The F-150 Lightning started production in April and has since begun making deliveries. And seeing as pickup trucks are the most accessorized and modified vehicles in America, we knew that it was only a matter of time before we started seeing modded out Ford F-150 Lightning electric trucks on the streets. TC Customs out of Bessemer Alabama may be the first to lift their all-electric pick-up though. Their YouTube video lays out how they made it happen, what they used, and what effects it had on the trucks overall performance, specifically range.
TC Customs operates out of the Town and Country Ford dealership in Bessemer Alabama. Nathan and Mitchell, the hosts of this episode, walk you through installation and relay the performance results. They began with a standard range F-150 Lightning Lariat for the project which has a range of 230 miles on a single charge. The stock wheels and rims weighed in at 74 pounds, but they upgraded those as well. They used 34-inch Nitto Ridge Grappler tires and 20-inch Black Rhino Wheels that weighed 96 pounds each, a 20 pound difference making for an overall weight increase of about 80 pounds.
The team at TC Customs found that there was no need to cut or re-shape their leveling kit to accommodate any oddities in the Lightning’s suspension, a win for the do-it-yourself crowd. The install is fairly straightforward although you do need to remove the entire 12-inch digital cluster to re-calibrate speed accuracy.
Once everything has been installed Mitchell goes for a four-hour test drive. According to the trip information that’s provided on both the cluster and the 15-inch centered infotainment set-up, the lifted Lightning was able to go 196 miles before needing a recharge. This averaged out to 2 miles per kWh as opposed to the stock 2.4 miles per kWh. Overall, the Lighting saw a range decrease of 34 miles with the standard battery. For comparison, the extended range battery can go 320 miles before a recharge, but only comes standard on the Platinum trim.
