Just took a 450 intersate road trip in a standard range lightning. Never again

[Ventorum94]

Me, too -- which sealed the deal for the ER battery for me. There are actually two factors at play here. Of course, the extra range lets the ER truck drive farther between charging stops, saving the time of getting on and off the highway.

However, the ER truck also charges significantly faster. The published specifications for 15% to 80% charging are 44 minutes for an SR truck and 41 minutes for an ER truck, but the ER truck has a significantly larger battery. So:

• SR is 63.7kWh in 44 minutes, or an 86.8kW average charge acceptance rate, versus
• ER is 85.2kWh in 41 minutes, or an 124.6kW average charge acceptance rate.

So in terms of kilowatts accepted or miles of range added, the ER truck charges over 40% faster than an SR truck. This is the key difference in road-tripping between the SR and ER Lightnings.

A recent charge session of my SR at an EA 350kW (500A), showing 98kW avg charge acceptance:

I’d be interested to see a similar real-world ER charging session with an average charging rate >124kW.

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[RickLightning]

Just curious why “the SR makes it a challenge” (as in, having an ER with another 26kWh really makes a huge difference??). SR requires one (worst case two) more charging stop than ER in 450mi. Challenge? Not in my SR experience- just avoid chargers that don’t output 500A. Stick with EA 350kW (500A), avoid the 150kW (only 350A), and don’t even consider anything under 150kW, on a long road trip. Avoid routes that require 50kW charging-they’re not suitable for EV road tripping, imho.

SR charges slower than ER. Adds more time.

Georgetown KY and Williamsburg KY are 120 miles apart. 1.86kw at 65mph per ABRP, 70% battery (80% - 10%), 0.7 x 98 = 68.6 x 1.86= 128 miles...

So, ABRP recommends charging to over 90%, which takes much longer.

 

[Hugh_Bris]

At 55 mph highway plus some city driving the Lightning is stated to use 48 kWh per 100 miles. BEV’s thrive in stop and go traffic but if you compare your 1.6 with 2.0 then you are dead nuts on for the effect of velocity on fuel efficiency
Ford told us loud and clear what to expect. Many chose not to listen.
Check fueleconomy.gov

What highways are 55 mph? I live in TX and they are all 75…Again misleading. Where is the memo that your range is 200 mile max at hwy speeds with ER?
They need to state miles per kWh separately for city and highway and let people do the math themselves. For example
2.5 m/kWh City
1.6 m/kWh Hwy

The fueleconomy.gov portion of that window sticker is trash.

 

[Hugh_Bris]

A recent charge session of my SR at an EA 350kW (500A), showing 98kW avg charge acceptance:

I’d be interested to see a similar real-world ER charging session with an average charging rate >124kW.

This is recent from my ER

 

[Mike G]

For all those who bought SRs...can you imagine what it must be like to drive a Mini Cooper E on a cross-country trip...with a stated 100 mile highway range?

That's like buying a $38K golf cart and thinking you can take it on a road trip.

 

[djwildstar]

I’d be interested to see a similar real-world ER charging session with an average charging rate >124kW.

Your session was 62kWh, which is about 63% of an SR battery. 62kWh is about 47% of an ER battery, so here's two screenshots for you. On the left, adding 66% to an ER battery in 39 minutes at an Electrify America 350kW charger, for an average acceptance rate of 133kW. On the right, adding 47% (61.6kWh) to an ER battery in 26 minutes at an EVgo 350kW charger, for an average acceptance rate of 142kW. The ER trucks really do charge up to 40% faster than SR.

Two interesting things about ER and SR trucks. One is that they have roughly the same charging times by percentage -- it took 38 minutes to add 63% to an SR truck, and 39 minutes to add 66% to an ER truck. The other is that both the ER and SR trucks have roughly the same peak acceptance rate, somewhere in the vicinity of 170kW. However, the SR trucks have a lower average rate, which means that they must drop down to a lower sustained rate for the bulk of the charge.

 

[djwildstar]

This is recent from my ER

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but your screenshot shows 78.8kWh delivered in 43.5 minutes, for an average charge acceptance rate of 78.8 / 43.5 * 60 = 108kW. This is barely faster than Ventuorum94's 98kW average charge acceptance for his SR truck. He was looking for ER charging sessions that show an average charge acceptance rate greater than 125kW.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

75-80mph

We'd love to see some pics, Kevin! So we can gawk too!

 

[Tony Burgh]

What highways are 55 mph? I live in TX and they are all 75…Again misleading. Where is the memo that your range is 200 mile max at hwy speeds with ER?
They need to state miles per kWh separately for city and highway and let people do the math themselves. For example
2.5 m/kWh City
1.6 m/kWh Hwy

The fueleconomy.gov portion of that window sticker is trash.

If they gave m/kWh then the tesla folks would complain that it’s not Wh/mile.
At any rate, you got the mileage expected at 75. When I lived in TX, no one drove only 75.

 

[kbuicker]

We'd love to see some pics, Kevin! So we can gawk too!

You know it! Recent Trip to Tyler State Park in Tyler Texas, with my Ruby Sue to take in the fresh air, hike & just take it all in. Lightning got us there & back no problemo!

 

[LifeAsDane]

This truck should come with a disclaimer
*not meant for interstate use.

Driving at normal interstate speeds, going from 80% SOC to 20 % SOC took all of ~115 miles.
Stated average of 1.7 kWh, pencil came to about 1.55

Love it around town, average between 2.7 and 2.9. but this interstate travel is bananas. Contemplated driving 65 but would have still had to make 3 stops to charge, so went around 75mph.
Stopping every 2 hours for another 30-40 minutes is a big ask, added about 50% more time to the trip 6 hours vs 9 hours. Had to charge to 90% on the final charge- didn’t want to arrive dead.

Anyway, I suspected it would be a challenge, but didn’t expect it to be like this.

I may have opted for the extended range had Intaken a trip before purchase.
Again, love the truck and it fits my needs, was just a bit shocked how 240 mile range is actually about 115 miles when keeping it between 80% and 20% interstate driving.

On the plus side, had great luck with Electrify America charging stations.

Yeah, it is quite pathetic on the Interstate. I bought it knowing it was my intown vehicle but I'd never try a trip longer than 2hrs that involves the interstate. The funny part is I kinda hope for traffic on the interstate these days, just because I know I'll have that much less concern. Going ER wouldn't improve your analysis much either. what an additional 30mi maybe? Here in Florida the Interstate Speed Limit is 70 and NO ONE goes 70. 80 is the standard. Still love it. Just very limited the side trips I can make when planning for my 150ish mile roundtrips. And you better not forget to plugin the night before.

 

[Smokewagun]

Just curious why “the SR makes it a challenge” (as in, having an ER with another 26kWh really makes a huge difference??). SR requires one (worst case two) more charging stop than ER in 450mi. Challenge? Not in my SR experience- just avoid chargers that don’t output 500A. Stick with EA 350kW (500A), avoid the 150kW (only 350A), and don’t even consider anything under 150kW, on a long road trip. Avoid routes that require 50kW charging-they’re not suitable for EV road tripping, imho.

You make charging station selections sound like walking down the aisles at Walmart and selecting crushed pineapple from a myriad of choices. In the Midwest, unless you are in a big city, good luck. And, if the trucks charger dictates the max rate, on a SR, is the 350kW gaining you anything over the 150kW? Not much, if any. They both drop down to below 150 in a relatively quick manner.

 

[Nikola 369]

Same Lightning SR, I agree with your points. However I’ve just learned to take things slower in general. I’m tired of being in a hurry all of the time. Weather (precip), wind, temperature, elevation, etc. can all affect your performance and range. I could easily do 185-200 miles of interstate in my SR depending on wind during warmer/fair days.

You are correct, 100%. Taking things slower is a gift all the way around. Americans have become used to driving around 100 miles in close to one hour! It’s really crazy. The SR lightnings have a lower HP rating than the ER’s. From my Motörhead days, torque drives launch from line and HP drives top end….Speed. My theory is the lower HP rating of SR’s make the problem of speed more exasperated. I set the cruise @65 and enjoy the ride and scenery. I usually get 2.2 to 2.7 like this, depending on conditions. Driving @ or above 70 mostly give below 1.9 and have even seen 1.3 in windy and cold conditions.

 

[Kit2874]

This truck should come with a disclaimer
*not meant for interstate use.

Driving at normal interstate speeds, going from 80% SOC to 20 % SOC took all of ~115 miles.
Stated average of 1.7 kWh, pencil came to about 1.55

Love it around town, average between 2.7 and 2.9. but this interstate travel is bananas. Contemplated driving 65 but would have still had to make 3 stops to charge, so went around 75mph.
Stopping every 2 hours for another 30-40 minutes is a big ask, added about 50% more time to the trip 6 hours vs 9 hours. Had to charge to 90% on the final charge- didn’t want to arrive dead.

Anyway, I suspected it would be a challenge, but didn’t expect it to be like this.

I may have opted for the extended range had Intaken a trip before purchase.
Again, love the truck and it fits my needs, was just a bit shocked how 240 mile range is actually about 115 miles when keeping it between 80% and 20% interstate driving.

On the plus side, had great luck with Electrify America charging stations.

I see this thread is a little bit older but I have found, That just like a gas car, if you can get ones foot out of the pedal, you can get better gas mileage/ KhW


On my three to six hunderd mile trips, in my xlt SR I find After 60 miles per hour, you lose one tenth to two tenth of a mile on KhW every 5mph faster you go

So the OP would have slowed down to say 65. You would add roughly 50 minutes to an hour on the trip.
aand could have easily got rid of one of the charges if not 2

A...It would have saved you money....B would literally be about the same amount of time getting there Just as going 75 with four charges.

I'm an over-the-road truck driver. I drive for a living. And in what my 20 years of driving a big semi has taught me when I set the cruise control to 65

1. I am less stressed.
2. Saves me a ton on money.
3. I enjoy the ride.

 

[PreservedSwine]

I see this thread is a little bit older but I have found, That just like a gas car, if you can get ones foot out of the pedal, you can get better gas mileage/ KhW


On my three to six hunderd mile trips, in my xlt SR I find After 60 miles per hour, you lose one tenth to two tenth of a mile on KhW every 5mph faster you go

So the OP would have slowed down to say 65. You would add roughly 50 minutes to an hour on the trip.
aand could have easily got rid of one of the charges if not 2

A...It would have saved you money....B would literally be about the same amount of time getting there Just as going 75 with four charges.

I'm an over-the-road truck driver. I drive for a living. And in what my 20 years of driving a big semi has taught me when I set the cruise control to 65

1. I am less stressed.
2. Saves me a ton on money.
3. I enjoy the ride.

I’m very happy that the spacing of chargers on your road trip work very well for you.
However, the math did not work out for me. That’s something you should have considered before this otherwise well thought out reply.
As an engineer, if anything, the charging stops may have been over thought.
However, as it was my first time road tripping the Ligjting, charging at stations that I had never been, I was conservative in my estimates, and charging at less than 20% was not on the table.
Perhaps with the benefit of hindsight I could have rolled into a station with 10% of charge remaining to squeeze out one charging stop, and knock an hour off the trip.
I do appreciate your input, and am very glad you are able to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Unfortunately, not everyone is able to turn every trip into an experience. Sometimes, you just need to get from A to B. The way chargers were spaced, for a first road trip, this was the most efficient drive within the 80% to 20% parameters (starting at 100% of course) I could find. Chargers aren’t always spaced for our convenience.
Had I taken my Jag, which gets roughly 450 miles a tank, the trip would have only taken 5 hours. In the lighting, it took all of 9. This wasn’t an “enjoy the ride trip”, as I had to turn and burn the next day. I don’t enjoy driving on road trips when there’s a limited amount of time to spend with family. I apologize if this is offensive, but I just don’t. I don’t enjoy cruises or Disney World either.

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