Will Ford Ever Increase Lightning Charging Speeds?

[JJ The Tahitian]

Just took my new A2Z adapter for a spin at the local Tesla Super Charger… SUCH a game changer knowing the unit would work over 99% of the time My experience this round was fantastic. Big kudos the the Ford team for making that possible

After watching the great Out Of Spec EV Truck race across the country, and seeing the high KW charge rate on all of the other Trucks (at least for the first 29%), it got me wondering if Ford engineers are currently (or would ever) contemplate adjusting the KW charge rate past 170KW for the lightning.

Current KW charge rate for the lightning seems like a significant disadvantage for road trips…

Meant to note that other the other trucks were pulling 250kw + on average

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[reffahcs]

I don't think they can? I don't recall the numbers off hand but basically from what I recall reading on the forums, the max current of the onboard charger combined with the battery voltage won't let the battery charge over a certain wattage.
Other vendors have achieved faster charge rates by using higher voltage battery packs which reduces the amount of current required during charging, thus allowing for increased charge rates.

 

[Pioneer74]

With a low voltage battery pack, 170 to 175 is about the best you'll see. The only ting that could be changed is the length of time the truck would hold that rate of charge, but Ford is really conservative on their charge curves. Mach-E is even worse.

 

[COrocket]

From my understanding there’s a limit on CCS chargers of 500 amps, and since the Lightning has around a 400 Volt battery, that caps the charge rate at 200kw, so 180kw max seems about right if the pack is slightly lower voltage when it’s discharged. They might be able to bump it slightly to charge faster at Superchargers since they are rated to output up to 615 amps, but that also assumes that the truck has internal wiring capable of sustaining more than 500 amps, which I have no idea about

 

[Newton]

I think that it would involve changing the battery voltage which is too much of a change for what is rapidly becoming a legacy truck. No offense to Ford, how many actual EV trucks has Tesla, GM, or Hyundai sold? This is a generation or two back from the current state of the art but it works - and in some ways I prefer the approach of electrifying a good vehicle with minimal changes to the "reimagine the automobile" approach of other companies. The Lightning is not a class leading EV, but it is a great truck.

I hope that the mysterious "T3" is either an electrified Maverick or the Lightning with an 800V battery and inductive front motors or a disconnect like Hyundai does. Just the same truck, but more efficient (and it could be lower, or have an air suspension, getting on a ladder to wash the windows is kind of silly.) Starting over from a clean sheet can lead to disappointments like the ID.4 - I much prefer my e-Golf which was based on an extremely well developed and popular car.

As a software engineer/designer I know the temptation of starting over and throwing out the legacy stuff, but it was almost always a disaster and certainly never lived up to expectations of upper management.

 

[TheWoo]

Everyone else has hit it - Ford pack voltage is closer to 350 than 400, and when combined with 500 amp chargers 180 is going to be at the top end.

For a deeper charge, though, the Lightning stacks up really nicely. It holds decent speeds longer than Rivian and Cybertruck, and makes up for it's lower peak. Makes it competitive. I also believe Ford's conservative approach to battery management will look like a positive in a few more years for those who keep their trucks a long time...

 

[tnugentfl]

The Superchargers must limit us to 450 amps because you will only see 161 kW or so. I don't know why, I get close to 180 kW on EA.

 

[Pioneer74]

The Superchargers must limit us to 450 amps because you will only see 161 kW or so. I don't know why, I get close to 180 kW on EA.

This was discussed in another thread, so I won't go in too deep on it, but we are getting the same rate on the Superchargers as a 350kW EA unit.

 

[hturnerfamily]

I know that looking at the 'data' can make for sour comparison, sometimes, but when you compare 'real life' timing, I'll bet there's little noticeable difference in several major long trips per year, over the long haul of the total year, when it comes to 'time' at a charger...

yes, 5 minutes is 5 minutes...

but 106 minutes total versus 101 minutes total is not any game changer.

Sometimes we have more 'info' than we really need.
Just go, plug in, charge, and be on your way.

It's like the driver behind me RUSHING up to my bumper, throwing the finger, and having the most aggravated 'look' on their face, because I'm driving the speed limit, but they want to go 'FASTER'... they then find the littlest of opportunities to pass me, just to arrive at the next RED LIGHT 2 seconds before me.

 

[tnugentfl]

This was discussed in another thread, so I won't go in too deep on it, but we are getting the same rate on the Superchargers as a 350kW EA unit.

I charge on both and get almost 20 kW more on a property functioning 350.

 

[Pioneer74]

I charge on both and get almost 20 kW more on a property functioning 350.

I've never seen more than 174 kW on a 350kW EA unit. I saw 173kW on a Supercharger. I don't know what to tell you.

 

[TaxmanHog]

The Superchargers must limit us to 450 amps because you will only see 161 kW or so. I don't know why, I get close to 180 kW on EA.

This was discussed in another thread, so I won't go in too deep on it, but we are getting the same rate on the Superchargers as a 350kW EA unit.

I got 161 in the NJ demo charge, a fellow North East Lightning club member got up to the low 170's
After returning home the nearby station in Seekonk gave me 165KW

 

[RickLightning]

On a recent trip, I did screen captures at the Superchargers I used, and at an EA location.

At the EA location, battery was 62.6 degrees. SOC was 57%, and charger supplied 131.75kW. Offered amps was 353.3, truck was asking for 395.8.

In comparison, every time I captured Supercharger data with a screen save, the offered and asked for amperage was within 2 or 3 amps. At 62.6 degrees, and 52% SOC, I was at 178.33 with one charger.

If anyone looks at CarScanner data, happy to offer mine up.

 

[TomB985]

I don’t think the truck is capable of more than 450A, and it will only hold that for ten minutes before cutting to 350A. That 100A is the difference between EA‘s 150 and 350 kW units, which can make a big difference if you’re trying to make time on a road trip.

We can only access V3 Superchargers which will provide 450A, so they are equivalent to the 350 kW EA units. I’m on the return leg of a 2,500-mile trip to Texas and have almost exclusively used Superchargers. I’d love faster charging, but I think this is the best it’s going to get unless Ford decides they can extend that 450A “boost” period beyond ten minutes.

 

[TheWoo]

I had +170 kW at the two Superchargers I used in the last two weeks. I have seen no difference in performance between functioning EA 350s, EVConnect 350s, and V3 Superchargers when it comes to my Lightning. There's enough variability with battery temp, individual charger performance, and SOC that anything above 160 peak I assume is fully functioning.

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