Auto Mode Suspension at highway speeds

[tate16t]

Normally I drive in All Purpose/standard mode. It was a windy day and on the highway the R1S experienced a lot of turbulence. I switched to Auto Mode so it automatically switches to the “Low” suspension setting around 65 mph. This really helps on windy days improving the aerodynamics and stability. For many of you, this will be a helpful reminder, and for new owners, it’s useful information to keep in mind.

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[Jonger1150]

I believe that is automatically enabled by default.

?

 

[tate16t]

I’m not sure, its been a while since I used auto mode.

 

[MannyMan]

I’m not using low height on the freeway due to the impact it has on alignment and the tire wear that is caused by it.

 

[tate16t]

I haven’t heard that before, I only use it on windy days.

 

[evlavista]

I use it all the time and after 26k miles there hasn't been any noticeable tire wear caused by the lower ride height.

 

[Trinculo73]

Low mode at highway speeds is also more energy efficient, which is why it does that in Auto mode. I'm 12k miles in in my first 9 months of ownership, mostly highway miles, and no significant wear on the tires so far (just had them rotated and checked recently).

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I’m not sure, its been a while since I used auto mode.

He is telling you that IS how it works. Regardless of atmospheric conditions or weather. Auto adjust height according to speed. Lower height reduce amount of underbody airflow and thus reduce turbulence and drag, which is increasingly more significant as speed increases. This also lowers center of mass and improve stability at higher speeds. For general everyday driving, there is little to no need to manipulate it manually. Leave in auto and let software do what it was engineered to do.

There is also no need to avoid low ride height if driving speed is fairly consistent, without frequent abrupt acceleration/deceleration; i.e. steady highway cruising. Abrupt changes in speed and direction accelerate tire wear more.

Rotate tires every 5~7k mikes to even wear.

 

[ndmiller]

Auto moving suspension to low at speed increases efficiency about .5-.75 miles/kw in my estimation. I'm at 2.0 on my stop and go initial portion of my commute and then the long 60-75 mph portion is 2.75-3.25 one low kicks in. Tried a 45mph section on auto (keeps you on standard) and then sport (lowest) and see good efficiency gains there as well.

Don't know anything about alignment/tire wear at low, but the gains are worth it as the OEM 21 pirellis aren't exactly great anyway.

 

[MannyMan]

I use it all the time and after 26k miles there hasn't been any noticeable tire wear caused by the lower ride height.

Low mode at highway speeds is also more energy efficient, which is why it does that in Auto mode. I'm 12k miles in in my first 9 months of ownership, mostly highway miles, and no significant wear on the tires so far (just had them rotated and checked recently).

Very interesting. Thank you guys for the feedback!
BTW, did you guys happen to check uneven tire wear at a tire shop, or you just check it visually?

 

[Trinculo73]

Very interesting. Thank you guys for the feedback!
BTW, did you guys happen to check uneven tire wear at a tire shop, or you just check it visually?

Mine was checked by the Rivian mobile service tech who did the rotation, with a tread gauge - for that potentially small of a difference, I don't trust eyeballing it ?

 

[tate16t]

He is telling you that IS how it works. Regardless of atmospheric conditions or weather. Auto adjust height according to speed. Lower height reduce amount of underbody airflow and thus reduce turbulence and drag, which is increasingly more significant as speed increases. This also lowers center of mass and improve stability at higher speeds. For general everyday driving, there is little to no need to manipulate it manually. Leave in auto and let software do what it was engineered to do.

There is also no need to avoid low ride height if driving speed is fairly consistent, without frequent abrupt acceleration/deceleration; i.e. steady highway cruising. Abrupt changes in speed and direction accelerate tire wear more.

Rotate tires every 5~7k mikes to even wear.

I thought he was telling me Auto Mode is enabled by default. I know how it works.

 

[godfodder0901]

I thought he was telling me Auto Mode is enabled by default. I know how it works.

It is enabled by default on dual motors.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

If you are manually toggling auto, you don’t.

 

[tate16t]

If you are manually toggling auto, you don’t.

I manually toggled it yesterday since it was off. I beleive it was off because I tried it very early on and did not like the ride on the low setting. Rivian has since made improvements and I had not tried it since.

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