Sponsored

Winter Weather Advisory: MPG and your Powerboost Hybrid in Cold Weather

Slacker

Member
First Name
Nate
Joined
Nov 5, 2021
Threads
0
Messages
12
Reaction score
9
Location
Cheboygan, Michigan
Vehicles
2021 F-150 Lariat 3.5L Hybrid, SC, Antimatter Blue
Occupation
Retired- Marine Chief Engineer in US Merchant Marine.
I remember a Jan funeral, about 30 yrs ago, in ND where we put charcoal under the cars so they would start lol. Now I have a heated garage so at least on one end it shouldn't be an issue :)
I remember my dad doing the same thing with charcoal under the oil pan in the Early 70’s to get our 1964 Ford Gallaxy 500 started here in Northern Michigan.
Sponsored

 

Sentinel1201

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 5, 2021
Threads
10
Messages
197
Reaction score
225
Location
DFW
Vehicles
2021 F150 Powerboost
I'd suggest to anyone to do this test. Since MPG is an indicator of engine load and stress, try this:

Do a cold morning routine without warming at idle, and go your first 5 minutes. Look at your MPGs.

Then on a different identical morning, be fair, do that first 5 minute drive after a good warmup. Drive the same. Check those MPGs. With this scenario you should shut off and restart the F150 to restart the This Trip Meter. The idling at 0MPH will skew the results.

You should see better MPGs with a good warmup. Better MPG means engine worked less.
ehhh, except even when you have better mpg in scenario 2, you have to factor in the wasted/burned gas while idling and warming up in scenario 1. The right way to test is to NOT reset the odo after warming up, but include idle time in the calculation.

There is no free lunch. Warming up the motor idling it is not free.
 

Pibblemobile

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 16, 2021
Threads
0
Messages
159
Reaction score
114
Location
Sioux Falls
Vehicles
2020 F150
I’m expecting to get similar to my 3.5 ecoboost at about 16-17 mpg. Hybrids and electric suck in the winter.
 

jofo

Well-known member
First Name
Joe
Joined
Jul 21, 2021
Threads
16
Messages
139
Reaction score
150
Location
MA
Vehicles
2021 Lariat Powerboost 502A Smoked Quartz
Occupation
Engineer
I’ve noticed a good 20% decrease in my mileage since the cold hit. I never even considered how much a hybrid could suck in the winter mileage wise.
 

F-150 Prius

Well-known member
First Name
Adam
Joined
May 12, 2021
Threads
16
Messages
530
Reaction score
522
Location
Silicon Valley
Vehicles
2021 F-150 Platinum PowerBoost FX-4 6½
Occupation
Software Algorithms
That makes sense. I'm guessing a dozen design engineers at Ford figured out a cool (pun) way to power the block-heater from the battery. Then one production engineer came along with a red pen and said it adds $31 in parts, 4 minutes' assembly time, and some large dollars in servicing and supporting that new part while causing some design changes to the pack that would alter supplier contracts and bills of materials … all too many straws for the back of the camel that is production costs … and that was that.

I'm guessing once they have a plug-in hybrid F-150 it will need thermal management for the battery to charge from the plug and that will require a heat pump and that will be able to run a circuit to the block heater. : )
 

Sponsored

UGADawg96

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 28, 2021
Threads
23
Messages
2,707
Reaction score
4,494
Location
JAX, FL
Vehicles
'21 302A 157 PB
That makes sense. I'm guessing a dozen design engineers at Ford figured out a cool (pun) way to power the block-heater from the battery. Then one production engineer came along with a red pen and said it adds $31 in parts, 4 minutes' assembly time, and some large dollars in servicing and supporting that new part while causing some design changes to the pack that would alter supplier contracts and bills of materials … all too many straws for the back of the camel that is production costs … and that was that.

I'm guessing once they have a plug-in hybrid F-150 it will need thermal management for the battery to charge from the plug and that will require a heat pump and that will be able to run a circuit to the block heater. : )
Or it would have added 90 days to initial release and it got dropped to be added to the Gen2 PB along with a larger battery and/or other new enhancements. :unsure:
 

PungoteagueDave

Well-known member
First Name
Dave
Joined
Feb 20, 2021
Threads
6
Messages
593
Reaction score
791
Location
33435
Vehicles
Tesla MX, Porsche C4S, Ford F-350 KR, Ford F-150 K
Occupation
retired
Cold? I remember that, still have property in cold places. Everyone has a choice and we've made ours. Florida is open, free, and no state taxes. It may be flat, but for you folks with 30 degree weather and below impacting your hybrid results, my hybrid is sitting in Delray Beach's current 82 degrees. Plenty of room folks, c'mon down.
 

Bandito

Active member
First Name
Rodrigo
Joined
Oct 19, 2021
Threads
0
Messages
42
Reaction score
31
Location
Chicago, IL USA
Vehicles
2021 Ford F-150 Limited PowerBoost
I've read that the block heater takes several hours to come up to temperature and become effective, so just a quick jolt from the battery probably wouldn't do much. It's essentially intended to be run overnight.
 

Slacker

Member
First Name
Nate
Joined
Nov 5, 2021
Threads
0
Messages
12
Reaction score
9
Location
Cheboygan, Michigan
Vehicles
2021 F-150 Lariat 3.5L Hybrid, SC, Antimatter Blue
Occupation
Retired- Marine Chief Engineer in US Merchant Marine.
I've read that the block heater takes several hours to come up to temperature and become effective, so just a quick jolt from the battery probably wouldn't do much. It's essentially intended to be run overnight.
I live in Northern Michigan and did a little testing to see how much it changes engine warm up times, temps were in upper 30s low 40 s. I plugged mine in for 24 hours and started it and timed it to when temp gauge started showing movement and when heat kicked in. Than did it again another day with no block heater. Maybe about 2-3 additional minutes of warm up time without block heater. Truck was also outside and not in a garage with no wind blowing around it. Don’t believe it’s a very large heater. Maybe if you plug it in right after truck is hot from a trip it will maintain a warmer block temperature.
 

Supercub

Well-known member
First Name
Kurt
Joined
May 5, 2022
Threads
0
Messages
50
Reaction score
47
Location
Ak/nv
Vehicles
2021 F150 Powerboost 2022 F150 Powerboost
Occupation
Retired
I live mostly in Alaska and plug mine in anytime the temperature drops below 20 deg. Occasionally all night, usually 4 hrs before i go anywhere. I also keep it in auto 4x4 during the winter and that will affect the mph. 19-20 is typical and thats vs 24 in the summer.
Sponsored

 
 




Top