Do you think it’s likely that the 5 second acceleration limit will change?

[Bueller]

I simply don’t get why so many folks whine and complain about the five second issue. I’ve never once wished that my GT was faster. Whether I floor it for five seconds from a stoplight or floor while driving 70 Mph, within five seconds in either scenario the car is traveling at unsafe speeds on public roads and highways. You want a race car, buy one and head for the track.

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[Mach1E]

I simply don’t get why so many folks whine and complain about the five second issue. I’ve never once wished that my GT was faster. Whether I floor it for five seconds from a stoplight or floor while driving 70 Mph, within five seconds in either scenario the car is traveling at unsafe speeds on public roads and highways. You want a race car, buy one and head for the track.

Really? Do you honestly not understand why people who buy a fast car want it to be fast or faster?

Making daily driven street cars faster is a multi billion dollar industry.

That said, many of us do take our street cars to the track.

You may disagree, which is fine, most people don’t want nor need a car that’s fast. But I don’t get how you don’t get that some people do. Fast cars are fun.

You don’t have to like roller coasters. But you should at least “get” that some people do.

 

[BigMach-E]

It’s not really complaining or “whining”. I’ve experienced that the car loses a significant amount of torque and HP after 5 seconds to the floor. This presents a real issue when you treat the acceleration curve as similar to almost any other vehicle, and you attempt passing other vehicles at speed. Why? Because if you expect the car to have power, and it doesn’t, it becomes a safety issue.
This isn’t to mention that the car isn’t exactly as advertised, it’s only as advertised for 5 seconds at a time. You can’t say “it has 480 go and 634 ft pound of torque”, if it only delivers that for 5 seconds, and then it delivers half of that. That’s misleading, and where we are at approximately.
Not to say it’s not a great car, it is, it’s just not what was promoted or advertised, and I think many people who bought it expecting “performance”, and to not have it perform as expected, have a right to be disappointed. If you aren’t, great.

 

[buzznwood]

I simply don’t get why so many folks whine and complain about the five second issue. I’ve never once wished that my GT was faster. Whether I floor it for five seconds from a stoplight or floor while driving 70 Mph, within five seconds in either scenario the car is traveling at unsafe speeds on public roads and highways. You want a race car, buy one and head for the track.

And yet it some parts of the world where the GT is sold it gets embarrassed by a diesel skoda wagon as what your idea of unsafe speed is positivity pedestrian where it is safe and legal to cruise along at high 3 digit figures.

Do I enjoy a sporty vehicle of course, but I only got the GTPE trim as it was the only one to offer the magneride as I feel for an EV adaptive suspension is essential so the performance wasn't even on my radar but to say the 5 seconds limit is not an issue is disingenuous.

Anybody getting a GT/GTPE now at least knows about these limitations however there where plenty of people that performance was a top priority from the start jumped in early and have paid a premium for that performance to find that it fails to deliver.

Had Ford been open about the situation from the start rather than let marketing write checks engineering could not cash then I doubt there would be much issue, but they didn't and for a lot of people that will have left a very sour taste so they have every right to whine and complain.

Does this impact my day to use of the vehicle not really but when it comes time to replace my GTPE with another EV at some point in the future then performance will be high up my list of priorities but Fords dishonesty in this situation means that despite many years and fond memories of owning performance Fords, the chances of that future EV being a Ford is currently 0%

 

[Mach1E]

Anybody getting a GT/GTPE now at least knows about these limitations however there where plenty of people that performance was a top priority from the start jumped in early and have paid a premium for that performance to find that it fails to deliver.

Not necessarily. At least not if they rely on Ford to tell them. Ford still buries this information.

Other manufacturers (Porsche for example) tell you exactly how much HP you have with and without boost. They lose about 70 hp off boost.

Ford is apparently ashamed to admit we lose 150 to 200 hp. How much exactly? Who knows? Ford won’t say and no one has made it to a Dyno yet.

But yeah, even a tiny amount of research now and people should know the limits (or at least have an idea about them). People who ordered day 1 in April 2021 (like myself) had zero idea about any limits.

For people like myself who were blindsided……. Yeah, we do have something to “whine” about.

 

[sotek2345]

Not necessarily. At least not if they rely on Ford to tell them. Ford still buries this information.

Other manufacturers (Porsche for example) tell you exactly how much HP you have with and without boost. They lose about 70 hp off boost.

Ford is apparently ashamed to admit we lose 150 to 200 hp. How much exactly? Who knows? Ford won’t say and no one has made it to a Dyno yet.

But yeah, even a tiny amount of research now and people should know the limits (or at least have an idea about them). People who ordered day 1 in April 2021 (like myself) had zero idea about any limits.

For people like myself who were blindsided……. Yeah, we do have something to “whine” about.

Also the fact that Ford knows how to fix this issue (Lightning has nothing like a 5 second limit) and is still selling a performance variant with the limit shows that it is clearly the accountants making the decisions.

 

[A-A-Ron]

Also the fact that Ford knows how to fix this issue (Lightning has nothing like a 5 second limit) and is still selling a performance variant with the limit shows that it is clearly the accountants making the decisions.

You know nothing of engineering or manufacturing. This isn’t hard to “fix” but it will require a new generation of car.

 

[HuntingPudel]

Also the fact that Ford knows how to fix this issue (Lightning has nothing like a 5 second limit) and is still selling a performance variant with the limit shows that it is clearly the accountants making the decisions.

Don’t forget that the F-150 Lightning wasn’t designed as a compliance car to start with. It was designed as a pickup truck, so the components were designed to work in a pickup truck. The MME unfortunately still obviously has engineering in it for its original purpose: Econobox. ??

I am not excusing Ford. Obviously their marketing people spun this and they still aren’t doing anything about it. There is no “fix” for the car short of re-engineering the power handling. At the very least, Ford needs to be open about the limit and do like a real performance manufacturer does: Explain the limit and the power the car has with and without the limit. ??

 

[Mach1E]

You know nothing of engineering or manufacturing. This isn’t hard to “fix” but it will require a new generation of car.

Well that was rude.

That said, they could instantly “fix” the limit by changing it to 7 seconds or 10 seconds. They could also make the drop off not as extreme (drop 70 hp instead of 150-200 hp). It’s as easy as changing the programming.

Would the hardware handle it? We honestly have no clue. My gut says there is definitely wiggle room considering the fact that ZERO people (that’s right, zero) have “broken” their Mach E GT as a direct result of acceleration.

And no, I don’t consider the HVJB failure to be a result of this issue. Those break on rwd SR models too and Ford already has a more robust unit available.

So how much more time at full throttle could the car handle? We don’t know until they try.

Manufacturers are always super conservative when tuning vehicles for power. It’s why you can throw a supercharger on any regular Mustang GT and get 750 hp reliably with no other mods.

 

[A-A-Ron]

That said, they could instantly “fix” the limit by changing it to 7 seconds or 10 seconds. They could also make the drop off not as extreme (drop 70 hp instead of 150-200 hp). It’s as easy as changing the programming.

Would the hardware handle it? We honestly have no clue. My gut says there is definitely wiggle room considering the fact that ZERO people (that’s right, zero) have “broken” their Mach E GT as a direct result of acceleration.

That "ZERO people" have broken their Mach E GT is what Ford engineers consider a success, not a reason to loosen the limits. If they made something that was probably good enough for most people and use cases and shouldn't break the car under tested circumstances, you end up with another HVBJB fiasco.

 

[Mach1E]

That "ZERO people" have broken their Mach E GT is what Ford engineers consider a success, not a reason to loosen the limits. If they made something that was probably good enough for most people and use cases and shouldn't break the car under tested circumstances, you end up with another HVBJB fiasco.

Sure, but it’s also just proof that what you said earlier, “it will require a new generation of car,” isn’t necessarily true.

Many people who even worked for Ford rumored that they were looking at or considering a fix at one point.

Unfortunately the HVJB fiasco put the nail in that coffin for us.

We shall see what solution Shelby comes up with, because they are definitely adding more power (on this generation of car).

I think we are going to feel awfully angry/silly if Shelby just “flips the switch” and gives us the full 562 hp with no limits that our motors are capable of without any hardware upgrades.

And yeah, don’t forget the “5 seconds” isn’t the only limit. 480 hp is the other limit. We should have 562!

FWIW, my prediction for Shelby is 562hp, a longer time limit (10 seconds or so) and just some minor cooling upgrades to go with it. If they offer it as a retrofit aftermarket kit….. I’m in.

 

[ohmslaw]

The contactors that are installed are spec'd from the manufacturer for a 5 second current limit at the levels of the GTPE. Unless the manufacturer updates the spec or a new contractor is installed this limit will be present permanently.

 

[BigMach-E]

Yeah, I hate to say it, but it is disappointing. And to a sizable amount of people. I bought the car fully knowing the limitation, and I’m still disappointed. Can we live with it? Sure. However, is anyone happy about this limitation? I don’t think so. It is going to make a difference to me in terms of if I will ever upgrade to another MME. It’s going to take a lot of proof of performance without a serious limitation to make me make that leap. It’s a great car otherwise.

 

[PalsyWalsy]

That "ZERO people" have broken their Mach E GT is what Ford engineers consider a success, not a reason to loosen the limits. If they made something that was probably good enough for most people and use cases and shouldn't break the car under tested circumstances, you end up with another HVBJB fiasco.

Isn't that like saying you will break your ankles if you jump from 25 feet but 0 have when they jumped from 5? The 0 does not prove anything, it is the number up to where 0 disappears that proves something. 8Ft? 10Ft? 12FT.....5 Sec? 7 Sec? 8 Sec?.....

 

[sotek2345]

You know nothing of engineering or manufacturing. This isn’t hard to “fix” but it will require a new generation of car.

No, it requires a new battery pack (bigger bus bars) and maybe new wiring and new power electronics. I agree it is unlikely, but that could be done for the GTs on the current platform. Prices would go up though.

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