AC loses cold air in turns

[k9ltd3]

Recently I noticed that when I have the air condition running in my 2023 R1T and I make a turn in either direction, the cold air gets warm for a moment and then starts blowing cold a few seconds later. Just wondering if anyone else has noticed this or if this is an issue I should have service look into? Thanks!

Sponsored

 

[COdogman]

Are you going into your turns so fast that it creates a vacuum effect outside the truck, briefly creating a pocket where no oxygen exists?

 

[FooF]

Any sloshing sound? Maybe condensate not draining or water in the filter box? Maybe inspect and/or replace the cabin air filter.

 

[Dark-Fx]

How many g's are we talking here? What a weird experience.

 

[k9ltd3]

Any sloshing sound? Maybe condensate not draining or water in the filter box? Maybe inspect and/or replace the cabin air filter.

No noise that I have heard and the cabin filter is good.

 

[k9ltd3]

How many g's are we talking here? What a weird experience.

Just normal turns where there is a slight roll of the suspension.

 

[W1SE]

Cold air is more dense than warm air. Most people don’t notice but if you have air blowing strong from both sides than you can get colder air in the side of the vehicle that is on the outside of the turning radius (right side when turning left and left side when turning right) as the colder (more dense) air goes to that side from centrifugal force.

As a side note experiment I find that it’s fun to watch a helium balloon in a car (extreme example of the less dense air). It always does the opposite of what your brain expects. In this example the helium ballon would rush to the side of the vehicle in the same side as your turn direction. Or better yet, when accelerating it will come to the front on the vehicle.

 

[electruck]

I've never noticed this. Sounds like a software glitch to me. Or maybe a flopping blend door, if Rivians even have one of those. Does the vehicle have to be moving for this to happen or does it happen if you turn the wheel while parked? Any correlation with turn signals on or off? And it's definitely associated with turning and not with regen or accel?

 

[guydesharnais]

Cold air is more dense than warm air. Most people don’t notice but if you have air blowing strong from both sides than you can get colder air in the side of the vehicle that is on the outside of the turning radius (right side when turning left and left side when turning right) as the colder (more dense) air goes to that side from centrifugal force.

As a side note experiment I find that it’s fun to watch a helium balloon in a car (extreme example of the less dense air). It always does the opposite of what your brain expects. In this example the helium ballon would rush to the side of the vehicle in the same side as your turn direction. Or better yet, when accelerating it will come to the front on the vehicle.

I suspect this is the case. I have experienced this in a few cars, Probably depends on the geometry of the vents.

 

[OUTAGAS]

W1SE is answering your question, but most of you aren’t getting it. When you make a turn, the air doesn’t turn with you, so you suddenly find yourself in the air that was in the center of the rear seat. The ac recovers quickly. I have encountered this in many high performance vehicles.

 

[electruck]

W1SE is answering your question, but most of you aren’t getting it. When you make a turn, the air doesn’t turn with you, so you suddenly find yourself in the air that was in the center of the rear seat. The ac recovers quickly. I have encountered this in many high performance vehicles.

Not going to be particularly noticeable in slower speed turns or if the cabin temperature is uniform. Turning left or right also isn't going to send rear cabin air forward.

The OP has not provided very many details, especially things like driving conditions or if they are referring to the temp of the air coming out of the vents or just the overall cabin temp.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

How many g's are we talking here? What a weird experience.

Oh... we need that in gauge view, a G-meter. ?

 

[azbill]

Oh... we need that in gauge view, a G-meter. ?

Drift angle too.

 

[OUTAGAS]

Not going to be particularly noticeable in slower speed turns or if the cabin temperature is uniform. Turning left or right also isn't going to send rear cabin air forward.

Again, I'm NOT saying the air moves to where you are. I'm saying your position in the "cloud of air" in the vehicle changes relative to it. Just think of your truck traveling down the road containing an air bubble. The air bubble has vey little friction with all the stuff in the truck it comes in contact with. As you drive along, making small, gradual changes in direction/location, you don't feel any changes in the quality of the air around you, even though you are moving within it because it's stationary and you aren't. Then you make a quick 90-degree left-hand turn. The truck rotates about its center axis, roughly at the rear screen, but the air bubble remains stationary. That places you in the air that was in the back seat behind you a second earlier.

 

[electruck]

Again, I'm NOT saying the air moves to where you are. I'm saying your position in the "cloud of air" in the vehicle changes relative to it. Just think of your truck traveling down the road containing an air bubble. The air bubble has vey little friction with all the stuff in the truck it comes in contact with. As you drive along, making small, gradual changes in direction/location, you don't feel any changes in the quality of the air around you, even though you are moving within it because it's stationary and you aren't. Then you make a quick 90-degree left-hand turn. The truck rotates about its center axis, roughly at the rear screen, but the air bubble remains stationary. That places you in the air that was in the back seat behind you a second earlier.

I fully understand what you are suggesting and also understand why it is incorrect. With the exception of doing a tank turn (which Rivian doesn't support), a vehicle doesn't turn in place like you are suggesting. Instead, it turns along an arc - the minimum radius of which is on the order of 20 ft - thus the truck does not rotate about its center axis. The air bubble within the cabin also moves with the cabin otherwise you would feel a strong breeze under any hard acceleration (ie, the motion of the air within the cabin relative to the cabin is near zero, and equal to the speed of the vehicle relative to the outside world). There are some subtleties to this as air is a compressible fluid (although can be assumed to be incompressible at the speeds most people take turns in city driving) but, in general, there is far greater effect from the fan motors circulating air within the cabin than there is from the motion of the vehicle.

Sponsored