New owner of 2017 FFE

[fbitz777]

3,640lbs according to Ford web site...

will check on my 16 FFE but Ford said 3622 lbs

 

[fbitz777]

also I found strange that the Bolt is at 3563 lbs only and that is with a 60kwh battery and larger passenger volume (94 vs 90 cuf)

 

[henryfocus]

The Bolt is a smaller car by length and width. It is taller though.

 

[cutler03gt]

Quick update, I noticed that the sticker inside the door says to inflate the tires to 41 psi. I read in other posts that it used to be 38 psi. My car has the same tires as everyone else (Michelin Energy Saver A/S). It appears to be a random change on the 2017 MY???

Interesting. Perhaps that's where some of the slight efficiency improvement came from.

 

[pcph]

It appears to be a random change on the 2017 MY???

What's the curb weight of the 2017?

Slightly lower. 1643 kg vs the 2016's 1651 kg. The specs of both models are still available on ford.ca as we speak.

Edit: that's 3622 lbs for the 2017 and 3639 for the 2016.

 

[Pearl]

Quick update, I noticed that the sticker inside the door says to inflate the tires to 41 psi. I read in other posts that it used to be 38 psi.

I run between 40-45 on my FFE and C-Max, for better range.

 

[cutler03gt]

Quick update, I noticed that the sticker inside the door says to inflate the tires to 41 psi. I read in other posts that it used to be 38 psi.

I run between 40-45 on my FFE and C-Max, for better range.

Any noticeable additional wear in the center of the tread?

 

[pcph]

More updates on winter driving. Today is cold (-12C). Drove 20 km with heater on (toasty cabin at 20C) and heated seats, with some help from cabin pre-heating (the pre-heating seems underpowered when plugged in L1, don't know if it gets better when plugged in L2, it did get better when I turned on the car and it went on full blast). Range was 130 km at start (full battery) , now I have 96 km left (79% battery). Looks like the GOM didn't adjust enough for the temperature, so I used a lot more range than expected. I am leaving the car outside all day unplugged. Will see how much range I have left when I leave. I assume the TMS will heat the battery even when unplugged?

 

[jmueller065]

don't know if it gets better when plugged in L2

Yes: On L2 the preconditioning really gets the car toasty (especially when set to its maximum setting).

I assume the TMS will heat the battery even when unplugged?

Nope, the car will cold soak until you either turn it on, or plug it in. When you get back to the car the HVB will have the same charge as it did when you turned the car off.

 

[pcph]

Nope, the car will cold soak until you either turn it on, or plug it in. When you get back to the car the HVB will have the same charge as it did when you turned the car off.

That sounds bad. Sounds like something I should avoid at all costs. Unfortunately I don't have a better solution right now, but at least winter is over. Come next winter, I may be able to figure out something, such as interior parking.

 

[jmueller065]

That sounds bad. Sounds like something I should avoid at all costs. Unfortunately I don't have a better solution right now, but at least winter is over. Come next winter, I may be able to figure out something, such as interior parking.

Why is it bad? My FFE survived 3 Michigan winters sitting outside every day cold soaked in the winter. When I returned it at the end of the lease I had no noticeable battery degradation (30k miles). Two of those winters had some of the coldest weather we've had around here in a long time with many days below 0F.

Cold does not damage the battery, it merely makes it store less electricity--once its warmed back up its fine. Heat, on the other hand, can truly do some nasty stuff.

 

[pcph]

Why is it bad?

I don't know. Superstition? I was under the impression that freezing the battery would permanently damage it. Your report is greatly encouraging. I will no longer worry about leaving it in the cold. It rarely gets very hot up here in the Great North, so the battery will probably not get very hot very often either. Thanks for your reply!

 

[user 5595]

I was under the impression that freezing the battery would permanently damage it.

Haha. I watched a YouTube video last night that talked about this very mythconception, as it applies to 12V car batteries. The wisdom shared was that you should always opt to store your batteries in cooler temperatures. They are less capable at delivering power when cold because their electrolytes are frozen up, but they keep better for essentially the same reason.

 

[cpwl]

Why is it bad?

I don't know. Superstition? I was under the impression that freezing the battery would permanently damage it. Your report is greatly encouraging. I will no longer worry about leaving it in the cold. It rarely gets very hot up here in the Great North, so the battery will probably not get very hot very often either. Thanks for your reply!

pcph, If the battery were to "cold soak" for an extended period at extreme low temperatures there is a minor risk that the electrolyte gel could freeze and physically rupture the battery cell casings. But that level of extended cold is a corner case that would rarely if ever be encountered. As long as you take care of the battery by plugging it in whenever you are at home in the winter you should have no fundamental battery degradation due to cold. I'm in Gatineau so we have the same weather day to day, near enough as to make no difference anyway. I'll do a battery rundown test a bit later in the spring to confirm my battery capacity but all other indicators point to no significant degradation at 2 years and 27K kms. The GOM gives me the same readings in the same conditions as when I got the car and there are no noticeable performance changes according to "seat of the pants" feedback. Every other parameter monitored by the car is essentially unchanged from the day I took delivery so while Li-ion battery theory says there has to have been some level of degradation, it is, to date anyway, un-measurable and has not affected day-to-day use.

I'll report back on the battery run-down test when I get it done. In the meantime just take care of your battery by plugging the car in at every opportunity during the winter (and really hot sunny days in summer) thereby allowing the battery TMS take care of the battery.


Thanks and Cheers
Carl

 

[triangles]

Why is it bad?

I don't know. Superstition? I was under the impression that freezing the battery would permanently damage it. Your report is greatly encouraging. I will no longer worry about leaving it in the cold. It rarely gets very hot up here in the Great North, so the battery will probably not get very hot very often either. Thanks for your reply!

My understanding is that there's nothing harmful to the battery to let it cold soak at sub freezing temps. The only potential danger I'm aware of is (L3) fast charging in sub freezing temps. Supposedly according to this tech article, you can have lithium metal plate out of the electrolyte severely degrading the battery when fast charging in sub freezing temps. Who knows if the battery type in the FFE would be susceptible to this but if it was I think ford would be smart enough to have the battery TMS heat the battery up to whatever minimal temp is safe to charge at before allowing it to charge.

 

[triangles]

Interestingly I found this proclaiming the danger of charging at sub zero temps:
http://electronics.stackexchange.co...atteries-in-cold-temperatures-would-harm-them
and this linked in the above where they talk about neutron imaging the plating lithium metal while charging at -20C: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140903105638.htm

 

[pcph]

I also note that it says that charging lithium batteries fast is bad. The faster the charge, the greater the effect on the integrity of the battery.

Back home after a low temperature commute, still using heat all the way. I was down to 60% battery remaining. This is almost a worst case test. It appears that I lose about 30% range in the worst case scenario. At this time, with my current needs, it seems laughable (no range anxiety whatsoever), but if the battery fades at least 25%, I might start to get worried. At least I can say I'm happy to have waited for the 2017 for the longer range (in September 2016, I had an opportunity to purchase a 2016 I had tried on the dealer lot, but I refused, opting to wait for the 2017).

 

[Omen87]

I'm a little jelly of the range...

Even though in my smaller town I have no need for even the original stated 76 miles of range on my car. But I also can't really leave town with it. I'm afraid to attempt a 55 mile trip at highway speeds. :lol:

 

[pcph]

I'm afraid to attempt a 55 mile trip at highway speeds. :lol:

As long as you don't heat, you should be perfectly fine... Right? I don't have enough experience yet to tell 100%, but speed doesn't seem to have such a huge effect on range. You can also drive like a grandma in the right lane if speed is an issue.

Having excessive range for my needs was one of the criteria for buying for me. A year or more ago, the Leaf was the only option. With this kind of range, I don't "need" to watch my driving habits. I can drive sloppily and never worry about range... And I like it! Perhaps I'm not yet fully in the EV mindset...

Edit : This morning, the (fully charged) Focus says 115 km range... Instead of the usual 180! Looks like it really didn't like yesterday's stress test and greatly reduced the range in response to that.

 

[jmueller065]

As long as you don't heat, you should be perfectly fine... Right? I don't have enough experience yet to tell 100%, but speed doesn't seem to have such a huge effect on range. You can also drive like a grandma in the right lane if speed is an issue.

Um yeah as long as you keep it below 60mph/100kph speed doesn't affect range too much. Above that and it is rather noticeable--especially if you're running flat out at 86mph :roll: :shock: :lol: