Drive Quality/Comfort and NVH

[rraj2k81]

Has anyone wondered or curious how the interior comfort, ride quality/comfort and most importantly the NVH characteristics of the R1s would be like.

Personally, I am hoping they can be close enough to an Audi etron, when it comes to the overall interior and ride quality.
Surely hope they don't settle for Tesla levels of Ride Quality/NVH or worse the horrendous drive quality of the Model Y.

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[SeaGeo]

Has anyone wondered or curious how the interior comfort, ride quality/comfort and most importantly the NVH characteristics of the R1s would be like.

Personally, I am hoping they can be close enough to an Audi etron, when it comes to the overall interior and ride quality.
Surely hope they don't settle for Tesla levels of Ride Quality/NVH or worse the horrendous drive quality of the Model Y.

With the air suspension I think they'd actually have to *try* to produce a ride quality that's as stiff as the model Y.

I'd be surprised if it's as good as the e-tron, but I fully expect it to be quite good for a truck.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

I'd be surprised if it's as good as the e-tron, but I fully expect it to be quite good for a truck.

I recall the marketing materials for my 2015 GMC Sierra Denali made a bid deal about how the cabin was as quiet as a Lexus LS. To this day, it's the quietest vehicle I've owned. My wife and I have gone through several Asian and European luxury vehicles, since then, and I think the GMC was quieter than all of them. I think the body-on-frame construction coupled with the larger suspension components (MagneRide certainly helped), as well as larger diameter tires (even with 20" wheels there's more sidewall compared to cars) all contribute to the potential for a nicer ride.

I think this is one of the factors (there are others, sure) why luxury vehicle buyers are increasingly going to trucks and SUVs.

I certainly wouldn't add "... for a truck" as an excuse for why you think Rivian may not be as good at handling NVH.

 

[SeaGeo]

I recall the marketing materials for my 2015 GMC Sierra Denali made a bid deal about how the cabin was as quiet as a Lexus LS. To this day, it's the quietest vehicle I've owned. My wife and I have gone through several Asian and European luxury vehicles, since then, and I think the GMC was quieter than all of them. I think the body-on-frame construction coupled with the larger suspension components (MagneRide certainly helped), as well as larger diameter tires (even with 20" wheels there's more sidewall compared to cars) all contribute to the potential for a nicer ride.

I think this is one of the factors (there are others, sure) why luxury vehicle buyers are increasingly going to trucks and SUVs.

I certainly wouldn't add "... for a truck" as an excuse for why you think Rivian may not be as good at handling NVH.

That's fair. My reason for noting "for a truck" wasn't intended to say that trucks are incapable of really good ride quality or NVH, but rather that the cost decisions during design usually prioritize other features. Trucks historically have had ride quality that could be improved (hence the ridgeline is a standout). Given the platform, I expect that the Rivian will be better than most (all?) trucks on the market, but I haven't seen anything indicating the incorporation of the noise damping that Audi has (for example). And part of that (in my mind) is probably because they're put $$ into things like towing and off-roading that a car like the e-tron doesn't prioritize.

 

[Matty J]

I'm concerned about interior noise levels. Our Tesla isn't quiet, but with added door seals, and the foam tires, the crappy concrete roads in SoCal are nicely muted. Tires without foam generate this constant droning noise 35 MPH +, around 200 Hz.

I had a KIA Telluride, then an BMW X7 which both had dual pane (acoustic front and side windows), but no foam in the tires. The cabins were both well isolated from wind noise, but you could hear ever so slightly the tires droning at 200 Hz on concrete freeways. Not terribly, but annoying to me.

I just replaced the tires on my wife's Model 3, and tried tires without the OEM foam. They were rated to be very quiet tires, but on the freeway they sang like Celine Dion... I replaced with the OEM tires with foam, and it went away completely. The Tesla has terrible noise isolation, so I'm guessing that is why it was so extreme over the KIA and BMW.

I contacted Pirelli about the special RIV ELECT tires they're making for Rivian, and they said they will not have the PNCS (foam) technology in the Rivian tires. I hope they're wrong, but doubtful.

I asked Rivian chat awhile back if they were going to have acoustic glass for the windshield and side glass, but they did not know. They did say they were in the R1S, and it was comparable to expensive cars, like a Range Rover etc...

On a good road, tires without foam are totally silent. But on the many terrible freeways in perpetual expansion in Los Angeles and SoCal, I'm a bit concerned. This noise doesn't bother most people, but it drives me absolutely nuts, because I know it can be fixed with something as simple as foam in your tires. The curse of once being an audio engineer...

Time will tell, maybe it will be just FINE!

 

[thrill]

The kick-ass sound system with 20+ speakers in the Rivians should be able to do world class noise cancellation.

 

[Stream_Team]

I'm concerned about interior noise levels. Our Tesla isn't quiet, but with added door seals, and the foam tires, the crappy concrete roads in SoCal are nicely muted. Tires without foam generate this constant droning noise 35 MPH +, around 200 Hz.

I had a KIA Telluride, then an BMW X7 which both had dual pane (acoustic front and side windows), but no foam in the tires. The cabins were both well isolated from wind noise, but you could hear ever so slightly the tires droning at 200 Hz on concrete freeways. Not terribly, but annoying to me.

I just replaced the tires on my wife's Model 3, and tried tires without the OEM foam. They were rated to be very quiet tires, but on the freeway they sang like Celine Dion... I replaced with the OEM tires with foam, and it went away completely. The Tesla has terrible noise isolation, so I'm guessing that is why it was so extreme over the KIA and BMW.

I contacted Pirelli about the special RIV ELECT tires they're making for Rivian, and they said they will not have the PNCS (foam) technology in the Rivian tires. I hope they're wrong, but doubtful.

I asked Rivian chat awhile back if they were going to have acoustic glass for the windshield and side glass, but they did not know. They did say they were in the R1S, and it was comparable to expensive cars, like a Range Rover etc...

On a good road, tires without foam are totally silent. But on the many terrible freeways in perpetual expansion in Los Angeles and SoCal, I'm a bit concerned. This noise doesn't bother most people, but it drives me absolutely nuts, because I know it can be fixed with something as simple as foam in your tires. The curse of once being an audio engineer...

Time will tell, maybe it will be just FINE!

do you know of any aftermarket tires that would fit the R1S that have the PNCS technology?

 

[rraj2k81]

I'm concerned about interior noise levels. Our Tesla isn't quiet, but with added door seals, and the foam tires, the crappy concrete roads in SoCal are nicely muted. Tires without foam generate this constant droning noise 35 MPH +, around 200 Hz.

I had a KIA Telluride, then an BMW X7 which both had dual pane (acoustic front and side windows), but no foam in the tires. The cabins were both well isolated from wind noise, but you could hear ever so slightly the tires droning at 200 Hz on concrete freeways. Not terribly, but annoying to me.

I just replaced the tires on my wife's Model 3, and tried tires without the OEM foam. They were rated to be very quiet tires, but on the freeway they sang like Celine Dion... I replaced with the OEM tires with foam, and it went away completely. The Tesla has terrible noise isolation, so I'm guessing that is why it was so extreme over the KIA and BMW.

I contacted Pirelli about the special RIV ELECT tires they're making for Rivian, and they said they will not have the PNCS (foam) technology in the Rivian tires. I hope they're wrong, but doubtful.

I asked Rivian chat awhile back if they were going to have acoustic glass for the windshield and side glass, but they did not know. They did say they were in the R1S, and it was comparable to expensive cars, like a Range Rover etc...

On a good road, tires without foam are totally silent. But on the many terrible freeways in perpetual expansion in Los Angeles and SoCal, I'm a bit concerned. This noise doesn't bother most people, but it drives me absolutely nuts, because I know it can be fixed with something as simple as foam in your tires. The curse of once being an audio engineer...

Time will tell, maybe it will be just FINE!

At 100K+ Canadian, I am not sure if I can accept just fine. I am really hoping they are putting some real effort into a good NVH experience with these vehicles.

Glad Rivian is saying something about Acoustic glass for the R1s, with the boxy shape the R1S is going to experience quite a bit of drag and wind noise.

So I am really hoping for Dual pane insulated glass, at least in the front along with underbody insulation to reduce the noise levels in the cabin. Unless Rivin plans on doing some kind of active noise cancellation inside the cabin.

 

[DuckTruck]

I know David is (like most of us here) a big fan of Rivian, but his comment just after the 2:40 mark tells a lot about this pre-production version of the R1T. If anything, I would think the production versions would be even better. NVH has always been a critical factor for me, and acoustic glass would certainly make sense, given you're trying to make an electric vehicle as quiet as possible for the occupants. As much as I love the roar a small-block Chevy V8 and the whine of a turbo and/or supercharged engine out of Europe or Asia, the silent running of a refined EV is equally magical.

 

[Matty J]

The kick-ass sound system with 20+ speakers in the Rivians should be to do world class noise cancellation.

I am hopeful, but did not see it in the spec from the Meridian website or Silentium. Some cars have the Meridian sound system, and ANC from Silentium , like the Land Rover/Jaguar systems.

https://sonnydickson.com/2020/10/19/in-car-noise-cancelling-by-jaguar-land-rover/

https://www.automotiveinteriorsworld.com/opinion/electric-vehicles-why-silence-is-golden.html

https://www.silentium.com/automotive-2/

Here is the Rivian Meridian link, don't see ANC there, but for Land Rover it's not there either: https://www.meridian-audio.com/in-car-audio/rivian/r1s/

Perhaps when we hear from our guide, we will be surprised!

 

[Matty J]

do you know of any aftermarket tires that would fit the R1S that have the PNCS technology?

Not that I can find online...

 

[DuckTruck]

On the NVH, front, a little humor: Being somewhat CDO, little noises drive me nuts!

 

[skyote]

Rivian is aiming for top notch NVH. This article is from April 2019 & has a quote about Audi Q7 being the NVH benchmark.

https://jalopnik.com/these-are-the-cars-rivian-is-benchmarking-its-electric-1834061656

 

[rraj2k81]

Rivian is aiming for top notch NVH. This article is from April 2019 & has a quote about Audi Q7 being the NVH benchmark.

https://jalopnik.com/these-are-the-cars-rivian-is-benchmarking-its-electric-1834061656

This was back in 2019, so I am really hoping they stick to this.

 

[skyote]

This was back in 2019, so I am really hoping they stick to this.

If nothing else, they've been targeting low NVH from early on.

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