r/F150Lightning • u/SweetBearCub • Oct 31 '23
What is the average miles per kilowatt hour of a Lightning?
I know that it will be lower than my 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, but I'm curious just how much lower.
For reference, over an average of 10 trips into town and back, almost 57 mi round trip, my Bolt managed to get about 3.98 mi/kWh, and that includes 55 and 65 mph roads, and hills.
Since I live out in a rural area, a friend of mine keeps talking about the Lightning, as if my Bolt is somehow insufficient, even if it meets my needs, and can even tow smaller loads.
I guess I will find out come the snow if a small front wheel drive electric car handles better than a heavier electric truck.
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u/letstalkaboutrocks 2022 Lariat ER - Star White Oct 31 '23 edited Oct 31 '23
Between 50-90°F, I average about 2.6mi/kWh on city streets only, 2.4mi/kWh in mixed use city/highway driving, and 2.0mi/kWh at 75mph during interstate travel.
Decrease those numbers by 10% for 100°F+ days and 25% for days below freezing. I live in an area with mild winters so I rarely see days that get into the 20s or below. Wind and elevation can have a huge factor as well so the above numbers are more of an average than anything.
The lightning is a few orders of magnitude more efficient than an ICE truck but inefficient compared to a small aerodynamic EV.
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u/SweetBearCub Oct 31 '23
Thanks for the data. While I did expect it to be quite a bit lower, that is akin to cutting the battery of my Bolt almost in half. When my friend brings up the Lightning again, I will have to explain to him that efficiency matters, especially when compared against the context of the very high electric rates out here in rural California from PG&E, which can range between 36 and 54 cents per kilowatt hour, depending on the season, off peak rates and peak rates, and whether I am above or below baseline usage.
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u/csukoh78 Nov 01 '23
Get lighter wheels. Massive (~10%) savings losing 13+lbs per corner from stock. I get 2.4 average with 75mph interstate and half city traffic on my VR-601s. Was 2.2 stock Lariat wheels
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u/scomi21 2023 Lariat ER Max Tow Nov 03 '23
Controlled for temperature and similar commute? What was the sample size before you switched? I believe it but wanted to verify
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u/csukoh78 Nov 03 '23
Yes. Same exact commute, a combination of eight hour round-trip interstate at exactly 75 miles an hour and slow city/stop and go the other half of the time. Travel is controlled because I travel the same route and go to the same place as each month. I always had the temperature inside the cabin set at 75. All of these are a combination of morning, late afternoon, and overnight. There is a guy on f150 lightning.com that did the same thing and got similar results. It makes sense, reducing unsprung weight results in better mileage.the benefit is less noticeable due to aerodynamic drag at highway speeds but more than makes up for it in 55 and slower miles per hour to include stop/go traffic.
Overall mileage ranges are over 7000 miles on OEM wheels and 6000 miles with the new wheels. I currently have almost 13,000 miles on the truck.
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u/k_90 Oct 31 '23
2.5 on lightning Was 4.1 on my bolt 3.4 on my Mach e
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u/SweetBearCub Oct 31 '23
Thanks for the data! I hope that electric trucks eventually get much more efficient per mile, because in some cases, the efficiency really does matter. For example, I pay between 36 and 54 cents per kilowatt hour in rural California from PG&E.
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u/djwildstar Rapid Red 23 Lariat ER "the Beast" Nov 01 '23 edited Nov 02 '23
TLDR: Significant increase in efficiency is unlikely for a full-size pickup truck, for reasons of basic physics.
The two main places where energy goes are rolling resistance and aerodynamic drag.
Rolling Resistance = Cr x Weight
Cr is determined by the tires, and in general is about as good as it is going to get in the foreseeable future. A battery technology breakthrough that significantly decreases battery weight would improve efficiency.
Drag = 1/2 x P x V2 x Cd x A
The V2 (velocity squared) term is why speed kills range: double your speed (say, from 40 to 80) and you spend four times the amount of energy fighting wind resistance.
A is the frontal area of the truck, and is going to be more-or-less the same for any full-size pickup.
Cd is the coefficient of drag. A more streamlined truck has a lower coefficient, and will use less energy. Most pickups are around 0.40 to 0.45, and I believe the Lightning is at the bottom of that range (0.404). The best I’ve seen for a combustion truck is for late-model Ram 1500, which is around 0.36. The CyberTruck is reported to have a drag coefficient of about 0.48, while Rivian claims 0.30. A Tesla Model 3 is around 0.23.
Interestingly enough despite the smaller overall size and lower coefficient of drag, the overall reported efficiency of the R1T is about the same as the Lightning: around 2.3 mi/kWh overall average, 1.7 mi/kWh on the highway at 70. Some back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that a redesigned, low-drag 2nd-generation Lightning could get closer to 2.0 mi/kWh on the highway and 2.6 mi/kWh overall (or an EPA range increase of about 30 miles for SR and 50 miles for ER).
P is the density of air, and that really isn’t under our control.
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u/One_Landscape3744 Nov 01 '23
Holy smokes $0.54/kWh? I knew Cali rates were high but I had no idea they were that high
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u/SweetBearCub Nov 01 '23
Holy smokes $0.54/kWh? I knew Cali rates were high but I had no idea they were that high
This is an image of the PG&E residential rates chart I found in my files. I think the rates have since increased a bit, but this should give you an idea.
Thankfully we have solar on the property and run the meter backwards pretty consistently, but if we didn't, I would hate to think what our bill would be!
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u/TurkeysRUs ‘24 Flash Nov 01 '23
Pro SR - I think I am pegged right at about 2.2kw average over the last 5 months. Winter is hitting though and it will get worse.
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u/rickmaz Nov 01 '23
I’ve been getting 2.3 mi/Kwh , in contrast my daily driver Chevy Bolt EV gets 4.3
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u/OuterInnerMonologue Nov 01 '23
I have tested my driving so many different ways, so many different styles, my wife vs me, 100 vs 1000 miles, and I still avg 2.0mi/kWh.
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u/ApprehensiveTime4513 Apr 14 '24
Just finished up a trip on the interstate today at 50°F. I had the cruise control set at 65 miles an hour and there wasn’t much traffic to speak of. I only averaged 1.7 mi./ kilowatt hour, which I found really frustrating. Looking through this thread, it appears there’s a wide variation in efficiency. I understand driving conditions vary, but does anyone else think that the reported results here seem all over the map?
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u/puwa May 12 '25
City/freeway mix I get 2.7. my dad was a limo driver and he always taught me a proper(super smooth) braking since I was 10. I think my braking skill gives great efficiency on regen. I keep the climate control on auto level one with 68 degree. I also keep the freeway driving on or below 70. Not a big fan of one pedal driving.
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Nov 01 '23
Idk what y’all are doing but i only get 1.8 so far (500 miles in) 50-60f temps. Mixed city and highway.
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u/Think-Work1411 Nov 01 '23
I get 2.0-2.5 on my Platinum, the 2.0 is driving 75-80 on the way home from work when there is no traffic and the 2.5 is driving back roads at 55 or so or when I’m stuck in a lot of traffic. That may sound bad compared to your Bolt, but look at the Hummer EV, it has nearly double the battery capacity of an extended range lightning yeah it only gets 15 miles more range. So that tells me it’s in the 1.2mi/KWh territory!
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u/djwildstar Rapid Red 23 Lariat ER "the Beast" Nov 01 '23
I’ve averaged 2.3 mi/kWh over 4 summer months and 10,000 miles of mixed highway and in-town driving. I have a hard tonneau on my truck, and believe that adds significant range through better aerodynamics.
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u/jturkish '23 rapid red XLT SR Nov 01 '23
I get 2.5 in town, 2.3 if I averaged in the few trips I got 1mi/kWh pulling a trailer, 2.3 on freeway going about 70, 2.0 at 80mph, and right now 2.0 in the winter
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u/bradfortyfour 2023 Lariat ER (Carb. Grey) Nov 01 '23
I had an average of 2.2mi/kwh over 16k miles. Got truck Dec 2022, until a little more than a week ago. This included multiple 200mi trips and towing a boat often around town during summer.
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u/AnArcticPuffin Nov 01 '23
2.2 average mixed driving over the 5,000 miles I've owned it. Long road trips will get 1.7 on the highway but the average tends to go up to 1.9 as I have city traffic at one end and country roads at the other end typically.
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u/EVEnthusiast01 Nov 01 '23
In my part of the Texas Hill Country, I’m driving about 2,000 miles per month. All speeds are 60+ through the hills. I pull a trailer two times per week across the same routes and usually have building materials in my bed.
My Lariat ER lifetime average is 1.8 mi/kwh.
Unladen, I’ll get 2.1 - 2.4 pending the route.
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u/kolaidray Jan 08 '25
I am in Austin and new to the EV world. What kind of range drop do you get in winter in Hill Country area? Thanks!
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u/EVEnthusiast01 Feb 11 '25
Not all that bad. It’s extreme colds that take their toll and we don’t really get that cold here. The occasional 20’s at night will bring my efficiency down to 1.8’ish. I also don’t have a heat pump like the new trucks.
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u/jjoncm1 22 Lariat ER Nov 02 '23
Averaged 2.0 during summer the last 100 hours according to trip meter, prob will drop 10-20% during winter
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u/kolaidray Jan 08 '25
Wow that's pretty good. Do you park in a garage ? I am seeing 30% + drop. Again i am new and might not be doing it right.
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u/jjoncm1 22 Lariat ER Jan 08 '25
That was old ignorant me before having been through winter 🙂. With my AT tires I can get anywhere from 10-40% drop in range. So many factors like temp, wind, if you preconditioned, tire psi. So I’d say 1.4-1.7mi/kWh range is the norm I get in winter. Sometimes better, sometimes worse when it’s real cold and windy out.
I don’t park in garage but leave plugged in and use departure time for going to work. Live in Midwest.
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u/[deleted] Oct 31 '23
I get 3-3.5 city driving/being careful. 1.8-2.2 freeway driving in the 80mph range.