Maximize Heat Pump

[Brons2]

This seems off, I drove to work yesterday after setting a departure time with cabin temp Warm, with an outside air temp in the low 20s (wtf I live in Texas). Got 2.1 driving 75 where it was allowed (toll road) and 70 otherwise. Not much traffic because folks stay home when it's cold here lol. A few slowdowns on the free freeway, but nothing below 40. About 3 miles on surface streets after exiting the freeway. Heater set at 70, Auto 1 setting.

I will say that, when you set a departure time setting of Warm, when you get in, it's really warm and with my HVAC setting of 70, it probably doesn't run the heat pump as much because the cabin is already hot.

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[Firn]

This seems off, I drove to work yesterday after setting a departure time with cabin temp Warm, with an outside air temp in the low 20s (wtf I live in Texas). Got 2.1 driving 75 where it was allowed (toll road) and 70 otherwise. Not much traffic because folks stay home when it's cold here lol. A few slowdowns on the free freeway, but nothing below 40. About 3 miles on surface streets after exiting the freeway. Heater set at 70, Auto 1 setting.

I will say that, when you set a departure time setting of Warm, when you get in, it's really warm and with my HVAC setting of 70, it probably doesn't run the heat pump as much because the cabin is already hot.

2.1 at 75 is insanely high. I'm in a lightweight Pro ER with 18s and in 70 degree weather i was getting 1.9 at 75. Now, with the truck warmed in the garage, I get 1.5 at 70mph.

Air temp has a big difference on air density, range is lost not just from running the heat but also because it's a fair bit harder to punch a hole through the air.

 

[Brons2]

2.1 at 75 is insanely high. I'm in a lightweight Pro ER with 18s and in 70 degree weather i was getting 1.9 at 75. Now, with the truck warmed in the garage, I get 1.5 at 70mph.

Air temp has a big difference on air density, range is lost not just from running the heat but also because it's a fair bit harder to punch a hole through the air.

[edit 2] My truck is an XLT SR, so it weighs less than yours.

The part where I drove 75 was only 7.6 miles out of a total trip of 30.6 miles, according to the exact route I took on Google Maps. And that said it was mostly above 75 as the traffic allowed on that portion.

It is 9.3 miles from my house to the on-ramp to the toll road with a speed limit of no higher than 55, and then after 7.6 miles when the toll road ends and dumps off onto the free freeway, it's another 10.7 miles until I hit my exit for work, with a speed limit of 65 most of the way but with some traffic causing me to drop to 40. Once I hit my exit it is 2.9 miles to my office with a speed limit of 35 that I exceed as much as traffic will allow and at least 6 or 7 stoplights.

There was also a light tailwind, and it is somewhat downhill from my house to the office. According to https://geocodify.com/what-is-my-elevation
my office is at 656 feet and my home is at 953 feet with some ups and downs inbetween.

That said, I preheated on the charger in my parking garage on the ChargePoint charger that was only doing 4.4KW, temp at 35F ambient per my smartwatch and Google and got 2.0 in the afternoon going uphill with a slight headwind.

Route from the office to access the freeway was slightly different with 2.1 miles down a different road to a different freeway which eventually meets up with the free freeway I mentioned from the morning, and then still the toll road and other sections the same distance. Overall length 30.4 miles. Cab preheated and seat warmers on before starting route. HVAC setting still 70F. There was more traffic in the afternoon and there was a Lightning(!!) that was either broken down on the side of the road or stopped for a speeding ticket on the 75MPH toll road portion that was causing a backup, so that probably helped with efficiency as well.

[edit] or maybe he depleted his battery, he was literally less than 2 miles from a major intersection where there are many DCFC both CCS and Tesla. Who knows.

Hey Black Lightning guy, if you are on this forum and you were on the side of the 183A toll road yesterday, can you let us know what happened?

 

[BennyTheBeaver]

Tires should be set to the pressure on the doorjamb. Some models have 36psi, some have 42...

I cannot stress this enough. A simple Google Search pulls up a calculator online that will help you adjust for ambient temperature as well.

Also if you take your tires elsewhere to get rotated/changed, remind them what the correct inflation value for your tires is. Some places that do plenty of changes a day rely on what a computer says, and said technicians don't always verify everything. The Lightning's wheels have different PSI recommendations based on which you got.

 

[RickLightning]

I cannot stress this enough. A simple Google Search pulls up a calculator online that will help you adjust for ambient temperature as well.

I check tires monthly, cold, and set them to the placard pressure.

 

[Firn]

[edit 2] My truck is an XLT SR, so it weighs less than yours.

The part where I drove 75 was only 7.6 miles out of a total trip of 30.6 miles, according to the exact route I took on Google Maps. And that said it was mostly above 75 as the traffic allowed on that portion.

It is 9.3 miles from my house to the on-ramp to the toll road with a speed limit of no higher than 55, and then after 7.6 miles when the toll road ends and dumps off onto the free freeway, it's another 10.7 miles until I hit my exit for work, with a speed limit of 65 most of the way but with some traffic causing me to drop to 40. Once I hit my exit it is 2.9 miles to my office with a speed limit of 35 that I exceed as much as traffic will allow and at least 6 or 7 stoplights.

There was also a light tailwind, and it is somewhat downhill from my house to the office. According to https://geocodify.com/what-is-my-elevation
my office is at 656 feet and my home is at 953 feet with some ups and downs inbetween.

That said, I preheated on the charger in my parking garage on the ChargePoint charger that was only doing 4.4KW, temp at 35F ambient per my smartwatch and Google and got 2.0 in the afternoon going uphill with a slight headwind.

Route from the office to access the freeway was slightly different with 2.1 miles down a different road to a different freeway which eventually meets up with the free freeway I mentioned from the morning, and then still the toll road and other sections the same distance. Overall length 30.4 miles. Cab preheated and seat warmers on before starting route. HVAC setting still 70F. There was more traffic in the afternoon and there was a Lightning(!!) that was either broken down on the side of the road or stopped for a speeding ticket on the 75MPH toll road portion that was causing a backup, so that probably helped with efficiency as well.

[edit] or maybe he depleted his battery, he was literally less than 2 miles from a major intersection where there are many DCFC both CCS and Tesla. Who knows.

Hey Black Lightning guy, if you are on this forum and you were on the side of the 183A toll road yesterday, can you let us know what happened?

I have been doing specific testing and once the temps stableize my truck will do 1.5 at 70mph at 20 degrees F (tesred over 6 different drives of the exact same 65 mile round trip maintaining the exact same speed). This was not preheated but it was coming out of my 50 degree garage. Testing started about 10 minutes later at my dedicated start point. Wind was monitored and didn't exceed 5mph over any tests iirc

Not as scientific, but over a 2,000 mile trip I reliably ran 1.9 at 75 in 70 degree weather.

 

[Firn]

I cannot stress this enough. A simple Google Search pulls up a calculator online that will help you adjust for ambient temperature as well.

Also if you take your tires elsewhere to get rotated/changed, remind them what the correct inflation value for your tires is. Some places that do plenty of changes a day rely on what a computer says, and said technicians don't always verify everything. The Lightning's wheels have different PSI recommendations based on which you got.

Here we go. This was from Ford. I believe this is for the 2008 F150 but I have seen the ones for the recent trucks and believe they are identical. The Ford Pro documents sometimes have this.

 

[thymetraveller]

Good news got 2.4 m/kh today!

2024 Lightning FLASH ER
Outside temp: 32 deg F
Max speed: 40 mph
Distance: 6.5 miles
Preconditioning: none but started the car 5 minutes before leaving while still plugged into level 2 charger.
Climate: 70 deg F | auto-level-1 | AC off all or at least most of the time (never saw it light up)

I'm happy with that performance and feel better

The short 5 minutes of turning the car on while plugged in likely made a big difference. The fans were not overly loud inside the cabin when I started the trip.

Like many of you mentioned, probably short trips typically have bad efficiency if you start the truck cold. Even 5 minutes while plugged in and started up make a big difference. Longer trips, even when starting cold, likely have better overall efficiency.

I went to the gas station to fill up jerry cans with diesel. The irony of using an EV to add a little fuel oil for my house was not lost on me. But it's a truck doing truck things People were very confused with what I was doing and putting the jerry cans in the frunk.

 

[ryun]

The short 5 minutes of turning the car on while plugged in likely made a big difference.

I don't think the truck keeps track of mi/kwh when plugged in. Definitely not if you started the truck remotely.

I don't want to burst your bubble or anything, because 2.4 mi/kwh is great. But I do want to add that in terms of energy usage you've likely consumed (and paid for) about the same as you would if you had started the truck cold and unplugged.

There are benefits to preconditioning and keeping the truck plugged in, but they amount to:

• Longer total range
• Full power output
• Comfy cabin as soon as you step in

If you're not gunning it off the line everytime, or using your full battery before recharging then getting a higher mi/kWh is mostly just for fun.

 

[P-38]

Yeah. Preconditioning battery is good for increased range should you use that range before the heat disappears.

I want to learn ways to increase efficiency just because I want to not because I need it (except on long trips).

Yes lower speed = better.
Using heated seats and steering wheel while running lower cabin temp = better

What else can I do?

Insulate cabin better?

Block some air channels in the winter and unblock for summer?

Are there holes that could be blocked to reduce drag?

Is the underbody smooth? Can adding some panels improve it?

Does lowering the rear help?

Does lowering truck overall help? I can't find much info on this, lots of people have lowered but then don't report back on if efficiency changed

Can I limit the resistive heat and accept a longer cabin warming time in return for less energy use?

 

[Ragman]

Not a lot you can do, there is a thread somewhere that wind tunnel modelled the trucks with different mods the only one that was moderately realistic is a cybertruck style cap for the back - and at $7500 I question payback but might get you 10 more miles.

You can shorten the antenna, make sure there is no extra weight in truck, keep it shiny clean for less drag, maybe Ford can sell ceramic coatings as a range extender?

The basics are keep it plugged in, precondition, preheat/cool while on power, turn interior heat “Hi” (or cold) and overtemp the cabin for more residual, drive 5 mph under the speed limit.

Get slicks for tires and over inflate them like rocks for low rolling resistance.

In reality wearing a sweater is likely the #1 range extension mod you can make.

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