2021 F-150 Lightning With Extended Battery May Get ~460 Miles Range, Unloaded!

[Brian Head Yankee]

The Pro home charger alone could be $3k to $5k ?

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[astricklin]

The Pro home charger alone could be $3k to $5k ?

I would guess $2k-3k for the evse hardware but then another $1000+ for installation as they will need to install a cutoff to isolate you from the grid. Also you are probably going to need 100 amps available in your breaker panel and I bet a lot of people will need to upgrade their panel to accommodate this. I'm going to say the cost there will be highly variable.

 

[shutterbug]

I would guess $2k-3k for the evse hardware but then another $1000+ for installation as they will need to install a cutoff to isolate you from the grid. Also you are probably going to need 100 amps available in your breaker panel and I bet a lot of people will need to upgrade their panel to accommodate this. I'm going to say the cost there will be highly variable.

The installation cost, panel upgrade, etc. will cost on top of what Ford charges for the truck with the Pro EVSE.

 

[Texas Dan]

There is a stretch of road that I travel a couple of times a year that is always a challenge for EVs. It's only 230 miles between CCS chargers but the elevation rises 3,500 feet and there is usually a 20 mph headwind. The real range challenge in my book will be if the F150 Lightning can travel this stretch of road at the speed limit in the dead of winter without having to stop at one of the RV parks to pick up a few extra miles.

It may not sound like that big of a deal but it's a challenge I have been struggling with for years. My choices are to go straight through and spend several hours charging up at an RV Park or stay with the CCS chargers on the interstates and travel almost 100 miles out of my way. I have tried many different alternatives but I still would prefer to just travel straight through without stopping like I do in a gas car.

This one stretch of road makes me more than willing to pay the extra $10,000 for the extended range battery. Even with the extended range battery I'm not convinced that the F150 Lightning can consistently travel the 230 miles at speed on this highway without stopping to RV Park charge. Getting a few extra miles from an underrated battery would be very welcome.

 

[astricklin]

The installation cost, panel upgrade, etc. will cost on top of what Ford charges for the truck with the Pro EVSE.

Yes, exactly. I don't see the hardware itself being upwards ok $5k though or there is no way they would throw that in with the battery upgrade pricing.

 

[astricklin]

There is a stretch of road that I travel a couple of times a year that is always a challenge for EVs. It's only 230 miles between CCS chargers but the elevation rises 3,500 feet and there is usually a 20 mph headwind. The real range challenge in my book will be if the F150 Lightning can travel this stretch of road at the speed limit in the dead of winter without having to stop at one of the RV parks to pick up a few extra miles.

It may not sound like that big of a deal but it's a challenge I have been struggling with for years. My choices are to go straight through and spend several hours charging up at an RV Park or stay with the CCS chargers on the interstates and travel almost 100 miles out of my way. I have tried many different alternatives but I still would prefer to just travel straight through without stopping like I do in a gas car.

This one stretch of road makes me more than willing to pay the extra $10,000 for the extended range battery. Even with the extended range battery I'm not convinced that the F150 Lightning can consistently travel the 230 miles at speed on this highway without stopping to RV Park charge. Getting a few extra miles from an underrated battery would be very welcome.

We know ford was fairly conservative with the mach-e rating hopefully they are similarly conservative with the lightning. One bug thing will be highway speeds. Around me, people regularly drive 80 on the freeway and there are places with 70-75 mph speed limits. The difference in drag from 60mph to 80mph is huge and will be a big hit on range as well.

 

[F150ROD]

There is a stretch of road that I travel a couple of times a year that is always a challenge for EVs. It's only 230 miles between CCS chargers but the elevation rises 3,500 feet and there is usually a 20 mph headwind. The real range challenge in my book will be if the F150 Lightning can travel this stretch of road at the speed limit in the dead of winter without having to stop at one of the RV parks to pick up a few extra miles.

It may not sound like that big of a deal but it's a challenge I have been struggling with for years. My choices are to go straight through and spend several hours charging up at an RV Park or stay with the CCS chargers on the interstates and travel almost 100 miles out of my way. I have tried many different alternatives but I still would prefer to just travel straight through without stopping like I do in a gas car.

This one stretch of road makes me more than willing to pay the extra $10,000 for the extended range battery. Even with the extended range battery I'm not convinced that the F150 Lightning can consistently travel the 230 miles at speed on this highway without stopping to RV Park charge. Getting a few extra miles from an underrated battery would be very welcome.

If it’s within your budget just go for the extended range and don’t look back. At 300 you should be fine.

 

[newF150]

We know ford was fairly conservative with the mach-e rating hopefully they are similarly conservative with the lightning. One bug thing will be highway speeds. Around me, people regularly drive 80 on the freeway and there are places with 70-75 mph speed limits. The difference in drag from 60mph to 80mph is huge and will be a big hit on range as well.

I've driven my AWD standard range Mach E 180 miles round trip a couple times on highway going between 70-80 and had it overperform in terms of efficiency. If Ford is again being conservative with the F150 also, especially if reporting is correct that these numbers are with 1000 pound load then mileage efficiency should be excellent.

 

[Smokewagun]

I drive as low as 32 miles a day, but regularly over 150. I plan to charge every night when rates are low with a Lightning in my barn. I cant guess if I’ll need 300 miles tomorrow, unless I have another gas vehicle on standby.
I really think I can manage with the extended battery, because I tow 5,000 pounds of TT in the summer. We can camp locally within 100 miles until I’m comfortable with the range of the electric, but heading north in the fall for hunting takes me away from chargers and I can’t afford to be stuck in the woods without ability to charge. It’ll be a learning curve for sure.

 

[Blainestang]

It's only 230 miles between CCS chargers but the elevation rises 3,500 feet and there is usually a 20 mph headwind.... at the speed limit in the dead of winter

Yeah, that's going to be rough.

At cruising speed, air resistance is where the majority of your power goes. So, adding 20mph headwind is like driving 20mph faster. So, now you're doing ~90mph. Let's say 85mph.

Drag is proportional to the SQUARE of velocity, so the drag at 85 is 47% higher than at 70mph. So, I'd say you can expect very conservatively 30% less range at 85mph than at 70mph.

And 3500ft change in elevation on a 6000lb truck is 8kWh of potential energy to throw a number out there. That's 5% of the battery right there.

So, even if we assume it actually will get 300 miles cruising flat ground at 70mph in winter, I think the range in your scenario will be:

300 * 0.95 (elevation) * 0.7 (drag at 85mph) = 200 miles

I think you're going to have to drive slower or find a semi to follow... or drive when there's not a 20mph headwind haha

Or just get someone to put a fast charger in the middle. 230 miles is too big of a gap for *many* EVs when you're going uphill in the winter.

 

[ChasingCoral]

There is a stretch of road that I travel a couple of times a year that is always a challenge for EVs. It's only 230 miles between CCS chargers but the elevation rises 3,500 feet and there is usually a 20 mph headwind. The real range challenge in my book will be if the F150 Lightning can travel this stretch of road at the speed limit in the dead of winter without having to stop at one of the RV parks to pick up a few extra miles.

It may not sound like that big of a deal but it's a challenge I have been struggling with for years. My choices are to go straight through and spend several hours charging up at an RV Park or stay with the CCS chargers on the interstates and travel almost 100 miles out of my way. I have tried many different alternatives but I still would prefer to just travel straight through without stopping like I do in a gas car.

This one stretch of road makes me more than willing to pay the extra $10,000 for the extended range battery. Even with the extended range battery I'm not convinced that the F150 Lightning can consistently travel the 230 miles at speed on this highway without stopping to RV Park charge. Getting a few extra miles from an underrated battery would be very welcome.

I agree with your logic. Just remember one more thing: the charging network you see now is the worst you will ever see. More chargers are being installed every day. With luck, and with you pinging charging companies like Electrify America asking for a charger along that route, the SR will be able to make that trip.

I'm going with the ER as well.

 

[ChasingCoral]

We know ford was fairly conservative with the mach-e rating hopefully they are similarly conservative with the lightning. One bug thing will be highway speeds. Around me, people regularly drive 80 on the freeway and there are places with 70-75 mph speed limits. The difference in drag from 60mph to 80mph is huge and will be a big hit on range as well.

Agreed. My Mustang Mach E has regularly beaten the EPA range, even at 70-80 mph. However, an F-150 has horrible aerodynamics and the high-speed penalty is likely to be higher.

 

[shikataganai]

In addition to the guess-o-meter/driven at slow speeds points made earlier in this thread, I'd like to chime in that there's been no confirmation whatsoever that the claim re 1000 lb payload during testing is true, either.

Edit: Confirmed as of a May article from a Ford source.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-f150-lightning-ev-range-darren-palmer-2021-5

 

[Texas Dan]

I agree with your logic. Just remember one more thing: the charging network you see now is the worst you will ever see. More chargers are being installed every day. With luck, and with you pinging charging companies like Electrify America asking for a charger along that route, the SR will be able to make that trip.

I'm going with the ER as well.

I’m actually talking about US-87 between Amarillo,TX and Trinidad, CO. I ask EA to put fast chargers on that route every chance I get. Tesla just recently put a Supercharger in Clayton, NM so Tesla owners don’t have to negotiate that fast charging desert any more.

 

[Ford4Life2319]

I gotta feeling we are going to see 325 - 350 range with these F-150's....

https://www.freep.com/story/money/c...ormance-edition-battery-range-epa/5318581001/

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