Extended Battery Gone?

[phidauex]

I understand your thought - my deposit may end up in Slate's hands.

I am fluctuating between the SUV Slate trim and Ford's UEV for the same money.

But Ford's UEV is 300 miles on a LFP base truck.

I'm also cross shopping, but keep in mind that we don't actually know the Ford price, and we don't know the range. Slate is currently well out ahead in terms of what they have disclosed.

I like my MachE, but with their UEV platform I'm still at "I'll believe it when I see it".

 

[metroshot]

I'm also cross shopping, but keep in mind that we don't actually know the Ford price, and we don't know the range. Slate is currently well out ahead in terms of what they have disclosed.

I like my MachE, but with their UEV platform I'm still at "I'll believe it when I see it".

Ah, we have the same Ford EV !

I love my Mach E and was hesitant on keeping her past the 3yr/36mo warranty but with how well it's been doing (no issues), recalls being done OTA, and free year extension of BlueCruise - it's a keeper for now.

 

[GrizzlysGhost]

Do you also have a child named Dweezil?

😯 Have we met?

 

[EV Trek]

I guess. Sounds like a fringe case. You can always just charge out in public if you have an emergency, just like a gas car. Nobody is filling up a gas car after every errand. At the original predicted 240 mile range, that's a long way to drive before you run out. Wth NMC, 80% of the extended pack is around 100% of the range you get with LFP anyway.

But you were going to have to pay another $3k to $5k for 35 more miles at 100% and 80% of the NMC is 192 miles, so less than the LFPat 100%. Not really worth the extra money to me.

 

[phidauex]

Ah, we have the same Ford EV !

I love my Mach E and was hesitant on keeping her past the 3yr/36mo warranty but with how well it's been doing (no issues), recalls being done OTA, and free year extension of BlueCruise - it's a keeper for now.

Same! I've had mine since early 2021 and it has been a great car. Bought it sight-unseen as well. Currently coming up on 60k miles with no major issues. I intend to keep it for quite a while longer.

That said, I don't love the tracking features, and I don't love how many tiny things there are to break in the future. For instance my 360 camera has gotten un-calibrated, and the Forscan recalibration process has not been working for me... I have no idea what it would cost a dealer to try to fix it, but I'm guessing $2k minimum.

I am looking forward to a simpler vehicle, hence my interest in the Slate. It would be replacing a '97 Tacoma (yes, with crank windows), and I'm liking the idea that I can replace an old car and actually get simpler rather than more complex.

 

[GaRailroader]

But Ford's UEV is 300 miles on a LFP base truck.

I've watched several interviews with Alan.(can't remember his last name) The base UEV will not be 300 mile range. What Alan said is that some customers require 300 miles of range and they will be able to get that. The base vehicle will be sub-300 mile range. My understanding is that the base battery is 51 kWh. My guess is range of the base Ford will be comparable to range of the base Slate.

 

[GrizzlysGhost]

I understand your thought - my deposit may end up in Slate's hands.

Same; kind of holding out for REO.

 

[ryun]

But you were going to have to pay another $3k to $5k for 35 more miles at 100% and 80% of the NMC is 192 miles, so less than the LFPat 100%. Not really worth the extra money to me.

I keep seeing this advice thrown around here and I think it deserves more context. Especially for people new to EVs. (Sorry to pick on your post though, EV Trek). For EVs sold today there is nothing wrong with charging your EV up to 100% every day if you drive everyday. Plenty of people do this and there isn't any meaningful battery degradation. This is true regardless of the chemistry type.

The problem for longevity is mainly when the EV sits at 100%, in the heat, for days/weeks without discharging. This is also true for LFP chemistries or NMC chemistries; batteries don't like to sit in the sun baking at 100% state of charge.

If you don't believe me, then know that manufacturer's warranty their batteries for a minimum 8 years/100,000 miles knowing that most people are probably going to charge up to 100%.

So, no, you're not getting "more range" with an LFP battery because you "can" charge up to 100%. You can do the same thing with an NMC battery and not have any ill effects that you'll notice as a driver. Your battery, despite any effort you make to the contrary, has a high probability of outlasting the car it is bolted to.

This is a great video on the topic if anyone wanted to know some good, general practices about prolonging the life of an LFP battery. However, as a driver, there are other things to be worried about -- which the video also goes into. If you wanted to save yourself 19 minutes here's the general advice: set the percent state of charge under 100% if you can and charge to 100% monthly-ish. For example, I try to keep my Lightning (240 mile range standard battery) around 80% because that's PLENTY for me.

That said (and this is my personal advice): you paid for the full battery. Use 100% if you want. There's a good chance it really won't matter.

 

[smack daddy]

Not really, for the base price, you are getting an intermediate / upper range EV.

I think it's great that Slate is offering only 1 battery option and changed battery chemistry (LFP) so that you make most people happy.

My Mach E with 230 mile range is more than enough for daily commutes and long distance road trips, thanks to Tesla Superchargers I use 4 times a month.

I actually get 200 miles of range on the Mach E due to the 2" lift suspension, larger tires, non OEM RFT tires, and 19" wider rims.

Exactly after people do the add ons radio rims tires the mileage will drop to 170 or less that is why I wanted the extended range because I have an ev that is why I was wanting

 

[smack daddy]

For the base price tag under $25K, getting 205 miles is an excellent deal IMO.

My Mach E gets 200 miles range at more than double the price - so I am quite tickled at Slate!

Here's an option:
Just get the Solar power tonneau cover and you will have extra range all day long.

I want to to know how many mi it will add realistically

 

[smack daddy]

cheaper to get a 10kw portable generator and get L2 charging wherever you are at. Possible in a truck, not so great in an SUV

Would be nice if I could plug that into the truck to get a few more miles

 

[beatle]

Not in the winter.

True, in the winter LFP is much worse.

But you were going to have to pay another $3k to $5k for 35 more miles at 100% and 80% of the NMC is 192 miles, so less than the LFPat 100%. Not really worth the extra money to me.

That would have been fine. The delta in the cold between the two is much more than 35 miles. In some parts of the country you're not just charging more in the cold, you're just not making the trip at all because you don't have enough range.

For an urban vehicle that will never road trip, however, battery chemistry isn't all that important.

 

[ryun]

I want to to know how many mi it will add realistically

On its own? 0 miles. Since it doesn't say how it would connect to the truck and would most likely need some sort of additional accessory. That accessory might be a portable battery that you can buy too on Slate's site. But if you could actually use the 300W of power made via solar (peak conditions) over the course of a day? 5-10 miles maybe?

This is a great option if you often put yourself in situations where there is no grid to connect to for power. Otherwise, total waste of money.

 

[EV Trek]

I want to to know how many mi it will add realistically

Can’t be directly connected to the truck for charging, you have to charge a storage battery. Even if it could it wouldn’t be much power.

 

[Liontracks]

Can’t be directly connected to the truck for charging, you have to charge a storage battery. Even if it could it wouldn’t be much power.

Dang, I was hoping it would connect to the truck’s battery. I was getting so excited. 😩