One pedal drive (vs) Brake regen

[Fremont Kid]

This is about all it says in the owner's manual:

The link takes you here:


The text above kind of implies that you're going to get a proportional amount of braking as you lift your foot off the accelerator. It could be clearer though.

I would bet that cruise control only uses regen/braking when it needs to slow down and its operation is likely completely separate from the 1-P setting. (e.g. it operates the same regardless of if 1-P is on or off.)

Also note that Ford has publicly stated several times that the Mach-E has a blended brake pedal which means even if you're not using 1-P you're regenerating when you press the brake pedal to some extent.

I drive in 1-P pretty much all the time and use cruise/blue cruise as much as possible without any noticeable affect on range.

Understood. I would like practical examples presented in the user manual, particular as videos, which would help us know optimal driving practices.

Sponsored

 

[ctenidae]

Understood. I would like practical examples presented in the user manual, particular as videos, which would help us know optimal driving practices.

In the end, I think the concept is to find a set of practices that makes you comfortable. Chances are, that's the optimal way to do it. So much of it is feel and getting used to it, which are hard to encapsulate in text appropriate for an owner's manual. Takes some trial and error, but you'll be able to rely on the brake pedal less and less until you suddenly realize one trip that you never shifted your foot even once. Even my kids thought it was cool to see when I learned it in my prior car.

Once you do get it, it's great. There's a touch of joy and a sense of accomplishment (odd though it may be) when you come to a perfect stop, pulling your foot completely off the pedal and realizing that there's no more travel because you feathered it exactly right. When you figure out how to feather your speed approaching a red light so that you are still going half the speed limit when it goes green and the car in the other lane rushed up there and came to a complete stop, it's nice to revel in self-righteous smugness when you're halfway down the block before they even start moving. Little things like that. Plus getting back a lot of energy and never having to worry about new brake pads.

 

[dtbaker61]

You control the amount of lift off regen by controlling the amount of lift off. It's a slightly tougher technical habit to get into, but you can't lift "off" - you just have to lift up.

A full lift off is a decent way to invoke a little trail braking, which is useful when driving a bus (agree with you on that point, for sure)

In my AWD-SR Select, unbridled 1-p mode has max output of just over 200kw, and max regen just under 100kw from what I've seen on my CarScanner Display. Modulating the amount of regen with throttle position is pretty sensitive, and it can be tricky to find 'coast' , but I've found the 'adaptive cruise' to be quite efficient and takes the strain off making adjustments with your foot.

I find it VERY informative to use the CarScanner display, and it's really fun to see regen on a long downhill put kWhr back in if you are also displaying actual kWhr remaining.

 

[Motomax]

In my car, the 1PD regen is exactly the same in Unbridled and Whisper. I always wondered why people say the regen changes with drive mode. Maybe because the accelerator is more aggressive so people think the regen is more aggressive in Unbridled also?

I have done multiple back to back tests. In fact, I used to drive solely using Unbridled but switched to Whisper and nothing regarding regen changed. The car still stops in exactly the same places at stoplights and stop signs as it did in Unbridled.

I’ve been saying this all along. Max regen in 1PD feels the exact same in every mode. The only difference is pedal throw, it obviously reacts quicker in unbridled due to the throttle mapping but max regen is the same.

 

[Motomax]

Modulating the amount of regen with throttle position is pretty sensitive, and it can be tricky to find 'coast' , but I've found the 'adaptive cruise' to be quite efficient and takes the strain off making adjustments with your foot.

When I had brake pad material stuck to my rotors I learned a lot about how the vehicle uses the physical brakes. In cruise control any minor speed adjustment is made by dragging the physical brakes (down hill scrubbing, traffic slow downs) and large speed adjustments are made with regen. I always assumed the opposite. Cruise control regen also works much more aggressive than 1PD meaning it goes to full regen faster. The vehicle will also apply physical brakes when in 1PD, it was with a cold battery so I assume they are trying to maintain consistency with reduced regen.
I could only tell when the rear brakes were applied so unless ford got real fancy and used front brake independently I think my observations are accurate.

 

[fpasta]

Yes, very true! The disturbing thing about the regen braking in 2pd mode is that the brake lights do not come on like they do when you lift off the accelerator in 1pd. My wife followed me in her car one day when I was in 2pd, and confirmed that this is true - BEWARE!

On freeway highway speeds I think it's crucial to mimic Ice Brake light coming on so Unbridled 2PD, auto hold (if necessary). Don't want to disrupt the flow.

 

[dtbaker61]

Porsche did all the testing and 2pd is the most efficient way at to operate an EV. Coasting is 100% efficient and regen is definitely not as the battery isn’t capable of taking that sudden impulse. If it was a super capacitor it’s be a different story.

the battery is perfectly capable of taking up to about -100kw regen (just like a DCFC), unless it is already full.

 

[byoungblood]

There is a little bit of a learning curve to the 1PD (maybe a few days of driving at most!) but when I have to drive my F150 I find myself missing it immediately.

 

[Jim54]

I recently tried out 1PD over about 200 miles of driving in a day, over freeway and in town, and absolutely love it. What gets me grinning is coming to and stopping at a stop sign without having to touch the brake pedal at all. I do wonder when the brake lights come on, though.

When the regen braking comes on, so does the brake light. We tested that important aspect.

 

[Art]

regenerative braking occurs whether you use 1-p, or the brake pedal. The amount of 'regen' maxes out at around -100kw from what I've seen; and may be some combination of 'automatic' depending on throttle position, and response to brake pedal pressure and 'mode' (whisper-middle-unbridled)

regenerative braking is 'pretty darn efficient', just losing a few percent due to motor/inverter efficiency. Mechanical braking is 0% efficient since it converts energy to heat that cannot be recaptured.

so.... if you want to be efficient and recapture energy, use 1-p (in any mode), and try not to ever touch the brake pedal

1-pedal driving is the best option on an EV.
It's the smoothest way to brake.
I go on errands and back without touching the friction brakes.
In a panic stop, the car begins stopping before you hit the brake pedal.
That being said, my wife turns it off when she drives. Go figure.

 

[spgordon57]

I don't use one pedal drive. Not got used to that sudden brake feeling.

On regular acceleration and braking,
Almost all the time I get > 90% of braking regen(I see it as a game)

I am thinking I am more efficient then 1pd (as far as regen), because I only break when I need, where as 1pd will start braking immediately to capture energy(which will slow down the car and I need energy to accelerate again)

And we all know the energy captured in regen is way less then the amount of energy we put in to accelerate.

Am right, right ?

Not really. The only way you're as efficient as you claim is if you drive slowly like a grandma on flat empty roads in Nebraska. Otherwise the laws of physics still apply and your use of 2-pedal driving provides less driving range than you'd have w/ 1-pedal driving. You can't argue w/ Mother Nature.

 

[Secret Sauce]

Learn to feather the go pedal, and it's go, steady, brake. You know, just like you'd do in an ICE. Only without puking out gas fumes.

It's a rheostat, not a button.

This is the main take-away IMO. If you pay attention to what OPD is doing, it's teaching you how to be an efficient driver, no matter what kind of car you're driving. You're being shown how to plan stopping and slowing down by keeping your eyes into the situation ahead of you (traffic, signals) and anticipating instead of reacting. Most people drive by the stab and release method so this technique and its benefits can be hard to explain. On the MME it would be easier to explain if Ford hadn't opted to give us no real-time feedback on energy use.

Also drivers who think they are getting something meaningful out of "coasting" are deceiving themselves. Such a thing is really only possible with unobstructed downhill driving when you don't care how much the car speeds up.

 

[MrsZuko]

I have other ICE car and just want to make sure I wire my brain correctly.
1PD also auto holds right, because my ICE car won't and I don't want to run into things

I used to think this too, but anytime I drive my husband's truck, muscle memory takes over almost immediately. I highly doubt you'll be running into anything.

I love 1 pedal, it has been a super easy transition and I love being able to feather the throttle. It's especially helpful in the snow, I rarely feel that sense of panic coming to a stoplight. To each their own it sounds, not sure that there is enough regen one way or another to REALLY matter.

 

[ca_jon]

I don't use one pedal drive. Not got used to that sudden brake feeling.

On regular acceleration and braking,
Almost all the time I get > 90% of braking regen(I see it as a game)

I am thinking I am more efficient then 1pd (as far as regen), because I only break when I need, where as 1pd will start braking immediately to capture energy(which will slow down the car and I need energy to accelerate again)

And we all know the energy captured in regen is way less then the amount of energy we put in to accelerate.

Am right, right ?

Not right.

1) I use 1pd and never score less than 98%. Vast majority of my trips are 99% 0r 100% brake score. And I don't have to "try" to get a good score, I just drive.
2) There is no sudden brake feeling unless you want there to be. You haven't learned to do it right.
3) It's impossible to tell when you go from regen to friction braking when you use the brake pedal. 1pd is Always regen.
4). Suggest you practice with 1pd - it's literally the second best reason to own and drive an EV (skipping gas stations is #1, instant torque is tied with 1pd at #2). It's especially fun and effective on fast, curvy roads with lots of slowing and then accelerating. It's also far superior and easier in stop and go traffic.

I don't use one pedal drive. Not got used to that sudden brake feeling.

On regular acceleration and braking,
Almost all the time I get > 90% of braking regen(I see it as a game)

I am thinking I am more efficient then 1pd (as far as regen), because I only break when I need, where as 1pd will start braking immediately to capture energy(which will slow down the car and I need energy to accelerate again)

And we all know the energy captured in regen is way less then the amount of energy we put in to accelerate.

Am right, right ?

Not right.

1) I use 1pd and never score less than 98%. Vast majority of my trips are 99% or 100% brake score. And I don't have to "try" to get a good score, I just drive.
2) There is no sudden brake feeling unless you want there to be. You haven't learned to do it right.
3) It's impossible to tell when you go from regen to friction braking when you use the brake pedal. 1pd is Always regen.
4). Suggest you practice with 1pd - it's literally the second best reason to own and drive an EV (skipping gas stations is #1, instant torque is tied with 1pd at #2). It's especially fun and effective on fast, curvy roads with lots of slowing and then accelerating. It's also far superior and easier in stop and go traffic.

 

[Rk808]

Once you get used to 1pd it is great. I routinely get 99% regen scores

Sponsored