20” Blizzak snow tires installed

[ckindred1]

Hoping to receive my R1T in Jan/Feb '23. I live in the mountains in Lake Tahoe area and have a doozy of a steep driveway and lots of steep hills/roads in my town. Was originally getting the 20" AT tires but am now worried about all the slipping on icy roads. Was considering switching to the 21" to get most range in other seasons, but am now concerned about limited availability for 21" snow tires. Should I just get the 20" AT tires and swap out for 20" snow tires and give up on the extra range on the 21" tires? Safety first and don't want to slide my truck off the road or into railings in the snow

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[OffRoad987]

I will be in Tahoe next week. Would love to do some side by side tests using various winter tires. I have a set of Nokian LT3 studded winters on 20’s.

Hoping to receive my R1T in Jan/Feb '23. I live in the mountains in Lake Tahoe area and have a doozy of a steep driveway and lots of steep hills/roads in my town. Was originally getting the 20" AT tires but am now worried about all the slipping on icy roads. Was considering switching to the 21" to get most range in other seasons, but am now concerned about limited availability for 21" snow tires. Should I just get the 20" AT tires and swap out for 20" snow tires and give up on the extra range on the 21" tires? Safety first and don't want to slide my truck off the road or into railings in the snow

 

[Andystroh]

 

[COdogman]

Hoping to receive my R1T in Jan/Feb '23. I live in the mountains in Lake Tahoe area and have a doozy of a steep driveway and lots of steep hills/roads in my town. Was originally getting the 20" AT tires but am now worried about all the slipping on icy roads. Was considering switching to the 21" to get most range in other seasons, but am now concerned about limited availability for 21" snow tires. Should I just get the 20" AT tires and swap out for 20" snow tires and give up on the extra range on the 21" tires? Safety first and don't want to slide my truck off the road or into railings in the snow

Honestly that is what I would do. If you use the OEM 20” wheels and just switch the tires between ATs (or aftermarket all seasons) and snow tires you don’t need to get the TPMS reprogrammed each time. You also don’t need to go visit Rivian each time to have them “recalibrate“. You just need to pay a shop to remount and balance them. To me that makes more sense than buying more wheels and having to visit Rivian twice a year just for that.

 

[manitou202]

Just had Blizzak LTs installed yesterday. So far no noticeable difference in noise around town or on the highway. On the way to Discount Tire, my neighborhood streets still had about 1/2 inch of snow. Did a couple of braking and acceleration tests with the OEM tires and then did the same tests when I got home with the Blizzaks. Night and day difference, especially stopping distance. I'm sure the "Snow Mode" will help some, but the tires make the bigger difference.

 

[bjcleaver]

Hoping to receive my R1T in Jan/Feb '23. I live in the mountains in Lake Tahoe area and have a doozy of a steep driveway and lots of steep hills/roads in my town. Was originally getting the 20" AT tires but am now worried about all the slipping on icy roads. Was considering switching to the 21" to get most range in other seasons, but am now concerned about limited availability for 21" snow tires. Should I just get the 20" AT tires and swap out for 20" snow tires and give up on the extra range on the 21" tires? Safety first and don't want to slide my truck off the road or into railings in the snow

I'd keep the 20" AT tires and get snow tires put on for winter. I live up in the mountains in a ski town and that's what I did. I just had Nokian LT3s put on and they make a huge difference.

Maybe in the future when it's easier to buy a second set of wheels, there are more tire choices in Rivian wheel sizes, and switching wheel sizes doesn't require a trip to the service center (ie, you can do it yourself on the screen) it'll make sense to have say a set of 21s for the summer and 20s for the winter. But right now for snow I think the 20s are the best option.

 

[DTown3011]

I'm putting these on the 22's as soon as I get my VIN assigned, I will order:

MICHELIN X-Ice Snow - Car Tire | MICHELIN USA (michelinman.com)

 

[Whyz]

For those that have had tire install places (ex. Costco, Discount Tire) put on new tires, how are those places handling jacking up Rivians?

My understanding is that the jacking points are unique and it isn't as simple to just put the trucks on a lift.

 

[Andystroh]

For those that have had tire install places (ex. Costco, Discount Tire) put on new tires, how are those places handling jacking up Rivians?

My understanding is that the jacking points are unique and it isn't as simple to just put the trucks on a lift.

We took off the covers and it gives access to the frame, then put it in tire change mode. The user manual describes the process for doing it without the pucks. They had the big foam blocks to use on the frame from there and it wasn’t an issue.

 

[Whyz]

Thanks, time to read the user manual for me. I'm getting mine delivered next week and am going to call the service center to see if they will mount snow tires before delivery. But if not, I'm going to Discount Tire.

 

[JoulesVerne]

For those that have had tire install places (ex. Costco, Discount Tire) put on new tires, how are those places handling jacking up Rivians?

My understanding is that the jacking points are unique and it isn't as simple to just put the trucks on a lift.

My shop didn't want to deal with removing the panels and said they didn't have rubber pads for their lift. Since the frame is painted I didn't want to remove the panels for them and have the frame scratched. So I bought the Rivian Style pucks and it was quick and easy for them to put the truck on the lift.

 

[DTown3011]

I ordered these today for my stock 22's and I'll run them in the winter and keep the stock tires for the summer. I paid a little less than the current price, TireRack just raised the price...

Michelin X-Ice Snow SUV | 275/50R22 (tirerack.com)

 

[MichaelD]

Just got back from a ski trip in the Truckee area (Tahoe) with the Nokian HK LT3s on the standard 20 AT rims. Very stable and secure-feeling. Having a RAN charger right in town didn't hurt

My range was great but then it was just around freezing or a few under most of the trip.

I never noticed the icy driveway from behind the wheel. The minivan next to me… didn’t make it out once without digging and snow socks.

 

[Hoo D. Hoo]

OK, this thread has convinced me to abandon the 21's to be able to do the summer/winter swap.

With that decision made, any opinions on whether I should go with 20's or 22's? I'm a suburban family commuter, not an offroad enthusiast. My priorities, after safety, are mileage and a quiet ride.

 

[MichaelD]

With that decision made, any opinions on whether I should go with 20's or 22's? I'm a suburban family commuter, not an offroad enthusiast. My priorities, after safety, are mileage and a quiet ride.

I would go with 22s in your place. Only reason I’m sticking with 20 Darks on my new non-winter setup is because we are prone to exploring mountain forest roads and rocky places for great camping spots.

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