H&R (Recomendable!! a lot more stable car), Plasti-dip on the wheels, a small tint on the fog backlight and the red reflective "dots" and a polish:

Due to the distance I needed to charge on my way there:

Showoff (With the "big boys" )

Still have some mods to come

 

[Malm]

Amazing. Mine is from April 2011. In cold countries, electric cars batteries will last much longer. Do you have any idea how much capacity do you lost? Mine, going to the beach with 40ºC in the hot portuguese summer, has now, at least, 15% less autonomy.

 

[jafo]

Mitsubishi Norway have garanteed 80% capacity after 5 years.
I have only owned it for 4 months, but at the Norwegian comunity http://elbilforum.no/forum/index.php/board,45.0.html there are no signs of reduced capacity for the Norwegian cars so far.
Edit: There is actually one car with battery problems, but the dealer swapped that battery for free.

 

[aarond12]

Looks very nice! What's wrong with "i" devices? Without 'em, we'd still be using flip phones. :lol:

 

[MLucas]

Nice looking car. I'm saving for those H&G springs, I found a web site over there that sells them and willing to send them to the US. Your car looks much better with them. Did you notice any improvement in range? I was wondering if the lowered roof hieght improved the aerodynamics of the car.

This months money has to go to getting ready for winter. I'm installing some heated surfaces in the drivers footwell, over the drivers head in the roof liner and a power management system. I also want to put a removable barrier between the front seats and back so I only have to heat part of the car.

 

[jafo]

Nice looking car. I'm saving for those H&G springs, I found a web site over there that sells them and willing to send them to the US. Your car looks much better with them. Did you notice any improvement in range? I was wondering if the lowered roof hieght improved the aerodynamics of the car.
..

www.brakes.no sells those, but not sure if the springs are identical with the US version.
I would guess the aerodynamics would be improved, but thats not my main reason for lowering the car. The car is really unstable with the original springs.

 

[jray3]

Jafo, din bil er veldig flink! (Jeg bordt i Norge som jeg var un sma barne, beklager for min Norske er ikke sa godt! ;-)

Please post vendor links if possible for those clear tail lamp lenses and the H&G springs.

 

[jafo]

The Springs (H&R) is from www.brakes.no (dont think they have a working web shop), anyway, Norway is usually a expensive country to buy parts in. H&R is a german company: http://www.h-r.com/gb/index.php, They even have a US website: http://www.hrsprings.com/

The clear backlights are standard from the factory. I can call the dealer for part numbers if you want them
I have just tinted the fog light, 3. brake lights and the reflexes (correct spelling?) with Plasti-dip - Smoke.

Takk-takk
Your Norwegian is still understandable

 

[jafo]

Looks very nice! What's wrong with "i" devices? Without 'em, we'd still be using flip phones. :lol:

Hehe, probably correct
Those I-things just got people totally crazy up here (too). Dare to be different

Very happy with my Sony Xperia Z for the moment

 

[MLucas]

http://www.spring-loaded.co.uk/prod...ring~Kit~Citroen~C-Zero~2010~onwards~-30-35mm

Lowering springs for 1". This is for the Citroen, but you can locate the Mitsubishi on the same site.

 

[RobertC]

I'm installing some heated surfaces in the drivers footwell, over the drivers head in the roof liner and a power management system.

What kind of heated surfaces and power management system are you installing?

 

[MLucas]

I'm installing some heated surfaces in the drivers footwell, over the drivers head in the roof liner and a power management system.

What kind of heated surfaces and power management system are you installing?

A Blue Sea breakout panel. It beats tapping into wires and having a hairball behind the dash and beside the battery. I had one installed on my motorcycle for this precise problem.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000THQ0CQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1UNWS4MSNTF2A I'm also going to install the relays as well so the power isn't on all the time and only on when the ignition is in the READY position. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005HFYE1O/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A33TCMZEAWOM9U

The heated surfaces are for heated seats but I know they'll work in other areas. The feet always get cold, with some extra insulation and one of these should keep my feet warm this winter. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00355RAJQ/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2JZ704H3A61DA. I read Nissan is going to put heated surfaces in the headliner so I thought I'd give that a try too using a heated seat setup http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006JX9QJ8/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2GCYGV3A67LXH.

To keep an eye on the energy usage from the 12v battery I'll be installing a volt and ammeter along with the power breakout panel.

 

[RobertC]

I read Nissan is going to put heated surfaces in the headliner...

It looks like Nissan is putting aluminum film in the headliner.
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nissan-global.com%2FJP%2FTECHNOLOGY%2FOVERVIEW%2Fthermal_insulation_roof.html&hl=en&langpair=auto|en&tbb=1&ie=Shift_JIS

I translated the graphic of the roof to the right from the top down as:
Outside of Vehicle
Roof Skin
Hollow Layer
Aluminum Film
Roof Trim

A different version of the graphic is also shown in the Nissan Leaf forum showing the aluminum film applied to the headliner.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10687&p=244724#p244724

Nissan calls it their "Heat Shield Ceiling."

 

[PV1]

I'm sort of disappointed that the US didn't get the clear tail lights and rear spoiler. It really sets the car off.

VS.

Tinted windows don't hurt, either. Between these two photos, the US i-MiEV looks like it rides higher.

 

[olagon]

Tinted windows don't hurt, either. Between these two photos, the US i-MiEV looks like it rides higher.

These pics really show the difference in the front and rear bumper. I wonder how much safer the U.S. version is with the added structure? Anyone know?

 

[jafo]

According to Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumper_(automobile)
The US bumpers are for reduction of low speed impact damage to vital parts (and repair cost).

...
2) What is the purpose of bumpers?
The car bumper is designed to prevent or reduce physical damage to the front and rear ends of passenger motor vehicles in low-speed collisions. Automobile bumpers are not typically designed to be structural components that would significantly contribute to vehicle crashworthiness or occupant protection during front or rear collisions. It is not a safety feature intended to prevent or mitigate injury severity to occupants in the passenger cars. Bumpers are designed to protect the hood, trunk, grille, fuel, exhaust and cooling system as well as safety related equipment such as parking lights, headlamps and taillights in low speed collisions.
...

 

[Malm]

"That's right, the error messages reset on the second restart." Yes, but it will retain this information in memory. The next time you go to Mitsubishi for the annual check, it will tell them what happened. Mine told, i'm not sure if they understood what the car showed them, but i know very well, it was my fault . The car has no problem with Canion, not the same thing with Torque.

 

[PV1]

Then, he stomped on the accelerator for just the briefest moment, and the drivetrain shot up to an indicated 88mph before he could react and let off.

GREAT SCOTT!! :twisted: :lol: Get a glimpse of the future, did ya?

I've done that on ice, turn off ASC and punch it. The back wheels are doing better than 40 mph in a split second.

 

[markweatherill]

these two photos,

I didn't realise that the US version gets a rear-mounted radio antenna, which I think is an improvement over the original.
(And after looking closely, I realise it also doesn't have the black panel above the windscreen, or the black hood trim)

 

[JoeS]

The H&R Spring suspension discussion has been moved to its own thread: http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=2138