Do I need winter tires in NY?

[NYScot]

I’m at the config stage (Feb 2023 reservation). Trying to work out what to do with tires.

The main use of the car is to drive from NYC to Upstate NY (Woodstock area). The car will only drive on asphalt save for our driveway which is gravel and fairly steep but always plowed in the Winter. We have no intention of driving when it’s snowing heavily.

if I go with the standard 21’s I am crazy to think I’ll be able to use them in Winter and be able to avoid buying Winter tires?

if so, do I need to spec with 22’s to be able to swap for Winters?

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[HaveBlue]

There was a post of someone on 21s driving through heavy snow in CO and it doing great.

 

[ElGuapo]

I have 21”s. If I had it to do over, I’d get 20” ATs. Not for the snow, but for the more typical wheel size. I think you’re likely fine with 21”s but the challenge is getting winter tires, if you want them, is a very limited decision with the 21s

 

[ndmiller]

Where in NY State would be my first question. Big ass long state with 400 miles between Coney Island and Niagara Falls (essentially Canada). Coney Island no snow tires, Niagara yes but it's a 7000 pound vehicle, so carefully driven on any OEM tire and you'll be fine.

 

[NYScot]

Where in NY State would be my first question. Big ass long state with 400 miles between Coney Island and Niagara Falls (essentially Canada). Coney Island no snow tires, Niagara yes but it's a 7000 pound vehicle, so carefully driven on any OEM tire and you'll be fine.

Its Woodstock which is near Kingston (about 100 miles north of NYC)

 

[COdogman]

I’m at the config stage (Feb 2023 reservation). Trying to work out what to do with tires.

The main use of the car is to drive from NYC to Upstate NY (Woodstock area). The car will only drive on asphalt save for our driveway which is gravel and fairly steep but always plowed in the Winter. We have no intention of driving when it’s snowing heavily.

if I go with the standard 21’s I am crazy to think I’ll be able to use them in Winter and be able to avoid buying Winter tires?

if so, do I need to spec with 22’s to be able to swap for Winters?

I think the 21s can handle a NE winter depending on how you drive, but the problem with that is if you don’t like the way they perform, you have no alternatives yet. They are an exclusive size for Rivian right now.

The 22s have plenty of options if you don‘t like them in winter and the 20s should be fine on their own, although some still like having winter tires even with those.

 

[NY_Rob]

I've lived in NY my whole life and have been upstate many, many time skiing... do yourself a favor and go with the 20" AT's. As @ElGuapo mentioned if they are not sufficient, there are plenty of winter tires available for the 20" wheels.

I have the 20" on my R1T, we only had one decent snowfall last winter on LI, but the 20" were fine.

 

[NYScot]

I've lived in NY all my life and been upstate many, many time skiing... do yourself a favor and go with the 20" AT's. As @ElGuapo mentioned if they are not sufficient, there are plenty of winter tires available for the 20" wheels.

Will this not materially hit my range?

 

[NY_Rob]

Will this not materially hit my range?

No, only a few miles/charge difference and winter range upstate will be hit hard anyway regardless of tire choice.

Are you pushing hard for daily use as far as battery use?

 

[NYScot]

No, only a few miles/charge difference and winter range upstate will be hit hard anyway regardless of tire choice.

Are you pushing hard for daily use as far as battery use?

I'm pretty range sensitive as I have no easy way of charging the car in Manhattan so, ideally, it needs to get from Woodstock to NY, park for 2 weeks, then head back to Woodstock on a single charge. I can do this in Summer on my model Y LR, but not in Winter (the Y has winter tires).

 

[NY_Rob]

I'm pretty range sensitive as I have no easy way of charging the car in Manhattan so, ideally, it needs to get from Woodstock to NY, park for 2 weeks, then head back to Woodstock on a single charge. I can do this in Summer on my model Y LR, but not in Winter (the Y has winter tires).

Okay, that's going to be a stretch for the Rivian (partly due to losing up to 5miles/day while sitting from vampire drain) but remember that we (Rivian users) should be able to use the SC network sometime next year.. so that makes access to charging much easier.

FWIW- I traded in my Model Y (LR/AWD) for the R1T. I never was able to quite get the full advertised range out of it- with that in mind... during last winter I still managed around 2mi/kWh in the R1T.

 

[NYScot]

Okay, that's going to be a stretch for the Rivian (partly due to losing up to 5miles/day while sitting from vampire drain) but remember that we (Rivian users) should be able to use the SC network sometime next year.. so that makes access to charging much easier.

FWIW- I traded in my Model Y (LR/AWD) for the R1T. I never was able to quite get the full advertised range out of it- with that in mind... during last winter I still managed around 2mi/kWh in the R1T.

Wow. Vampire drain is that bad, eh? My Y can sit for a week and only drop by 5m.

 

[NY_Rob]

Wow. Vampire drain is that bad, eh? My Y can sit for a week and only drop by 5m.

I know.. that's my number one complaint about my R1T.
My Model Y and our current Model 3 had almost zero vampire drain but my R1T sometimes loses 2+kWh/day just sitting in my driveway with Gear Guard disabled and no PAAK setup and my Fob in a Faraday box. It's really mind boggling that Rivan has not addressed this yet. I even had a Mobile Tech visit last month and the final verdict was "everything is normal".

Our i3 can sit for days unused and literally drops no range. Rivian is just being lazy in not addressing their vampire drain issue.
I have a "fix" in mind... but it will not be for everyone.

 

[ElGuapo]

Vampire drain is much worse on my Tesla model X than my R1S. Especially true in cold weather. My X lost 3 miles of range in 22 degree temps overnight. My R1S lost 1.

Regardless, get the 20”s. Even if you’re sensitive to range 20-30 miles won’t kill you. You need to charge either way. How you drive has a big impact and cold weather and mountains will kill range no matter what. With 20s, you can great three seasons and winter tires. There are almost no options with 21s. Wish I’d thought about that more before I got the 21s.

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