cvalue13
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2022
- Threads
- 23
- Messages
- 788
- Reaction score
- 752
- Location
- Austin, Texas
- Vehicles
- â22 Lightning ER Lariat
- Occupation
- Fun-Employed
- Thread starter
- #1
The tl;dr - in 2022, the battle might only come down to the uninteresting differences in tire selection (as weight, etc., are nearly a wash).
We all remember the infamous Musk video of the CyberTruck walking away with an F150, which tow-battle was so gimmicky and discussed in pop-culture that even Neal deGrasse-Tyson weighed in to criticize the relevance of the âtestâ:
And engineers took to YouTube to explain why the tow-battle was âcompletely pointless.â
Ultimately, Musk agreed to have a fairer rematch, Ford mostly called the whole show silly, and Musk perhaps eventually agreed because he never unilaterally attempted a rematch (the first towing gimmick wasnât Ford-participated, either).
Well, three years later the tables have somewhat turned in at least one respect: Ford has a production BEV pickup, while Tesla still has prototypes.
Since Tesla CyberTrucks still donât exist, itâs still not completely ripe to update the testosterone-relevant towing battle (usually reserved for coal-rolling diesel heads). But when have facts ever gotten in the way of a truck forum debate?
I wanted to first research and recount the prior 2019 towing battle stats, then take that Cybertruckâs stats and attempt to compare them to the closest F150L trim levelâs stats for a virtual tow-battle rematch.
The 2019 Tow-Battle
Ironically, this fact of relative weight was instantly obvious to pickup truck owners that tow, but lost on the cheering fans at the Tesla event. In other words, the people most impressed with the 2019 tow-battle were those who least understood towing.
Still, whatâs a hypothetical 2022 matchup of a existing, production, F150L against its nearest trim-mate in the CyberTruck lineup?
2022 Tow-Battle Rematch
In fact, since the CTâs weight is estimated (or imaginary, depending on how one looks at it), weâre looking at on-paper stats that truly do warrant a real-world tow-off to see how various nuances effect the outcome.
Indeed, the best comparison may be to weight load-match the F150L and CT for the tow-battle, which would then result in little more than watching the outcome of their relative tire friction coefficients.
All this testosterone poisoning to arrive at the the following, uninteresting, conclusion in 2022: when it comes to BEV tow-battles, itâs less about the truck you choose, and more about the tires you choose to put on the truck.
Of course, the interesting part of this conclusion is the arguable insight in to why Tesla hasnât re-upped its toe-battle stunt, while Ford long ago called it stupid: EV people are learning about the basics of towing.
We all remember the infamous Musk video of the CyberTruck walking away with an F150, which tow-battle was so gimmicky and discussed in pop-culture that even Neal deGrasse-Tyson weighed in to criticize the relevance of the âtestâ:
And engineers took to YouTube to explain why the tow-battle was âcompletely pointless.â
Ultimately, Musk agreed to have a fairer rematch, Ford mostly called the whole show silly, and Musk perhaps eventually agreed because he never unilaterally attempted a rematch (the first towing gimmick wasnât Ford-participated, either).
Well, three years later the tables have somewhat turned in at least one respect: Ford has a production BEV pickup, while Tesla still has prototypes.
Since Tesla CyberTrucks still donât exist, itâs still not completely ripe to update the testosterone-relevant towing battle (usually reserved for coal-rolling diesel heads). But when have facts ever gotten in the way of a truck forum debate?
I wanted to first research and recount the prior 2019 towing battle stats, then take that Cybertruckâs stats and attempt to compare them to the closest F150L trim levelâs stats for a virtual tow-battle rematch.
The 2019 Tow-Battle
2019 CyberTruck Stats: I could not find any definitive source of stats for the exact CyberTruck used in the 2019 battle (Tesla never said). Best I could find, squaring with available facts at the time, is that the truck was at least a mid-range (for 2019) trim with dual-motor and AWD (estimated):
⢠HP: ~690
⢠Torque: ~820
⢠Weight: ~6,500lbs
⢠Weight Distribution: assume ~50/50
⢠Resulting Weight @ Drive Wheels: ~6,500
2019 ICE F150 Stats: Ford-familiar observers were able to pretty squarely deduce the CTâs adversary was likely a RWD STX with the 2.7L ecoBoost v6:
⢠HP: 325
⢠Torque: 400
⢠Weight: 4,400lbs
⢠Weight Distribution: assume ~60/40 (RW)
⢠Resulting Weight @ Drive Wheels: 1,760lbs
The âEngineering Explainedâ YouTube back in 2019 made a compelling case for how and why relative torque had little to do with the outcome of the 2019 tow-battle. Instead, assuming both vehicles were in AWD (which he admits doesnât appear to be the case for the ICE F150), and assuming both vehicleâs tires have the same friction coefficient (which is a bald assumption but makes the comparison relevant), the difference comes down entirely to the relative weight of the two vehicles, and how much of their plenty torque they can âput down.â. (The same point made by Neal deGrassse-Tyson.)Ironically, this fact of relative weight was instantly obvious to pickup truck owners that tow, but lost on the cheering fans at the Tesla event. In other words, the people most impressed with the 2019 tow-battle were those who least understood towing.
Still, whatâs a hypothetical 2022 matchup of a existing, production, F150L against its nearest trim-mate in the CyberTruck lineup?
2022 Tow-Battle Rematch
2022 CyberTruck Stats: Well, given the F150Lâs best stat trim level (the dual-motor, AWD, Lariat ER or Platinum, depending on how you look at things), the dual motor CyberTruck continues to be the seeming best class-for-class competitor. Accordingly, just imagine the same 2019 CyberTruck prototype described above:
⢠HP: ~690
⢠Torque: ~820
⢠Weight: ~6,500lbs
⢠Weight Distribution: assume ~50/50
⢠Resulting Weight @ Drive Wheels: ~6,500
2022 F150L Stats: rather than putting the CyberTruck against arguably Fordâs least capable towing configuration, now there is a better pound-for-pound (literally) comparison in the Lightning Lariat/Platinum ER range:
⢠HP: 580
⢠Torque: 775
⢠Weight: ~6,200lb
⢠Weight Distribution: assume ~50/50
⢠Resulting Weight @ Drive Wheels: ~6,200lb
Given whatâs been discussed regarding the relevant factors in such a tow-battle, primarily weight, we now in 2022 have on paper a far more interesting comparison.In fact, since the CTâs weight is estimated (or imaginary, depending on how one looks at it), weâre looking at on-paper stats that truly do warrant a real-world tow-off to see how various nuances effect the outcome.
Indeed, the best comparison may be to weight load-match the F150L and CT for the tow-battle, which would then result in little more than watching the outcome of their relative tire friction coefficients.
All this testosterone poisoning to arrive at the the following, uninteresting, conclusion in 2022: when it comes to BEV tow-battles, itâs less about the truck you choose, and more about the tires you choose to put on the truck.
Of course, the interesting part of this conclusion is the arguable insight in to why Tesla hasnât re-upped its toe-battle stunt, while Ford long ago called it stupid: EV people are learning about the basics of towing.
Sponsored