Accelerator pedal weight

[dbsb3233]

Why does the accelerator pedal weight get much heavier/stiffer (more resistance) with regen on vs off? I like the feel of the pedal with regen off much better, but I want regen.

It's especially noticeable if you change the regen on/off while already moving. Seems like it's all just badly tuned, unless I'm missing a logical reason for it that would make it intentional.

 

[illopp00]

I think it's just the tuning of the position of the pedal relative to torque requested against the spring in the pedal. You are using travel for regen to go from -30%-100% in the same distance as regen off is doing 0-100% so you are pushing against the pedal resistance more. Although in Sprint the pedal is also quite stiff, but I like it there it's easier to hold an exact speed.

 

[pezpunk]

My old Model S Plaid had a much softer pedal. I miss that and wish I could have it in the Gravity. The Gravity's pedal stiffness is honestly kind of a pain.

Is pedal stiffness really something that the car controls through software? If so, then it should be user-selectable.

 

[dbsb3233]

My old Model S Plaid had a much softer pedal. I miss that and wish I could have it in the Gravity. The Gravity's pedal stiffness is honestly kind of a pain.

Is pedal stiffness really something that the car controls through software? If so, then it should be user-selectable.

We just did another 3000 mile road trip in our Porsche Macan EV. The softer accelerator pedal is so much nicer to use. Including to match speed when dropping out of ACC.

I love my Gravity in many ways, but there's a number of annoying things like that which need fine tuning. I really have no idea if this is software adjustable, and even if it is, whether it's something they'd bother trying to address.

It still doesn't make sense to me why the pedal stiffness gets much harder with regen on. It's much better with regen off, but I want regen too. A setting to choose stiffness level would be nice since some seem to like it heavier, but I doubt that's ever gonna happen.

 

[DeaneG]

+1, I do prefer the softer pedal (and steering) in our Volvo EV, compared to our Air and now Gravity.

 

[tmichael]

Heck, I'm a contrarian investor, so why wouldn't I be the odd guy out on this subject!

There are two "forces" related to the pedal. One is the amount of pressure it takes to release the brakes (using "hold") and drive off. The second is how much continuous pressure needed to maintain speed while driving.

I like the detent between the off and on at stop being higher pressure - I find the simple weight of my foot on my wife's polestar pedal allows it to creep forward. I prefer Lucid's approach on this one.

At speed, I wouldn't mind if it were less physical pressure to moderate the pedal, however I have found that muscle memory is kicking in and I don't really notice the difference.

Most of my driving is not cruise control and I am a safe but fairly aggressive driver, so I prefer a sharp control over my right foot.

Have a wonderul weekend!

 

[borski]

Heck, I'm a contrarian investor, so why wouldn't I be the odd guy out on this subject!

There are two "forces" related to the pedal. One is the amount of pressure it takes to release the brakes (using "hold") and drive off. The second is how much continuous pressure needed to maintain speed while driving.

I like the detent between the off and on at stop being higher pressure - I find the simple weight of my foot on my wife's polestar pedal allows it to creep forward. I prefer Lucid's approach on this one.

At speed, I wouldn't mind if it were less physical pressure to moderate the pedal, however I have found that muscle memory is kicking in and I don't really notice the difference.

Most of my driving is not cruise control and I am a safe but fairly aggressive driver, so I prefer a sharp control over my right foot.

Have a wonderul weekend!

1. Buy brick
2. Apply brick
3. Profit

But in all seriousness, if I find it tiring (which is rare, maybe my calves are just that great or something lol) I just flip on DDP for a bit.

But most of the time I’m roaming around town in swift or sprint not thinking about how soft the pedal is

 

[deemz]

Do you guys hear any click from the pedal? I think I hear it clicking a bit when I press on it, not sure it's supposed to be like that

 

[doubletwist]

How weak are y'all's ankles that you think this is a hard pedal to push? I'd say the pedal of this car is as perfect as I've ever had. It's enough that I'm unlikely to accidentally push down farther than I intend, but still easy to keep at the position I want when cruising without cruise control.

Maybe it's just because I'm an old fogey and remember the pain of commuting in silicon valley traffic in a manual with a heavy-as-hell clutch pedal to go along with a heavy accelerator?

Kids these days are so spoiled.

 

[dbsb3233]

How weak are y'all's ankles that you think this is a hard pedal to push? I'd say the pedal of this car is as perfect as I've ever had. It's enough that I'm unlikely to accidentally push down farther than I intend, but still easy to keep at the position I want when cruising without cruise control.

Maybe it's just because I'm an old fogey and remember the pain of commuting in silicon valley traffic in a manual with a heavy-as-hell clutch pedal to go along with a heavy accelerator?

Kids these days are so spoiled.

I may not be as old fogey as you (I'm 67), but I remember stiff clutch pedals. All the more reason why I like a soft pedal more.

It's not a matter of "weak ankles", it's a matter of luxury. This is supposed to be a luxury car, isn't it? That's what luxury is... being spoiled by making things easy. That's what paying $100k+ for a car is all about.

You'd hate my Porsche Macan. Nice soft pedal. But what does Porsche know about driving dynamics anyway?

 

[TahoeMichael]

I may not be as old fogey as you (I'm 67), but I remember stiff clutch pedals. All the more reason why I like a soft pedal more.

It's not a matter of "weak ankles", it's a matter of luxury. This is supposed to be a luxury car, isn't it? That's what luxury is... being spoiled by making things easy. That's what paying $100k+ for a car is all about.

You'd hate my Porsche Macan. Nice soft pedal. But what does Porsche know about driving dynamics anyway?

Stiff clutch pedals don't bother me as much, because they're in use for only a moment. I don't yet have a huge amount of experience with 1 pedal driving, but one of the things I dislike about it is the need to keep a constant unchanging pressure on the pedal. As I've gotten older, I've found that constant muscle force to be harder to maintain than activities that are constantly varying. It's only bugged me in long drives, short ones have been okay. I know some will say DD is the solution to that problem. But I'm interested in buying a Gravity because it's a driver's car, and I expect to drive it myself a lot of the time. It seems possible that pedal stiffness is software controlled, and so maybe Lucid will make this adjustable in the future. Or maybe some person who is more adventuresome than I am will figure out how to swap out for a softer spring.

 

[hmp10]

My old Model S Plaid had a much softer pedal. I miss that and wish I could have it in the Gravity. The Gravity's pedal stiffness is honestly kind of a pain.

Is pedal stiffness really something that the car controls through software? If so, then it should be user-selectable.

We sold our Model S Plaid shortly before our first Gravity arrived. Nothing ever drew my attention about pedal stiffness or softness in either car. I've been seeing comments about the Gravity's excessively stiff pedal for some time from quite a few posters, so I certainly can't argue it's not really an issue for some owners. But it is one that truly perplexes me. I find everything about physically driving the Gravity -- especially the squircle -- to be pretty delightful. (Let's just not speak about the software here.)

 

[dbsb3233]

We sold our Model S Plaid shortly before our first Gravity arrived. Nothing ever drew my attention about pedal stiffness or softness in either car. I've been seeing comments about the Gravity's excessively stiff pedal for some time from quite a few posters, so I certainly can't argue it's not really an issue for some owners. But it is one that truly perplexes me. I find everything about physically driving the Gravity -- especially the squircle -- to be pretty delightful. (Let's just not speak about the software here.)

The stiffer pedal didn't stick out to me a lot at first. But 2 things really started making it more noticeable. The first was the big difference I feel when turning Regen on and off, especially if you change it while already moving. It was like "Wow, that's a lot heavier!".

The second is dropping out of ACC and trying to find that matching speed spot without causing the car to slow hard from regen. It's especially annoying to the passengers when that happens. I tend to use ACC a lot, even around town when there's not heavy traffic. But most of our miles are road trips where I'm using ACC 95% of the time. So I'm going in and out of it a lot. The stiffer pedal just makes it harder to find that transition point.

It's not just the stiffness, it's the pedal range too. It seems like a small amount of movement in the pedal (like half an inch) produces a bigger change in speed than other EVs I've driven. Gotta be more precise with tiny movements. Maybe that's just a product of having SO much power and top-end speed though?

My previous Mach-E had 3 different drive settings for more sporty to more luxury. I always preferred the luxury setting (Whisper), which made the steering wheel easier to turn, the pedal softer weight, and gave the pedal wider play (making it easier to fine tune the speed). It also lessened the regen level though, which I didn't want. But they also included an "L" gear button that would turn on high regen manually, so I always drove in Whisper mode + L gear. Perfect combo for my tastes. I'm definitely more about the luxury than the sporty at this point in my life.

 

[hmp10]

The stiffer pedal didn't stick out to me a lot at first. But 2 things really started making it more noticeable. The first was the big difference I feel when turning Regen on and off, especially if you change it while already moving. It was like "Wow, that's a lot heavier!".

The second is dropping out of ACC and trying to find that matching speed spot without causing the car to slow hard from regen. It's especially annoying to the passengers when that happens. I tend to use ACC a lot, even around town when there's not heavy traffic. But most of our miles are road trips where I'm using ACC 95% of the time. So I'm going in and out of it a lot. The stiffer pedal just makes it harder to find that transition point.

It's not just the stiffness, it's the pedal range too. It seems like a small amount of movement in the pedal (like half an inch) produces a bigger change in speed than other EVs I've driven. Gotta be more precise with tiny movements. Maybe that's just a product of having SO much power and top-end speed though?

My previous Mach-E had 3 different drive settings for more sporty to more luxury. I always preferred the luxury setting (Whisper), which made the steering wheel easier to turn, the pedal softer weight, and gave the pedal wider play (making it easier to fine tune the speed). It also lessened the regen level though, which I didn't want. But they also included an "L" gear button that would turn on high regen manually, so I always drove in Whisper mode + L gear. Perfect combo for my tastes. I'm definitely more about the luxury than the sporty at this point in my life.

I almost never use ACC, so I wouldn't have noticed any of what you do. I also almost invariably drive in Swift or Sprint unless I'm testing range, as I prefer stiffer controls in cars. So, as you suggest, a lot of it comes down to taste, i. e., driving preferences. And there's no "right" or "wrong" when it comes to that.

My post wasn't meant to suggest anyone's view about pedal stiffness was wrong, but simply that I had never thought about it, at least consciously, one way or another until the discussion on this forum.

 

[dbsb3233]

I just took the car for a drive for the first time since 3.5.1 (I've been out of town for a week). The "heavy pedal" I'm describing is really just a result of Regen being on (Standard). When Regen is off it's quite nice (still a bit heavy but a lot more normal). But it gets much heavier with Regen on. Try driving at a steady 45 MPH when Regen is off and keep the pedal pressed at the same point, then turn Regen on (Standard). My car slows WAY down without moving my foot at all (exact same pedal depth). I have to push down a lot harder to get it back up to 45 MPH. Then same thing the other way (speeds way up when I turn Regen off with the pedal staying pressed the same depth).

Is everyone else's doing the same thing?

Seems like it shouldn't be that way. My Macan doesn't change speed at all when I toggle Regen On/Off, until I physically let up on the pedal. No pedal weight difference either. Just completely seamless (as it seems like it should be).

 

[9point81]

I like the pedal feel in high regen mode! I am very used to the Gravity with it and find it odd when I drive another car or EV and it's so soft! To each his/her own but I am quite good with the way the pedal feels and my control over it is really good, having to almost never use the brake and comfortably cruise for hours and if I get tired (if possible) I just turn on DD and let it do it's thing. The only issue I would say I have with the pedal is during a stop light, I feel like I don't know where to rest my foot while waiting. With one pedal drive, I sometimes hover over the accelerator but that can get tiring at a long light, I sometimes rest it on the brake and sometimes rest it on the floor. It just feels like I'm often just trying to figure out where to put my foot. Guess I just need to make sure all the lights stay green!

 

[Pragmatic]

Unless the no regen choice has a dead space at intial pedal tip-in, I would think the vehicle would have to slow down when changing to higher regen levels.

 

[dbsb3233]

I like the pedal feel in high regen mode! I am very used to the Gravity with it and find it odd when I drive another car or EV and it's so soft! To each his/her own but I am quite good with the way the pedal feels and my control over it is really good, having to almost never use the brake and comfortably cruise for hours and if I get tired (if possible) I just turn on DD and let it do it's thing. The only issue I would say I have with the pedal is during a stop light, I feel like I don't know where to rest my foot while waiting. With one pedal drive, I sometimes hover over the accelerator but that can get tiring at a long light, I sometimes rest it on the brake and sometimes rest it on the floor. It just feels like I'm often just trying to figure out where to put my foot. Guess I just need to make sure all the lights stay green!

Oh I love regen in general. Most of what you describe is simply a product of any EV with regen turned on -- letting up on the pedal and having the car slow down. It's one of the great features of an EV (or even a hybrid).

When using DD (or ACC), it's moot of course since we're not using the pedal then.

I definitely want regen turned on because I love the automatic slowing when letting up (although I don't like 1-pedal drive (HOLD) to do the final stopping, so I always turn on CREEP every time). I'm just referring to how the pedal takes way more press-down with regen on vs with it off.

 

[doubletwist]

It's not just the stiffness, it's the pedal range too. It seems like a small amount of movement in the pedal (like half an inch) produces a bigger change in speed than other EVs I've driven. Gotta be more precise with tiny movements. Maybe that's just a product of having SO much power and top-end speed though?

Interesting, I've found it to be WAY less sensitive than the other EVs I've driven, which mostly have been my wife's Genesis GV60, and a Ford Mach-E. Those I have a really, really difficult time making small adjustments, not only, but especially when trying to move slowly from auto-hold like when I'm trying to make small adjustments to pulling into or out of a parking spot or garage. I've nearly slammed into parking stones and the front of our garage multiple times in those vehicles.

I also just have a really hard time driving smoothly with either of those vehicles. The tip over is super sudden in those cars and it drives me nuts, but I have no problem with my Air.

 

[Dr K]

The "weight" of the pedal doesn't bother me at all--except when towing. Lucid has chosen to disable any form of cruise control when towing, so during a long tow last week my right foot did begin to get tired after an hour of so (of a 4 hour drive). By the way in case anybody missed the towing post, I calculated about 203 mile range towing for both the trip down and the trip back! That is a Gravity GT 7-passenger with 21/22" aero wheels, towing an open aluminum car trailer with a 2450-lb car (about 3500 lbs total) and 8 wheels/tires and a lot of tools in the car. I thought that was pretty darn good for an EV!