Sport Mode improvement via Update 2025.26 - what's your experience?

[Singletracker]

I’m not sure this has anything to do with any recent changes that were made to Sport Mode, but I am seeing some pretty spectacular efficiency while using this mode. I have almost always used AP mode for normal driving. Sport mode was for brisk mountain driving. After the latest update, I tried Sport mode in the soft setting and found it to be quite acceptable for normal driving - responsive and agile, but not too harsh. Can’t say that I have always felt that way. For the last 3 days, I have been using Sport mode exclusively. It does seem to track better with less wandering, than in AP mode. But, the kicker is, I am getting spectacular efficiency with it - 2.47, 2.42 and 2.74 m/kWh over the 3 days. Normally, in AP mode, I would be getting a little over 2.3 m/kWh. This translates to around 20 extra miles of range per full battery. How is this happening? Anybody else seeing this? I’m going to continue using SM to see if this trend continues or until it comes back to earth

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[mkhuffman]

thank you for the detailed report; how are you capturing this info? I've just been eyeballing the drivemode screen and was bummed out to discover my OBD2 dongle and Torque are useless with the R1S...

ABRP is good (I have the paid plan for that also), but Electrfi is better. If you like gathering data from your charging, trips and vampire drain (LOL), sign up for Electrifi.

TeslaFi.com Tesla Model S 3 X Y Data Logger

 

[2kwik4u]

The latest update has fixed the dual motor clunk for me.

No change for me on the dual motor front with .26 update.

Kinda sad about it now to be honest

 

[Jonger1150]

No change for me on the dual motor front with .26 update.

Kinda sad about it now to be honest

How's your 12V battery looking? That's a culprit to watch. This issue is amplified BIG TIME when the 12V battery is weak. Numerous others have reported the same.

 

[2kwik4u]

How's your 12V battery looking? That's a culprit to watch. This issue is amplified BIG TIME when the 12V battery is weak. Numerous others have reported the same.

Been replaced under warranty twice in 48wks of ownership. First one "Wasn't coded properly" and bricked the truck. Second one went in the next day. That was around late May. No data on voltage levels, or how often the truck wakes to recharge it.

 

[tate16t]

How's your 12V battery looking? That's a culprit to watch. This issue is amplified BIG TIME when the 12V battery is weak. Numerous others have reported the same.

Is there a way to check the 12v battery health?

 

[DayTripping]

I've had a chance to test the new SW in Sport mode before and after the update. I tried it with a Gen 1 quad R1T on factory 21's. Then on my truck (G1 quad R1T) with Atomic wheels and the Rivian spec 20" Goodyears.

I personally think it made more of a difference with the 20's than the 21's. With the 20's it gave it more of a point and shoot feel. The 21's sort of seemed better but it always felt like it hobby horsed when pushed hard in low(er) speed turns. So it would start to slide a bit, catch, then understeer, rinse and repeat.

I don't know why anyone would keep the 21's on the truck. They are like the worst aspects of the 22's combined with the worst aspects of the 20's. So glad I got rid of them. The only thing I like better about them than my 20's is they might be a touch more efficient. I'll take that slight penalty hit to have a tire I enjoy a lot more.

 

[DD4ST]

I think Rivian has done a remarkable job improving Sport mode since I took delivery of my 23 R1T PDM. When I took delivery Sport mode was unusable IMO. It was too jarring and busy. Rivian made a sizable improvement in a prior update to soften the ride and in this update they’ve improved the steering response. This, along with the extra power, now makes this mode fun to drive on most roads. However, with larger, sharp transitions like speed bumps and potholes this mode still gives a sizable jolt

 

[beatle]

I'll echo the recent sentiment. Now that I've gotten my truck back from service replacing the 12v, I've given it a few shakedown runs in sport. This mode is definitely more comfortable for daily use than it was before. I'm not smart enough in suspension tuning to know whether they adjusted high/low speed compression or rebound damping, or the hydraulic roll control, but bumps are much more tolerable. The truck's cornering in steady state is still flat, but a little less edgy while approaching the limit. I didn't notice much of a difference in turn-in. Overall, it's a great improvement. In fact, it makes me even more sad that I have to select it each day when the truck is kicked back to AP mode.

 

[nommy124]

Off-road modes with the 2025.26 update are great, too. On my favorite forest roads that I've driven dozens of times with my R1T ('23 quad, 285/65r20 tires), 2025.26 was a substantially better drive last weekend. This update really shines with a faster pace in forest road conditions--especially driving over repeated pot holes and when the vehicle's rear end kicks out a bit.

what are your tires? are you getting better road grip/steering with 285s?

 

[SeattleSteve]

what are your tires? are you getting better road grip/steering with 285s?

I have Nokian Outpost nAT (285/65r20) tires (about 15k miles on these tires). On-road steering is not as responsive as the OEM Pirellis. With that said, these are quieter on-road and are better on forest service roads.

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