MachE GT/GTPE Performance Limiters Explained

[Mach1E]

I saw the forward of the FB Dragy run in another post on this forum. The ‘24 runs a 114mph trap speed vs. the ‘23 running 104. So it seems that it takes longer for the 2024 to pull power (IOW, to go off of Boost mode). ??

The missing data point is still- what’s the 1/4 mile and trap speed for a 2024 GT before the performance upgrade?

Also would love to see the 1/4 mile for a 2024 Premium 4X. They’re up to 365 hp and 500 tq and a 0-60 of 4.1.

I’m afraid the new premium 4X will have a higher trap speed than a 21-23 GT and even be close in 1/4 mile elapsed time now.

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[HuntingPudel]

The missing data point is still- what’s the 1/4 mile and trap speed for a 2024 GT before the performance upgrade?

Also would love to see the 1/4 mile for a 2024 Premium 4X. They’re up to 365 hp and 500 tq and a 0-60 of 4.1.

I’m afraid the new premium 4X will have a higher trap speed than a 21-23 GT and even be close in 1/4 mile elapsed time now.

Higher trap speed for the 2024 Premium is a given. The ‘21-‘23 Premiums had a higher trap speed than the GT. ?‍?

I would also like to see times and trap speeds for the non-performance GT, along with the Premium 4X. Quarter times should be about a half second off of the ‘21-‘23 GT, with trap speeds around 108-110. ??

I just love how my ‘21 suddenly pulls power around 78. It’s gradual from 72-77, then falls on its face. ??

 

[Mach1E]

Higher trap speed for the 2024 Premium is a given. The ‘21-‘23 Premiums had a higher trap speed than the GT. ?‍?

I would also like to see times and trap speeds for the non-performance GT, along with the Premium 4X. Quarter times should be about a half second off of the ‘21-‘23 GT, with trap speeds around 108-110. ??

I just love how my ‘21 suddenly pulls power around 78. It’s gradual from 72-77, then falls on its face. ??

My guess for 2024 premium-
12.8 at 106 mph. More tq= faster time but only 19 extra hp so only a few more mph.

Guess for 2024 GT (600 tq model)- If they don’t pull power on the top end- 12.1 at 110 mph.

If they do pull power, it’ll match the old GT times of 12.5 at 102 or so.

 

[HuntingPudel]

My guess for 2024 premium-
12.8 at 106 mph. More tq= faster time but only 19 extra hp so only a few more mph.

Guess for 2024 GT (600 tq model)- If they don’t pull power on the top end- 12.1 at 110 mph.

If they do pull power, it’ll match the old GT times of 12.5 at 102 or so.

Since only the torque changes, I’d guess the GT would run closer to the trap speed the ones with the performance software run. I doubt the regular GTs pull power. It would make more sense to pull power on the performance option cars due to the extra power needed for the extra torque. Otherwise, sound guesses to me. ?‍?

 

[V8toEV]

Preface:

Apparently there's a few people who don't understand the various limits placed on GT/GTPE trims. This thread will hopefully explain those in a easy to understand way. It's possible that these limitations also apply to non-GT models however, since they don't have the same display it's hard to say if they all apply equally.

Dispelling myths:

There are a few members here who believe they "know" why certain limits are applied to the car. The truth, and fact of the matter, is that they are just guessing. Ford has not confirmed any of these limits other than the 5 second limit. So, while the underlying reason behind the limits could technically be correct there's no quantifiable evidence to support their theories. This thread is based on quantifiable evidence, not imaginary dreams. Yes, you read that correctly, Ford HAS confirmed the 5 second limit here and per InsideEV, Ford confirmed this to them here:

Help Contribute:

I don't live in a cold climate and I don't have all the data to build out this post in it's entirety. I hope that the community can help put together the missing pieces. Again however, please prove your assertions instead of guessing. If it's a guess I might not include it unless I'm confident that it's correct. I will also attribute the limitations claimed to those members by name. This list has to be an effort of all members because of the diverse climates and situations that we all live in.

What is a performance limiter?

These are the grey bars that appear on the power indicator of the GT/GTPE trims. As the car limits power the power indicator is first left with a blank spot that is back filled with bars. These bars are sometimes referred to as jail bars. The bars are very small and hard to count unless you look very closely. It's important to note that these bars are cumulative. In other words, multiple limiting factors can contribute to the bars. One factor doesn't replace the other, instead they stack and the line of bars grows, further limiting power.

Why does Ford limit power?

Simply put, we don't know. Again, many people will guess as to why, and they could be correct, but Ford has not said what the underlying reasons are. Ford has told the media that it is to preserve battery health, but that isn't really an underlying reason. That quote from Ford can be found here.

Reasons for performance limitations:

Speed:
Speed limitations are based on MPH, they immediately fall off when you go below those limits. They always happen regardless of climate or other factors.

MPH	# Of Bars	Contributing Member	Description
73	1-2	DevSecOps	Depending on the SOC this can be 1 or 2 bars. If higher SOC it's just 1 bar, lower SOC can be 2 bars
76	0-1	DevSecOps	Depending on the SOC this bad can be included in the 73 MPH limit or it can be added 3mph after.
80	2	DevSecOps
85	1	DevSecOps
87	1	DevSecOps
90	1	DevSecOps
92	1	DevSecOps

Acceleration:
Acceleration events are considered events where the car starts at 0mph, with full SOC. These events are via peak performance of the electric motors. In other words, a Wide Open Throttle (WOT) event. These bars do not appear under "normal" acceleration or slow acceleration. Additionally, acceleration at 1/2 or 3/4 throttle, can possibly trigger these bars however the time will not be the time listed in the below table. For the purpose of acceleration events it will always be considered a WOT event starting at 0mph in favorable conditions.

Bars from acceleration events do not immediately fall off. Additionally, if you accelerate from 0-80 (as an example) and you have acceleration bars that start falling off, re-accelerating can cause them to return until all of the acceleration bars fall off.

Seconds	# Of Bars	Contributing Member	Description
5	5	DevSecOps	These bars appear at the tail end of an acceleration event. They are added to the aforementioned speed limitations. For example: 0-95mph would result in 13 bars. 5 from acceleration and 8 from speed. As soon as you fall under 72 MPH the speed bars disappear and the acceleration bars remain and gradually fall off.

Climate:
Climate related bars are due to extreme cold or hot weather. It's obvious that you can't control these bars. I need the community help here because I live in a mild climate. Ambient temps are normally within a tight range of battery temps. The car monitors the battery temp when it applies performance limitations, but again, the metric that most people can see (without a OBD scanner) is the ambient and it should get us close enough.

External Temperature (F)	# Of Bars	Contributing Member	Description

Charging:
Charging related bars are seen mostly after DCFC events. I need the community help here because I don't know if they appear after preconditioning since I never use it.

Type of Event	# Of Bars	Contributing Member	Description
DCFC	4-8	DevSecOps	Leaving a DCFC session can often result in bars that will fall off in time. In my testing it took about 7-10 minutes for these to fall off.

SOCD:
SOCD related bars are from different states of battery charge. The vehicle applies bars to limit your performance as the battery state of charge lowers. My guess is that this is actually done on the SOC, not the SOCD, and therefore your SOCD might be slightly different than below, but it's approximately the same and should be in the same range.

SOCD	# Of Bars	Contributing Member	Description
74%	1	DevSecOps
64%	1	DevSecOps	Total = 2
36%	1	DevSecOps	Total = 3
23%	9	DevSecOps	Total = 12 (Low Battery Trigger)
15%	1	DevSecOps	Total = 13

Component Failures:
When components fail power is often limited

Type Of Failure	# Of Bars	Contributing Member	Description
HVBJB	21	DevSecOps	This is probably the most common failure event to present power limitations.

Why doesn't this look right?

Make sure that you are adding things up. For example 50% SOCD would be 2 bars, one from 74% SOCD and one more from 64% SOCD. If you have more than that it's likely to be from one of the other contributing factors. The charts above are based on those milestones. Since the bars are cumulative you must add the previous milestones and other factors together.

Mystery Bars??

For some unknown reason there are times when the car will have a large number of bars or a random solo bar. Sometimes this can be cleared with a power cycle and other times they just persist for a while. While they may be attributed in part, or wholly, to the aforementioned reasons sometimes people just can't figure out why they are there.

Conclusion:

I will continue to update the OP with further details and if I missed anything that causes bars please let me know so I can add it.

Lastly, is it really called a "performance limiter"?

No, I just made that up to make it sound fancy. Call it grey bars or jail bars... no one will know what you mean if you say "performance limiter".

Very thorough ??

 

[Macphisto]

I have a 2024 GT with performance upgrade and i was wondering why my car felt slower in the last month or so. I live in Montreal and the temperature is colder now. This morning for the first time i noticed the jail bars. i never really noticed them before but I wasn’t looking for them either as I thought the 24 did not have them. This morning its around 20F and there was quite a a few bars (I would say around 15?. After about 25-30 minutes of driving it went down to 4-5 bars.

 

[blueovaltech]

I have a 2024 GT with performance upgrade and i was wondering why my car felt slower in the last month or so. I live in Montreal and the temperature is colder now. This morning for the first time i noticed the jail bars. i never really noticed them before but I wasn’t looking for them either as I thought the 24 did not have them. This morning its around 20F and there was quite a a few bars (I would say around 15?. After about 25-30 minutes of driving it went down to 4-5 bars.

Temperature affects the battery's output capabilities.

You will see jailbars sooner, at a higher state of charge, in cooler weather than in warmer weather. It's completely normal. Vs my '23, it off-the-cuff seems like the 1st jailbar is the same as the '23, appearing in the upper 70% SOC area at temps below 60-ish degrees F, with more jailbars showing quicker, the colder ambient temps or lower SOC.

24's absolutely still have jailbars for various reasons just like the '21-23's, it's just under heavy acceleration scenario's they do not start to come on until just about 1/4 mile, in IDEAL conditions, that being at higher SOC and at or above 80%ish SOC.

 

[Macphisto]

Temperature affects the battery's output capabilities.

You will see jailbars sooner, at a higher state of charge, in cooler weather than in warmer weather. It's completely normal. Vs my '23, it off-the-cuff seems like the 1st jailbar is the same as the '23, appearing in the upper 70% SOC area at temps below 60-ish degrees F, with more jailbars showing quicker, the colder ambient temps or lower SOC.

24's absolutely still have jailbars for various reasons just like the '21-23's, it's just under heavy acceleration scenario's they do not start to come on until just about 1/4 mile, in IDEAL conditions, that being at higher SOC and at or above 80%ish SOC.

Thank you i would recommend this thread to any new GT owner. This is great informations and at least now i know my car is not broken ?

 

[Mach1E]

I have a 2024 GT with performance upgrade and i was wondering why my car felt slower in the last month or so. I live in Montreal and the temperature is colder now. This morning for the first time i noticed the jail bars. i never really noticed them before but I wasn’t looking for them either as I thought the 24 did not have them. This morning its around 20F and there was quite a a few bars (I would say around 15?. After about 25-30 minutes of driving it went down to 4-5 bars.

Interesting. It’s kinda what I suspected would happen (jail bars still for 2024s) just we haven’t heard much documentation on them so far.

Cold weather, low state of charge, extended high speeds, lots of acceleration…… should still affect the 2024s, but probably not as much as prior years.

What I haven’t heard ANYTHING about yet is what a 2024 GT without the performance upgrade is like.

Is it just less torque (600 vs 700) or are the jail bars different as well?

So sad that even after 4 years Ford keeps this crap a mystery.

 

[Macphisto]

Interesting. It’s kinda what I suspected would happen (jail bars still for 2024s) just we haven’t heard much documentation on them so far.

Exactly, I’ve heard of the jail bars on the 21-23 models but every video reviews I watched prior to buying mine mentioned they were gone on the 24. It took me at least a month to to even notice those on my screen. I spent the last month wondering if i was crazy for thinking the car was slower of if an update broke the car.

I was dreading the idea of having to explain to my dealership how the car was slower without any error showing.

 

[Mach1E]

Exactly, I’ve heard of the jail bars on the 21-23 models but every video reviews I watched prior to buying mine mentioned they were gone on the 24. It took me at least a month to to even notice those on my screen. I spent the last month wondering if i was crazy for thinking the car was slower of if an update broke the car.

I was dreading the idea of having to explain to my dealership how the car was slower without any error showing.

Definitely working as designed.

The jail bars represent two things-
1. Power reduction due to external factors
2. Power reduction due to Ford tuning it that way

For 2024 they “eased” the restrictions on #2 so we can finally do a full 1/4 mile run. But the fact that “unbridle extend” still exists tells us they aren’t unlimited.

#1 is just due to battery chemistry and physics. Low state of charge and temps too high or too low and batteries are limited in their power output.

If you ever used a battery electric drill you can feel the results first hand.

 

[snowdoggie]

Why have I not notice these bars... perhaps I dont look down

 

[Mustangor]

Hi there, I just discover this thread. Thank to all contributors, it's amazing.
I have two questions : are others VE subject to this limitations too, and which ones ? In particular, do the RWD Mach-E have a performance limiter ?

 

[LocoEngineer]

I did a comparison test last month between my wife's 2024 Mach E GT(without the performance upgrade) and my 2023 Polestar 2 with the performance pack from the factory. I figured it would be a pretty close comparison, with the Ford being heavier, but also having more torque and horsepower. Both tests were done the same day, batteries charged to 100%, driven 12 miles to the test area, and traction controls left in normal on position. Mach E was put in Unbridle mode, launch control was used on the Polestar 2.

Here is the 0-60, 1/8th mile, and 1/4 mile of the Polestar. Weight is listed at 4,750lbs, with 478hp/502tq.

Here is the 0-60, 1/8th mile, and 1/4 mile of the Mach E GT. Weight is listed at 4,952lbs, with 480hp/600tq.

The Mach E definitely launches harder than the Polestar 2, it's an obvious difference, especially when driving the two back-to-back. On the other hand, the Polestar 2 pulls very linear through the full range of speed, where the Mustang does lose some of its "pull" nearing the top end. Day to day red light racing (not that I condone street racing), the Mach E takes the Polestar. On the highway at a 70mph kick, the Polestar would walk the Mach E.

I am tempted to pay the $1000 for the Mach E performance upgrade, just to redo the test!

 

[blueovaltech]

I did a comparison test last month between my wife's 2024 Mach E GT(without the performance upgrade) and my 2023 Polestar 2 with the performance pack from the factory. I figured it would be a pretty close comparison, with the Ford being heavier, but also having more torque and horsepower. Both tests were done the same day, batteries charged to 100%, driven 12 miles to the test area, and traction controls left in normal on position. Mach E was put in Unbridle mode, launch control was used on the Polestar 2.

Here is the 0-60, 1/8th mile, and 1/4 mile of the Polestar. Weight is listed at 4,750lbs, with 478hp/502tq.

Here is the 0-60, 1/8th mile, and 1/4 mile of the Mach E GT. Weight is listed at 4,952lbs, with 480hp/600tq.

The Mach E definitely launches harder than the Polestar 2, it's an obvious difference, especially when driving the two back-to-back. On the other hand, the Polestar 2 pulls very linear through the full range of speed, where the Mustang does lose some of its "pull" nearing the top end. Day to day red light racing (not that I condone street racing), the Mach E takes the Polestar. On the highway at a 70mph kick, the Polestar would walk the Mach E.

I am tempted to pay the $1000 for the Mach E performance upgrade, just to redo the test!

+4 mph in the 1/8th and 8mph in the 1/4 gain will do work against the Polestar for sure after you do the upgrade.

It's a pretty good improvement all around.

On these All-Season tires, normally I can get a 1.79 60' on the street, mostly in the low 1.8's

Typically 7.6's in the 1.8th and 11.8-9ish in the 1/4.

0-60 is around 3.5-3.7.

It's a solid performance gain for the $$ spent, especially considering to gain 8mph in the 1/4 the amount of coin it takes on a comparable gas vehicle.

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