Best Practices For Feeding (Charging) and Caring of Our New Lightnings

[RickLightning]

None of this thread is making any sense to me. RickLightning says remote start "is cellular, not via the internet" then claims he says pointing out it can use internet is the point he made?

The phone app, FordPass, communicates to Ford servers either through cellular or internet, as do all phone apps.

The vehicle gets the remote start commands via cellular, not WiFi. Cellular communication is not the internet.

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[beatle]

Biggest impacts to range are speed and temperature. Cold is worse because of higher air density, not using the heater. Speed also makes a big impact as air resistance shoots up rapidly. If you're getting range anxiety, slow down, draft a semi, and stay off the friction brakes as much as possible, but feel free to use your HVAC.

 

[jefro]

On one of my cars I can actually connect to the home wifi but pretty sure it will still have to go to a secure server then back to my car.

 

[Gary Gattis]

I screwed up and didn't reserve my reservation myself with Ford and thought my salesmen did it back in October. I learned to hypermile in my new '05 FEH and I learned all kinds of tricks. The Lightning is not the best EV to hypermile but who gives a damn the truck does it all. I won't know all the tricks of the Lightning till I drive one and learn the systems. Regenerative braking and coasting should be interesting to maximize because that's where hypermiling counts in distance in both gas hybrid and EV. I want all the bells and whistles and I run the a/c and use the options because that's what this vehicle in made for. Just learn the tricks to charge the battery as balanced as possible. This means keeping the battery at the ideal temperature while charging. Most traction batteries in my Fords is 78F. Keep the tires at the maximum pressure you feel comfortable with but I go max sidewall pressure on the tire. Feel free to ask any questions about hypemiling because if I don't know the answer I'm sure someone here will.

 

[Pilot2022]

I screwed up and didn't reserve my reservation myself with Ford and thought my salesmen did it back in October. I learned to hypermile in my new '05 FEH and I learned all kinds of tricks. The Lightning is not the best EV to hypermile but who gives a damn the truck does it all. I won't know all the tricks of the Lightning till I drive one and learn the systems. Regenerative braking and coasting should be interesting to maximize because that's where hypermiling counts in distance in both gas hybrid and EV. I want all the bells and whistles and I run the a/c and use the options because that's what this vehicle in made for. Just learn the tricks to charge the battery as balanced as possible. This means keeping the battery at the ideal temperature while charging. Most traction batteries in my Fords is 78F. Keep the tires at the maximum pressure you feel comfortable with but I go max sidewall pressure on the tire. Feel free to ask any questions about hypemiling because if I don't know the answer I'm sure someone here will.

Sorry to hear that. I was looking forward to you sharing tips and tricks…
What happened with the reservation? Did the salesman say he will place a reservation and he didn’t?

 

[Gary Gattis]

Sorry to hear that. I was looking forward to you sharing tips and tricks…
What happened with the reservation? Did the salesman say he will place a reservation and he didn’t?

Not sure but I don't think my salesman understood the reservation process until it was to late. I called him to tell him reservations were closed and thought everything was still good but I found out by this group after it was to late. He said a Lightning should become available because deals fall through all the time. This also gives me more time to research my charging options because I just found out about the 320 amp home electrical panel needed. I need to know a figure of upgrading from a 200 amp service I just found out about now. That may change my options I need.

 

[RickLightning]

Biggest impacts to range are speed and temperature. Cold is worse because of higher air density, not using the heater. Speed also makes a big impact as air resistance shoots up rapidly. If you're getting range anxiety, slow down, draft a semi, and stay off the friction brakes as much as possible, but feel free to use your HVAC.

Actually, the resistance heater is a very large power draw. On the Mach-E, it's 7kW. It's recommended to set a departure time, which preheats the battery, and then use the seat warmer and the heated steering wheel, with the climate control set as low as you're comfortable with, and on the lowest speed setting.

Cold impacts the battery. Air density isn't the issue as much as the reality that cold batteries do worse than warm batteries (and by that I mean 70F+). My Mach-E displays a range of up to 277 in the summer. Right now it's about 100 miles less than that. Yes, the range displayed is not accurate, but people are getting realworld decreases of 30% or more in the cold. In other words, getting 3.0 miles per kWh in the summer, now getting in the low 2s, or even high 1s.

 

[Sdctcher]

A list of Best Practices will be based on Regional Climates (Southwest Heat & Humidity) (Far North Sub-Zero Temperatures & High Humidity), Types of Usage (Highway Speeds vs City Stop & Go), and Driver Habits (Driver Reaction Time & Alertness to Changing Conditions).

Then there will be those people that are not overly concerned with trying to get the most efficiency and will not be able to adapt their driving habits to an EV. If your iPhone consistently seems out of juice and you anxiously search for a charger, you are one of these people.

On the Flip Side are the True Hypermilers who will push efficiency to the extremes by carefully analyzing the smallest factors in real time and reacting to them. It becomes a way of life and a "Game" to them but a pain in the ass to other drivers not playing the "Game".

Most of us fall in the middle.

 

[TaxmanHog]

On the Flip Side are the True Hypermilers who will push efficiency to the extremes by carefully analyzing the smallest factors in real time and reacting to them. It becomes a way of life and a "Game" to them but a pain in the ass to other drivers not playing the "Game".

Most of us fall in the middle.

Hopefully in the right lane, nothing worse than following someone under speed in the middle or passing lane on the limited access highways.

 

[p52Ranch]

What about charging the Lightning in a hot garage on a hot summer day? Maybe 110F in the garage?

Does a fully charged battery under the 110F ambient conditions have less range than a battery that was fully charged with an ambient garage temperature of say 80 or 90F? E.g. what effort should be made to keep the garage cooler? (Attic fan? Air conditioned garage?)

 

[Nick Gerteis]

A list of Best Practices will be based on Regional Climates (Southwest Heat & Humidity) (Far North Sub-Zero Temperatures & High Humidity), Types of Usage (Highway Speeds vs City Stop & Go), and Driver Habits (Driver Reaction Time & Alertness to Changing Conditions).

Then there will be those people that are not overly concerned with trying to get the most efficiency and will not be able to adapt their driving habits to an EV. If your iPhone consistently seems out of juice and you anxiously search for a charger, you are one of these people.

On the Flip Side are the True Hypermilers who will push efficiency to the extremes by carefully analyzing the smallest factors in real time and reacting to them. It becomes a way of life and a "Game" to them but a pain in the ass to other drivers not playing the "Game".

Most of us fall in the middle.

I’ve had to tell several friends that “EV is not for you “. Yep, the guys/gals that always have their phones die on them, and that run out of gas at least once a year.

 

[Sdctcher]

What about charging the Lightning in a hot garage on a hot summer day? Maybe 110F in the garage?

Does a fully charged battery under the 110F ambient conditions have less range than a battery that was fully charged with an ambient garage temperature of say 80 or 90F? E.g. what effort should be made to keep the garage cooler? (Attic fan? Air conditioned garage?)

‘On the bell curve chart temperature over 104F takes efficiency back down to about 60%.

 

[shutterbug]

What about charging the Lightning in a hot garage on a hot summer day? Maybe 110F in the garage?

Does a fully charged battery under the 110F ambient conditions have less range than a battery that was fully charged with an ambient garage temperature of say 80 or 90F? E.g. what effort should be made to keep the garage cooler? (Attic fan? Air conditioned garage?)

None. Just plug in your Lightning. It will then cool the battery as needed.

 

[shutterbug]

‘On the bell curve chart temperature over 104F takes efficiency back down to about 60%.

You base this claim on what exactly?

 

[shutterbug]

I’ve had to tell several friends that “EV is not for you “. Yep, the guys/gals that always have their phones die on them, and that run out of gas at least once a year.

Actually, these people may do better with an EV. Assuming they plug in every night, they would start the day with a full charge. They wouldn't have to make a stop at a gas station at all.

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