Living with the Standard Range battery in the Lightning

[casanewt]

Living with the Standard Range battery

Looking for real-life input about the Standard Range battery in the Lightning. Best DCFC speeds you have seen, real-life range in hot and cold weather, etc. I have watched a few videos and searched the subject online, but there is not a ton of info since there are not a ton of them on the road yet compared to the ER battery version. Thanks in advance for your input!

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[spadesaspade]

I get
- 2.7 to 3.1 miles/kWh in summer (city driving) and 2.3 miles/kWh at constant 70mph (highway only)
- 2.0 to 2.3 miles/kWh in winter (city driving) and 1.7 to 1.9 miles/kWh at constant 70mph (highway only) with constant heat running
- I have never towed anything but have had things in the bed and the load did not change the numbers much.

You can do the math based on this how far can a charge take you.

As for charging speeds, I have seen speeds up to 155kW/hr. But 120kW/hour is more constant and realistic until you reach 75% or so. It falls below 50kW/hour after 85%. I have never had to charge for more than 35 minutes going from <10% to 80% at EA stations that worked as intended. There are a lot of scenarios here obviosly, slower DCFC will take longer, the speeds I gave you are the fastest ones. But it's the chargers limited capability more than the truck.

All in all, it is an awesome roadtrip vehicle if you have EA chargers on your route and you do not wish to stop for more than 30 minytes or so at each stop. You'll be stopping every 2 hours or so (140-150 miles) at constant highway speeds. Longer if you drive slower.

 

[Blainestang]

My experience is very similar to @spadesaspade , but I'll add a couple comments.

We've done three 1,000+ mile trips in ours and typically we have to stop every 80-120 miles to charge. Why? Because that's just how the chargers are often spaced, in my experience.

Also, at normal interstate speeds (~74mph), I'm often at ~1.9-2.1 mi/kWh, so to be safe, I want to assume 1.9mi/kWh. Even if there are chargers every 80 miles, it's either stop at every one OR drive ~160 miles between them, which requires charging to ~90%, which takes a while because the charge rate drops down.

The truck can also max out at ~162kWh for a few mins at the start of charging (it's not strictly based on battery charge level. Ford lets the truck charge at a special, higher rate when it first plugs in so long as it's below a certain level), so it's probably technically fastest to do shorter segments but charge at that max speed more often.

 

[jdmackes]

Just did my first long trip in my Pro, was getting around 1.9 at 70 miles and hour so I dropped down to 65 and was getting 2.2-2.3 miles/kw. Fastest speed I've charged at was 167 kw, and after a little bit it settled down to 100kw for the majority of the time. Went from 7% to 85% in about 39 minutes. I also had a charger that kept me at 145 for the majority of the time, so it depends on the charger and how much battery you have. We drove for about 4 hours starting from 100% and then charged to around 80% each time after that, usually stopping before we reached 10%. I'll probably be less careful on the way back because the chargers were much better than I was expecting. After the horror stories I heard about EA chargers I was surprised to find that they were pretty good

 

[Txxthie]

2023 Pro with 5K miles
The truck is really good, the charging network is the problem. It’s charger anxiety currently, not range. Tesla Supercharging will be a game changer in 2024 for the standard range especially. If you use heat (No heat pump) or drive faster than 70mph (poor aerodynamics) on highways, you will watch your range plummet. Driven conservatively, I’m seeing 1.9 average in the winter and 2.3 in the summer. I also own a TM3 LFP and when the Lightning goes LFP it’s the combination to get. 100% charging is liberating and allows for more real world range.
Pro power is the stellar feature of this truck, plus the frunk. It’s stupid fast, super comfortable, quiet and has gobs of space. Unless I needed to tow distances, I would never entertain buying an ICE version, it’s that good.

 

[casanewt]

I am sure most have seen this, but this is one of the better videos about the SR charging curve vs the ER.

 

[casanewt]

This one is about the ER, but since the SR has a similar charging curve, this ends with some good info on when to charge to get the best results.

 

[JRT]

I don't have a SR Lightning, but have had a SR Mach-e for 28k miles since 2021. Your question and experience given are highly situational. They might be awesome experiences from real world, but only if they are realistic to your use. My issue with SR is the area I'm in it is a problem and headache that means my Lightning, hopefully in October, will be ER. If you traveled in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee area you would not be happy with SR unless you really like spending significantly more time on the road then an ICE vehicle. That said I've done it in an SR and if it was me only and not my wife and kids, I'd probably put up with SR. However wife has liked the EV and loved the Lightning test drive so, happy wife, happy life with an ER in my future.

 

[Blainestang]

I don't have a SR Lightning, but have had a SR Mach-e for 28k miles since 2021. Your question and experience given are highly situational. They might be awesome experiences from real world, but only if they are realistic to your use. My issue with SR is the area I'm in it is a problem and headache that means my Lightning, hopefully in October, will be ER. If you traveled in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee area you would not be happy with SR unless you really like spending significantly more time on the road then an ICE vehicle. That said I've done it in an SR and if it was me only and not my wife and kids, I'd probably put up with SR. However wife has liked the EV and loved the Lightning test drive so, happy wife, happy life with an ER in my future.

Like you said, it's definitely use case dependent.

I've driven through Tennessee and driven up and down I-75 in Georgia multiple times, and it's been fine.

ER would be nice, of course, and I'm not going way off the beaten path, so that would make it worse, but just agreeing/supporting your point that it depends on exactly what the use case is.

 

[JRT]

Like you said, it's definitely use case dependent.

I've driven through Tennessee and driven up and down I-75 in Georgia multiple times, and it's been fine.

ER would be nice, of course, and I'm not going way off the beaten path, so that would make it worse, but just agreeing/supporting your point that it depends on exactly what the use case is.

Exactly, if I was able to travel I 75, no problem, but my routes for family are very much not interstates. Winter time is worst with a 60 mile lose is a big issue for my travel. I expect a similar lose for the Lightning.

 

[eRockBoon]

Check out the motor trend article recently published on the topic.

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...nd-optimal-speed-for-lightning-article.16471/

 

[Jaspernuts]

Winter is subjective. Up here in Mn, 1.4 to 1.7 is normal. One 50 mile trip into a 35mph NW wind in -8 degree temps I pulled 1.1 kwh!

 

[Bills R Electric]

Living with the Standard Range battery

Looking for real-life input about the Standard Range battery in the Lightning. Best DCFC speeds you have seen, real-life range in hot and cold weather, etc. I have watched a few videos and searched the subject online, but there is not a ton of info since there are not a ton of them on the road yet compare

As for charging speeds, I have seen speeds up to 155kW/hr. But 120kW/hour is more constant and realistic until you reach 75% or so. It falls below 50kW/hour after 85%.

Living with the Standard Range battery

Looking for real-life input about the Standard Range battery in the Lightning. Best DCFC speeds you have seen, real-life range in hot and cold weather, etc. I have watched a few videos and searched the subject online, but there is not a ton of info since there are not a ton of them on the road yet compared to the ER battery version. Thanks in advance for your input!

I have an Extended Range.
My experience DCFC charging is that while you can get 155-160KwH when you are at 30% SOC, when you hit 70%, you drop to about 50-55KwH, and it drops again at 80% to below 50 KwH (and if you go past 90% you could be at 25-30 KwH).

With a standard range you may have to use DCFC more often, especially if you only charge to 75-80%.

Bottomline, IMO, the charging speeds stink past 70-75% SOC, so I typically pull and go at that point.

 

[Jambar]

Living with the Standard Range battery

Looking for real-life input about the Standard Range battery in the Lightning. Best DCFC speeds you have seen, real-life range in hot and cold weather, etc. I have watched a few videos and searched the subject online, but there is not a ton of info since there are not a ton of them on the road yet compared to the ER battery version. Thanks in advance for your input!

Summer range is very good…. Up to 240 mile range at 100% charge. I charge to 85% achieving a 210 range. Cold weather is a challenge to have good range. The heater consumes much power significantly reducing range.

 

[Ventorum94]

Living with the Standard Range battery

Looking for real-life input about the Standard Range battery in the Lightning. Best DCFC speeds you have seen, real-life range in hot and cold weather, etc. I have watched a few videos and searched the subject online, but there is not a ton of info since there are not a ton of them on the road yet compared to the ER battery version. Thanks in advance for your input!

Have seen 168kW from EA 350kW EVSE (I know, it’s not supposed to be that good!). Once added 25% in 10min (means avg 100kW). Don’t listen to advice about 150kW being sufficient: the higher current output (amps) of a 350kW unit accomplishes faster charge rates on the Lightning, due to its relatively low voltage mid-upper 300V battery pack (150kW chargers are usually limited to 350A, while 350kW chargers can output 500A; 168kW charging on the Lightning requires about 500A, so you’ll never see more than about 130kW from a 150kW/350A EVSE).
One plus of living with SR 98kWh battery pack: it makes mental range calculations easy! Just take SOC and multiply by 2 (mi/kWh), and you’ve got your range within 10% (beats the GOM every time).
My long-term average efficiency is 2.4mi/kWh, with AC working hard most of the time.
Final thought: going ER adds an extra 500lb to lug around. Can’t tell me that’s not noticeable in driving characteristics- the SR has to handle better and stop shorter in an emergency than an ER truck.

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