Range? What's the effect on range of various MPH?

[Texdan]

Researching LIGHTNING and very interested in ER (320) currently -
I'm aggressive highway driver so wondering what high MPH (say 75 -82 MPH) does to range?
Also what is the 320 based on - (55 MPH?) Trying to project potential battery charging requirement based on my driving style.

Any facts, ideas, experience is appreciated.

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[F150Redux]

Totally unscientific. I drove about 80 miles (each way) to a casino a few weeks back. On the way there I was doing 70-80 and only getting 1.4 or 1.5/kWh, maybe less. On the way home I kept it at 66 with Blue Cruise and was getting closer to 2.0/kWh.

Had the radio playing SiriusXM, and if I recall, the AC was on (not max'd by any means).

The claimed 320 for the ER is based on some perfect/ideal situation in a controlled environment/test: dwnhill, with the wind at your back, no people in the truck. *grin*

 

[MidAtlanticLightningClub]

Per Ford:

 

[Texdan]

Totally unscientific. I drove about 80 miles (each way) to a casino a few weeks back. On the way there I was doing 70-80 and only getting 1.4 or 1.5/kWh, maybe less. On the way home I kept it at 66 with Blue Cruise and was getting closer to 2.0/kWh.

Had the radio playing SiriusXM, and if I recall, the AC was on (not max'd by any means).

The claimed 320 for the ER is based on some perfect/ideal situation in a controlled environment/test: dwnhill, with the wind at your back, no people in the truck. *grin*

Your 320 comment is funny! But I'm trying to figure out some realistic expectations in a very HOT environment: we have 2 seasons in Houston >>> SUMMER (90+) and 2 weeks of winter - so I'll be running AC 95% of time. On one route I travel frequently speed limit is 75 MPH (we have some 80 & 85 in TX) And I currently keep my truck outside, so it's always HOT before I even hit the road...

 

[Texdan]

Per Ford:

Excellent info - thank you!!!

 

[RickLightning]

If you're driving 80mph you're going to severely impact your efficiency. If you read some of the threads, you will see that many people get 1.7 to 1.9 miles per kWh on the highway, driving 75mph or less. If you're doing 80mph, or more, you should figure 1.6 to 1.7. Doing the math, 1.6 gets you 210.

My lifetime, which includes multiple long trips is either 1.7 or 1.8. 1.8 would be 235.8. You'll never get over 1.8 if you drive 75 to 82mph unless it's totally flat, and no wind.

So, what that tells you is that 320 is fiction, never going to happen in real world driving. You're driving a brick.

Also, keep in mind, you don't use 100% of battery driving. Leave house with 100%, go down to 10 to 20%, charge to 80%, then continue driving. So, at best, you have 70% of your battery (80 - 10%) for most legs. 70% x 131 x 1.8 = 165 miles. 2.0 would be 183.

https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/fuel-economy-and-ev-range-testing

 

[Firn]

@SpaceEVDriver has some good info on this.

320 miles is based on the EPA testing cycle and iirc has an average speed of 54mph.

For me and my moderate climate 65mph is 2.23mi/kwh and 70 is 1.9-2.0 mi/kwh.

Aero drag increases exponentially with speed so plan for bigger abd bigger hits for every 5mph you add to that.

AC usage is usually not as impactful as heat (at least for us with resistance heaters) and hotter air is less dense as well, helping range a little.

 

[swajames]

State of Charge just did an excellent video on this. Tom got 287 miles driving his 2022 Lightning ER from 100% down to 0% at a constant 70mph freeway speed. There's a thread on the forum with the video. This was a re-run of a test Tom ran when new, and the long story short was that the truck at 3 years old and with roughly 40,000 miles on the clock actually delivered slightly better range than it did when it was brand new. Conditions were broadly similar. Of note, the range test being entirely conducted at 70MPH means Tom would have easily exceeded the truck's 320 mile EPA estimate had he driven the EPA mix (55% city, 45% highway).

 

[Texdan]

great feedback - thank you all - my key "long range" trip will be 80 mi and I'll just have a 240V receptacle on both ends. I do have reason to travel Houston to Dallas (approx 240 mi) but we'll stick to ICE for those trips if I get a Lightning.

 

[abcut973]

great feedback - thank you all - my key "long range" trip will be 80 mi and I'll just have a 240V receptacle on both ends. I do have reason to travel Houston to Dallas (approx 240 mi) but we'll stick to ICE for those trips if I get a Lightning.

There are several superchargers between Houston and Dallas. You would need to stop at least once. Totally feasible.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Energy required to move your vehicle at speeds above about 35-40 mph goes with speed cubed. You can save significant energy by dropping speed just a few mph from 80 to, say 75 or 72. A 10% reduction in speed can lead to an almost 30% improvement in efficiency.

I wouldn’t hesitate to do 240 miles in my ER Lightning. If I had a place to L2 charge for a few hours on the far end, and I didn’t need a restroom break, I would likely not even bother to stop for a charge. Most likely, I’d stop for a restroom break and a short charge somewhere near the midway point and then L2 charge on the far end. But I wouldn’t blow through the trip at 80 mph. I’d do it at ~72 mph.

I make a monthly drive from northern AZ to the Los Angeles valley. The trip is ~500 miles one-way. On that one-way drive, I make at most two stops for bio needs (food, restroom) and I charge a bit at each stop I make.

A recent trip between Los Angeles, CA and northern Arizona resulted in the following. I did hit some slow traffic leaving the valley. This was from the leg from the LA valley to Needles, CA. It involved climbing mountain passes and freeway speeds of 70-75 mph. The average speed was about 59 mph, but that’s what happens when you hit traffic. And efficiency at slow speeds doesn’t directly improve efficiency at higher speeds because of that energy ~= v^3 problem. This efficiency is pretty typical for these trips, though it is sometimes lower when I can manage to avoid traffic.

 

[Zaptor]

Per Ford:

I often do actually read the fine print, and this is honestly some wildly unfortunate methodology... the Combined City/Highway and 65 MPH Cruising columns are performed on a dyno, while the arguably most important column to most of us; the 75 MPH Cruising "used computer simulations to estimate results for 75 mph steady state driving"

WHY, FORD??? WHY? YOU HAD THE TRUCK AND THE DYNO RIGHT THERE?! I've seen cars do damn near 200mph on dynos so I know the machine will take it, just *WHY?*

<gestures in Italian>

-Zap thanks you for sharing this all the same...

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I did a trip from Northern, AZ to Houston and back in March 2023 with our Mustang Mach-E (312 EPA range). I stopped in Denton to charge to 85% and then stopped in Huntsville to charge to 80%. Had plenty of charge to do some roaming around Houston for a week.

 

[trev5150]

great feedback - thank you all - my key "long range" trip will be 80 mi and I'll just have a 240V receptacle on both ends. I do have reason to travel Houston to Dallas (approx 240 mi) but we'll stick to ICE for those trips if I get a Lightning.

You don't need to stick to ICE for this trip. You simply need to add an extra 30-40 minutes to charge halfway through and at the end. You need to get out, stretch your legs use the toilet and get a bite to eat anyway.

I always tell people if that's an inconvenience, you're trying to do too much in a day that includes 4+ hours of driving.

 

[PreservedSwine]

I get pretty close to 2mi/kw at 70. Exponentially less over 80 (1.5 or less). Hot and humid in S Florida.
Something else to consider if you've never owned an ev... something I wish I had before my purchase. For your regular route- you don't typically charge to 100% and drive to 0%. I keep mine between 85% and 25%, for battery longevity reasons. On road trips I will break this rule, but for my regular radius that's where it stays. So in effect my daily range is a bit less than the "range". Anyway, opinions vary, but I wish I had put more thought into it before I bought a standard range.
Good luck- the truck is amazing to own and drive.

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