Anyone use "Low"?

[muzicman61]

I noticed when you put the car in Low it seems to break more aggressively.  Perhaps giving more regeneration?  Just curious if anyone really uses it and any tips or tricks to get more out of  your EV battery.

[jsamp]

Yes, but I don't think you get any more regeneration than regular braking.  What I've noticed when using "L" is that it is harder to get a 100% braking score.  So it is using more regen but leaving less room for your tender-footed braking.  This causes the friction brakes to cut in more often.  Kinda defeats the purpose.  Using "L" instead of braking ensures more regen, but using both together may not.

 

Then again, if you don't pay attention to braking score,  using "L" can be a way to increase your regen by slowing the car before you apply the brakes.  I guess it depends on your driving/braking style.

Edited June 1, 2018 at 04:05 PM by jsamp

[murphy]

I use L all of the time because it makes my Energi drive the same as my Tesla.  You can modulate the level of regen with the accelerator pedal.  I stopped looking at the scores a long time ago.

[Timewellspent]

I use L all the time as well, but keep in mind the brake lights do not come on like the Tesla's does. If you have someone behind you make sure they know you are slowing by using the brake so you don't get plowed into.

[murphy]

I use L all the time as well, but keep in mind the brake lights do not come on like the Tesla's does. If you have someone behind you make sure they know you are slowing by using the brake so you don't get plowed into.

That's no different than driving a stick shift car.  The lights don't come on when engine braking is used to slow down.

[Timewellspent]

Do they still have stick shift cars?  ;) 

[murphy]

Do they still have stick shift cars?  ;)

Mustang options:

 

6-speed manual transmission

10-speed SelectShift® Automatic Transmission (optional)

:)

[jj2me]

Midsize are Mazda 6 and Honda Accord, but not offered in the highest trims.

[Electriffic]

That's no different than driving a stick shift car. The lights don't come on when engine braking is used to slow down.

[br]

EV regenerative braking can be far more aggressive than gearing down. Chevy Bolt owners have been rear-ended for this reason.

[murphy]

Regenerative braking intensity in L can be modulated with the accelerator pedal.  You have to learn how to do it but you have complete control over how fast you slow down.

 

Foot off of the pedal is maximum braking.  As you push the pedal braking decreases until you reach a point where there is no braking or acceleration.  Pushing further begins acceleration.  Training the muscle memory in your right foot as to where the "zero" point is takes some time.

[SuPaTooX]

I use L often. Sometimes when driving short distances or when cruising and have to slow down, without touching my brake (I am always aware of who is behind me when doing this).

 

I wonder if Ford can push a software update to flash the brake light when driving in L and lost 20km/hr in velocity.

 

Using L I've been able to get close to 50% on my distance driven back in Regen.

 

Ex. Drive 8km, get 4km back on Regen.

[Tanbam]

I’ve been driving my 2019 Energi for a few weeks now, and have been picking up a lot of info from these forums - though there’s a lot less traffic on these boards than the ones for other vehicles that I also frequent.

 

I bought a home that changed my commute to 50 miles each way, up from 29. My muscle car wasn’t making this easy on my wallet, so I bought an Energi.

 

I’ve spent some time driving a Tesla, and when I got this car, I was hoping that the regen was more aggressive when I lifted my foot off of the accelerator. The L mode provides that kind of regen.

 

The first week that I drove the Energi to work, I didn’t know about the L trick. I was averaging 60mpg driving each leg with a full battery. Once I started using L all of the time, it went up to 80mpg - an increase of 33%.

 

Now I’ve been learning new tricks with accelerating using the ICE and cruising with the battery, and it’s up even higher, but I haven’t filled the tank up to get the final numbers yet.  I know that the trip values are off, since the last tank’s trip said 103mpg average, but the pump and calculator said 123mpg.  My average since reset at the last fill up says 112mpg now, and I’ve gone over 500 miles and have used less than half a tank of gas this week.

 

I was spending $300/mo in my old car, which required premium gas. I had to fill up the tank every three days.

 

My commute has a lot of hills. L mode grabs a LOT of that energy back. I try to fully deplete the battery on each leg. It’s hard to do, since there is a long downhill right before I pull into the office. I’m usually on an empty battery about two miles from work and running in hybrid mode, but with the L turned on, I can get back about 4% of the EV portion back by the time I pull up to the free charger at work. That doesn’t happen in normal D mode.

 

It’s charging the battery HARD in L going down a hill.  I see that there is about 100A going to the battery going down that hill. I’m sure that it isn’t great for the battery, but I don’t know if I’ll still have this car before the battery is toast, so I’m not really concerned at this point.

[jsamp]

'L' is the easier way to capture lots of regen, as you noticed.  The other way is to learn how to be very gentle on the brake pedal (and take longer to stop, which takes some learning).

 

I have noticed that regen charging on a hill seems to be the fastest way to charge a Fusion Energi.  I've gained 6 miles in 6+ minutes on one hill.  That is the same rate (in the opposite direction) as driving at 65MPH in EV mode.  I wouldn't recommend doing that very often.  That is somewhere in the realm of 16 kW charging rate.

 

If 100Amps is true, and the battery is 330V then you are doing ~33 kW charging rate, which is 10x what charging at 240V delivers to the car.  Yikes!

[16vjohn]

I'm in L almost exclusively.

[muzicman61]

On 1/12/2020 at 3:12 PM, jsamp said:

'L' is the easier way to capture lots of regen, as you noticed.  The other way is to learn how to be very gentle on the brake pedal (and take longer to stop, which takes some learning).

 

 

That's interesting.  Just last weekend I tested this.  I drove 9.4 miles from home to the grocery store in L.  Then i drove back home in D.  It's pretty flat all the way.  But my dashboard indicated more regen miles using D, not L.  I don't remember the specific numbers and was surprised by the results because I too thought L would regen more miles.  I think my breaking score for each trip was 99%.

[nkemp1990]

Per the owner's manual: Is not intended for use under extended or normal driving conditions and results in lower fuel economy.

 

Ford also has a video regarding a different feature but mentions L will lower fuel economy.

 

 

[murphy]

L is not a gear change.  It puts regenerative braking on the accelerator pedal in addition to the brake pedal.  I drive exclusively in L because it makes the operation the same as a Tesla.  It does not affect my fuel economy because I don't use the engine unless there is no other choice.  I put 1 or 2 gallons of gas in the car every year. It is a town car.  Long distance driving is in the Tesla.  Battery charging is from the 10 kW of solar panels on the roof of my house.

 

[muzicman61]

In the video the narrator at the end says... "your engine may turn on, but it's not using any fuel".  Huh???

[murphy]

When going down hill the engine back pressure is used to hold the car back.  No fuel is fed to the injectors.  It is in effect an air pump.

[JATR4]

I always use "L" for my 2013 Energi.  Also have a plug-in Volvo XC/60 T8.  Lots of pickup since the Volvo has a turbocharged 6 cylinder gas engine. 

Drive in "B" which is the same as "L" in the Energi.  Get about 20 miles range on the Volvo and 15 on the Energi.   

Edited August 14, 2020 at 05:23 PM by JATR4

[testriderchuck]

I've found that moving to L at freeway speeds lowers the engine RPM by almost 1000. How can that NOT improve fuel economy? I also like the aggressive Decel I get. You'll likely get lower regen miles because of the higher regen rate. Thankfully cruise works in L, unlike my 10 prius.

[CDawg]

Sometimes when I use L the car's engine comes on, and stays on, even when I am in EV mode.  At the end of the trip, the miles I travel during this time aren't counted as EV miles.  The MPG also decreases. I mostly notice this the HVB is nearly full, and I am slowing from a higher rate of speed.

[testriderchuck]

Mine (2014) does it too, full HVB and cool engine (charging for an hour after a 100 mile drive) Especially if heater is on (which I'm OK with). Revs engine to over 4000, in neutral, NOT OK with. 

 

My solution : leave it in D until /unless I want heat, then I use EV/Later. 

[Ryan]

I've observed that the ICE enables and revs when I fully let off of the accelerator pedal while driving in "L". The ICE will not enable if I slowly release the accelerator pedal. The intensity of the rev increases at higher driving speeds but it sounds like about 4000 RPM at city driving speeds. I've experimented with warm & cool days and also with warm & cool engine temperatures, but the same result occurs. Are other forum members observing similar behavior with their Energi's when driving in "L"? 

[murphy]

Does not happen to me.  The ICE should only come on to provide back pressure (braking) if the HVB is full.

The point of driving in L is to modulate the go pedal to provide acceleration and deceleration without having to use the brake pedal.

 

Drive in EV Now, not Auto.  Do not select allow engine if it asks.

 

The ICE is not really on.  Gasoline is not injected into the cylinders.  It is acting like an air compressor to provide the back pressure.