4x4 Roller Test Performed on R1T -- Rivian vs Toyota 4x4 Roller Test. Quad motor vs ATRAC vs Locker

[Dirtcom_AJ]

INTRO

We made our own rollers to unmask some of the mysteries of Rivian's 4x4 traction control system and we uncovered some interesting finds. There is far too much info to type on this thread so I will give notes on the most difficult scenario. 3 wheels on rollers one wheel on ground. Which means only one wheel has traction. @EVLander was there for the test so he will have all the answers as well!

QUICK NOTES (only one wheel with traction, 3 wheels on rollers)
-Sand Mode
Provides very high wheel speed. Not the correct mode to use when on dirt or rocks. Tires will spin fast and you will go nowhere.
*Recommendation- Don't use sand mode unless you're in sand or mud.

-All Terrain
Wheels will spin and spin endlessly until you reach a certain accelerator pedal pressure. I found that if I you apply pedal pressure very slowly you will eventually reach the floor and you will still sit there and the one wheel with traction won't move. You will spin and spin.
*Recommendation- Apply pedal pressure quickly and smoothly to propel forward. Don't mash the pedal. If you do you will propel forward but in an uncontrolled manner. (We did this on the test and it was hilariously violent but it did work!)

-Rock Crawl
Similar to All Terrain but more aggressive. The pedal pressure threshold is much lower. Meaning you can apply less pedal pressure to propel the vehicle forward. However if you don't apply enough pressure the wheels will continuosly spin and you will go nowhere.
*Recommendation- As the name suggests this is best for most low speed scenarios. Applying pedal pressure swiftly will get the vehicle moving. Don't mash the pedal unless you want jump forward uncontrollably (which is actually necessary in some offroad instances).

CONCLUSION

We also had a 2022 Tundra TRD Offroad on the test rollers to compare with Toyotas ATRAC system. The Rivian system is much smoother and quieter since it doesn't use brake pressure to redirect torque. Definitely superior. However, the Tundra has a rear locker. The Toyota rear locker was the quickest, smoothest, easiest, and most controlled method to propel the vehicle forward when only one rear wheel had traction. This is where the R1T falls short.

The hardware is there, but the software is not!

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[Zoidz]

This is great information and explains how to overcome some of the "issues" we have seen in other posts where the Rivian didn't perform as expected. Now we quicker/confident pedal pressure is key, ginger not so good.

 

[Ducky]

It would be extremely interesting to see a comparison test between the new Enduro motors vs the Quad motor system. Hope you can get ahold of an Enduro R1X for a test as soon as they are out.

 

[Dirtcom_AJ]

This is great information and explains how to overcome some of the "issues" we have seen in other posts where the Rivian didn't perform as expected. Now we quicker/confident pedal pressure is key, ginger not so good.

Yes! I have a video where we were offroading and the R1T was stuck. It was irritating that the front driver wheel which had the most traction wasn't spinning at all! Now I know how I could've easily overcame that obstacle. Basically I should have pressed the throttle very quickly.

 

[Dirtcom_AJ]

It would be extremely interesting to see a comparison test between the new Enduro motors vs the Quad motor system. Hope you can get ahold of an Enduro R1X for a test as soon as they are out.

We are definitely excited to do this comparison. We are located in southern California so I'm hoping we can more easily find a volunteer.

In low speeds if Rivian is using braking to control traction on the dual motors it will probably be a similar outcome. Where the quad motor shines would be higher speed torque vectoring. Also, if they finally decide to release a "simulated locker" drive mode then the quad motor will clearly outshine the dual motor even in low speed obstacles. The reason I say this is because Toyota's ATRAC is very comparable even to the quad motor at low speeds.

 

[NineElectrics]

Great work! Have you tried simulating the regen wheel lock-up issues that are currently being worked around by snow mode?

 

[Dirtcom_AJ]

Great work! Have you tried simulating the regen wheel lock-up issues that are currently being worked around by snow mode?

We do have 4 rollers. Would be interesting to see. We aren't too sure how the vehicle will react if all 4 wheels are spinning and it's not actually moving. Similar to the issues with the attempted dyno runs being limited. Would be fun to try though!

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Will be interesting to see how Dual Motor performs in the same test

 

[JeremyP]

I talked to some rivian employees last week who were out testing the dual motor vehicles. They were collecting data on how they performed in offroad conditions so the traction control system could be better calibrated. They sounded pretty optimistic on how well the dual motor vehicles did.

 

[AllInev]

Thank you for doing this work! Even though it sounded fun, I'm sure you could have been doing other things so I appreciate your time and effort.

I'd love to see more of this. I'm actually a little disappointed that this forum doesn't have more threads to cover this topic.

 

[Dirtcom_AJ]

Thank you for doing this work! Even though it sounded fun, I'm sure you could have been doing other things so I appreciate your time and effort.

I'd love to see more of this. I'm actually a little disappointed that this forum doesn't have more threads to cover this topic.

Thank you! I am currently editing the video so hopefully I can get it out this week.

Rivian's capabilities attracts overland and offroad enthusiasts but I am guessing it is still a very small percentage of owners. I hope people find this information useful to avoid being embarrased while offroading with Jeeps and Toyotas ahahah.

 

[k3g]

Thank you! I am currently editing the video so hopefully I can get it out this week.

Rivian's capabilities attracts overland and offroad enthusiasts but I am guessing it is still a very small percentage of owners. I hope people find this information useful to avoid being embarrased while offroading with Jeeps and Toyotas ahahah.

I bet if enough people notice the odd torque control modes, rivian will change it. Something like a virtual locker in the off road modes would go a long way to even the score.

 

[Dirtcom_AJ]

I bet if enough people notice the odd torque control modes, rivian will change it. Something like a virtual locker in the off road modes would go a long way to even the score.

In the video it is very obvious that they need to add a virtual locker. As of right now I think any vehicle with a rear locker will easily out crawl the Rivian. It's extra frustrating knowing the hardware is there to easily do it, but they just haven't.

 

[Dirtcom_AJ]

Video is up!

 

[AllInev]

Thank you! I am currently editing the video so hopefully I can get it out this week.

Rivian's capabilities attracts overland and offroad enthusiasts but I am guessing it is still a very small percentage of owners. I hope people find this information useful to avoid being embarrased while offroading with Jeeps and Toyotas ahahah.

Wow! I loved your original write-up and just finished watching the video. Sending you a DOUBLE thank you!

Why do you think Rivian hasn't provided a simulated locker mode? Some safety issue that we're not thinking about? I doubt it's a resource issue given how much time and effort they've put into all the other Off-road modes. And surely they've done tests similar to yours.

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