Munro Live: Rivian R1T / R1S suspension system deep dive

[Friscorays]

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[SolartoEV]

Biggest take away for me is there being 2 different air compressors. I have used the rear bed one a fair amount but always worried about it also running the air suspension. Rivian continues to impress

 

[zipzag]

My two favorite Munro presenters

Biggest take away for me is there being 2 different air compressors. I have used the rear bed one a fair amount but always worried about it also running the air suspension. Rivian continues to impress

But no redundancy. The choice of two compressors is interesting. Rivian first likely designed for one. The vavles needed for one compressors may have pushed the cost up to where two systems made sense. Rivian knew they would have critical suspension failures even with the double setup

 

[SoCal Rob]

The analysis and focus on cost-cutting makes me hope Rivian doesn’t blindly do everything Munroe & Associates advises.

Regarding the two compressors, I think separate is the way to go. We’ve seen people on here trying to run air tools (!) from the rear compressor which is designed for convenience use: tires, toys, air mattresses, etc. If someone kills their rear convenience compressor then that’s, well, an inconvenience. If Rivian moves to one compressor for suspension AND convenience you introduce more points of failure to the suspension compressor and system with valving for the convenience outlet. Worse, if someone overheats or kills their theoretical suspension+convenience compressor they may render the truck undrivable. No thank you.

 

[jjswan33]

The analysis and focus on cost-cutting makes me hope Rivian doesn’t blindly do everything Munroe & Associates advises.

Regarding the two compressors, I think separate is the way to go. We’ve seen people on here trying to run air tools (!) from the rear compressor which is designed for convenience use: tires, toys, air mattresses, etc. If someone kills their rear convenience compressor then that’s, well, an inconvenience. If Rivian moves to one compressor for suspension AND convenience you introduce more points of failure to the suspension compressor and system with valving for the convenience outlet. Worse, if someone overheats or kills their theoretical suspension+convenience compressor they may render the truck undrivable. No thank you.

Agreed. I was thinking the same about their idea to include the accumulator as a structural component. Great idea until it breaks and you have to replace it.

 

[SolartoEV]

Agreed. I was thinking the same about their idea to include the accumulator as a structural component. Great idea until it breaks and you have to replace it.

Double agree.

 

[SoCal Rob]

Agreed. I was thinking the same about their idea to include the accumulator as a structural component. Great idea until it breaks and you have to replace it.

Simplifying and reducing component count can certainly reduce production costs and probably lead to a more precise build.

For a vehicle which is more likely to go off road and for a real-world environment where even the best driver can be hit by someone else, it seems like Munroe & Associates isn’t taking total cost of ownership into account. Moving to fewer, larger, precision components has appeal when manufacturing but if it results in more vehicles being totaled and higher insurance rates then they’re effectively shifting some costs from manufacturer to consumer. Some people will take that into account when they see higher insurance costs. As with higher scheduled maintenance costs, this can cause the manufacturers to lose some buyers.

 

[Flannelpants]

The analysis and focus on cost-cutting makes me hope Rivian doesn’t blindly do everything Munroe & Associates advises.

Regarding the two compressors, I think separate is the way to go. We’ve seen people on here trying to run air tools (!) from the rear compressor which is designed for convenience use: tires, toys, air mattresses, etc. If someone kills their rear convenience compressor then that’s, well, an inconvenience. If Rivian moves to one compressor for suspension AND convenience you introduce more points of failure to the suspension compressor and system with valving for the convenience outlet. Worse, if someone overheats or kills their theoretical suspension+convenience compressor they may render the truck undrivable. No thank you.

Wasn’t the bed mounted compressor originally an option included in the off-road package only?

 

[Dark-Fx]

The analysis and focus on cost-cutting makes me hope Rivian doesn’t blindly do everything Munroe & Associates advises.

Regarding the two compressors, I think separate is the way to go. We’ve seen people on here trying to run air tools (!) from the rear compressor which is designed for convenience use: tires, toys, air mattresses, etc. If someone kills their rear convenience compressor then that’s, well, an inconvenience. If Rivian moves to one compressor for suspension AND convenience you introduce more points of failure to the suspension compressor and system with valving for the convenience outlet. Worse, if someone overheats or kills their theoretical suspension+convenience compressor they may render the truck undrivable. No thank you.

The accessory compressor was originally supposed to be an option. That's most likely why they have separate compressors. They'd do better to upsize a single compressor instead of having two.

 

[Speedrye]

The accessory compressor was originally supposed to be an option. That's most likely why they have separate compressors. They'd do better to upsize a single compressor instead of having two.

Give me a beefy single compressor that I can run air tools on, and I'd be quite happy.

I have issues with the rear brakes. Seeing those nice beefy 6-piston calipers on the front and those sad-looking single-piston calipers on the back just doesn't work for me aesthetically. Function might be the same, but those rear calipers remind me of when I see some old Civic with stock calipers spray painted red. Hopefully the paint holds up better than my current Brembos that no longer have any clear coat...

 

[SoCal Rob]

Wasn’t the bed mounted compressor originally an option included in the off-road package only?

Yes, that’s what I recall.

 

[SoCal Rob]

The accessory compressor was originally supposed to be an option. That's most likely why they have separate compressors. They'd do better to upsize a single compressor instead of having two.

I still like having a separate convenience compressor that can be used and abused as people see fit but breaking it doesn’t affect drivability.

Land Rover, who’s attitude toward reliability could be described as cavalier, does it the same way on the new Defender. Even they aren’t willing to risk it and I’m pretty sure it’s because the suspension compressors tend to be more expensive. They’re supposed to be higher quality for a critical application, and I thought they were optimized for higher pressure and lower volume. The accumulator tank then provides higher volume at higher pressure when needed.

I seem to recall that early on some LR3 owners added a fitting to the accumulator tank so they could fill tires and beach toys with the suspension compressor instead of using a standalone compressor meant for that use. They discovered the false economy of saving $50 on a portable 12v compressor by having to pay ~$700 for a replacement suspension compressor.

 

[Prime]

For those who have had air suspension on other vehicles, how reliable are these systems long term? Is the compressor a high wear part that needs to get replaced relatively often compared to other components?

That little compressor for such a huge and heavy vehicle doesnt instill the most confidence in it, but I know nothing about these systems, maybe that goes a long way.

 

[SANZC02]

For those who have had air suspension on other vehicles, how reliable are these systems long term? Is the compressor a high wear part that needs to get replaced relatively often compared to other components?

That little compressor for such a huge and heavy vehicle doesnt instill the most confidence in it, but I know nothing about these systems, maybe that goes a long way.

I can’t speak for others but my Jeep GC has the quad-r-trac air suspension, it is 8 years old and has never had an issue. It has 75k miles, auto lowers at speed and for different ride heights and drive modes.

 

[SoCal Rob]

For those who have had air suspension on other vehicles, how reliable are these systems long term? Is the compressor a high wear part that needs to get replaced relatively often compared to other components?

That little compressor for such a huge and heavy vehicle doesnt instill the most confidence in it, but I know nothing about these systems, maybe that goes a long way.

We bought our Land Rover LR3 for off-road adventures in 2014 with 109,000 miles on it. I don’t know if the compressor is original or not, but the same one has been chugging along for another 8 years and 132,000 more miles with some heavy-duty off-road use on a nearly 6,000 lb. vehicle.

I think the Rivian air suspension system is better because it protects the compressor and gives warnings if the compressor overheats from too many adjustments or a problem with the system like a leak. The LR3’s will “warn” you by telling you the air suspension is outright broken because the expensive compressor got damaged trying to overcome a less expensive fault.

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