Average mi/kwh

[Bill B]

Scottsdale Lake Havasu LA Lake Havasu To Auburn CA to Vail CO to Milwaukee

 

[hmp10]

Here is my cross country trip average 2.9 NOT SO GOOD using the cruise control at 70 miles an hour for most of the trip.
Super charging has a huge impact on the mileage. I've since found if I do not use CC I get 3.2-3.6.

What version of the car and what wheels? Thanks.

 

[MikeTz]

Not having Air suspension is hurting Lucid's high speed numbers.

 

[hydbob]

Not having Air suspension is hurting Lucid's high speed numbers.

You mean efficiency at higher speed or top speed capability?

 

[Bbq9]

Scottsdale Lake Havasu LA Lake Havasu To Auburn CA to Vail CO to Milwaukee

ahhh so the reverse of your journey a few weeks / month ago.

have you looked at the elevation change over the full journey?
looks like LONG uphill on the return ... that would deeply impact the first half of your journey.

 

[MikeTz]

Efficiency at highway speeds. Both our Taycan (recently sold) and the Plaid lower the air suspension at highway speeds. Lowering the car improves efficiency. This may not be a good example,
but the Rivian shows a 15% decrease in consumption when the air suspension is set at the lowest setting.

 

[Bbq9]

Not having Air suspension is hurting Lucid's high speed numbers.

can you explain this like I am 5
never had air suspension... and the way I drive I am too ignorant to see how it would help

 

[Demosthenes]

2.9 does seem a bit low. I have a GT on 21’s and when I set CC at 80 (but usually driving around 70 due to traffic) from San Diego to Orange County the car typically averages around 3.4. Although I’m not taking into account elevation, temperature, etc.

Also why do we think that not using CC gets better range? Cuz regen still seems to be quite active with CC on, at least according to the bottom bar that illustrates acceleration versus regen when in that mode

 

[Steveinarizona]

can you explain this like I am 5
never had air suspension... and the way I drive I am too ignorant to see how it would help

With air suspension one can lower the car's height when one is driving on a highway. Lower height means less air resistance and less air resistance means better efficiency.

 

[MPawelek]

With air suspension one can lower the car's height when one is driving on a highway. Lower height means less air resistance and less air resistance means better efficiency.

A Lucid already sits so low to the ground lowering it would squish the air molecules flowing underneath….

 

[Steveinarizona]

A Lucid already sits so low to the ground lowering it would squish the air molecules flowing underneath….

Haha. I wasn't proposing it, I was merely answering the question.

 

[Bbq9]

Haha. I wasn't proposing it, I was merely answering the question.

and I appreciate it

of course for my general driving probably no difference... hills and lots of corners (probably average approx 20mph)

 

[Bill B]

What version of the car and what wheels? Thanks.

GT with 21" Rims

 

[hmp10]

With air suspension one can lower the car's height when one is driving on a highway. Lower height means less air resistance and less air resistance means better efficiency.

The air foils ahead of the front tires already only clear the road by 3 1/8". I don't really know that the car could be any lower. I think the real utility of air suspension would be for raising the car to clear obstacles. (However, I prefer the Lucid's coil setup over the air suspensions I've had in other cars. It balances handling precision with compliance better than any air suspension I've driven.)

 

[SaratogaLefty]

The air foils ahead of the front tires already only clear the road by 3 1/8". I don't really know that the car could be any lower. I think the real utility of air suspension would be for raising the car to clear obstacles. (However, I prefer the Lucid's coil setup over the air suspensions I've had in other cars. It balances handling precision with compliance better than any air suspension I've driven.)

I totally agree. I wouldn't want my Dream any lower even on the highway at high speeds. Also, in his first video talk Rawlinson stressed how the front end and the undercarriage of the Air is specifically set up for creating air vortices that channel air to cool the radiators (for the batteries) and also help with the coefficient of drag and balancing of the handling of the car at high speeds.

 

[MikeTz]

can you explain this like I am 5
never had air suspension... and the way I drive I am too ignorant to see how it would help

Air suspension uses air from a compressor to pressurize a sealed airbag. Adding and or subtracting air can raise or lower the car.
Without air suspension, Lucid lacks the ability to lower the car at speed, to reduce drag. If I am not mistaken, Lucid did plan to use Air Suspension for the Air but did not like the Elliptical hystereses behavior of Air Suspension. Porsche, Tesla Model S.X, Mercedes, Rivian, Jaguar, and a lot of other manufacturers are using Air suspension. Not sure if this helps. Do not ask me to explain the Elliptical Hystereses. Simply put it adds a variable that is hard or next to impossible to manage.

 

[hmp10]

If I am not mistaken, Lucid did plan to use Air Suspension for the Air but did not like the Elliptical hystereses behavior of Air Suspension.

Lucid was originally planning to use an air suspension and, during development of the car, actually posted a job opening for a head of air suspension engineering. I've heard varying stories of why they did not go forward, including a claim from a Design Studio employee that the component vendor was so tied up working with Rivian that Lucid was getting short shrift. (I don't know if that actually makes any sense, though.)

Hysteresis simply means that there is non-linearity and lag in the response of a system to changes in its inputs. An air suspension is particularly vulnerable to this effect, for several reasons: the varying temperature and compressibility of the air; the expansion/contraction characteristics of the rubber bladder containing the pressurized air; the different demands on the air pump during raising and lowering the load; etc.

Air suspension behavior is more tricky to model accurately than coil spring behavior, and coil springs can thus be engineered more predictably than air springs.

A study by a major trucking logistics company found that air suspensions responded more slowly to changes in road conditions than coil spring suspensions, actually resulting (rather counter-intuitively in my amateur view) in less damage to freight when using coil springs.

Air springs first came into use in the 1930's because coil springs could not handle the weight of airplanes. They later became attractive to car manufacturers for their ability to level loads and keep things such as headlights aimed straight ahead. With the advance of electronics, car makers started using them to alter suspension firmness independently at each corner of the vehicle in real-time response to changing road conditions, thus allowing a soft suspension to firm up locally.

I can't cite a single source for all of the above points, as they're just an assemblage of what I learned when I dove into these waters a couple of years ago when I was surprised and frustrated at Lucid's backing away from an air suspension. (As I'm no engineer, I also can't guarantee that I have understood all of these points properly.)

What I can be sure of is this:

The three Audi R8's I owned all used coil spring / semi-active damper setups (like Lucid's) at a time when less expensive cars in the Audi lineup were using air suspensions. The R8's combined stunning handling with a surprinsly compliant ride for that class of car.

Race cars, where cost is no object and suspension setups are critical for safety and success, generally use coil spring suspensions instead of air suspensions.

After owning two Tesla Model S's with air suspensions (2015 and 2021 models), the Air outguns them both in handling and ride compliance.

So, at the end of the day, I'm entirely at peace with Lucid's choice -- for whatever reasons -- of a coil spring setup for the Air. (Of course, in Florida I don't have to worry about steep driveways.)

 

[MPawelek]

What ever happened to the Cadillac magnetic suspension?

 

[hmp10]

What ever happened to the Cadillac magnetic suspension?

if you mean dampers with magnetic particles in their oil to change the viscosity -- and therefore the damper firmness -- in response to an electrical current, I think it's still around. GM did pioneer that system. My Audi R8's used that technology and, for all I know, that might be how the Bilstein dampers Lucid uses vary their firmness.

 

[MikeTz]

After owning two Tesla Model S's with air suspensions (2015 and 2021 models), the Air outguns them both in handling and ride compliance

Have you driven the Lucid fully loaded? I have driven the Plaid fully loaded on a long trip and the air suspension does a good job keeping the car level. Have not driven the Lucid fully loaded.