Best way to drive on the expressway for maximum battery life?

[Yellow Buddy]

Exactly. With a family, pit stops in the ICE take the same amount of time as in the lightning. We’ve got about 10-12 8hr EV trips under our belt and the act of fueling takes less time, sure. However, the overall stops for us are the same because it takes just as long for the kids to get out, do their business, buy every sugary drink/candy snack under the sun, and get back in the vehicle.

As you mention, it’s the requirement to actually plan the stop and not just pick the next exit, that’s what is the downside currently. On many of these east coast routes, the SC availability will make the difference. I think you’ll see some issues with availability on the most frequently used routes, but overall I think it’ll be a benefit to us. I also still think many folks will stick to EA if they’re getting it for free.

I hope Ford nav updates with SC availability too, on the Tesla it’s super easy and some stretches have a SC another 5-10 miles down the highway so if one is full…next!

Don’t get me wrong, the ones by shopping centers still get full. But a lot of the highway rest stop ones are generally empty. The multi stalls, the reliable charging speed, and the availability. People charging habits are different on the SC vs EA. There’s just no need to sit for 45min. Just grab the 20min and go to the next one.

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[Ffxdude]

I hope Ford nav updates with SC availability too, on the Tesla it’s super easy and some stretches have a SC another 5-10 miles down the highway so if one is full…next!

Don’t get me wrong, the ones by shopping centers still get full. But a lot of the highway rest stop ones are generally empty. The multi stalls, the reliable charging speed, and the availability. People charging habits are different on the SC vs EA. There’s just no need to sit for 45min. Just grab the 20min and go to the next one.

I would think it will since they're integrating with blue oval and I think it already does that for the other ones?

The only full ones along highways that I've seen have been on the NJTP and 95 in CT. Some of that could have been due to the fact it was peak travel times and the rest area closures on the NJTP. Other than those the SCs have always seemed to have availability on my southward trips.

 

[bmw325_num99]

I have been driving the 2023 F-150 for 5 weeks now, and I have been working on reteaching myself to drive on streets to preserve the battery life and gain mileage when in sport mode. My question what's the best way to drive on the expressway? Speed limits are 70mph which drains the battery so fast, at a full charge I feel like I would be able to go more than 150 miles tops. Yesterday traveled 30 miles and it took 50+ miles off the battery!!

"Draft" off 18-wheelers AT A SAFE AND LEGAL DISTANCE. Even at longish, safe distances it does help. Find the fastest 18-wheeler, use adaptive cruise control if you have it and enjoy the 5-7% range savings. If you care about rock chips, protect your nose of your hood with a plastic cover like the one made by Aeroskin, for example.

 

[bmw325_num99]

Depending on WHY you want to increase range, it might not "matter". Let me explain:

a) If you are worried about making it to the next available charger, or your destination, and risk "running out of battery" without making it, then by all means, conserve energy.

b) If, instead, you are just trying to reduce your total charging time at stops, then I have an alternative consideration for you. If you have plenty of charging opportunities along the way, you might consider a "who cares, drive how you want" attitude to some extent. I say this because the charging speed at a working, DC fast charger is much faster at providing energy than the speed of depleting your energy by going from, say, 65mph to 75mph. I used to try to hypermile on highway trips but reducing speed doesnt make as much of a difference as I thought when I realize if get energy back at 140kw, it doesnt make much difference in terms of "time spent at charger" so I *almost* drive at a normal-for-my-ICE-driving speeds. I try to keep it under 80 for the most part for what that is worth.

Here is a little chart I made to show what I mean in point (b) above. By varying driving speed (which ends up varying consumption), what impact do we have on total driving time? I am happy to share this little Excel sheet so you can play around with charging speeds and consumption rates.

 

[Bhinde99]

I've read that the ICE F150 has a drag coefficient of .463, and have seen several different numbers for the Lightning, including .40, .44 and even .56 (?). I'm inclined to think it is around .42.

To put that in perspective: Rivian says its R1T achieves a drag coefficient of .30, which is insanely good (and only marginally believable) for a truck. Most current electric SUVs are in the neighborhood of .28 to .30. Among the best drag coefficients are Tesla and Lucid: The newest Model 3 has a claimed coefficient of .219 and a Lucid Air is at .21.

Here is my point: The Lightning has the all the aerodynamic qualities of a brick. So the drag effects of speed are huge; they are not linear - drag increases with the square of speed. The impact of air resistance roughly doubles between 60 mph and 80 mph. And in freeway driving, aero is by far the greatest single variable when determining efficiency/range (there are other factors such as tire rolling resistance, bearing freedom and mass - but these are trivial compared to aero drag).

This is important because modern EVs are capable of practical driving distances only because of their incredibly high efficiency, especially compared to an ICE equivalent. My Lightning's battery stores less energy than four gallons of gasoline, but can still go over 200 miles, while its ICE F-150 brother might go 90 on the same amount of fuel. The longer range of the ICE vehicle is ENTIRELY due to its 20+ gallon fuel tank.

So... if you want to maximize range in a Lightning, keep your speed under 70 (preferably under 67). The exceptions are: 1) At altitudes above 5000 feet; 2) Tailwinds; 3) Downhill; 4) Drafting.

This is huge for anyone driving over 100 miles on the expressway. This is not a good truck if you do weekend travel or small getaways. I had 120 miles this morning round trip, my battery was 86% when I left, and it was 50* outside, so I didn't use the heater except for the first 10 miles. I had to stop at an EVConnect to charge up to get back.

 

[Acacia1731]

As said above, it’s a balance between drive time and charge time. There is no magic speed that will be optimal for everyone or every trip. Here’s my real-world data (Pro SR with platinum wheels). The variation at each speed is mostly explained by air temps and wind speed.

 

[zaclaus]

How are you all getting 2+ MPK? Granted I have the Lariat with Extended range battery and have only had it during winter months so far, but I never get more than 1.9MPK, usually down around 1.6.

Does it make much difference to have a little extra weight in the cab all the time? IE: 3 car seats, and a 50lb roadside emergency kit.

 

[bmw325_num99]

How are you all getting 2+ MPK? Granted I have the Lariat with Extended range battery and have only had it during winter months so far, but I never get more than 1.9MPK, usually down around 1.6.

Does it make much difference to have a little extra weight in the cab all the time? IE: 3 car seats, and a 50lb roadside emergency kit.

You will get more when things warm up. Even here in Chicago it has been in the 60s this week and I was at 2.3 mi/kwh in my ER on a ~20 mile highway drive albeit in traffic.

This is your problem (and I can relate, same for me!)

 

[bmw325_num99]

As said above, it’s a balance between drive time and charge time. There is no magic speed that will be optimal for everyone or every trip. Here’s my real-world data (Pro SR with platinum wheels). The variation at each speed is mostly explained by air temps and wind speed.

Thanks for this additional data! I updated my table to try things out with your data. Interestingly, it does change the picture from what I stated in my Point (b) further up and there does become a "Sweet spot" at 75mph assuming your consumption and also assuming 120kw charging speeds. Obviously, higher charging speeds raise the driving speed in the "sweet spot"

 

[zaclaus]

You will get more when things warm up. Even here in Chicago it has been in the 60s this week and I was at 2.3 mi/kwh in my ER on a ~20 mile highway drive albeit in traffic.

This is your problem (and I can relate, same for me!)

This is my running total since about Christmas.

 

[Ffxdude]

How are you all getting 2+ MPK? Granted I have the Lariat with Extended range battery and have only had it during winter months so far, but I never get more than 1.9MPK, usually down around 1.6.

Does it make much difference to have a little extra weight in the cab all the time? IE: 3 car seats, and a 50lb roadside emergency kit.

Winter for me is usually 1.8-1.9 at speed and 2.1-2.4 in warmer months. That's 70-80 speeds and 4 occupants with a bunch of crap in the bed. Terrain, wind, temp, and drafting all factor in at speed.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

LOVE your NASCAR truck comment.

I’m glad someone caught it. It’s all about pit strategy and aero!

https://jalopnik.com/joey-logano-penalized-by-nascar-for-wearing-a-webbed-gl-1851287586

Too far if I start wearing webbed gloves to cover up the air vents?

 

[RichB-HTX]

It’s warming up in SE texas and I noticed a big difference in range from when we had a cold snap a few weeks ago. I did a road trip from Houston to Austin with my standard range XLT. I started the trip at 100% and the range estimated at 243 miles. Normally it shows closer to 230-235 at full charge. Austin is uphill from Houston and door to door the trip is 165 miles with an elevation gain of about 800 feet. Certainly not mountainous but uphill. I drove mostly at 70mph and arrived with about 45 miles on the range gauge (trip plus remaining range was 210 miles vs the departure estimate of 245 miles. Since this was all highway driving I was pretty pleased.

 

[TheWoo]

Depending on WHY you want to increase range, it might not "matter". Let me explain:

a) If you are worried about making it to the next available charger, or your destination, and risk "running out of battery" without making it, then by all means, conserve energy.

b) If, instead, you are just trying to reduce your total charging time at stops, then I have an alternative consideration for you. If you have plenty of charging opportunities along the way, you might consider a "who cares, drive how you want" attitude to some extent. I say this because the charging speed at a working, DC fast charger is much faster at providing energy than the speed of depleting your energy by going from, say, 65mph to 75mph. I used to try to hypermile on highway trips but reducing speed doesnt make as much of a difference as I thought when I realize if get energy back at 140kw, it doesnt make much difference in terms of "time spent at charger" so I *almost* drive at a normal-for-my-ICE-driving speeds. I try to keep it under 80 for the most part for what that is worth.

Here is a little chart I made to show what I mean in point (b) above. By varying driving speed (which ends up varying consumption), what impact do we have on total driving time? I am happy to share this little Excel sheet so you can play around with charging speeds and consumption rates.

Generally agree - unless driving a little more conservatively can save you an entire stop, it's not worth trying that hard if getting where you're going is priority 1. However, if knocking 5 or even 10 mph over 100 miles means you don't have to stop, then do that.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

This is huge for anyone driving over 100 miles on the expressway. This is not a good truck if you do weekend travel or small getaways. I had 120 miles this morning round trip, my battery was 86% when I left, and it was 50* outside, so I didn't use the heater except for the first 10 miles. I had to stop at an EVConnect to charge up to get back.

Mmm…reference my post on range and time to travel for the Lightning/R1T/Tesla.

I do hundreds of miles per day, regularly in my truck without any issues. Ive done it solo, with family, hauling lawnmowers in the bed, towing a camper. I’ve done it in the heat, in the cold, at 50mph at 90mph. I’ve gone through plains, up and down mountains, and along the coast.

This is a fantastic truck that can do it all.

FWIW, the Lightning isn’t any worse off than any other EV truck, or heck 90% of the EVs out there and comes darn close to gas over distance - charger availability & reliability aside.

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