Brawn & Brains: How F-150 Lightning Software Accurately Estimates Range While Towing

[Administrator]

BRAWN AND BRAINS: HOW FORD F-150 LIGHTNING SOFTWARE ACCURATELY ESTIMATES RANGE TO GIVE CUSTOMERS CONFIDENCE WHILE TOWING

• Ford equipped all-new 2022 Ford F-150® Lightning™ electric pickup with smart technologies to more accurately calculate remaining vehicle range using real time conditions so customers can tow with greater confidence – the more it’s used, the more accurate it gets
• Cloud-connected Intelligent Range compares energy use with data from numerous sources, including Ford electric trucks that have towed on similar roads with similar trailers to more accurately update the battery range gauge on the digital cluster, even while driving
• FordPass™ Power My Trip creates maps displaying convenient charging locations, while Trailer Profile remembers past trips and integrates them into Intelligent Range to automatically find charge points, if the system determines you’ll reach low range on your trip

DEARBORN, Mich., May 2, 2022 – The all-new Ford F-150® Lightning™ boasts the Built Ford Tough™ brawn to tow up to an available 10,000 pounds* with its 775 lb.-ft. of electric torque**, but it’s the truck’s brains that will give customers the range information they need to tow long distances with the confidence they’re accustomed to.

Ford-exclusive technologies: Intelligent Range and FordPass™ Power My Trip plus the available class-exclusive† Onboard Scales work seamlessly to give F-150 Lightning customers more accurate vehicle range estimates based on actual towing experiences and real-time energy use, while Trailer Profile remembers their trailer specifics so the system can associate energy use for each trailer used.

“We know many F-150 Lightning customers will be first-time electric vehicle owners who expect that familiar Built Ford Tough capability along with robust towing,” said Linda Zhang, chief engineer, F-150 Lightning. “That’s why we created smart technologies to help take the worry out of towing long distances by giving customers more reliable and accurate range calculations, and then automatically locate charge points along the way, if needed.”

Intelligent Range, the techno genie behind the scenes

The magic that enables confident and rewarding towing experiences with F-150 Lightning is Ford-exclusive Intelligent Range, which is enhanced to work specifically with the needs of electric truck owners.

On F-150 Lightning, Intelligent Range collects key vehicle data to determine how much electrical energy drivers are using in real time. This includes traffic speed, ambient temperature, available battery energy, plus driver habits, climate control use and route topography. The system also uses cloud computing to gauge energy use from other similar types of Ford electric vehicles operating in similar situations, resulting in more accurate vehicle range calculations over time††.

With F-150 Lightning, Intelligent Range can also sample similar towing and energy use situations to further refine range calculations in real time. This happens automatically through available Ford Onboard Scales, which communicate with Intelligent Range. As range data improves and the system becomes more robust, the system can be further refined via Ford Power-Up over-the-air software updates.

“Whether you’re towing with a gas-powered or electric truck, range degradation as a percentage is basically the same – determined primarily by overall cargo and trailer weight at low speeds and by the aerodynamic profile at higher speeds,” said Zhang. “That’s why we expanded the capabilities of Intelligent Range on the F-150 Lightning with the available Onboard scales to also measure the load effects of trailers and cargo to further refine range calculations when towing.”

Power My Trip empowers long-distance towing

Bringing a more confident electric towing experience to life is FordPass Power My Trip, the online mapping system where drivers can plan-out their trips. Customers simply in-put their trailer information into Trailer Profile, then enter their destination into the SYNC® 4/4A navigation system or on their smartphone via the FordPass app. Power My Trip automatically maps their towing route using Intelligent Range – and provides charge points along the way, if needed.

Should an F-150 Lightning customer need to stop for a charge along the way, they can access the Ford BlueOval™ Charge Network, the nation’s largest public charging network with more than 20,500 charge locations and 70,000+ plugs across North America‡. That includes more than 7,300 DC fast chargers, some that can deliver up to 150 kW of energy, giving an extended range F-150 Lightning from 15% to 80% of additional estimated battery range in 41 minutes when using the 150 kW Electrify America chargers‡‡.

Every F-150 Lightning customer will get a Ford Mobile Power cord charger, which gives them 120- or 240-volt AC charging with easy, portable charge connectivity wherever they go. Extended range F-150 Lightning customers will also receive an 80-amp Ford Charge Station Pro, which they can install at home or work. Standard range customers can purchase the Ford Charge Station Pro for $1,310 MSRP plus tax.

“By giving customers the most accurate range assessments possible and the charge tools they need to tow reliably, we believe they’ll move past the myths about towing with an electric truck and embrace the value-added benefits F-150 Lightning provides,” said Zhang. “As they get accustomed to how Intelligent Range and Power My Trip work, they’ll naturally adjust their routines – whether that’s stopping for lunch and a DC fast charge or finding a route that simplifies their drive.”

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[beatle]

It's nice that there is trip planning utilities in the vehicle, but being able to plan a trip on a web browser or an app is much more convenient as it allows you to check out amenities nearby certain charging stations, view alternate routes, change your starting SoC, and plan a return trip. I'm mostly referring to ABRP which lets you do these things, though not with the specific intelligence of towing a trailer. It does allow you to "recalibrate" for a higher average consumption rate though, so if you know what your consumption rate is while towing you can compensate for that.

Personally I've never found in-car trip planning to be all that useful. It's nice for individual legs and predicting how much battery I'll have at my destination, but I can see this being a bit of a chore to do all inside the vehicle on the navigation screen, especially if you're planning based on the truck's current SoC and not what you plan to charge to when you start your trip.

Being able to simulate different weather conditions is also important. If Ford's planning algorithm is good (and I hope it is), they'll be considering these variables anyway, and they should let you plan a summer trip in the winter or vice versa. I know that when I visit my parents in the summer I can get down to their house without stopping for a charge, but I need to stop when I visit them for Christmas.

That all said, I think if Ford didn't have this capability in the truck, there would be all kinds of range anxiety stoked by fear of the great unknown. This at least does not force you to use a 3rd party app to plan your trips, but I think most will still benefit from one.

 

[LightningShow]

I guess it's nice that it's there but I suspect i'll never, or almost never, use it.

 

[vandy1981]

The intelligent range prediction system for trailering is a big selling point for my partner who has extreme range anxiety. If it functions as promised, its ability to integrate payload, weather, grade and specific trailer characteristics is unmatched in the industry, OEM software or otherwise. It's cool that the algorithm will improve as more data is collected from your specific trailer and from other users.

I will continue to use ABRP for route planning, but anticipate that the on-board system will be more accurate for the above reasons.

 

[gorwell]

Can it Tow?

"Heck yeah it can Tow".... but you will get ~100-120 miles of usable range in 2/3 of the examples Ford gave, be at the charging station forever, and may struggle to even get into one...

Leaving out the import details...

There was Zero doubt it has the power to tow ever since day 1, for the majority of people.

 

[TaxmanHog]

My first charging stop will be around 0530 in the morning, most likely I will have exclusive use of the location!

 

[beatle]

Can it Tow?

"Heck yeah it can Tow".... but you will get ~100-120 miles of usable range in 2/3 of the examples Ford gave, be at the charging station forever, and may struggle to even get into one...

Leaving out the import details...

There was Zero doubt it has the power to tow ever since day 1, for the majority of people.

Yes, we know, towing affects range. In other news, water is wet.

 

[gorwell]

Yes, we know, towing affects range. In other news, water is wet.

Yes, "we know"... but there is a big chunk of people new to EVs that Ford keeps marketing too letting them know they can Tow, but isn't setting expectations about how much range it's going to take off.

 

[greenne]

Can it Tow?

"Heck yeah it can Tow".... but you will get ~100-120 miles of usable range in 2/3 of the examples Ford gave, be at the charging station forever, and may struggle to even get into one...

Leaving out the import details...

There was Zero doubt it has the power to tow ever since day 1, for the majority of people.

This again..really?

 

[greenne]

Yes, "we know"... but there is a big chunk of people new to EVs that Ford keeps marketing too letting them know they can Tow, but isn't setting expectations about how much range it's going to take off.

And does Ford advertise that when you tow with a gas f150 you get like 8-10mpg vs 18mpg? Hmm...

The fact is range only becomes an issue if you are doing the long distance highway towing thing. For around town(contractor work) the f150 will be great. Towing the powerboat to the lake 25mi away is not a problem.

 

[Mr. Flibble]

It's nice that there is trip planning utilities in the vehicle, but being able to plan a trip on a web browser or an app is much more convenient as it allows you to check out amenities nearby certain charging stations, view alternate routes, change your starting SoC, and plan a return trip. I'm mostly referring to ABRP....

That all said, I think if Ford didn't have this capability in the truck, there would be all kinds of range anxiety stoked by fear of the great unknown. This at least does not force you to use a 3rd party app to plan your trips, but I think most will still benefit from one.

I agree. Though I am already familiar with driving an EV, so for my use case, having Apple CarPlay is a critical feature because we are bringing our own computers when we drive an EV. No matter how good the in-car software is, your cell phone gets regular hardware upgrades, and has tons of selections that are available from a totally different market than the closed-garden that the manufacturer provides.

Like you said, people who are new to EV's - and not very tech-savvy will absolutely depend on the in-car software. This is likely why Ford is moving to Android Automotive for the 2023 version, and away from Sync 4. Going with Android Automotive just makes sense with the available Google maps integrations.

 

[LightningShow]

Can it Tow?

"Heck yeah it can Tow".... but you will get ~100-120 miles of usable range in 2/3 of the examples Ford gave, be at the charging station forever, and may struggle to even get into one...

Leaving out the import details...

There was Zero doubt it has the power to tow ever since day 1, for the majority of people.

In which situation are you expecting to get 100-120mi of range while towing?

 

[beatle]

Yes, "we know"... but there is a big chunk of people new to EVs that Ford keeps marketing too letting them know they can Tow, but isn't setting expectations about how much range it's going to take off.

While I agree that there should be some level of transparency between the manufacturer and the consumer with what the capabilities of the vehicle are, a customer should still do some of their own research to manage their own expectations. Besides, the common "how much range do I get when towing?" isn't a simple calculation, and there isn't even a standard test to show people what it does to range under various conditions.

Even knowing "towing affects range," it is still a very open-ended conversation. Ford is at least showing that the truck will attempt to predict remaining range given a certain load type.

Would you rather they put "professional driver, do not attempt" on any video that mentions towing?

 

[metroshot]

In which situation are you expecting to get 100-120mi of range while towing?

I'd say:
Towing 3 ton class 3 load with 10% on tongue weight + cold weather + hills or high speed = half of SR range, 2/3 of ER range.

 

[LightningShow]

I'd say:
Towing 3 ton class 3 load with 10% on tongue weight + cold weather + hills or high speed = half of SR range, 2/3 of ER range.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the real world performance turns out. I wouldn’t expect to see 100 miles of range except in the most extreme circumstances. I have access to a 26’ (~5k lbs) travel trailer that i can tow around to get a feel for what it does to the range. I’m guessing it will be 200 miles, give or take.

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