A theory about range and battery size...

[jefro]

I doubt they'd have that fleet of test trucks driving on highways if they didn't already cement the design. The finals are in any sort of issue brought up by real world driving. It's a done deal as far as battery is concerned unless major fire or such.

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[astricklin]

When the company announces 300 miles of range, that is not a guess. You test the living crap out of prototype vehicles, so there is no need to guess. The company knows.

Exactly, Ford has been working on this vehicle for years and testing it probably well before the public even knew anything about it. Then they have probably had test vehicles in the hands of fleet managers for some time as well. Now that they have pre-production vehicles they are probably sending a certain number of those to fleets as well.
Also they've certainly run the EPA test cycles on it as part of their testing. They just legally cannot say anything about the actual range until the EPA certification is published.

 

[drcubanb]

Ford has a history of exceeding EPA range with the Mach-E and I'd expect the same with the F150L.

I would be surprised if the gross capacity of the battery wasn't locked in at this point. Net (usable) capacity may change based on pre-production vehicle testing, depending on how conservative they want to be with the battery buffer.

1000 pounds of payload will have a much lower impact on range than towing a 1000 pound trailer due to aero issues.

Ford has a history of having inflated EPA range on every other ice or hybrd vehicle they have prodcued for decades until the Mach-E. Don't hold your breath.

 

[shutterbug]

Ford has a history of having inflated EPA range on every other ice or hybrd vehicle they have prodcued for decades until the Mach-E. Don't hold your breath.

Not exactly. C-Max and Fusion plug-ins had to lower their EPA estimate, because those cars generally didn't match EPA ratings.

 

[FordTough98198]

Batteries and range are all about software management. When processes and computations, regeneration, etc all get streamlined you can get more range. Why, for example, on a Tesla, can you get a “performance update” over the air without any physical part of your car being touched or added to? Software is the key to range and performance in many instances. Leaving some of the battery potential untapped gives the auto manufacturer more flexibility in the long run. Want more range? Great buy this $500 over the air update that gives you more. Want more performance? Self driving? Etc? Great. We will sell it to you. I’m not saying this is good or bad, it’s just reality. We have years of Tesla to see exactly how this works. Look at the suite of over the air updates you can purchase. The batteries will be capable of more than what they release into the real world on day one.

 

[beatle]

Getting more capacity out of a battery isn't just about software. They may make adjustments to the amount of buffer in the pack, and perhaps they could increase the amount of regen the motors can produce which can improve city range, but there are a lot of fixed things that make a big difference on range as well. Other factors:

- Heat pump vs. resistive element heater (F150 uses resistive element?)
- Efficient inverters (inefficient inverters wastes energy as heat)
- Tire/wheel choice (LRR tires, lightweight wheels, wheel offset, contact patch)
- Aero (huge difference!)

Putting expensive battery capacity in the truck and then not using it does not make smart business sense at this point. Batteries are still way too expensive to sit idle until you shell out extra. Hence why they use two discrete battery configurations for the F150. Ford may be hedging their bets against degradation and damage by giving it a big buffer, but ultimately they want to make the truck competitive on both price and performance right out of the gate.

I'm guessing that OTA updates will be limited to self-driving aids and perhaps additional power (raising the current limits) but capacity would not change. Lets hope they don't cripple batteries' performance, charging, and cooling pump behavior the way Tesla has done. OTAs are not always good.

 

[techguydave]

What are you talking about? They already confirmed they're working on opening up more capacity via an OTA for the Mach-E, I don't see why they couldn't do that with the Lightning as well.

 

[greenne]

What are you talking about? They already confirmed they're working on opening up more capacity via an OTA for the Mach-E, I don't see why they couldn't do that with the Lightning as well.

I'm guessing that just like the MME Ford has built a huge buffer to build in extra safety/reliability. If they see the batteries performing well(few problems) and that the batteries are not extra stressed with people fast charging them, taking them to the limit...I think they'll decrease that buffer requirement. That would possibly open up more range. That is exactly what they did with the MME after several thousand have hit the street with few problems-- the usable was increased from 88 to 91KwH.

 

[beatle]

What are you talking about? They already confirmed they're working on opening up more capacity via an OTA for the Mach-E, I don't see why they couldn't do that with the Lightning as well.

I was replying to the statement "Batteries and range are all about software management."

Limping in with one capacity only to raise it later isn't some magic perk. It's a way of using the fleet to test a design the manufacturer couldnt't test thoroughly enough during development to release at its maximum.

As almost 100% of the EV-specific parts going on the truck are being sold for the first time, Ford is playing things conservatively as they don't want a Bolt or a first gen Leaf spoiling their bread and butter vehicle platform as they make changes to it.

For the record, I like this method vs. Tesla's somewhat aggressive capacity push, only to walk it back in degradation or OTA updates that limit the battery post-purchase. Better to underpromise and overdeliver. It is one of the reasons I am not likely to buy another Tesla.

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