Blended Braking vs Tesla Style Regen from One Pedal Only

[Danface]

I use one pedal in city and heavy traffic situations and love it. I'm looking forward to trying it with Sport mode, thanks for the tip!

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[invertedspear]

Do our trucks use blended braking in 1-pedal mode or is it only regen?

Switch your dashboard "my view" to the power distribution screen, then when in 1PD mode you'll see how much regen is being used when you let off. Then you can check if the goes any higher when applying the brake pedal. AFAIK no matter the mode, the truck will use regen instead of friction up to the point where you are trying to reduce speed more than the engine can with regen, and then at below 3mph or so. I haven't experimented with every possibility yet, but the best thing to do is look at the distribution screen and see for yourself.

 

[RickKeen]

Never owned a Tesla and I always assumed Tesla had blended braking. That explains when a friend of mine asked about it. He assumed the truck wasn't regenning because I didn't have one pedal driving on and was using the break pedal constantly. I told him of course it was regenerating with breaking, why wouldn't it? Seemed obvious, but I guess it's not.

Amazed Ford beat them to the punch on that. What a great additional way I'm pleasantly surprised (yet again) with the Lightning.

Exactly why I am posting this. Many people don't realize that the Teslas don't have blended braking on the brake pedal. Only regen on lift of accelerator pedal.

 

[Hank42]

Definitely will give Sport mode a try. Thanks everyone for suggesting this!

Nice!
Now if only the chosen mode would stick across restarts... I know I know, Ford updated the software to remove this because of some safety?? issue?? I can't imaging why. Tesla has different settings that remain across restarts - why was Ford singled out?

 

[Green1]

Where Tesla got it dramatically, and I would argue unsafely, wrong is that the behavior of the accelerator pedal liftoff varies depending on the state of charge and temperature of the battery pack. That inconsistent experience is quite frankly dangerous.

In default operation, I like that you know that lifting off the accelerator is always full regen, and that you only get brakes if you actually put your foot on the brake pedal, however, anytime the amount of regeneration is limited, I've always believed that they should make up for it with friction brakes to imitate the regeneration. When you get used to regeneration on pedal lift off, the first time you go down a hill with close to 100% battery or below freezing temperatures, it's a real panic inducing eye opener!

Ford's experience is consistent. I don't have to think about where the power is going while driving, I just know that the vehicle will always slow down at a predictable rate. And that when it comes to safety is extremely important.

 

[Calvin H-C]

In 1PD, you will likely get regen braking to its full extent - if you have the driver assist screen on, it will show "100%" as your brake score. This means that 100% of the energy that could be recaptured, was. If you need to use the brake pedal to come to a stop quicker, it will blend in friction braking as needed and that score will be something less than 100. Below some low speed, friction braking is needed because regen loses its effectiveness but this is not used in the brake score.

On my Focus Electric, there is no 1PD mode, so it's always blended and it takes careful braking to get a 100% score. The FFE does have a "Low" position on the shifter which increases the aggressiveness of regen, so coasting slows the car down quicker than if the shifter is in "Drive".

There are two other differences between the FFE and Lightning...

I find the Lightning always gives a brake score, while the FFE only does for actually using the brake pedal for at least about five seconds prior to reaching a stop. If I can coast to a near stop and only use the brake pedal to bring it to a final stop, no score is given.

The other thing with the FFE is something we call the "bunny hop". This is when you are braking and you hit a small bump on the road - manhole covers are great for causing this. The bump seems to have the front wheels lose adhesion to the road and the sensors and software that blend the braking between regen and friction figures the car is not stopping fast enough with just regen, so it applies friction and when the front wheels regain adhesion, you really know it.

I've heard of some other EVs doing this, but it seems the FFE is the worst offender. I don't know if this is "fixed" in the Lightning by better software, or better weight distribution, or both.

The FFE was an EV shoe-horned into an ICE body, and we're built on the same assembly line as them. The FFE is heavier than ICE Focuses, but most of that weight is on the rear and the electric motor is lighter than the ICE engine block, so there's less weight on the front wheels, which probably had something to do with this.

 

[husky10101]

I drive in normal mode and one pedal and haven't come upon a hill where I've ever had to hit the brakes when going down the hill, no matter how steep it may be.

Same here and in one pedal mode the brakes don't apply until you are almost to a complete stop. You can feel the brakes apply to hold the truck while stopped.

 

[MDCLightning]

yes I totally agree. I had a Tesla model s and I like using the blended brake/regen of the ford much better. I like to coast and its hard to do in the Tesla.

Try it in Sport mode, and I think you’ll find more regen/resistance than in normal.

 

[Grease Lightning]

Same here and in one pedal mode the brakes don't apply until you are almost to a complete stop. You can feel the brakes apply to hold the truck while stopped.

I am the same. Love normal and one-pedal. Tried Sport and don’t care for it unless I want to feel more throttle play. For normal day to day one pedal all the way

 

[MTBAZ]

In 1PD, you will likely get regen braking to its full extent - if you have the driver assist screen on, it will show "100%" as your brake score. This means that 100% of the energy that could be recaptured, was. If you need to use the brake pedal to come to a stop quicker, it will blend in friction braking as needed and that score will be something less than 100. Below some low speed, friction braking is needed because regen loses its effectiveness but this is not used in the brake score.

On my Focus Electric, there is no 1PD mode, so it's always blended and it takes careful braking to get a 100% score. The FFE does have a "Low" position on the shifter which increases the aggressiveness of regen, so coasting slows the car down quicker than if the shifter is in "Drive".

There are two other differences between the FFE and Lightning...

I find the Lightning always gives a brake score, while the FFE only does for actually using the brake pedal for at least about five seconds prior to reaching a stop. If I can coast to a near stop and only use the brake pedal to bring it to a final stop, no score is given.

The other thing with the FFE is something we call the "bunny hop". This is when you are braking and you hit a small bump on the road - manhole covers are great for causing this. The bump seems to have the front wheels lose adhesion to the road and the sensors and software that blend the braking between regen and friction figures the car is not stopping fast enough with just regen, so it applies friction and when the front wheels regain adhesion, you really know it.

I've heard of some other EVs doing this, but it seems the FFE is the worst offender. I don't know if this is "fixed" in the Lightning by better software, or better weight distribution, or both.

The FFE was an EV shoe-horned into an ICE body, and we're built on the same assembly line as them. The FFE is heavier than ICE Focuses, but most of that weight is on the rear and the electric motor is lighter than the ICE engine block, so there's less weight on the front wheels, which probably had something to do with this.

H-C had the same thing on a Chevy spark. it was scary, under hard braking, hit a bump and the car would stop decelerating for a second before the Mechanical brakes kicked in. Felt like it accelerated for that second.

Have felt nothing like that on the Lightning... It would be down right terrifying with a 6900 lb vehicle.

 

[Calvin H-C]

H-C had the same thing on a Chevy spark. it was scary, under hard braking, hit a bump and the car would stop decelerating for a second before the Mechanical brakes kicked in. Felt like it accelerated for that second.

That is a very accurate description of what I experience with the FFE. The split second when the deceleration is gone does feel like it's accelerating.

A colleague of mine with a Chevy Volt says it does it as well, though from his description it's not as severe/prominent as it us in the FFE.

 

[Maquis]

I’ve had that happen on both my Mach-E and my Lightning. If the ABS takes over, it takes over all braking. The first time it happened, it scared the crap out of me. In other words, during hard regen, if one tire hits a slick spot and locks up, ABS kicks in and it feels like you have no brakes for just a fraction of a second, which seems like forever!

 

[ctuan13]

As someone who has never liked one-pedal drive and comes from a history of driving all gas vehicles, I love Ford's implementation. It's a bit jittery once you've slowed down enough that regen begins to fade out and the service brakes have to step in, but for the most part it's pretty damn seamless.

I've driven both Rivian and absolutely hated that there was no way to turn off one pedal drive. There is no way for the vehicle to coast and it was awful.

 

[husky10101]

As someone who has never liked one-pedal drive and comes from a history of driving all gas vehicles, I love Ford's implementation. It's a bit jittery once you've slowed down enough that regen begins to fade out and the service brakes have to step in, but for the most part it's pretty damn seamless.

I've driven both Rivian and absolutely hated that there was no way to turn off one pedal drive. There is no way for the vehicle to coast and it was awful.

Interesting yours is "bit jittery once you've slowed down enough that regen begins to fade out and the service brakes have to step" because mine is smooth as silk all the way to a complete stop on regen then the brakes apply after I have stopped. Maybe you should have it looked at?

 

[Grumpy2]

because mine is smooth as silk all the way to a complete stop on regen then the brakes apply after I have stopped.

Exactly my experience too. The only way I know the friction brakes engaged is the "brake coach" reading after I stopped.

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