Exactly! I just replaced all four tires on our i3. They weren't cheap as only one manufacturer on the planet makes them and they only fit the i3, no other vehicle in the world. FWIW- I was able to get them from Costco, they had to order them in.. took about a week to get.
Similar thing happened when Honda discontinued the Pax tires on the Odyssey. It is cheaper in the long run to buy 20” or 22” wheels and tires.
You could even use it as a reason to upgrade your R1. Perhaps after a couple more refresh cycles. ?
Hmmmm, sounds like an option I may have to entertain. Ha ha
I picked the 21's because 1) it was free 2) I wasn't enamoured with any of the 20" wheel options 3) I was concerned about the range hit of the 20 vs the 21 and wanted, no, needed, real life range based on my driving style and my regular trips to the mountains. 4) I saw footage of the 21 in offroad conditions that made me very comfortable it would meet my needs off road 5) I figured there was a good chance that other 21 tire options would be available when I needed it (which appears to be the case). 6) I was confident that when I needed to replace the tires, I'd have many more Rivian specific 20" wheel options available (definitely the case) as well as a much better understanding of capabilities, range, etc of all options as well as my own real world needs.
How can the most efficient option be, "..always the worst choice.."? Rather illogical to me.
actually , in general a smaller rims have a better efficiency than a larger rim, because of rotation mass, extreme example: 18” vs 22” rim. Less rubber contact on a 18”
It it even official? Plenty of people have and are selling their factory wheels. That will continue. Aftermarket... Atomic Wheels comes to mind. There may be others. As noted Michelin is coming out with a 275/55R21 and who knows who else will too. Even if all compatible tires in this size are to go extinct, all you need to do is switch to 20" or 22" wheels, factory or otherwise, run the appropriate sized tires for either and still be within spec of your 21" software.
I'd like to fact check the weight thing, steel has a better strength to weight ratio than rubber (much more so, that's why we don't build cars out of rubber). Do you have the actual weight for a Rivian tire in each size, and the associated wheels?
Did exactly this. Wife has basically claimed the S as hers so she said if it's good for the vehicle, she has no issues with the $$$ spent on the new rims and tires. Trick is to get your wife to fall for the vehicle.
I feel like this has been the case for at least a year? Always "coming soon" but not quite here, suspicious of Michelin's fall date
based on filings from Rivian, it looks like they are discontinuing the 21s. with them being the only manufacturer with an OEM wheel this size its unclear how long Pirelli will continue making them and if other tires companies will make it in that size. there might have been 1 or 2 others that were planning to make it.
guess it depends on what you define by worst but its certainly not illogical. to me worst is it being a unique tire size. literally no other OEM car manufacturer has a wheel in that size.
It's a 10/32 tread and doesn't last beyond 20k miles.
