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First winter drive that had 90% good thoughts that ended in maybe the 3rd worst outcome

RivianNowPlz

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So here in Minnesota it snowed early on us. We had a pretty wet and slushy snow today that had accumulated for a few hours and I decided with what I assumed to be very few cars on the road - a good chance to give the 21s the chance I’ve been waiting for. I started in all purpose but quickly went into snow mode. The roads were far worse than I had anticipated.

I took the Rivian on backroads, main roads, and even on the freeway. We went around corners, down and up hills, I did a couple U turns and even let the car go from 50 to let off the throttle and also used the brakes a couple times.

I did not come away from my 35 minute journey overly impressed, but I definitely felt way more confident than what I felt like I was gonna feel. My nerves driving the vehicle were less from the vehicle itself and more just my expectations of disaster.

What I can say is.. for strolling around town I don’t think the 21s would give much issue. Turning back into my development slid a touch but corrected quickly which wasn’t super inspiring and there were a few moments of slippage coming to a complete stop that I didn’t find ideal. The Rivian didn’t get out of control and that’s the good news. The freeway driving even with the cars going slow I didn’t really care for from a feel of the road perspective but that could also have more to do with there being way more unexpected cars on the freeway than I thought.

Overall I get home and mostly think the trip was a success if not some drawbacks.. then I hear a hissing noise and immediately knew what to expect. The screw was right there for me to see and hear. Only 4000 miles and a couple months old what a bummer but obviously.. could have been worse.

I’m expecting this tire to be flat by the morning. I’ll likely try and get to discount tire when they open and hope for a quick flat repair. I was looking into buying the 20s and getting a dedicated snow tire.. but now.. not even sure what my plan should be. There isn’t another tire option for the 21s so right now it just would appear I need to buy a whole new set of something.. or sell the Rivian. Ha! What are the suggestions of the group?

Rivian R1T R1S First winter drive that had 90% good thoughts that ended in maybe the 3rd worst outcome IMG_4199
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SeaGeo

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Personally, I'd get the tire repaired and get a good set of winter tires soon on 20" wheels. 275/60r20 tires are the same diameter as your 21" tires.

There seems to be very few winter tires available right now so you may need to check multiple sites.
 

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SANZC02

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That is an easy fix, I had a screw in one of my 22s in a very similar spot, had it patched and balanced at Americas tire, been fine for over 5k miles so far.

If you have a tire place you use a lot, they may do it for free, America’s Tire did not charge me.
 

Supratachophobia

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So here in Minnesota it snowed early on us. We had a pretty wet and slushy snow today that had accumulated for a few hours and I decided with what I assumed to be very few cars on the road - a good chance to give the 21s the chance I’ve been waiting for. I started in all purpose but quickly went into snow mode. The roads were far worse than I had anticipated.

I took the Rivian on backroads, main roads, and even on the freeway. We went around corners, down and up hills, I did a couple U turns and even let the car go from 50 to let off the throttle and also used the brakes a couple times.

I did not come away from my 35 minute journey overly impressed, but I definitely felt way more confident than what I felt like I was gonna feel. My nerves driving the vehicle were less from the vehicle itself and more just my expectations of disaster.

What I can say is.. for strolling around town I don’t think the 21s would give much issue. Turning back into my development slid a touch but corrected quickly which wasn’t super inspiring and there were a few moments of slippage coming to a complete stop that I didn’t find ideal. The Rivian didn’t get out of control and that’s the good news. The freeway driving even with the cars going slow I didn’t really care for from a feel of the road perspective but that could also have more to do with there being way more unexpected cars on the freeway than I thought.

Overall I get home and mostly think the trip was a success if not some drawbacks.. then I hear a hissing noise and immediately knew what to expect. The screw was right there for me to see and hear. Only 4000 miles and a couple months old what a bummer but obviously.. could have been worse.

I’m expecting this tire to be flat by the morning. I’ll likely try and get to discount tire when they open and hope for a quick flat repair. I was looking into buying the 20s and getting a dedicated snow tire.. but now.. not even sure what my plan should be. There isn’t another tire option for the 21s so right now it just would appear I need to buy a whole new set of something.. or sell the Rivian. Ha! What are the suggestions of the group?

IMG_4199.jpeg
Plug that bad boy.
 

kewlasu

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I have 21 as well and like you got a screw in the tire. Went to tire warehouse and patched the hole. Been driving it for 3k miles since.
 

Budman

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Spent last winter driving the 21’s around MN in what turned out to be the third snowiest winter on record. My impression was similar to yours, better than expected but not grand. I’m in a position to use another vehicle that has snow tires when the conditions get bad. If I only had the Rivian I would switch to the 20 or 22s to get winter tires.

I also got a screw in mine and discount tire patched it for me.

Related note, just bought a Volvo XC40 Recharge EV. Tried to get Nokian EV specific snow tires, manager at discount tire said because of the war in Ukraine Nokian has not been shipping as much to the US (they had factories in Russian). Discount Tire could not get the ones I wanted. Found a few available on Amazon so I got those.
 

Smeek

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Not running dedicated snows in Minnesota seems cray cray
 

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Redline

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Not running dedicated snows in Minnesota seems cray cray
Its not that bad if you know how to drive.

I've lived in MN my entire life, and I've only had dedicated snow tires one season, and that's when I owned a G37 that was RWD and had sport summer tires.

I'm going to attempt the start of winter here on the 22s and if it's worse than I think, I'll get some dedicated winters switched onto them.
 

R.I.P.

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Some vehicles are quite manerly on snow and ice even w/o snow tires on them. Sure they slip, but in a predictable way, and are inherently "sure footed".

The QM R1 is _not_ one of these vehicles. The personality of the QM system along with the weight can make it downright scary in super slick stuff if you are not on snow tires.

For those on the Fence with motor options, the DM is much better on this stuff. It feels much more planted than my QM did on the same tires.
 

Smeek

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Its not that bad if you know how to drive.

I've lived in MN my entire life, and I've only had dedicated snow tires one season, and that's when I owned a G37 that was RWD and had sport summer tires.

I'm going to attempt the start of winter here on the 22s and if it's worse than I think, I'll get some dedicated winters switched onto them.
Sure, it's doable on all seasons/all terrains. But why? for 2% of the cost of the truck you can use something that is unquestionably better and safer!
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