Read before you order! Expect 50% range loss in winter in Northern states.

[FrankThompson]

Every ICE vehicle gets lower mpg during winter, due to winter gas, cold temperatures, and engine warmup. Many lose 20% or more. Many consumers aren't aware of that either, or even know that winter gas exists.

I guess I should not speak of things I don't know about. I've always lived in Florida so didn't know about reduced mpg in winter. However, even 20% is a lot less then 50% and its a lot faster currently to too off a gas tank vs charging an ev.

My point was that you can't totally blame people for being ignorant when the auto manufacturers advertise a certain range.

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[jazzmanmonty]

So how many of you in the midwest or colder state have a garage that you are capable of parking the lightning in? Mine will hopefully fit length wise, but it will be close. Fearful of parking inside while charging due to horror stories from other EV fires.. but will see how it goes and plan to park inside during winter months.

MME owners, do you get a BIG difference in range by parking in the garage during winter vs leaving it outside?

 

[jazzmanmonty]

Every ICE vehicle gets lower mpg during winter, due to winter gas, cold temperatures, and engine warmup. Many lose 20% or more. Many consumers aren't aware of that either, or even know that winter gas exists.

I agree. I average 25/26 mpg during warmer months in my ICE here in Illinois. Winter, i'm around 18mpg average. Damn remote start. So that's about 30% loss right there.

 

[Eric]

I expected around 30% range loss in winter. I have a Mach e, no heat pump just like the lightning. Around zero degrees, expect 50 percent loss and 60 percent at -10 to -20. Your 230 mile lightning will have 115 miles of range at these temperatures.

You’re a very good man for sharing this information. May the Lord bless the shit out of you my brother

 

[Ruination]

To get -50% were you running the heater?

Edit: Wait...is that 0F or C? Just realized I wasn't at work lol.

 

[Maquis]

To get -50% were you running the heater?

Cabin heat is 3rd in line when it comes to cold weather range degradation. 1 & 2 are battery chemistry and cold air density.

 

[Ruination]

Cabin heat is 3rd in line when it comes to cold weather range degradation. 1 & 2 are battery chemistry and cold air density.

No shit?

 

[Jaspernuts]

This thread has me LMAO. Who didn't know that a BEV takes a huge hit in winter?

My point is Ford Ev's take a Larger hit than the competition. We all know they take a hit. Fords are worse than others.

 

[vandy1981]

The argument makes sense because the bigger the car, the less efficient it becomes at greater speeds compared to smaller cars.

The EPA calculations take aero effect (unique to each rated model) into account and it is expressed as a function of speed. So yes, the Lightning will have a larger aero effect than the Mach-E but this this is accounted for in the EPA highway rating.

Automakers can manipulate the rating system to achieve their marketing aims. They provide coastdown data (which encompasses aero effect, rolling resistance, etc) to the EPA and they use that data in their simulations. The automaker gets to choose the conditions in which the coastdown data is collected. They can also choose to use a two cycle test or a five cycle test. If they choose the two cycle test they have to subtract 30% from the final efficiency values and the five cycle test can be advantageous if they have better coastdown values.

Tesla uses the five cycle test because they have remarkably good coastdown values and it offers them more favorable EPA ratings. I don't know whether ford used the two cycle or five cycle test for the Mach-E but it appears to have yielded more conservative results than the Tesla range.

Ford may have gone a different way with the F150 but I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt until they get into the trusted hands of Tom Moloughney or Kyle Conner for testing.

 

[vandy1981]

My point is Ford Ev's take a Larger hit than the competition. We all know they take a hit. Fords are worse than others.

Is that based on data or your gut? I'm not aware of any head-to-head cold weather testing between the Mach-E and competitors.

 

[GDN]

There are definitely learning curves, but my guess is most everyone ordering or interested is already familiar with the cold effect on the batteries and range. There is education, and some will get it the easy way and some will get it the hard way.

For current technologies (I think we have a few more years to get to that 500 mile battery that will still deliver 300 in the cold) it is fairly well known that to get the most efficient use in the cold - it is best to have it in a garage and plugged in before you set out. Not everyone will have the place to do that. They will get less range. The first generation of these vehicles may not fit all purposes. But those that know, will have a garage or at least have a way to plug in each night for the morning charging/heating.

There are settings that help with the charging and warming the battery before you set out on your commute each morning. This isn't usually doable for a commute on the way home in the evening if it has sat in an open lot all day, if you can't make it back home on that daily charge, well this one wasn't for you maybe.

To say the least - most know, if not there are multiple ways to learn.

 

[metroshot]

I guess I should not speak of things I don't know about. I've always lived in Florida so didn't know about reduced mpg in winter. However, even 20% is a lot less then 50% and its a lot faster currently to too off a gas tank vs charging an ev.

My point was that you can't totally blame people for being ignorant when the auto manufacturers advertise a certain range.

You and I live in similar climes.

I know of several Florida owners who get 100%-150% range per charge because of the warm temps all year.

Because I never turn on the cabin heater, I only use outside vent air or A/C.
It's going to be nice turning on the seat ventilation on the Lightning as I will use that 300 days out of the year.

If you take the average of hot climes vs cold climes you get an average and I think that's how manufacturers get to a certain number.

 

[Bandit216]

So how many of you in the midwest or colder state have a garage that you are capable of parking the lightning in? Mine will hopefully fit length wise, but it will be close. Fearful of parking inside while charging due to horror stories from other EV fires.. but will see how it goes and plan to park inside during winter months.

MME owners, do you get a BIG difference in range by parking in the garage during winter vs leaving it outside?

I've seen about an additional 10-15% range reduction if my Mach E is parked outside overnight and is cold-soaked vs. parked in a garage heated to 50F. The biggest difference I notice is that (if I haven't remote started or set a departure time) it takes a quite a bit longer for the cabin to get warm, especially if it is really cold (-F) outside.

After a year, I have no worries about charging indoors even though the garage is directly below the master bedroom. If that concerns you, you might want to set your charging to occur during the hours you are awake. That way you can watch the house burn down rather sleep thru it ?.

 

[Zeromarine]

That’s why I will never own a battery powered pos vehicle. No thanks!

 

[Sam James]

That’s why I will never own a battery powered pos vehicle. No thanks!

Think you’re in the wrong forum. Be sure to toss your phone on the way out, keep your power tools away from the house, oh, and park your ICE on the street.

Paul Christensen, a professor in the School of Engineering at Newcastle University in England, studies the issue of electric vehicle fires and acts as an advisor on the topic to emergency responders. “At the moment, I believe that spontaneous fires are less likely to occur in electric vehicles than they do in conventional, diesel or petrol vehicles,” he says. “But the problem we have is that the data collection has been very patchy—and we don’t have sufficient data as of yet.” “There’s so much hype around electric vehicles, when they do go up,” he adds, a problem that makes the ground truth on the issue harder to discover. He says that when focusing on “the reported incidents” on the topic, EVs do seem to have lower rates of fires.

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