Discovered: GTPE Delivers 5 Seconds of Full Power on Acceleration Then Reduces Battery Power to Limit Heating

[JcMarin]

I just have a question related to the software vs hardware debate for you gurus. If this 5 second limitation that Ford is imposing through software is because of limitations in hardware (I.e. the battery needs time to cool or it will degrade too quickly) is it fair to say that it’s fixable via a software change?

Oh boy, you just had to ask, didn't you?

Expect 5 more pages worth of replies with 1/2 the people saying it's hardware, 1/2 saying it's software, and 2 or 3 post imploring or demanding answers from Ford.

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[GoGoGadgetMachE]

Oh boy, you just had to ask, didn't you?

Expect 5 more pages worth of replies with 1/2 the people saying it's hardware, 1/2 saying it's software, and 2 or 3 post imploring or demanding answers from Ford.

For someone who's been here less than three months, you have learned the forum well. ?

 

[RMoore]

Oh boy, you just had to ask, didn't you?

Expect 5 more pages worth of replies with 1/2 the people saying it's hardware, 1/2 saying it's software, and 2 or 3 post imploring or demanding answers from Ford.

It looked like everyone was have such a good time I figured I’d join the fray…

 

[Mach1E]

I wonder if the "cheat" for now is to drive it more like a manual transmission car. Go hard at the Throttle for 4.5 seconds, and let up just enough to reset the timer for a tenth of a second, almost like you were shifting gears, and then lay into it again hard for another 4.5 seconds - repeat as needed.

It would be interesting to see if a technique like this could result in faster results than the automatic profile, and quite honestly make for a better driving experience. How much skill does it take to mash the accelerator pedal? Learning to drive the curve and just beat the software sounds like a lot more fun, and a lot more deserving of a performance car. It would be a great easter egg if there is any driving technique a skilled river could use to coax more performance out of the car than just flooring the pedal. Maybe I'm too old school, but I like a situation where technique actually matters.

Won’t work. Not sure exactly how long the cool down is, but it’s longer than a few seconds.

There is a video where someone does a 30-85 or so run, slows down to 30, then hits the throttle again and the power meter is less than full and it’s significantly slower. There is 10 seconds between the full throttle runs.

https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/mach-e-gt-70-acceleration-issue-video.9677/

 

[RMoore]

It looked like everyone was have such a good time I figured I’d join the fray…

And just to elaborate a bit my own sense is that it’s likely both a hardware and software issue in this case but time will tell if Ford was just being very conservative coming out of the gate and if they are willing to ease up a bit. There just may be limitations with these particular batteries that Ford is using and maybe the next gen will be more robust (if that’s the right word) and allow for longer times at full bore.

 

[JcMarin]

And just to elaborate a bit my own sense

 

[ate2aqtr]

I have an Idea. Why don't they allow full power at any time based on Battery Temps. A simple light in the dash showing full power is accessible and let it go 3 to 5 seconds and just wait to let it reset and be ready for full power again. A 3 second shot of full power up top would work perfect for passing in "emergency situations". This wouldn't fix 1/4 mile trap speeds but would eliminate the passing power gripe up top and allow the GT/GTPE to be faster up top than the premium!!!

 

[SnBGC]

Asking as a non-drag racer, why does anyone care about the trap speed? The winner of the race is the one that crosses the finish line first (ET). ? ?

When bracket racing, a car capable of a higher trap speed has an advantage because they stay ahead of the other car without risking breaking out of their dial in time.

When racing heads up, a higher trap speed means there are gains to be found in the 60 ft times which is usually related to hooking up properly.

If your 60 ft times are excellent and trap speed is high then you are about maxed out in most cases.

 

[SnBGC]

And then those people don't have a powertrain warranty on their 70,000 dollar car.

Yep. Some people don't care. That is what Hot Rodding is all about. Mopar requires a bunch of overrides to unlock full power and people still do it. We played with IPW and boost tables on Powerstrokes until we windowed the block or lifted the heads.

You have to pay if you want to play.

 

[Pushrods&Capacitors]

Yep. Some people don't care. That is what Hot Rodding is all about. Mopar requires a bunch of overrides to unlock full power and people still do it. We played with IPW and boost tables on Powerstrokes until we windowed the block or lifted the heads.

You have to pay if you want to play.

Love those terms. For all of you EV peeps and tuning neophytes the last sentence means cracked or split the block or blew the head gaskets. I’m partial to the term grenaded the motor myself.

 

[Mach1E]

These lawsuits come to mind when companies restrict the performance of their products to save battery life:

Tesla-
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/07/30...ch-in-settlement-over-battery-throttling.html

“the proposed settlement would have Tesla paying $1.5 million into a fund that would pay owners for the reduced vehicle performance they experienced due to battery throttling…”

Apple-
https://www.forbes.com/sites/barryc...iphone-owners-set-for-batterygate-payout/amp/

“The long-running case has seen Apple agree to pay at least $310 million to settle complaints that it artificially hampered the performance of selected iPhone models to preserve device battery life.”

 

[Pushrods&Capacitors]

These lawsuits come to mind when companies restrict the performance of their products to save battery life:

Tesla-
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/07/30...ch-in-settlement-over-battery-throttling.html

“the proposed settlement would have Tesla paying $1.5 million into a fund that would pay owners for the reduced vehicle performance they experienced due to battery throttling…”

Apple-
https://www.forbes.com/sites/barryc...iphone-owners-set-for-batterygate-payout/amp/

“The long-running case has seen Apple agree to pay at least $310 million to settle complaints that it artificially hampered the performance of selected iPhone models to preserve device battery life.”

The irony of the Tesla battery suit is that Tesla actually allows full tilt boogie acceleration and resultant high (EV wise) trap speeds which often result in them failing to come anywhere close to their range estimates. It’s kind of the opposite of battery throttling.

 

[Mach1E]

The irony of the Tesla battery suit is that Tesla actually allows full tilt boogie acceleration and resultant high (EV wise) trap speeds which often result in them failing to come anywhere close to their range estimates. It’s kind of the opposite of battery throttling.

I believe those two things are unrelated. Full tilt acceleration and range estimates.

No cars EPA range estimates include full throttle during testing.

 

[BMT1071]

The Apple case involved reducing the performance from previously achievable levels. The GT/GTPE models are like this out of the box. AFAIK they are meeting the advertised 0-60 performance, and I don't recall ever seeing any claims from Ford regarding trap speed. So I would say they are achieving the advertised/promised performance. Any other expectations were based on conjecture and assumptions of the public.

 

[Pushrods&Capacitors]

I believe those two things are unrelated. Full tilt acceleration and range estimates.

No cars EPA range estimates include full throttle during testing.

That’s not what I meant but I typed it too quickly. The fact that Teslas allow 100% power longer results in higher trap speeds. The net effect is far worse range than expected even if you’re not full throttle too
often. I didn’t clearly spell out how high trap speeds and worse than estimated EPA range is antithetical to supposedly throttling batteries. Throttling batteries would in theory result in lower trap speeds and better range.

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