Answers & Pics From F-150 Lightning Event & Product Experts

[JoeDimwit]

In response to the questions thread.... questions thread

The numbers on DCFC are accurate, the extended battery will charge faster than the standard battery. Apparently, the on oard chargers also handle the charging control, not just converting the AC to DC. So, in effect, the truck has 2 smaller batteries each with their own current flow and control when charging. Even at a DCFC charger.

I was not able to get measurements for how far the mirror to mirror width is, they are understandably concerned about the idea of a metal measuring tape anywhere near their show vehicle.we were allowed to stick our head into the truck, and I got a few pictures of the interior, but no touching. At all. The Mirrors do fold in, and there is a trailer package with the extended mirrors. The standard ones look to stick out about 10 inches from the A-pillar.

The bed liner looks like it’s sprayed in, no one could tell me what material it is.

The headlights are Active Matrix, but they aren’t sure if they are disabled by software like the Mach-E.

The Lightning is a nameplate, and will be available in various12 inch trim levels. The one they had here was a Platinum.

I didn’t ask about 110v charging, because the size of these battery packs is going to make the charge rate of 110 WAY too slow. My Mach-E would take 96ish hours to charge from empty to full on 110v, and these battery packs are bigger.

Before you ask, they wouldn’t tell me the size of the battery pack, just that it is larger than the Mach-E.

The 12 inch landscape screen is standard, the 15 inch portrait screen is an upgrade that comes standard in some trims.

The question everyone wants to know the answer to is how far will it tow… they would not give an answer. Several people asked while I was there, we all got “There are a great many variables that affect tow range, we can not give an accurate answer at this time”.

There is not a plan for a “Ford Charging Network” at this time. The plan is to partner with Electrify America. Charging with a trailer attached is going to depend on the stations setup, and Ford can recommend, but not require setups for stations.

I know this doesn’t answer all the questions, but I also hope it helps.
Joe

now for the pictures…

The question everyone wants to know the answer to is how far will it tow… they would not give an answer. Several people asked while I was there, we all got “There are a great many variables that affect tow range, we can not give an accurate answer at this time”.

There is not a plan for a “Ford Charging Network” at this time. The plan is to partner with Electrify America. Charging with a trailer attached is going to depend on the stations setup, and Ford can recommend, but not require setups for stations.

I know this doesn’t answer all the questions, but I also hope it helps.
Joe

now for the pictures…

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[Sergeant Gearhead]

I like the look of the F-150 Lightning. The front end is very futuristic, and it differentiates itself very well from the standard truck because of it. Great job, Ford. You nailed it.

 

[Squatch]

Thank you!

I hope they fix the charging with a trailer issue. Although, with the pro trailer backup assist, it may not be that big of a deal as long as there's room to park with your trailer in the first place.

I don't understand who, at Ford, allowed the graphic designer with a stylus draw on the unibrow for the headlights... It's just horrible and looks like it wasn't thought out after some exec saw the CGI light up and said, "wow, cool!" It just doesn't work in real life, especially, when it's off.

 

[Griddlez]

Thanks for bringing back all the good info!

 

[Rgwinn]

During a conversation with the F-150 Lightning's chief engineer Linda Zhang, Biden explicitly asked the weight of the battery. Zhang revealed that it tips the scales at "over 1,800 pounds," a point that was mentioned by Reuters reporter David Shepardson on Twitter. EV expert John Osborn says that translates to a pack capacity of around 112 kilowatt-hours.

The Drive

 

[Knickell]

Thanks for the info, good read. Seems like they are still being VERY guarded about what information they disseminate, or they simply don’t know. Similar to the Ford events I went to over last summer.

 

[Blainestang]

During a conversation with the F-150 Lightning's chief engineer Linda Zhang, Biden explicitly asked the weight of the battery. Zhang revealed that it tips the scales at "over 1,800 pounds," a point that was mentioned by Reuters reporter David Shepardson on Twitter. EV expert John Osborn says that translates to a pack capacity of around 112 kilowatt-hours.

They didn't really give any indication of why that guy is an "expert", but I think it's in the ballpark for the STANDARD RANGE battery. Not even close for the ER battery.

Ford gives the charge rate for 1 hour of charging at 32A/240V as 14 miles for the SR battery.

240V*32A*0.9efficiency=6.9kW

So, ~6.9kWh reach the truck in an hour. If that's 14 miles worth of capacity, then:

14mi/6.9kWh = 2.0 mi/kWh

230 miles / 2.0 mi/kWh = 115 kWh


Doing the same calls for the ER battery, which is rated a 13 miles/hr on 32A/240V:

13/6.9 = 1.88 mi/kWh

300 miles / 1.88mi/kWh = 160 kWh

So, those are my guesses based on the info Ford has provided.

Obviously, there's some rounding going on with the 13/14 miles per hour of charging numbers, and some assumptions on charging efficiency, etc., but it's probably in the ballpark.

 

[Blainestang]

The numbers on DCFC are accurate, the extended battery will charge faster than the standard battery.

Thanks!

Did they say WHY the bigger battery charges faster?

Does it have a higher max charge rate?

Does it just taper slower (very likely)?

To me, the information they gave for miles of charge gained in 10 mins means there are two options:

1. The bigger battery simply has a higher max charge rate.
2. The info they gave is based on starting at a relatively high battery charge level (not 0-10%). This could result in the smaller battery quickly tapering its rate, while the ER battery can continue at 150kW.

The smaller battery would have to taper FAST or simply not actually charge at the same rate to get 30% less range in just 10 mins of charging. That's a huge difference for two trucks with the same max charge rate charging from a low SOC.

 

[superds]

They didn't really give any indication of why that guy is an "expert", but I think it's in the ballpark for the STANDARD RANGE battery. Not even close for the ER battery.

Ford gives the charge rate for 1 hour of charging at 32A/240V as 14 miles for the SR battery.

240V*32A*0.9efficiency=6.9kW

So, ~6.9kWh reach the truck in an hour. If that's 14 miles worth of capacity, then:

14mi/6.9kWh = 2.0 mi/kWh

230 miles / 2.0 mi/kWh = 115 kWh


Doing the same calls for the ER battery, which is rated a 13 miles/hr on 32A/240V:

13/6.9 = 1.88 mi/kWh

300 miles / 1.88mi/kWh = 160 kWh

So, those are my guesses based on the info Ford has provided.

Obviously, there's some rounding going on with the 13/14 miles per hour of charging numbers, and some assumptions on charging efficiency, etc., but it's probably in the ballpark.

I’m not gonna show my work but I came up with 157 kWh for the ER battery but your 160 sounds like a much more likely number.

 

[Blainestang]

I’m not gonna show my work but I came up with 157 kWh for the ER battery but your 160 sounds like a much more likely number.

Well, 157 and 160 are pretty darn close. That's within the rounding error of the miles/hr charge rate at 32A that I used for my calcs, so I'd say we're in agreement.

 

[White Lightning]

The charger map on ford.com shows some chargers at Nissan dealers, but I've yet to find a single charger at a Ford dealership. Someone please tell me plans are in progress for Ford to build out a fast charger network using their existing dealer network. That to me seems like a no brainer.

 

[Brian Head Yankee]

The Walmart infrastructure is well established in my area. I do not want to hang around a Ford dealership for an hour while on a road trip. Walmart is convenient for groceries and restaurants nearby.

 

[DaHealey]

I hope Ford doesn’t underestimate the value of Tesla’s charging network. It might not affect them much for first time buyers of their EV’s, but I think frustration will build quick and Ford might see a sharp decline in repeat buyers. Charging a Tesla on the road is incredibly easy. It basically just works. Charging any other EV is the Wild West.

If Ford is going to partner with Electrify America they really need to focus on making charging easy, consistent and frustrating free. They can’t take a hands off approach to this - they need to make charging work for their vehicles. Building out a charging network is incredibly expensive and Ford doesn’t have the luxury of secondary offering funding that Tesla got (basically just selling tons of hot stock). On the other hand, if the chargning network sucks, the customer experience is going to suck and people will stop buying Ford EV’s. It’s just that simple.

I’m not thrilled with Ford’s response on making Electrify America work, they‘re giving very hand-wavy, ‘it’s not our problem’ responses. I don’t think they understand how big of a deal it is that this works. It has to work.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

The charger map on ford.com shows some chargers at Nissan dealers, but I've yet to find a single charger at a Ford dealership. Someone please tell me plans are in progress for Ford to build out a fast charger network using their existing dealer network. That to me seems like a no brainer.

Every Ford EV dealer has to have at least 2 chargers, one available to the public and the other in the service department. Not all Ford dealers are ev certified for either sales or service.

 

[White Lightning]

Every Ford EV dealer has to have at least 2 chargers, one available to the public and the other in the service department. Not all Ford dealers are ev certified for either sales or service.

That makes sense, but I wonder why Nissan dealerships do while EV-certified Ford dealerships do not appear on the ford.com charger network map. I dare say the majority of Ford dealerships are located on or just off the roads you’re likely to be traveling down for long trips, i.e. Interstate and major U.S. highways. Hopefully they do appear on the in-vehicle navigation maps. Can anyone who’s been in a Mach-E confirm? It seems to be unwise for Ford to depend on Walmart and Electrify America to take care the people who are buying perhaps the most important vehicle Ford has built since the Model T. Most of these EA stations have 3 CCS chargers, so hopefully charger supply will keep pace with battery demand. 70% of Mach-E buyers have been new to the Ford nameplate and I suspect a similar number will also be to the Lightning. I myself am.

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