What's it like to take a road trip in a truck like the Terra (F-150 Lightning)?

[SpaceEVDriver]

I’m about 50% leaning toward a terra cotta / sandstone / burnt umber wrap for the truck. The heat this thing collects is too much.

 

[J Alynn]

I just replaced the 24” wheels and 35” tires with 18” wheels and 33” tires.
Specifically, I got a set of four Bridgestone Alenza A/S 02 LT265/70R18 on closeout for $129 each. These are AS tires, not AT tires. I don’t usually run AT tires unless I am planning a long trip offroad.

These tires have a load range of E, 3525 pounds maximum load, a Service Description of 124/121S, compared with the OEM tires Service Description of 121/118S and max load of 3195 pounds.
I also found a set of 18” Hummer EV takeoffs for a decent price.
Going from the 275/50R24 to 265/70R18 means a decrease in diameter from 34.8” to 32.6”, so a reduction of 2.2 inches in diameter.
The weight per corner for the OEMs was about 120 pounds, for a total of 480 pounds for all four.
The weight per corner for the Hummer wheels are 39 pounds, the tires were 44 pounds, for a total of 83 pounds per corner, or 332 pounds for all four. That’s a savings of around 150 pounds of unsprung weight, and a significant savings of rotational energy spent on spinning up the tires.

I can lower the air pressure a bit and still have OEM-like load capacity. I’ll probably run it with just a few PSI lower than the door jamb recommends. The recommended pressure is 61 PSI front, 68 PSI rear. I’ll probably run it at 58 PSI front and 65 PSI rear, but I need to sit down and do the calculation.

I took it for a 21 mile round trip test ride before and after, but a rain storm blew in before I could finish swapping, so the after test was in the wind/rain. I need a longer drive than this to really understand the impact. Note that the smaller diameter tire has a 6.3% smaller circumference, which means the odometer gives me a 6.3% longer distance measured than actually driven and a 6.3% slower speed than reality. I still need to learn how to reprogram the odometer and speedometer. A 6.3% smaller tire should give a 6.3% better efficiency reading when just doing distance driven divided by energy used. But a smaller, lighter tire/wheel combination will give a better real efficiency. I didn’t do a great job of measuring the energy used before and after, and the weather changed dramatically between the two test drives. I may swap again to do a longer, better test.

State	Weather	Cruise Control Speed	Actual speed	Distance on trip meter	Actual Distance	Measured Miles/kWh	Actual Miles/kWh
Before	Clear, dry, slight wind	75 mph	75 mph	21	21	2.2	2.2
After	Windy, heavy rain	81 mph	75 mph	22.4	21	2.5	2.4

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Amazed how low it appears to sit. Looks almost low-rider like due to the length

 

[cyure]

And they’re not even “looks” tires…just good tires for heavy EVs. Low noise, low rolling resistance, high load.

Well they look great. So much better than what was on there before.

 

[J Alynn]

I’m about 50% leaning toward a terra cotta / sandstone / burnt umber wrap for the truck. The heat this thing collects is too much.

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The terracotta looks great and so does the mahogany tone color

 

[cyure]

I’m about 50% leaning toward a terra cotta / sandstone / burnt umber wrap for the truck. The heat this thing collects is too much.

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I like the middle one the best. Kind of a Tahitian Red vibe. Second is the sandy color. That last one is too dark.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Amazed how low it appears to sit. Looks almost low-rider like due to the length

It has a entry/exit “squat” mode when parked. There’s also a true “low rider” setting as an “easter egg” (it's mentioned in the manual, but nobody reads the manual anymore).

 

[cyure]

The terracotta looks great and so does the mahogany tone color

Ha, when it comes to color we all have such different likes. I can’t imagine being on the SM color team.

Now PBY, I think we can all agree is the best color.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

We prefer the sandstone. Either semi-gloss or matte. Now I have to go teach a couple of workshops to get the funds to pay for the wrap...

 

[cyure]

It has a entry/exit “squat” mode when parked. There’s also a true “low rider” setting as an “easter egg” (it's mentioned in the manual, but nobody reads the manual anymore).

I do. That’s why I’m hoping we can get a pdf of the manual before we get our Scouts.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Ha, when it comes to color we all have such different likes. I can’t imagine being on the SM color team.

Now PBY, I think we can all agree is the best color.

We’re not going to do yellow, but here’s a PBY for you.

 

[J Alynn]

Ha, when it comes to color we all have such different likes. I can’t imagine being on the SM color team.

Now PBY, I think we can all agree is the best color.

I think those of us wanting PBY are possibly going to be disappointed but I’ll keep hoping. Been starting to think what color direction I’ll go. With daughter wanting a terra (if she lives at home a bit after graduating this comes ng year, it may afford us two color opportunities so that will be fun

 

[cyure]

I think those of us wanting PBY are possibly going to be disappointed but I’ll keep hoping. Been starting to think what color direction I’ll go. With daughter wanting a terra (if she lives at home a bit after graduating this comes ng year, it may afford us two color opportunities so that will be fun

What color does she want. Does she have any idea?

And I’m not giving up my PBY hopes yet.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I think those of us wanting PBY are possibly going to be disappointed but I’ll keep hoping. Been starting to think what color direction I’ll go. With daughter wanting a terra (if she lives at home a bit after graduating this comes ng year, it may afford us two color opportunities so that will be fun

We're looking to the Traveler or a used Gravity (assuming they have dramatic depreciation) to replace the Mustang. I like the terra cotta / Tahitian Red, but would probably go with a sandy color for practical reasons.

 

[J Alynn]

What color does she want. Does she have any idea?

And I’m not giving up my PBY hopes yet.

She likes the Pacific mist but has always wanted a blacked out Truck so nothing pinned down as of yet

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Well, I just added up the cost of charging for our ~1600 mile road trip from northern AZ, through northeastern AZ, southern and eastern Utah, through the Rockies to Boulder, CO, and then through the Rockies and back to southwestern CO and across the northeastern AZ desert back home.

For about 1600 miles, most of it up and down the Rockies, we paid just under $160.

We were able to do that because we could skip quite a few DCFC chargers and go on to Level 2 charging overnight (or over several days). If we had been even more picky, we could have saved another $50 or so.

I could get used to this.

 

[strider]

• I really hate the war on buttons. I’m glad GM kept the HVAC buttons, but think the people who okayed the removal of the Start/Stop button are utter morons. Every designer who is stupid enough to think removing it was a good idea should be fired. I have a fix for it, but it’s still just incredibly stupid to remove this. It shows to me how lazy the designers were when considering actual use of the vehicle. They could only imagine a single use-case; they couldn’t be bothered to have a conversation with people who use their vehicles differently than “get in, drive, park, get out.”

I'm still baffled by this. “Get in, drive, park, get out” is EXACTLY what people do with vehicles. Occasionally I want the vehicle to stay "on" when I get out. For those times it is a simple press of the "Keep" button on the screen (you can have it automatically displayed prominently on the screen whenever you put the car in park or unbuckle your seatbelt so it just as fast/simple as the Start/Stop button). Why add a step (well, 2 steps actually since you have to both start and stop the vehicle) every time you use the vehicle for those handful of times per year you want it to not shut off? I also say this not knowing GM's specific mode of operation. In my Tesla, as long as I leave the door open the car stays on (if I press the "keep" button it will stay on even if I shut the door). It sounds like GM doesn't do this?

With all due respect, you are not an average user of a vehicle. Even for a truck. I live in "truck country" and they are mostly used as daily drivers and do "truck things" on weekends like hauling boats, going hunting, etc. The vast majority of their drives are hauling people from point A to point B, going to Home Depot, etc. I seriously don't get the use case for a Start/Stop button. My Roadster had one in the form of the original Lotus key setup. It was annoying coming from my keyless C6 Corvette. It was REALLY annoying after my wife got her Model S in 2012 and you just got in, pressed the brake, and off you went. I have never missed a start/stop button.

 

[maynard]

I’m about 50% leaning toward a terra cotta / sandstone / burnt umber wrap for the truck. The heat this thing collects is too much.

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My vote is sandstone!

 

[J Alynn]

I'm still baffled by this. “Get in, drive, park, get out” is EXACTLY what people do with vehicles. Occasionally I want the vehicle to stay "on" when I get out. For those times it is a simple press of the "Keep" button on the screen (you can have it automatically displayed prominently on the screen whenever you put the car in park or unbuckle your seatbelt so it just as fast/simple as the Start/Stop button). Why add a step (well, 2 steps actually since you have to both start and stop the vehicle) every time you use the vehicle for those handful of times per year you want it to not shut off? I also say this not knowing GM's specific mode of operation. In my Tesla, as long as I leave the door open the car stays on (if I press the "keep" button it will stay on even if I shut the door). It sounds like GM doesn't do this?

With all due respect, you are not an average user of a vehicle. Even for a truck. I live in "truck country" and they are mostly used as daily drivers and do "truck things" on weekends like hauling boats, going hunting, etc. The vast majority of their drives are hauling people from point A to point B, going to Home Depot, etc. I seriously don't get the use case for a Start/Stop button. My Roadster had one in the form of the original Lotus key setup. It was annoying coming from my keyless C6 Corvette. It was REALLY annoying after my wife got her Model S in 2012 and you just got in, pressed the brake, and off you went. I have never missed a start/stop button.

I’ll continue to say this seems like a never ending debate and I don’t ever see a consensus. But still fun to follow along

 

[RodorW]

I’ll continue to say this seems like a never ending debate and I don’t ever see a consensus. But still fun to follow along

I mean there’s always going to be people on both sides, personally I’m all for no button, most drivers really wouldn’t miss it either, but there’s times and uses for it. That said, a button is fine but shouldn’t be forced if it can ignored, for scout people will be coming from Tesla, Rivian and GM and would like to keep the simplicity in that experience, just as people will come from push start and key-in that might like the step, scout atleast can accommodate both sides with what’s been shown and teased