Denver to Houston - first Lightning road trip observations

[thecoloradokid]

As background, I currently own a Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo 4s, and have owned a sedan version of the Taycan and an Audi e-Tron previously. I used to be a Tesla guy - owned a couple of Model S' and a couple of Models X's before switching to CCS compatible vehicles in late 2019. I have done well over 50k miles in CCS compatible vehicles since then, so I am comfortable with taking CCS compatible EV's out on the open road.

I was lucky enough to pick up a Lariat spec'ed Lightning as a 2nd vehicle in the end of October, and really, really enjoy the truck. The one thing I had yet to do was go on an extended road trip and figure out first hand how the truck operates when speed and distance are added to the driving equation. I have seen a ton of videos on Youtube, but you really never fully "understand" until you experience long distance driving in the Lightning for yourself. I usually spend 10 days to two weeks a month in warmer climates during the winter months, so I decided to do The Woodlands just north of Houston for my February trip.

I drove from Denver to Norman along I-70 and I-35 the first day, then spent a day in Norman and went to a basketball game on the U of Oklahoma campus before continuing the drive down I-35 and I-45 to the Houston area. Here are a few observations I noticed:

• 1. Like all EV's, this truck hates the cold. I left my house at 6am in the preconditioned truck when it was six degrees and drove 135 miles to my first charging stop and used 75% of the battery. I also kept my speed at like 60mph to 65mph. I got 1.5kW or 1.6kW per mile on this first stretch. As it warmed up throughout the day, I saw a gradual improvement on efficiency. Once it got past 30 degrees or so I got up to 1.7kW per mile, and then it passed 50 degrees, I was seeing 1.8kW at 70mph to 72mph speeds.
• 2. Like all EV's, but maybe a little more, this truck hates higher speeds - not because of handling, but because of challenged aerodynamics and weight. The real range extending sweet spot speed for this truck is like 66mph or 68mph, but who the heck wants to drive at that speed on a 75mph speed limit highway? I don't, so because of this I increased my speed up to 73mph to 74mph. This results in 1.8kW or 1.9kW per mile highway efficiency, depending on elevation gain and temps.
• 3. The Lightning is a great cruising vehicle. I thought it was comfortable and absorbed a lot of the road turbulence, so it felt like driving a big Lazy Boy recliner.
• 4. Charging is OK. I knew what I was getting into when I bought the truck, but it is hard to sit at a charger for 40 minutes when you are used to 15 minute or 20 minute charging stops in your other vehicle. This is the one thing I wish Ford would update. I would like to see a charging speed of 200kW at a very low state of battery charge, and slowly taper the charge speed after 80% instead of it falling off a cliff to 50kW. There should be no reason why the truck drops to 50kW charging speeds right at 80%. It should hover around 75kW or 80kW speeds until 90% like other vehicles.
• 5. Every Electrify America charing location, except for Flagler, CO - where it was 6 degrees and the charger ran slowly - worked flawlessly. I did not need to move to find a working station, and had vehicle "as advertised" speeds. I realize some people may have different experiences, but the EA chargers along I-70 in Kansas worked great as did the charger in Blackwell, OK. I used a 200kW Francis Energy charger in Norman, and that worked great as well. The EA chargers in Denton, Ennis, and Huntsville in Texas all worked great with had no wait.
• 6. I thought BlueCruise was good to use. I was not expecting full self driving or anything like that, but for what it is I thought it was good.
• 7. This truck is not a winter time 200 mile range truck at highway speeds, even with the larger battery. Don't expect to do 200 miles on the highway at 70mph or 75mph in 35 degree temps - at least not on the stock 20 inch wheels and tires. In my experience while driving in cooler temps it is best to charge to 10% or 15% over what you need to get to the next charger, and then head out. Don't sit at a charger for an hour to charge your truck to 95% if you think you want to skip to a farther charging location that is 225 miles away. Even if the truck thinks it has 230 miles worth of range, it will probably only do 190 miles if it is 40 or 45 degrees and you are driving at a 75mph speed limit.
• 8. I wish the app did a better of keep details on drives since of the 8 legs of driving I did over the past two days, the app only has a record of three of them.

Sorry for the length of the post, especially since much of this has been shared in other posts on the forum. But, I thought I'd share in case there are some new owners who may not be 100% comfortable taking their new Lightning out on a road trip. I got my first extended road trip under my belt now, and am looking forward to doing more, but when the weather is warmer. I am hoping that the truck will see 2.1kW to 2.2kW per mile efficiency at 71mph or 72mph highway cruising speeds when it warms up to 70 degree temps and higher. Obviously, this all changes if I head west from Denver and have to go up and down large mountain ranges, or there is rough, windy weather.

I will take pictures of efficiency stats on the drive back to Denver next week since I did not do it on the drive to Houston. If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Cheers!

Sponsored

 

[jerock]

Thanks for your post & observations. These will be the same highways and chargers I will be using a good amount of the time.

 

[lightspeed]

It's interesting how different the consumption can be for people.

I recently did a 300 mile round trip with cruise set at 70mph (but traffic would slow that down occasionally) and got 2.3m/kWh over the whole trip (average speed prob around 60). This was at 30-50F temps.

Speed definitely kills range. I get roughly 265 miles at 70mph, 235 miles at 75mph.

 

[RickLightning]

It's interesting how different the consumption can be for people.

Just like MPG can be for different people. Driving style has a huge impact.

 

[Roy2001]

It's interesting how different the consumption can be for people.

I recently did a 300 mile round trip with cruise set at 70mph (but traffic would slow that down occasionally) and got 2.3m/kWh over the whole trip (average speed prob around 60). This was at 30-50F temps.

30-50F is quite different than sub zero all the way for EV...

 

[lightspeed]

30-50F is quite different than sub zero all the way for EV...

Yes definitely. I'd be interested to see what the battery temps were after preconditioning though.

When I don't precondition I see 40-50F and still get good range. Preconditioning should bring the battery to 60F.

 

[thecoloradokid]

Yes definitely. I'd be interested to see what the battery temps were after preconditioning though.

When I don't precondition I see 40-50F and still get good range. Preconditioning should bring the battery to 60F.

I hear you on this one, and will see what I can do on the next winter road trip.. I left my house at 6am last week when it was 6 degrees outside, and I had the truck sitting outside over night. I set the precondition timer to leave right at 6am, so not sure what the battery temp was when the process started and what it warmed up to when left. All I know is that the truck is not a fan of 6 degree temps - preconditioned or not. The first 130 miles from Denver to the Flagler, CO charger was a super inefficient struggle since I was fluctuating between 1.5kW and 1.6kW per mile the entire time while I was doing 60mph or 65mph on a 75mph interstate.

When I plugged into the first EA charger I was getting like 40kW charging speeds since it was 5 degrees out there on the eastern plains of Colorado. I saw improved efficiency between Flagler, CO and Colby, KS because it warmed up 20 degrees and there is elevation drop. I was able to increase speed up to 70mph on the interstate and still hit 1.7kW or 1.8kW per mile

This summer I will experiment driving from Denver directly to Colby, KS. It is a 235 mile drive. I figure that if I factor in the elevation loss, warm temps, keeping the speed at 70mph I should be able to just about make it on a good weather day. I have yet to drive west from Denver, so I will do that as well since I want to see the impact on elevation gain and then see what I recoup in regen on the way back down.

I can drive my Taycan from Denver to Kansas City, Denver to Scottsdale, Denver to Vegas, or Denver to Santa Monica and know exactly what to expect in all kind of temps and weather conditions. I know where all the chargers sit and know what my driving efficiency is because I have done those drives so many times. I would like to get to the same place in my Lighting since that truck is so comfy to drive in.

 

[lightspeed]

I hear you on this one, and will see what I can do on the next winter road trip..

For you cold weather people, someone needs to commercialize an integrated diesel RV heater that you put inline with the coolant loop. You could get normal range out of the battery with a little diesel assistance.

There is someone else on this board that did it himself and it works.

 

[eRockBoon]

For you cold weather people, someone needs to commercialize an integrated diesel RV heater that you put inline with the coolant loop. You could get normal range out of the battery with a little diesel assistance.

There is someone else on this board that did it himself and it works.

Can you link to that thread?

 

[lightspeed]

Can you link to that thread?

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/diesel-heater-install.12863/

 

[KrazyEd]

Great Report.
Thank You
As far as the driving record, I have noticed that if I happen to plug it in before turning it off, or
possibly too soon after turning it off, it seems to combine one or two of the trips. My daily drive is
11 miles to work then 7 miles towards home, charge for an hour while I get some steps in then the
rest of the way home. If I make sure to turn the truck off and wait before plugging in, my trips have
been pretty consistent. Only one road trip, Vegas to Carlsbad California. Much warmer than what
you experienced. Similar to you, I have also been driving EVs for many years so had no issues with
EVSEs or DCFC units. Mine is a 2023 XLT with standard battery. The onboard charger only pulls 48
amps vs the 80 that the Extended does on Level ii.
I had anticipated 115 KW similar to my Standard Range Mach E.
I was happily wrong. When I plugged in to an EA DCFC in Carlsbad at 12% I got mid to high 140s.
12% to 90% in 38 minutes. While not 15 to 20 minutes, it is far superior to some of my early trips in
first gen " city " range vehicles with only J1772..

 

[Toby57]

More info please. Denver to Norman. Left Denver 6 am, what was time of arrival Norman? You spoke of charging in Flagler and Colby. How many stops to charge and how many minutes charging between Denver and Norman?

 

[thecoloradokid]

More info please. Denver to Norman. Left Denver 6 am, what was time of arrival Norman? You spoke of charging in Flagler and Colby. How many stops to charge and how many minutes charging between Denver and Norman?

I left Denver at 6am and rolled into Norman around 7:30pm. It sounds like a long day, but the truck is pretty comfortable, so it did not seem like it.

I made stops in Flagler, Colby, Hays, Salina, and then Blackwell, OK.

I tried to make the Colby to Salina run without stopping in Hays, but could not. I spent 50 minutes and charged to 90% in Colby and the car said it has 235 miles worth of range, but realized quickly I was not going to make the 205 miles without stopping. It was 30 degrees and I was going 72mph. If it was 85 degrees and I was doing 70mph, I could have made it. The challenge on that leg is that you hit the Flint Hills as you get closer to Salina and some of those long little climbs are range killers. My stop in Hays was less than 10 minutes so I could top off a little and make Salina. I spent 30 or 35 minutes charging in Salina, and then another 30 minutes in Blackwell charging before rolling into Norman with like 40% charge.

I will be charging differently on my way back since I have a little bit better understanding of the truck at highway speeds and long distances. I can probably get away with a 15% charging buffer instead of a 20% or 25%, and I now know I can't make the Salina to Colby run without stopping in Hays to top off for a little, so that will save me 15 minutes in Salina. The truck is not the fastest charging vehicle, but I figure I can knock off an hour or so of total drive time on the return from what I learned on the first part of the drive.

Obviously, if the weather is rough, or if I face stiff headwinds, that all goes out the window.

I hope this is helpful.

 

[Toby57]

Thank you.

 

[MRButtler]

You are saying "kW per mile", but what you mean is "miles per kWh".

Sponsored