Driving in snow?

[Tony Burgh]

The weight distribution in the Lightning is pretty good so all wheel drive works good in snow. With snows designed for ice conditions ( a lot of sipes on soft rubber) you feel secure in most conditions.

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[thunderbayterry]

Reapplying the accelerator is going to be much faster, and I imagine some would argue more controllable.

The ideal solution is for the computers to recognize that regen has locked up the wheels and lessen the regen (anti-lock regen). Newer cars may have this. I've only experienced the situation on my old 2015 Model S. I have not had a chance to test the Lightning in snow yet. Maybe someone else can comment.

The second best option, imo, is to not get into the regen skid in the first place by setting the regen to be less aggressive (i.e. not 1-pedal) and then rely on standard snow braking best practices.

I think maybe I'll test this out today - we finally got snow in Thunder Bay, Ontario . . . . .Here is what it looks like today (ps - I havn't got snow tires yet, those are the factory all -seasons)

 

[USA EV]

I think maybe I'll test this out today - we finally got snow in Thunder Bay, Ontario . . . . .Here is what it looks like today (ps - I havn't got snow tires yet, those are the factory all -seasons)

Nice! Looking forward to the report.

 

[RickLightning]

If you start to slide due to regenerative braking, wouldn't a good idea be to just take the Lightning out of Drive and put it in Neutral?

Never shift to neutral! Always maintain control.

 

[Henry Ford]

I think maybe I'll test this out today - we finally got snow in Thunder Bay, Ontario . . . . .Here is what it looks like today (ps - I havn't got snow tires yet, those are the factory all -seasons)

Were you able to get the truck to slip with regen braking? My intuition is it would be relatively easy to program an electric motor not to slip. Wheel speed, accelerometers, gps speed. Lots of ways to do it.

 

[Mmiketa]

Normal mode most of the time, though I do like the extra regenerative braking/slowing that Sport Mode allows. I just Sport Mode more on drives down the mountains as a substitute for 1-pedal.

I see this take all the time. Sport mode and 1-pedal are not mutually exclusive: you can use 1, both, or neither. I’m not sure why everyone compares using Sport mode or 1-pedal.

I haven’t taken mine in snow yet, but I imagine 1-pedal with normal mode would be best since it gives you a more damped down throttle response and slightly weaker regen.

 

[Lolat]

Great in the snow and ice here. Use the third driver mode, without one pedal, for slippery weather driving. I bought mine in Alabama year ago December. Drove cross country to Oregon in some pretty bad weather for my very first trip. Truck was awesome, had some dc charging adventures in Midwest at -4°, but only issue was air dam froze in down position.

 

[thunderbayterry]

Never shift to neutral! Always maintain control.

I respectfully disagree. Sometimes on a corner where you have lost traction, shifting to Neutral is WHAT GIVES YOU STEERING CONTROL. This has saved me going in the ditch on more than few occasions.

 

[thunderbayterry]

Were you able to get the truck to slip with regen braking? My intuition is it would be relatively easy to program an electric motor not to slip. Wheel speed, accelerometers, gps speed. Lots of ways to do it.

I confess I havn't tested this yet, I have to find the right opportunity . . . .

 

[thunderbayterry]

Were you able to get the truck to slip with regen braking? My intuition is it would be relatively easy to program an electric motor not to slip. Wheel speed, accelerometers, gps speed. Lots of ways to do it.

I confess I havn't found an opportunity to do this yet.

 

[columbiaskier]

It doesn't snow a lot in NJ anymore but it appears that there may be a storm coming this weekend. I am looking for recommendations for which driving mode to use while driving in the snow. I am not only new to the Lighnong family but to pickups in general so any advice would be helpful.

In my experience after 1.5 winters with this vehicle: the Lightning is amazing in the snow and ice. Much better than my previous ICE F-150. Of course you need good winters just like any vehicle. And the back will still slide if accelerating too much on a turn - typical of pickups, but not to the same degree as ICE pickups where there is more weight up front.

I run studded winters (I know high rolling resistant tires on an EV). I haven't experienced any slide due to regenerative braking and my feeling is that if you're sliding with regen braking you're probably going way to fast. Normal mode is the way to go. A winter mode that reduced jerk on the accelerator would be a cool feature.

A couple months ago I drove my family through a snow storm with black ice everywhere. Semi-trucks were driving at reduced speed and occasionally sliding. We were able to get past them safely in the passing lanes.

 

[Maquis]

Well, I got a good test this morning. My brother in law called and asked if I thought I could pull his ICE F150 out of the ditch. He slid in front-first. Truck was at about a 20 degree incline. It looked bad. The road was obviously very slick or he would be in this predicament. I backed up to him, connected a strap between our hitches. I selected off road mode and locked the differential. It was the easiest extraction I’ve ever done. The only reason I slipped at all was initially because i wasn’t perfectly in line with the direction his truck was pointing. Lightning for the win! I didn’t have time to safely snap a picture.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I think maybe I'll test this out today - we finally got snow in Thunder Bay, Ontario . . . . .Here is what it looks like today (ps - I havn't got snow tires yet, those are the factory all -seasons)

That's a stunning F-150 Lighting, Terry! Be sure to use the right drive mode, each mode has its own distinct look displayed on the instrument cluster. That way you know which you've selected for your snowy adventure.

 

[USA EV]

Were you able to get the truck to slip with regen braking? My intuition is it would be relatively easy to program an electric motor not to slip. Wheel speed, accelerometers, gps speed. Lots of ways to do it.

I got to try out some slippery driving today. Well packed snow, but not pure ice. I left it in normal 1-pedal driving just for fun and I tried to get it to slip by letting off the accelerator quickly. It never slipped and felt and sounded completely normal with normal steering control. I even thought it must not be that slippery so I tested by applying a lot of brakes. The anti-locks kicked in and the truck slid a long ways as the AL did its thing. I repeated both ways several times and the AL was awful and the 1P was "normal". I am a convert to 1-pedal in slippery conditions.

 

[N87]

I had the same experience during our first snowfall of the year, yesterday. One pedal driving was impressive, no slipping and normal stopping distance.

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