I charged to 100% and my Lightning said 379 miles!

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[Vulnox]

EVs are so volatile with their range numbers, I wish I could comfortably go by the battery percentage instead, but my brain just won't allow it. I can understand half a tank on a gas car, but 50% on an EV could mean 75 miles or 150 miles, depending on so many factors.

I don't understand this mentality, it was exactly the same with ICE vehicles. If I drove 100 miles in my PowerBoost F-150 I could get 24-25 MPG. With a 30 gallon tank, it would tell me at fill up that it estimated 750 miles on the tank.

If I then drive around a town, like let's say I was driving that 100 miles to a destination, and was averaging 18 MPG, my DTE would drop like a rock. From 750 to 500 just from me driving 20 miles and getting lower efficiency.

It's essentially the same as people complain about with the EVs. The major difference is the DTE in an EV takes more factors into account than ICE vehicles typically have, like outside temp. But outside temp impacted your ICE vehicle as well, you just had to drive and actually get the lower mileage for it to show on the DTE.

All that is to say, I don't know why people really trusted the DTE on ICE vehicles either. It was always just an estimate, and an estimate based on history. You only took it as fact because nobody ever actually drives it from full to complete empty and compares it to what it said at the start. Also since you were dealing with large numbers (750 or whatever) for the DTE, you didn't notice if it dropped to 500 as much as you notice 300 to 150.

 

[Robert1380]

I don't understand this mentality, it was exactly the same with ICE vehicles. If I drove 100 miles in my PowerBoost F-150 I could get 24-25 MPG. With a 30 gallon tank, it would tell me at fill up that it estimated 750 miles on the tank.

If I then drive around a town, like let's say I was driving that 100 miles to a destination, and was averaging 18 MPG, my DTE would drop like a rock. From 750 to 500 just from me driving 20 miles and getting lower efficiency.

It's essentially the same as people complain about with the EVs. The major difference is the DTE in an EV takes more factors into account than ICE vehicles typically have, like outside temp. But outside temp impacted your ICE vehicle as well, you just had to drive and actually get the lower mileage for it to show on the DTE.

All that is to say, I don't know why people really trusted the DTE on ICE vehicles either. It was always just an estimate, and an estimate based on history. You only took it as fact because nobody ever actually drives it from full to complete empty and compares it to what it said at the start. Also since you were dealing with large numbers (750 or whatever) for the DTE, you didn't notice if it dropped to 500 as much as you notice 300 to 150.

Yeah you make a great point. The “lie o meter” was definitely misleading as well as the mpg gauge. However, there was a way to get into the the mpg settings and make value changes to make it much more accurate. I had mine dialed in pretty tight.

 

[RickLightning]

Yep. That’s pretty much what I was saying. We are programmed and our brain says you got 319 miles on the meter then you got 319 miles of travel depending on what type of lead foot you have. Gotta learn to disregard that I guess

I don't understand this mentality, it was exactly the same with ICE vehicles. If I drove 100 miles in my PowerBoost F-150 I could get 24-25 MPG. With a 30 gallon tank, it would tell me at fill up that it estimated 750 miles on the tank.

If I then drive around a town, like let's say I was driving that 100 miles to a destination, and was averaging 18 MPG, my DTE would drop like a rock. From 750 to 500 just from me driving 20 miles and getting lower efficiency.

It's essentially the same as people complain about with the EVs. The major difference is the DTE in an EV takes more factors into account than ICE vehicles typically have, like outside temp. But outside temp impacted your ICE vehicle as well, you just had to drive and actually get the lower mileage for it to show on the DTE.

All that is to say, I don't know why people really trusted the DTE on ICE vehicles either. It was always just an estimate, and an estimate based on history. You only took it as fact because nobody ever actually drives it from full to complete empty and compares it to what it said at the start. Also since you were dealing with large numbers (750 or whatever) for the DTE, you didn't notice if it dropped to 500 as much as you notice 300 to 150.

Yes they're the same, but no they're not the same...

The differences are, IMO:

- immediacy of impact of change in temperature
- availability of refueling and the smaller distance between stops on EV

The impact of cold on the EV is quicker than the impact on the ICE vehicle also, partly because the heater has such a large impact.

Worse case, with a gas vehicle, I stop, add some "high priced" fuel to get to the next refueling stop with cheaper prices, and move on. With the EV, in places, I have X miles to go. If I then hit colder temps and a headwind, I'm forced to slow to make it.

There are also locations that go down, and can dramatically impact a trip, requiring dramatic slowing, or rerouting, assuming you find it in time.

 

[jimfigler]

I rarely charge to 100%. I have it set to 80% standard, but I was planning on a long trip, so I topped it full. (I also read it’s good for the battery to do this from time to time.)

When I started my trip in the morning, I was surprised to see my truck say I had 379 miles of range! In the past, when I have charged to 100%, I have seen it say up to 340 miles.

Has something changed with the way the battery calculates range?

I use a Ford Pro Charging station and have an extended range battery.

All this means is that its summer and you drive very slow

 

[lipnorth]

All this means is that its summer and you drive very slow

Nah I don't have a lead foot and with the lightning thats a good thing

 

[jimfigler]

My ICE vehicle said 408 miles when I filled it this weekend. Do I look at that number and care about it? No. All I look at is the gas gauge and fill when it's close to E. All we should look at is SoC

 

[Yellow Buddy]

I don't understand this mentality, it was exactly the same with ICE vehicles. If I drove 100 miles in my PowerBoost F-150 I could get 24-25 MPG. With a 30 gallon tank, it would tell me at fill up that it estimated 750 miles on the tank.

If I then drive around a town, like let's say I was driving that 100 miles to a destination, and was averaging 18 MPG, my DTE would drop like a rock. From 750 to 500 just from me driving 20 miles and getting lower efficiency.

It's essentially the same as people complain about with the EVs. The major difference is the DTE in an EV takes more factors into account than ICE vehicles typically have, like outside temp. But outside temp impacted your ICE vehicle as well, you just had to drive and actually get the lower mileage for it to show on the DTE.

All that is to say, I don't know why people really trusted the DTE on ICE vehicles either. It was always just an estimate, and an estimate based on history. You only took it as fact because nobody ever actually drives it from full to complete empty and compares it to what it said at the start. Also since you were dealing with large numbers (750 or whatever) for the DTE, you didn't notice if it dropped to 500 as much as you notice 300 to 150.

It’s just what people are used to, range anxiety. I get the reverse nowadays, I get range anxiety when I hop into an ICE vehicle.

I know where all the DCFCs and L2s are in the area I travel. And I know how to quickly plan, lookup, and estimate what I need on any of my EVs - across different brands.

Put me in a gas car? I’ll stop short with 1/4 of a tank to fill up or I’ll freak out when I see a sign that says no rest area for X miles.

 

[Firn]

I don't understand this mentality, it was exactly the same with ICE vehicles. If I drove 100 miles in my PowerBoost F-150 I could get 24-25 MPG. With a 30 gallon tank, it would tell me at fill up that it estimated 750 miles on the tank.

If I then drive around a town, like let's say I was driving that 100 miles to a destination, and was averaging 18 MPG, my DTE would drop like a rock. From 750 to 500 just from me driving 20 miles and getting lower efficiency.

It's essentially the same as people complain about with the EVs. The major difference is the DTE in an EV takes more factors into account than ICE vehicles typically have, like outside temp. But outside temp impacted your ICE vehicle as well, you just had to drive and actually get the lower mileage for it to show on the DTE.

All that is to say, I don't know why people really trusted the DTE on ICE vehicles either. It was always just an estimate, and an estimate based on history. You only took it as fact because nobody ever actually drives it from full to complete empty and compares it to what it said at the start. Also since you were dealing with large numbers (750 or whatever) for the DTE, you didn't notice if it dropped to 500 as much as you notice 300 to 150.

IMO the difference is in the availability of charging and the rate at which you consume battery.

The very few times I have had the gas light come on unexpectedly the worry was basically zero, I knew there was a fueling station within range and all i had to do was move my eyes to find one. The rest of the time I would hit 1/4 of a tank and do some quick mental math to see if i was filling up now, or tomorrow.

With the Lightning that's not possible, I need to know ahead of time if I will need to charge, and if so where is that going to be. If traveling, its a very real possibility there ISNT a charger in range. There is no ability to look down and think "eih, I'll wait a bit more then start looking". This is compounded by the great variability in charging speeds, and the amount of time it takes to charge.

Bottom line, you dont want to recharge too early, that just wastes a lot of time. But you also cant just wait until its reasonable low and then start watching for a charger.

This is changing as more stations come online, but it does not seem like its quite there yet.

 

[Brent@ANParts]

I think for me, at least, the gas gauge always felt very consistent. I could more or less understand the rate at which my truck was burning gas, but with a lot of EVs it seems more erratic and just so much more sensitive.

Regardless, it's something that is constantly being improved upon and I look forward to a future with more and more charging stations, so that when you drop to 20% or even 10% you're not panicking and driving 10 below the limit.

 

[Robert1380]

I think for me, at least, the gas gauge always felt very consistent. I could more or less understand the rate at which my truck was burning gas, but with a lot of EVs it seems more erratic and just so much more sensitive.

Regardless, it's something that is constantly being improved upon and I look forward to a future with more and more charging stations, so that when you drop to 20% or even 10% you're not panicking and driving 10 below the limit.

I agree with you. I’m still learning the characteristics of my truck and that’s gonna take awhile.

We recently took a short 300 mile trip and on the return leg, I had charged to 90% prior to heading out thru the desert. In less than 20 miles my truck had a drastic drop to 53% and had amber colored charge and miles till zero staring at me. Would have been fine accept there was literally no charging locations for 130 miles. That definitely got my attention as it was 114 degrees and the cell service thru parts of the desert are sketchy.

 

[jjupi91897]

I rarely charge to 100%. I have it set to 80% standard, but I was planning on a long trip, so I topped it full. (I also read it’s good for the battery to do this from time to time.)

When I started my trip in the morning, I was surprised to see my truck say I had 379 miles of range! In the past, when I have charged to 100%, I have seen it say up to 340 miles.

Has something changed with the way the battery calculates range?

I use a Ford Pro Charging station and have an extended range battery.

I observed the same thing with my Lariat ER. I believe it has to do with the warmer weather. During cold weather, I get the exact opposite effect.

 

[Landscaper]

It’s mind boggling how people always take the bait to posts like the original one. Over and over and over again

 

[Firn]

It’s mind boggling how people always take the bait to posts like the original one. Over and over and over again

Take what bait? He didn't ask if his truck could GO that many miles, he asked if they changed how they calculate range, which they appeard to do at some point.

When a truck that has a nominal range of 320 miles, it showing nearly 380 is certainly something worth asking to figure out what in the world is happening.

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