It can be helpful to get an OBD port reader (BLE) and “Car Scanner” app, so you can see the maximum current (Amps) flowing to the HV battery pack. EA chargers only display power (kW), but when you open Car Scanner and see the current hovering at “300A” you know that the charger has been...
Just two observations:
First- the largest charge stop on the trip was 84kWh, and there were only two that weren’t under 80kWh. An SR pack (98kWh) could have made the same trip, same segments with perhaps one more charge stop (to eliminate those two over-80kWh charges in favor of three quicker...
Just about any married-joint tax return with AGI equal to the price of a Lightning Lariat or higher is going to have a $7500 or higher tax liability (though I’m not sure anyone should be buying a vehicle that costs as much as their annual income).
DCFC needs to cost a lot more ($1/kWh?) to discourage its everyday use by people who could otherwise Level 2. A higher price could also pay for better maintenance and monitoring. DCFC needs to be the charging of last resort, to enable road tripping or an emergency quick recharge worth $100.
I don’t think it really matters what the cost of DCFC is (even gasoline equivalent of $9/gal) if pricing assures that it’s available and reliable. Economical charging is home/Level 2 charging. DCFC isn’t even as healthy for our vehicles- it should be used when necessary (away from home, to...
It ought to be printed on a sign, at a DCFC near you:
“IF YOU FOUND THIS DC FASTCHARGER WORKING AND AVAILABLE WHEN YOU NEEDED IT, THAT’S BECAUSE IT’S PRICED HIGH ENOUGH THAT PEOPLE WHO COULD OTHERWISE CHARGE AT HOME OR ELSEWHERE PREFER TO DO SO, AND HIGH ENOUGH TO COVER THE COST OF PROPERLY...
The last thing a Ford dealer needs is to have its chargers be an economical alternative to home charging. Ford Dealer fast-DC needs to be charging of last-resort; for emergency use, or use by long-distance travelers to support trips in areas underserved by EA, Tesla, etc.
Fast DC charging, whether at Ford dealers or elsewhere, should be sufficiently more expensive than home charging or other day-to-day Level 2 charging, to make it unattractive as a means of primary day-to-day charging. Fast DC at $1/kWh accomplishes two things: shorter charging sessions, and...
And I’d love to see the following Ford F150 Lightning features, on my Teslas:
1) 360 Camera View- no modern vehicle should be without this. Period.
2) Blind Spot Monitoring, without having to activate turn signals.
3) Lane changes that don’t turn off Tesla Autosteer (“Lane Centering,” in Ford...
Keep track of your current consumption, by resetting Trip 1 every 10mi or so. Multiply that consumption number (miles/kWh) by your SOC (%, find it on the Calm Screen), and THAT’S your range-to-zero (SR makes the math easier). You’ll know in the first 10mi, whether you’re driving efficiently...
I believe that both 1PD and 2PD on our Lightnings is “blended braking” (regen + friction brakes as needed). The only difference is that when 2PD is selected, no blended braking is applied until the brake pedal is pressed, allowing a traditional coast when accelerator is released.
There should...
I’ve seen upwards of 160-170kW on my SR at EA “Hyperfast” 350kW chargers. Two things are true:
1) the early spec floating around out there that said the SR could only charge up to 120kW is just wrong. Here’s a recent example where I averaged 165.7kW while adding almost 25kWh in 9min:
2) I...
If you charge your ER to 80%, and plug in again at 20%…
you could charge an SR to 90% and plug in at 10%, and actually enjoy MORE driving range!
The bottom line is, there’s really not a huge ER/SR difference in practical day-to-day range.
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.
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...
Our Lightnings need 500A for the best charging speeds possible (the battery pack voltage is low-mid 300v, so it requires more current, as in kW = V x A). 150kW charging on a Lightning isn’t even possible on a “150kW” charger, because current is limited to 350A; you might see 120-130kW on the...
Spot on! If we could drive our Lightnings in a one-way tunnel, with fans moving air in our direction of travel (at the same speed we are moving) the resulting efficiency would be amazing. Heavy traffic on a divided highway is kind of like that imaginary tunnel, cutting air resistance...