Is personal preference the main reason to use one-pedal driving (1PD)? Could stopping distance be a reason?

[joebruin77]

use 1-p mode, 'unbridled', to obtain maximum regen

Thank you for your helpful reply. I'm just curious, why does using "unbridled" result in the most regen? If I have two goals which is 1) maximize regen braking and 2) maximize range, would using one pedal driving in "whisper" mode be best?

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[HuntingPudel]

The Unbridled mode has the most aggressive off-throttle regenerative braking. I use Unbridled mode and the brake pedal. I pretty much just lift off the accelerator pedal and lightly touch the brake pedal (to turn on the brake lights without engaging the friction brakes) until the car is under 8-10 mph. It works for me but you may prefer something different. Purely your choice. ?‍?

 

[dtbaker61]

The Unbridled mode has the most aggressive off-throttle regenerative braking.

... exactly. unbridled allows the most aggressive throttle response with both output and regen.

I use Unbridled mode and the brake pedal. I pretty much just lift off the accelerator pedal and lightly touch the brake pedal (to turn on the brake lights without engaging the friction brakes) until the car is under 8-10 mph. It works for me but you may prefer something different. Purely your choice. ?‍?

you do not need to touch the brake pedal AT ALL to have brake lights come on. It seems that once the 1-p 'regen' power reaches a certain (pretty low level), the brake lights come on whether you are touching the brake pedal or not. The exact level is not documented that I can find, but it seems to be pretty reasonable level such that the brake lights come on if you 'feel' like you are slowing more than a couple mph/sec.

 

[Jim Guthry]

Side note - I left on a cold morning the other day and as I was heading down the ramp from my house the emergency alert tone sounded with the warning "1 Pedal Drive Fault - use brake to stop"

The car wasn't slowing down like normal as I went around the curve in the ramp but I at least naturally applied the brake when it was flying towards the sidewall.

I can't really recommend people who aren't used to dealing with buggy devices/software to use most of the features in this car (like Blue Cruise or 1PD) as it could be a safety issue if you aren't quick to react or have reasonable expectations of what can go wrong.

 

[RMoore]

Thank you for your helpful reply. I'm just curious, why does using "unbridled" result in the most regen? If I have two goals which is 1) maximize regen braking and 2) maximize range, would using one pedal driving in "whisper" mode be best?

There are many threads about this topic and as I mention in my initial post in this thread, the consensus appears to be that there is no significant difference in regeneration with the 3 modes. In addition, several have said that for most types of driving, there is also little difference between one-pedal driving or two-pedal driving with respect to regeneration, since even with two-pedal driving, depressing the brake pedal does not actually activate the friction brakes (i.e. the brake pads don't engage the discs) but rather causes the motor to slow you down (except for very rapid braking or at very low speeds). The conclusion therefore is that the choice of 1 or 2-pedal driving should be based on driving dynamics and not regeneration.

This is a long thread but makes some of these points: https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/mach-e-brake-pressure-data-for-each-drive-mode.11284/

There are several others as well.

 

[B25Nut]

RMoore: Very well said. Case closed.

 

[hawkeye3point1]

The car wasn't slowing down like normal

PSA - All EVs suffer from morning sickness when it is cold.

If the OS thinks the battery cells and (massive) capacitors are too cold to absorb a large regen surge, the regen inducing current will not be applied and you will not get any regen braking regardless of mode.

Plan accordingly if you live where Winter lives. Preconditioning will prevent this.

I'm quite pleased that the car alerts you to this condition, my previous EV wasn't that smart.

 

[HuntingPudel]

<snip>
you do not need to touch the brake pedal AT ALL to have brake lights come on. It seems that once the 1-p 'regen' power reaches a certain (pretty low level), the brake lights come on whether you are touching the brake pedal or not. The exact level is not documented that I can find, but it seems to be pretty reasonable level such that the brake lights come on if you 'feel' like you are slowing more than a couple mph/sec.

This is only true if 1PD is on. I do not have it on, thus my light touch on the brake pedal. ??

 

[Jim Guthry]

PSA - All EVs suffer from morning sickness when it is cold.

If the OS thinks the battery cells and (massive) capacitors are too cold to absorb a large regen surge, the regen inducing current will not be applied and you will not get any regen braking regardless of mode.

Plan accordingly if you live where Winter lives. Preconditioning will prevent this.

I'm quite pleased that the car alerts you to this condition, my previous EV wasn't that smart.

I'd prefer that it alerts you when you turn the car on, not when you're rolling down a hill

 

[alexgorod]

I'd prefer that it alerts you when you turn the car on, not when you're rolling down a hill

It alerts when it fails.
Only GOM can predict the future.

 

[VaderMachE]

I just leave mine in unbridled. It brakes harder without the hard slam feeling of one pedal. Driver preference.?

 

[phidauex]

There are many threads about this topic and as I mention in my initial post in this thread, the consensus appears to be that there is no significant difference in regeneration with the 3 modes. In addition, several have said that for most types of driving, there is also little difference between one-pedal driving or two-pedal driving with respect to regeneration, since even with two-pedal driving, depressing the brake pedal does not actually activate the friction brakes (i.e. the brake pads don't engage the discs) but rather causes the motor to slow you down (except for very rapid braking or at very low speeds). The conclusion therefore is that the choice of 1 or 2-pedal driving should be based on driving dynamics and not regeneration.

This is a long thread but makes some of these points: https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/mach-e-brake-pressure-data-for-each-drive-mode.11284/

There are several others as well.

Agreed, in my various tests it appears that the car behaves the same way in all of the modes. That is, when slowing it will always prefer regeneration up to 100kW or -0.2g of acceleration (on my AWD in moderate temps), and only apply friction brakes after that. It turns the brake light on if you touch the brake pedal, or in 1PD, if regen exceeds some amount (I tried to measure it but it is very low, less than 10kW for sure).

The only real difference appears to be in the pedals, and their throttle curves and behavior. Said another way, the drive modes impact how the pedals work, not how the car works. I haven’t proven this, but my current hypothesis is that if you drove the same course, at the same speeds, with the same acceleration and deceleration, you would use the exact same amount of energy regardless of the drive mode or pedal mode you selected.

Personally I like 1PD/Engage, because it just feels like a good mix of responsiveness and strong (but not too strong) regen when I back off the pedal. It is very easy to avoid using the friction brakes at all - I routinely make an hour long drive (through three cities, no interstate) without the friction brakes coming on once (except after already stopped, which the car does to hold position).

 

[alexgorod]

I like 1PD, but still prefer 2PD when backing up and getting into tight spaces, like the garage spot.
1PD preference has nothing to do with energy regeneration or saving brakes, it's just the way I like it to drive. Maybe to feel that it's not a regular car after all!

 

[Tom L]

I think you have an invalid assumption here with respect to "an emergency situation".

In an emergency situation you are going to hit the brakes no matter what 1-P on or not. (Note that in 1-P mode you still can hit the brakes and they still work, its not an either/or situation you can always hit the brake pedal.)

1-P does not stop the car very quickly regardless of drive mode (you do have to plan your stops out and start braking earlier with 1-P on).

As far as efficiency is concerned its pretty much the same regardless of 1-P on or not: The Mach-E has a blended brake and will regen quite a bit when you press the brake pedal. The "coasting" arguments notwithstanding (people who say 1-P is worse because they think of "coasting" is removing your foot completely from the accelerator instead of finding the "coast" spot in 1-P mode).

Thus it comes down to personal preference: If you like 1-P or not.

Oh there is one situation where 1-P mode is safer: If you are driving alone and become incapacitated for some reason. In 1-P mode the car will come to a stop. (Of course if you have cruise control on it doesn't make a difference...)

I would add another situation in favor of IPD. I have found in wet conditions (rain and winter weather) that the soles of my shoes get wet and occasionally slip off the brake pedal. It might happen only a couple times a year, but as I have gotten older and my reaction time slips ever so slightly I find it alarming when it happens. For example, it happened recently while I was waiting in line at the bank drive-in. My foot slipped off the brake and my car crept forward. That was not life threatening by any means, but with 1PD I don't think that would happen.

 

[Frankie]

....nnnnnoooooo. Hydraulic brakes dissipate energy as heat as a result of friction between rotors and pads while 1-P braking is by definition 'regenerative braking' which reverses polarity in the motor to essentially change it to a generator. The work done is *mostly* regenerative, since the motor is a fairly efficient generator.

You understand that the Mach-E isn't a Tesla in that in a Tesla pressing on the brake pedal ONLY engages the friction brakes whereas in a Mach-E in regular driving pressing the brake pedal engages regeneration, right?

You do understand that, right?

Your notion that if you're in 1PD you're getting the most regen is just wrong.

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