News already bashing

[timbop]

Which keeps making me wonder how Ford is tackling the recharging side of the EV equation.

We all see that EV tech is moving to 800v technology but 400v is perfectly capable of putting 200+ miles of range into a MME-sized car in 22 minutes right now.

Is Ford able to do it too, is it just not an interesting/compelling problem to solve, or is Ford going to wait for 800v technology to mature and subsequently drop in price?

Tesla had the model 3 on the market for well over a year before they started upping the charge speed. I don't remember the exact numbers but the SR+ started out at around 100kw and is now at 165kw. Tesla did that because they wanted to see how well the BMS worked keeping the battery safe and healthy before they cranked up the charging current.

Expect Ford to do the exact same thing with the MME. In 12-18 months expect faster charging, a little more efficient driving, and an increase in useable battery.

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[silverelan]

Expect Ford to do the exact same thing with the MME. In 12-18 months expect faster charging, a little more efficient driving, and an increase in useable battery.

Ford has been pretty coy about performance upgrades, specifically with charging. They've alluded to potential acceleration boosts in the future at car shows when the MME was on tour but insofar as charging? Ford says, 45 minutes 10% -> 80%. Period.

Maybe I'm missing it in the presos but Ford hasn't trotted out any engineers to discuss how the BMS and cooling systems work better than anything they've ever done before to reduce degradation & improve charging, have they? Or teased how their hardware will enable future charging improvements? I may be totally wrong on all this but I'm pretty sure we'd have a thread on this topic if it had come up.

 

[malba2366]

I agree with ChasingCoral. It is more about the worry/anxiety about the range of the car. I currently have one PHEV (Honda Clarity - ~ 40 mile range) and one EV (Hyundai Ioniq - ~ around 120 range) and easily get about town within their range. Waiting for a Mach E select (RW drive ~ 230 range).

I don't think it is about anxiety, rather it is a comparative metric between vehicles, just like horsepower, 0-60 times etc.

 

[timbop]

I don't think it is about anxiety, rather it is a comparative metric between vehicles, just like horsepower, 0-60 times etc.

Yes, but it is silly to focus so much on a single metric as if that's the only thing that matters. Digital cameras fell into this trap; all people worried about was megapixels and so cameras that had crappy autofocus, poor lenses, and other subpar performance still sold well.

Of course range matters - up to a certain minimum. Charging speed also matters - up to a certain minimum. The same for acceleration, wheelbase, etc.

 

[1pt21Gigawatts]

The question is whether, when they improve it, will it be OTA or just to the lucky people who buy it going forward, leaving us suckers as the early adopters losing out.

 

[dbsb3233]

I get everyone's point above, but range needs to come up in general, to ease range anxiety, and to compete with what is in development. I just think when you try to satisfy all points on the compass, you dilute the brand. I would have even set the GT with more power and a larger battery. Anyway, just a thought.

Then it's just another "$50,000+ EV for the rich".

 

[1pt21Gigawatts]

I’m one of them!

 

[J Duce]

Ford has been pretty coy about performance upgrades, specifically with charging. They've alluded to potential acceleration boosts in the future at car shows when the MME was on tour but insofar as charging? Ford says, 45 minutes 10% -> 80%. Period.

Maybe I'm missing it in the presos but Ford hasn't trotted out any engineers to discuss how the BMS and cooling systems work better than anything they've ever done before to reduce degradation & improve charging, have they? Or teased how their hardware will enable future charging improvements? I may be totally wrong on all this but I'm pretty sure we'd have a thread on this topic if it had come up.

I hope they planned ahead with ability to boost charging speed. I recall a discussion on this forum earlier this year with an unauthorized but lengthy interview with a Ford engineer. In it, he alluded as i interpreted that the vehicle wiring was such that it was capable of far higher speeds than advertised. To paraphrase, he said ‘do you think we would go to the trouble of installing the massive wiring, if no intent to use it’. I took it to mean they were eyeing charge rates approaching or exceeding 250.
Hope it’s not a pipe dream but I read that statement several times. If i find the interview, I will post the link as it was quite informative.

Here is the link: https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...th-ford-mach-e-electric-vehicle-engineer.360/

 

[timbop]

The question is whether, when they improve it, will it be OTA or just to the lucky people who buy it going forward, leaving us suckers as the early adopters losing out.

Come on, man. Ford is not in the business of ruining relationships with customers; despite what you may think Farley and the rest are not stupid. Why wouldn't they make it available to existing customers if it is software? Worst case they would sell it for $100 or something.

 

[timbop]

I hope they planned ahead with ability to boost charging speed. I recall a discussion on this forum earlier this year with an unauthorized but lengthy interview with a Ford engineer. In it, he alluded as i interpreted that the vehicle wiring was such that it was capable of far higher speeds than advertised. To paraphrase, he said ‘do you think we would go to the trouble of installing the massive wiring, if no intent to use it’. I took it to mean they were eyeing charge rates approaching or exceeding 250.
Hope it’s not a pipe dream but I read that statement several times. If i find the interview, I will post the link as it was quite informative.

Here is the link: https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...th-ford-mach-e-electric-vehicle-engineer.360/

Yes, but if you read more closely he also says only Tesla is able to balance those kinds of charging currents "to avoid catastrophic damage from DCFC rates like that". I hope that can at least improve it 10 or 20%

 

[J Duce]

Yes, but if you read more closely he also says only Tesla is able to balance those kinds of charging currents "to avoid catastrophic damage from DCFC rates like that". I hope that can at least improve it 10 or 20%

I get your point. It still begs the question of why the engineer mentioned that the wiring was available. Hopefully, better data and OTA will address this.

 

[Popeye]

I get your point. It still begs the question of why the engineer mentioned that the wiring was available. Hopefully, better data and OTA will address this.

Farley has been talking about reducing warranty costs as way to generate better profits. I wonder if this overbuild of wiring and caution in terms of current charging speed is for that exact reason. To ensure they don’t start catching fire like the hybrids. Yes I know different battery cells. But probably best to be cautious from the jump.

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