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ajdelange

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Turning all the motors at the same rate should be fairly easy to do but why would they want to do that? They have invested a lot of research in determining how use torque vectoring to advantage. Why would they want to invest more effort in figuring out how to simulate what they strove to be free of (locked differentials)?

The theme here I do agree with is that there will be lots of analysis of data collected by Rivian drivers (on and off road) and this analysis will help them "tune" the algorithms (or, perhaps develop new ones).
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Dohmar

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Drawbacks:
  • There is no tire pressure monitor in the Rivian. No big deal IMO, but that's very surprising.
  • No Hill Decent Control. Also surprising, but I think that could be a future software upgrade.
  • Again, Doug says the camera system isn't very good. Mostly talking about image quality. He's the first to say the angles aren't very good. Aren't. there cameras under the truck?
  • No hill hold feature. That is another feature that is pretty common on good off-roaders.
  • No locking Diff. But he does point out that there is a motor at each wheel, but the wheels still slip a lot until the computer figures out that a wheel is slipping. IMO, this is again an issue that can be made better with software.
Most of these are fixable in software... if they have a TPMS installed already, they just need to do the software dev to show it on the screen. If there isnt TPMS, it should be easy enough to add as an aftermarket accessory (valve stem cover TPMS.

The hill descent, I'm not sure he had his brakes in maximum regen, as that would slow him down considerably without the brakes. There was another EV reviewer who made sure to test the regen increments and it was quite impressive.

Provided the hardware the cameras are made out of aren't garbage, another OTR update possibly. But I would also be concerned about the locations where those cameras are installed. The camera system has come in for criticism from a few reviews so far. I hope this gets fixed asap.

Hill hold I don't know about much - someone mentioned this can be done by locking the stators, which requires electricity. I wonder whether electrically controlled braking would also chew through the battery.

A temporary feature could be added to the software OTR which will allow uniform linear rotation. I know the argument is in favour of torque vectoring, but there may be some occasions where a simple solution like this is the answer.

Still keen on buying one when they come to oz..
 

Dbeglor

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Most of these are fixable in software... if they have a TPMS installed already, they just need to do the software dev to show it on the screen. If there isnt TPMS, it should be easy enough to add as an aftermarket accessory (valve stem cover TPMS.

The hill descent, I'm not sure he had his brakes in maximum regen, as that would slow him down considerably without the brakes. There was another EV reviewer who made sure to test the regen increments and it was quite impressive.

Provided the hardware the cameras are made out of aren't garbage, another OTR update possibly. But I would also be concerned about the locations where those cameras are installed. The camera system has come in for criticism from a few reviews so far. I hope this gets fixed asap.

Hill hold I don't know about much - someone mentioned this can be done by locking the stators, which requires electricity. I wonder whether electrically controlled braking would also chew through the battery.

A temporary feature could be added to the software OTR which will allow uniform linear rotation. I know the argument is in favour of torque vectoring, but there may be some occasions where a simple solution like this is the answer.

Still keen on buying one when they come to oz..
I personally don't see the real necessity for individual tire pressures available on the interior display when you have an onboard compressor with a digital gauge. You only really need to know what the exact individual pressures are when filling up or airing down (compressor does this). I've never once ever needed to know what specific tire pressures were while driving.

Now, that doesn't mean it's not an easy software update, so they can easily add it. I just don't think it's that big of a deal. My car costs just as much and will only tell you if pressure drops drastically below a level you tell it is "normal". And apparently 32 psi vs. 40 is not drastic to it.

In conclusion, if TPMS readings remain one of the outstanding issues, we're all in REALLY good shape.
 

kurtlikevonnegut

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I personally don't see the real necessity for individual tire pressures available on the interior display when you have an onboard compressor with a digital gauge. You only really need to know what the exact individual pressures are when filling up or airing down (compressor does this). I've never once ever needed to know what specific tire pressures were while driving.
Pretty sure we watched them do this in Colorado (set the compressor to desired PSI, air down tires, reinflate to correct PSI). Not sure why Doug didn't go that route since he noted how cool it was to have the compressor onboard.
 

Dohmar

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I personally don't see the real necessity for individual tire pressures available on the interior display
True, hardly a necessity but I have aftermarket TPMS in both of my cars, which show individual tyre pressures and temperatures. You can even buy TPMS that has an extra sensor or two, if you have a spare, or if you're towing a caravan. I just like having it available at a glance...
 

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Ralph

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I personally don't see the real necessity for individual tire pressures available on the interior display when you have an onboard compressor with a digital gauge. You only really need to know what the exact individual pressures are when filling up or airing down (compressor does this). I've never once ever needed to know what specific tire pressures were while driving.

snip.....
In many off-road circumstances it can be helpful to know if a particular tire has developed a slow leak.
 

astonius

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Got additional clarification on the individual TPMS read-out from CS this morning.

The agent said the manual is correct, individual tire pressures are available -- they should appear in the driver display, and likely the review units had an older software version that did not include them.
 

Oculophilia

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Overall, Doug says it's a great off roader. He points out he loves off roading with his Land Rover Defender and G-Wagen. Doug took it up a very rocky hill with a lot of loose dirt and a VERY steep grade. Many other off road drivers said they wouldn't take their rigs up that hill. The Rivian took it on and did it spectacularly IMO.

Doug said he let some tire pressure out, but the tires still seemed to have a good amount of pressure in them. I'm not sure how much you can safely let out of tires on 20" wheels.


Drawbacks:
  • There is no tire pressure monitor in the Rivian. No big deal IMO, but that's very surprising.
  • No Hill Decent Control. Also surprising, but I think that could be a future software upgrade.
  • Again, Doug says the camera system isn't very good. Mostly talking about image quality. He's the first to say the angles aren't very good. Aren't. there cameras under the truck?
  • No hill hold feature. That is another feature that is pretty common on good off-roaders.
  • No locking Diff. But he does point out that there is a motor at each wheel, but the wheels still slip a lot until the computer figures out that a wheel is slipping. IMO, this is again an issue that can be made better with software.
Benefits:
  • Four motors means no differential hit.
  • Great approach and departure angles.
  • On the trail, it doesn't FEEL heavier or bulkier than a Jeep.
  • It has surprisingly good tires. He was very complementary of the Pirellis. But I saw A LOT of wheel slip that I don't think I would have gotten with the Falkens on my Jeep.
  • When your done off roading, you can go race a Ferrari and WIN.
With a quad drive system like this a software update can bring these features!
 

Oculophilia

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I see the limitations of electric traction control when there is slippage on all 4 wheels.

I feel as if these limitations can be circumvented by peripheral sensor readings like g-force sensors to tell when all 4 wheels are turning and driving the vehicle forward vs all 4 wheels slipping.

GPS could supplement as mentioned.

Also, tilt sensors and down-force sensors on the back suspension can assist in determining when the vehicle is moving vs 4 wheel slippage.
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