20” Blizzak snow tires installed

[Andystroh]

a "not too cold yet" update:
732 miles in, here are the details. It is not a scientific test; both time periods have had rooftop tents, skis, bikes on the crossbars... the recent driving has had some colder weather driving but not too much below freezing. Definitely some heat use, I would say temperatures averaging closer to 50 degrees compared to the summer of closer to 80 degrees. So lately about 92% efficiency relative to the 20" AT tires, with the cooler temps and blizzaks. Not too much time on snow yet.

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[Skirotica]

a "not too cold yet" update:
732 miles in, here are the details. It is not a scientific test; both time periods have had rooftop tents, skis, bikes on the crossbars... the recent driving has had some colder weather driving but not too much below freezing. Definitely some heat use, I would say temperatures averaging closer to 50 degrees compared to the summer of closer to 80 degrees. So lately about 92% efficiency relative to the 20" AT tires, with the cooler temps and blizzaks. Not too much time on snow yet.

THanks for posting this. I was just starting to think about what I was going to do this winter. My truck comes tomorrow with Road Wheels. i justified taht I will do 90% of my driving on road, but I live in SLC so the drives to the ski resorts warrant snow tires several times a year. Was concerned about making the swap.
Where did you buy the blizzacks?

 

[Andystroh]

@Skirotica I bought the tires at tire rack, and had discount tire install them. My local discount tire also would have installed them if I purchased them through discount tire, even though their website does not list them for the Rivian.

 

[Aag12]

Could you post pics mounted up on the Rivian, please and thanks.

Oy, waited too long and now the blacks are oos. Might take a few months to come in!

Did you find any alternative wheels that you considered?

 

[evergreenmachine]

Quick question on the vehicle settings and Blizzaks; I have 20" AT tires which are supposed to be 3 Peak rated, but last two snows that have hit, when I am headed down a steep incline the truck slides out like CRAZY. I was wondering if you might have had a similar driving scenario on the 'zaks (steep descent in 4-8 inches of snow), and if they seem to hold the descent line better. On the Pirelli ATs, I dialed down regen to standard, but the truck rear end still slides out going downhill...wondering if I should go into Sand Mode or something on a really steep slippery descent. I call service to ask but they had no idea.....

Certainly the regen and weight of the truck are working against me, but wondering if I should get a totally different setup or just throw on chains on a big snow day!

 

[Andystroh]

Quick question on the vehicle settings and Blizzaks; I have 20" AT tires which are supposed to be 3 Peak rated, but last two snows that have hit, when I am headed down a steep incline the truck slides out like CRAZY. I was wondering if you might have had a similar driving scenario on the 'zaks (steep descent in 4-8 inches of snow), and if they seem to hold the descent line better. On the Pirelli ATs, I dialed down regen to standard, but the truck rear end still slides out going downhill...wondering if I should go into Sand Mode or something on a really steep slippery descent. I call service to ask but they had no idea.....

Certainly the regen and weight of the truck are working against me, but wondering if I should get a totally different setup or just throw on chains on a big snow day!

We haven’t driven on much packed snow yet, but we did end up in that i70 mess last night and the truck did really well on some seriously slick and icy roads. Regen braking was easier to control than i expected and I didn’t have any issues slowing down. I can update you once we encounter some more snow.

 

[bjcleaver]

Quick question on the vehicle settings and Blizzaks; I have 20" AT tires which are supposed to be 3 Peak rated, but last two snows that have hit, when I am headed down a steep incline the truck slides out like CRAZY. I was wondering if you might have had a similar driving scenario on the 'zaks (steep descent in 4-8 inches of snow), and if they seem to hold the descent line better. On the Pirelli ATs, I dialed down regen to standard, but the truck rear end still slides out going downhill...wondering if I should go into Sand Mode or something on a really steep slippery descent. I call service to ask but they had no idea.....

Certainly the regen and weight of the truck are working against me, but wondering if I should get a totally different setup or just throw on chains on a big snow day!

We had that storm in Utah on Wednesday and I was one some steep winding roads as it was coming down hard, and the truck handled well on the ATs. You really have to feather the throttle with the regen so that it doesn't brake too hard. I assume you're doing that but it took me a couple times in snow to find the feel.

 

[sierraskier]

Quick question on the vehicle settings and Blizzaks; I have 20" AT tires which are supposed to be 3 Peak rated, but last two snows that have hit, when I am headed down a steep incline the truck slides out like CRAZY. I was wondering if you might have had a similar driving scenario on the 'zaks (steep descent in 4-8 inches of snow), and if they seem to hold the descent line better. On the Pirelli ATs, I dialed down regen to standard, but the truck rear end still slides out going downhill...wondering if I should go into Sand Mode or something on a really steep slippery descent. I call service to ask but they had no idea.....

Certainly the regen and weight of the truck are working against me, but wondering if I should get a totally different setup or just throw on chains on a big snow day!

I have very limited time on the AT's in snow but we did get ~4" the other day so I ran up the road to test them out quickly. Uphill, it's solid as expected...but uphill is usually not the problem for skilled drivers with all seasons and a good 4WD system. Downhill/braking on unplowed / packed snow (meaning no asphalt contact) the tires and truck felt to me like expected behavior for a heavy vehicle with all season / non-winter tires: the point at which they break loose is significantly sooner than winter tires, and once they do the truck slides and tends to wander more than with winter tires. Basically, they felt as expected for non-winter tires - not horrendous, but also not super confidence inspiring either and the extra mass of the R1T just adds to that... which is why I'm getting a set of snows for the winter, like I've had on all my previous vehicles.

Just my $.02

 

[moosehead]

Sand Mode is the only option as of now with "low" regen in the Rivians.

Supposedly they are working on a snow mode but certainly lack a sense of urgency given ski season just started.

 

[Franksmartin]

Wow that’s not confidence inspiring, but not surprised given the weight without snow tires. I’ll definitely be getting some Hakkas.

 

[SStroh]

Blizzaks and riv enjoying winter!!

 

[evergreenmachine]

Thanks all for the input! I can shred going uphill on the ATs, seriously hard to throw it sideways in slick conditions...downhill, its probably me and the regen getting aligned....!!!!

 

[Andystroh]

It is funny how well the vehicle controls traction. Last night I tried to slide the back just because, the truck wouldn’t break traction in the snow, it just kept in a straight line. Had to go to drift mode to get it to slide.

 

[RickInPC]

We had that storm in Utah on Wednesday and I was one some steep winding roads as it was coming down hard, and the truck handled well on the ATs. You really have to feather the throttle with the regen so that it doesn't brake too hard. I assume you're doing that but it took me a couple times in snow to find the feel.

I’m in UT, too, and the regen braking is something that I’d like to see addressed in the future - perhaps a “snow mode” to turn it off so you can ”feather” the brakes and coast a bit - I had the same sliding issue last week in the snow - great traction and over all control but when it came to stopping: whoops!

 

[DTown3011]

Are you concerned at all on the load and speed rating on the Blizzaks vs the stock Pirellis? The Blizzaks have both lower speed rating(not really an issue as I don’t intend to push my Riv above 100 mph too often ha) but also load rating.

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