All-Season vs. All-Terrain Tires. Ride quality opinions wanted!

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I won't be doing any heavy off-road driving in the R2 for now, so I was going to get the All-Season tires which add some more range. As I got thinking though, the range discrepancy isn't that great and the 20" AT tires might offer a better ride.

How is your experience with either set of tires on the R2?

Thanks--

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[sparked]

21" have pretty decent ride quality. It has high sidewalls due to the large diameter Rivian chose for the tires. They are sidewalls equivalent to 19" wheels on many other crossovers.

 

[shamoo]

All-terrain tires (and especially rugged/mud terrain tires) will generally provide a softer ride because of their taller, more flexible tread blocks. However, "softer" doesn't necessarily mean the ride will feel better for you. You'll typically give up some cornering precision, steering response, and overall stability compared to a highway or performance tire.

Depending on how aggressive the all-terrain tread is, you can also expect a large reduction in range due to increased rolling resistance. I've seen this first hand and it can be bad. Going 220 miles on my 22" Michelin Defenders is doable in one trip, even driving fast. With my 20" Mickey Thompsons, I have to charge TWICE. The wheels are more than 20lbs heavier per corner and way soft. Granted this is a 22" road tire vs. 20" AT but it is a reference point.

What tires specifically are you looking at? An all season is a good compromise in road comfort and range.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Mentioned in multiple R2 wheel and tire option threads. Those are not real ATs anyway. They are in the all-weather category. See BF Goodrich’s own product page. Efficiency would be worse if shod with true ATs. Rivian calls the tire “all terrain” in name only, so the average person understands the differentiation in tire performance and use. But they are a AS/AT hybrid. You can always replace with AS of same size later and easily… as there are multiple non-factory alternatives.

The 255/60R20 will offer more compliant ride not because of tire type. But because the wheel is smaller while overall diameter is about the same. Thus more sidewall, more air volume and more cushion.

 

[Zoidz]

Better ride? Do you consider noise in the better ride decision? ATs will always be noisier, and you can't determine that on a test ride. The 20" Scorpions on the R1 were pretty quiet when new but became screaming banshees around 12k - 15k miles for most people.

 

[mic-chris]

First test drive I rode in with 21"s (all paved roads of course) and it was good, but I drove over a storm grate in a parking lot when bringing the vehicle back and it was pretty rough. Suspension was on soft. It was the first "rough" part of my ride I felt.

I felt obligated to do the same loop with the 20"s. It wasn't the same day so that is one thing, but the bump over the same grate did feel a little more "subtle".

I used this as the typical NE pothole example and it is pushing me to get the 20s!

 

[thomasoris]

We didn't notice much of a difference as we demo drove two R2's, one with AS the other with AT. We weren't paying that much attention to the tires, we were just excited to get two demo drives. We are going to go back and drive again specifically because of the tires.

In a perfect world, we want the All Seasons, however from what we've read, there are no other options outside of the Pirelli's, and I am NOT a fan of those tires. I just replaced the Pirelli's on my R1S after 14,000 miles. We are probably going with 20" AT, and down the road, we may flip to a 20" AS, but there are many options with 20", none with the 21"

 

[Mos Eisley]

We didn't notice much of a difference as we demo drove two R2's, one with AS the other with AT. We weren't paying that much attention to the tires, we were just excited to get two demo drives. We are going to go back and drive again specifically because of the tires.

In a perfect world, we want the All Seasons, however from what we've read, there are no other options outside of the Pirelli's, and I am NOT a fan of those tires. I just replaced the Pirelli's on my R1S after 14,000 miles. We are probably going with 20" AT, and down the road, we may flip to a 20" AS, but there are many options with 20", none with the 21"

Will be interested to see your further feedback. I was able to drive the 20's and 21's back to back over the same stretch of roads. The 20's are modestly smoother over rough roads across all ride settings. On the firmest setting, the 21's certainly were stiffer/road bumpier but not immensely more so. The 20's were a little more squidgy in the corners and curves above 65mph. With the windows all down, the 20's were generally noisier.

 

[Jeremy3292]

The AT on the R2 are very mild and not like AT you’d buy aftermarket. They don’t even carry the 3PMSF rating. They’re more for comfort and range while providing some off-roading capability.

 

[Millbarge]

We didn't notice much of a difference as we demo drove two R2's, one with AS the other with AT. We weren't paying that much attention to the tires, we were just excited to get two demo drives. We are going to go back and drive again specifically because of the tires.

In a perfect world, we want the All Seasons, however from what we've read, there are no other options outside of the Pirelli's, and I am NOT a fan of those tires. I just replaced the Pirelli's on my R1S after 14,000 miles. We are probably going with 20" AT, and down the road, we may flip to a 20" AS, but there are many options with 20", none with the 21"

Right now on TR, there are no other eco options for the 20". So if you replace the BF Goodrichs with something else that size, your mileage range will likely decrease.

Hopefully there will be more options in a few years.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Right now on TR, there are no other eco options for the 20". So if you replace the BF Goodrichs with something else that size, your mileage range will likely decrease.

Hopefully there will be more options in a few years.

“Eco” is mostly a marketing label. A tire doesn’t have to have the label to be efficient. There might be options that aren’t marketed as such but could yield similar results. The 255/60R20 Pirelli Scorpion MS on the R2 Premium has same exact 330 mi range as the 21” option.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Better ride? Do you consider noise in the better ride decision? ATs will always be noisier, and you can't determine that on a test ride. The 20" Scorpions on the R1 were pretty quiet when new but became screaming banshees around 12k - 15k miles for most people.

Yup. ATs are inherently noisy. MTs even more so. The same traits (large voids between tread blocks) that give these categories of tires more off-pavement bite are the same traits that make them noisy and less round/efficient.

R2 buyers need to realize the “all terrain” option is not an all terrain tire. And it does not possess all traits of AT tires to the fullest. It is likely not as noisy as a real AT tire. Don’t jump to conclusions just on seeing “all terrain” in marketing materials. “All terrain” is just the marketing name Rivian has chosen for that wheel/tire package.

The BFG Trail Terrain T/A line is made for SUVs and CUVs that might see occasional off-pavement soft-road use and engineered for such uses while compromising as little on-pavement capability as possible.

Here is the BGF K03, one of the tire industry’s benchmarks for real AT: https://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/auto/tires/bfgoodrich-all-terrain-t-a-ko3

And here is the R2 “all terrain” Trail Terrain T/A+: https://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/auto/tires/bfgoodrich-trail-terrain-t-a

Observe and note the differences. The size of tread block voids. The tread depth and tread lugs on the shoulders. The latter is closer to a AS than a AT. You can “read” a lot about a tire at a glance, if you know what to look for.

 

[Millbarge]

“Eco” is mostly a marketing label. A tire doesn’t have to have the label to be efficient. There might be options that aren’t marketed as such but could yield similar results. The 255/60R20 Pirelli Scorpion MS on the R2 Premium has same exact 330 mi range as the 21” option.

Fair enough, but Michelin has various tires that are labeled "Eco" on TR, so I think it's a fair assumption that ones that aren't will have an impact on range.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Fair enough, but Michelin has various tires that are labeled "Eco" on TR, so I think it's a fair assumption that ones that aren't will have an impact on range.

Without side by side testing in same conditions, it’s an assumption.

 

[R2dreamer]

Mentioned in multiple R2 wheel and tire option threads. Those are not real ATs anyway. They are in the all-weather category. See BF Goodrich’s own product page. Efficiency would be worse if shod with true ATs. Rivian calls the tire “all terrain” in name only, so the average person understands the differentiation in tire performance and use. But they are a AS/AT hybrid. You can always replace with AS of same size later and easily… as there are multiple non-factory alternatives.

The 255/60R20 will offer more compliant ride not because of tire type. But because the wheel is smaller while overall diameter is about the same. Thus more sidewall, more air volume and more cushion.

Thanks, but I looked at several tire websites and could not find 255/60R20 sized AS road tires.

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