Sponsored

What would break under full acceleration?

csukoh78

Well-known member
First Name
Nope
Joined
Jul 30, 2023
Threads
10
Messages
251
Reaction score
414
Location
SE USA
Vehicles
2023 Ford Lightning Lariat ER
Ever since I bought this truck, I often wondered under full acceleration (full WOT for ICE engines), what would "break first"? I have seen home built electric cars/trucks with way too much power bend/twist/break axles, tear apart rubber belts and etc. Could that still happen with the F150L, or is over engineered to not happen?
The asphalt.
Sponsored

 

Effonefiddy Lightning

Well-known member
First Name
Alfred
Joined
Jun 2, 2022
Threads
1
Messages
244
Reaction score
187
Location
California
Vehicles
23 F150 Lightning SR Antimatter Blue /2023 Model Y
Occupation
Retired
One day I put the pedal to the metal and I broke wind. I could not pucker fast enough.
 

Maybe Going EV

Active member
Joined
Sep 1, 2024
Threads
2
Messages
38
Reaction score
26
Location
BC Canada
Vehicles
Ram 1500 Honda Accord Jeep Rubicon
Occupation
Semi retired truck driver
We had a 3 day demo truck, which I floored a few times without incident. Nice acceleration, but no drama, or parts failing.
 

TaxmanHog

Moderator
Moderator
First Name
Noel
Joined
Jan 19, 2022
Threads
169
Messages
12,050
Reaction score
12,638
Location
SE. Mass.
Vehicles
2022 Lightning Lariat-ER Max Tow & 2024 Harley-Davidson Road Glide CVO-ST
Occupation
Retired
The failures I speak of are one in a million incidents, but forums do amplify fear.
 
Last edited:

Sponsored

MTBAZ

Well-known member
First Name
Dan
Joined
Nov 14, 2022
Threads
3
Messages
73
Reaction score
62
Location
AZ
Vehicles
22 Lightning Lariat
Occupation
Engineer
As stated by several. If your talking Stock. Nothing should break. The design team should have looked at all parts and used the weakest point to set limits on truck performance. Safety factors and defined use cases that exceed 99% of typical driver would be applied to that part, and at some point it's cheaper to limit power than to design a stronger part.

Anyone know what the parts (Battery, Motor) are capable of and has anyone found a way to use all the power we have. If we could hack the system and access the full power, I'm sure the weakest link in the mechanical design would show it's face quickly. Would likely find limits on electrical components as well.
 

Marcelo Zanetti

Well-known member
First Name
Marcelo
Joined
Mar 10, 2023
Threads
4
Messages
77
Reaction score
38
Location
New York
Vehicles
Ford F150; Ford F-150 Lightning; Ford Explorer;
Occupation
Electrician
Do it all the time, very aggressively. Nothing ever broke...
 

Scorpio3d

Well-known member
First Name
Chris
Joined
Mar 18, 2024
Threads
16
Messages
504
Reaction score
556
Location
Texas
Vehicles
2023 Ford F150 Lightning Lariat ER
Occupation
SS/IBA car wash owner
I took one of my buddies for a “ride“ and his response was the acceleration was like a roller coaster. He said he felt a little woozy for a minute and my dad was concerned about giving someone whiplash. That is one of the things I love about this truck, especially on the highway when you need to pass somebody really quickly…. No problem!
 

invertedspear

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 18, 2023
Threads
16
Messages
1,116
Reaction score
1,548
Location
AZ, USA
Website
lightningcalcs.pages.dev
Vehicles
Antimatter Blue XLT (312A) ER, 2004 Jeep TJ
Everyone is answering this as in "I've put the pedal to the metal and had no issues" and while the OP hasn't said anything I feel like the original question is more about what would happen if I removed the restrictions built in to the truck including the speed governor. Would the motors fail before the half shafts? Would the tires just melt before providing enough friction to actually move? Would the sudden pull on the battery melt it down, or at least the connecting wires? Would the driver pass out from the G-force before any of that?

I haven't spent a lot of time underneath the truck, but I think it would be the half shafts. They seem undersized for the torque that the motors could be capable of. But given what we know about the OG Tesla Roadster prototypes, it might be the motor, they can get some crazy RPMs and any imbalance, no matter how slight gets really magnified the faster it spins up, which might be why we have a top speed.
 

TaxmanHog

Moderator
Moderator
First Name
Noel
Joined
Jan 19, 2022
Threads
169
Messages
12,050
Reaction score
12,638
Location
SE. Mass.
Vehicles
2022 Lightning Lariat-ER Max Tow & 2024 Harley-Davidson Road Glide CVO-ST
Occupation
Retired
I think the current flow at 100% throttle for to long a period of time might overheat some parts, traction battery, contactors, power switching transistors and related wiring.
 
Last edited:

Sponsored

21st Century Truck

Well-known member
First Name
Martin
Joined
Jul 11, 2024
Threads
6
Messages
204
Reaction score
210
Location
Virginia
Vehicles
Ford 150 Lightning 2023 XLT ER pkg. 312A
Not on the Lightning, but on its little brother my old 2022 Mach E Premium AWD with the extended battery I did break the front motor... twice. The 1st time around 47 K miles the front motor internal seals blew and its cooling oil oozed into where it wasn't supposed to be in, including oozing thru the high voltage multipin orange connector pins. The software of course immediately went crazy (STOP SAFELY NOW) but because this happened at night in the mountains of western Maryland I ignored the warnings and just slowly limped home.

The second (replaced) front mirror failure, at 75,001 miles less than one year later was caused / indicated by a subtle judder and on inspection, by metal shavings in the motor fluid.

Warranty took care of both motor replacements, but when I gained the 3rd front motor in 26 months I bid the Mach E "goodbye" and got the Lightning.

So imho the weak link might be the front motor, on the Mach E anyway. Let it be publicly known as a aside that I drove that fun car pretty much like I stole it 😜😜😜
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
SmoothJ

SmoothJ

Well-known member
First Name
John
Joined
Dec 22, 2021
Threads
60
Messages
1,052
Reaction score
763
Location
New Jersey
Vehicles
2021 F150 HEV
Everyone is answering this as in "I've put the pedal to the metal and had no issues" and while the OP hasn't said anything I feel like the original question is more about what would happen if I removed the restrictions built in to the truck including the speed governor. Would the motors fail before the half shafts? Would the tires just melt before providing enough friction to actually move? Would the sudden pull on the battery melt it down, or at least the connecting wires? Would the driver pass out from the G-force before any of that?

I haven't spent a lot of time underneath the truck, but I think it would be the half shafts. They seem undersized for the torque that the motors could be capable of. But given what we know about the OG Tesla Roadster prototypes, it might be the motor, they can get some crazy RPMs and any imbalance, no matter how slight gets really magnified the faster it spins up, which might be why we have a top speed.
Ironically enough, this is the reason I asked the question in the first place. Knowing which parts could fail and try to reinforce those parts or replace with something better.

I was stuck in traffic when I had an idea about "modding" the truck (like its not powerful enough already), but then I thought about the common points of failure for a ICE and for what I knew about cars modded to be an EV. This brought me to brainstorming, and then asking the original question.
 

woodsman

Member
First Name
Stephen
Joined
Sep 2, 2024
Threads
5
Messages
10
Reaction score
22
Location
decorah, iowa
Vehicles
2023 Lightning
Occupation
Semi driver
I have never put mine in sport mode. Does it accelerate faster? Like we need faster. It is like being 16 again, I gave the manager of the golf course a short ride, she said she almost peed her pants. No bigger compliment than that.
I did learn to make sure you are pointing straight when ya floor it.
 

invertedspear

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 18, 2023
Threads
16
Messages
1,116
Reaction score
1,548
Location
AZ, USA
Website
lightningcalcs.pages.dev
Vehicles
Antimatter Blue XLT (312A) ER, 2004 Jeep TJ
I have never put mine in sport mode. Does it accelerate faster?
It doesn't change the acceleration capability, but it does alter the pedal response a bit so that you get to higher levels of power faster. It also increases the simulated engine drag (using regenerative braking) when you let off the pedal.
Sponsored

 
 





Top