20” Rim with smaller tire?

[ariscus99]

Has anyone tried putting a smaller tire on the 20” rim to see if it would increase range? I’m not sure what size it would be exactly but I’m sure you could get a tire that fits the 20” rim that is the size of the 21” with the stock tires that get you the alleged 40 more miles of range. If they’re the same circumference in theory they should get close to the same range, save for the aero insert improvements I’d think.

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[jjswan33]

IMO it will likely have more to do with the tread pattern and weight of the smaller tire you choose. If you choose a smaller tire with an aggressive tread pattern and similar weight probably won’t have a big impact. I know @kizamybute' has a thread about his experience with a set of smaller AT tires on the 20’s, he can comment on the efficiency if you’d like or you can find his thread.

If you can find something in road/efficiency tire for the 20” rims that can carry the weight of the truck you can surely gain range back.

 

[ariscus99]

IMO it will likely have more to do with the tread pattern and weight of the smaller tire you choose. If you choose a smaller tire with an aggressive tread pattern and similar weight probably won’t have a big impact. I know @kizamybute' has a thread about his experience with a set of smaller AT tires on the 20’s, he can comment on the efficiency if you’d like or you can find his thread.

If you can find something in road/efficiency tire for the 20” rims that can carry the weight of the truck you can surely gain range back.

That makes sense. I won’t be off-roading much, but I like the appearance of the 20’s better and I know what a pain it is to buy 21’s coming from a Tesla Model S.

 

[crashmtb]

Get a set of road biased tires in the same size As the ATs

 

[kizamybute']

IMO it will likely have more to do with the tread pattern and weight of the smaller tire you choose. If you choose a smaller tire with an aggressive tread pattern and similar weight probably won’t have a big impact. I know @kizamybute' has a thread about his experience with a set of smaller AT tires on the 20’s, he can comment on the efficiency if you’d like or you can find his thread.

If you can find something in road/efficiency tire for the 20” rims that can carry the weight of the truck you can surely gain range back.

For me, didn't notice any measurable difference in efficiency going from 275/65/20 to 275/60/20. It was more of an appearance and clearance reason for me. I think the 34" tires are too big for the proportions of the truck. The 22" and 21" wheel options from Rivian are all 33" tires. The all-terrains are 34's. I chose the same tire style as the factory all-terrains, but with a 60 series instead of the stock 65. They are a 33" tire like Rivian's other two choices. Being that it's the same exact tread pattern and tire from Pirelli, the only difference would be a pound or two in the weight, which isn't really enough to make any measurable difference in range.

I can say, at least in my opinion, the 275/60/20's look a lot better on the truck. To me, they fit the fender wells much more proportionately to the size of the truck. With less sidewall, they also handle better. I guess more sidewall is better for "extreme" off-roading, but otherwise, they're basically the same tire and will handle nearly all the same off-road situations. Being that it's a smaller diameter tire, it also improves acceleration.

I will say, I just put the stock 21's on my truck for the first time and immediately noticed a 17% increase in range (0.3 gain in kw used per mile). They are street tires designed specifically for the Rivian, thus have a low rolling resistance. They are also a TON quieter than the all-terrains.

I like the off-road oriented styling of the all-terrains better on this truck. But, the range gain and much quieter cabin are two benefits that make the decision harder to make as to which I will ultimately choose to keep on my truck.

Also, side note, on Tire Rack, the 275/60/20's are about $150 cheaper per tire than the stock 275/65/20's. Again, same tire from Pirelli, same look, tread pattern, everything, except that they're not specifically designated as Rivian tires. Possibly the stock tires have slightly less rolling resistance, despite being the exact same tire in appearance, but considering that I didn't notice any change in range, my guess is that it was offset by the fact that the 275/60/20 is a smaller, lighter tire. So any losses are offset by apparently equal gains for a net zero difference in range.

Just a matter of which size you prefer. For me personally, I liked the look of the 33" tire on the truck better than the 34's, simply due to the size proportions.

 

[Rivuylkill]

Bear with me I don't really look at tires much.

If I look at tirerack for an R1 with 22's, the stock tire is listed as 115H.
The stock 20's are listed as 116H.

If I look at 275/60-20 Tires, Standard Load, Touring/AS, there are a lot of options that are 115H.

There's really nothing that's 116H/XL though. If the 22's are 115H, would the 20's really need to support a higher load? Is that maybe just based on assuming off road activity driving things like landing on a tire, etc?

275/60-20 is around 3% (3.2%) smaller than 275/65-20, which at least google'd rules of thumb say is generally ok.

Does that mean I should at least theoretically be able to take any of the 275/60-20 115H tires on the 20" rims to aim for better range when the stock tires are ready to be replaced? Or is there some other bit(s) of information missing?

 

[Arky]

Bear with me I don't really look at tires much.

If I look at tirerack for an R1 with 22's, the stock tire is listed as 115H.
The stock 20's are listed as 116H.

If I look at 275/60-20 Tires, Standard Load, Touring/AS, there are a lot of options that are 115H.

There's really nothing that's 116H/XL though. If the 22's are 115H, would the 20's really need to support a higher load? Is that maybe just based on assuming off road activity driving things like landing on a tire, etc?

Some tire shops get antsy about it (I think Costco might balk) but a 115H load rating is supposed to be good for 10,700lbs. Our vehicles GVWR is 8530, over a ton less than that. On our cars the load is evenly distributed too unlike most trucks.

The difference between 115 and 116 is meaningless for us other than it might play weird with some tire shop policy.

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