New R1T owner in so cal

[ESteve]

Hey everyone, I’m Steve.
I’ve been a long time Rivian fan, had a pre order before they came out that I ultimately cancelled after delays (wish I had kept tha lock in price!)and ended up getting an F150 lightning platinum instead in 2022.

Fast forward 3.5 years and I sold my platinum yesterday and picked up my R1T Dual Max Performance All terrain pack in El Cap Granite. Immediately clay bar, waxed and tinted it.

Only been a day, but I can tell you I don’t feel I’m missing out not getting a tri or quad yet, it’s meaningfully faster than my lightning was, and that never left me wanting more for power.

The Rivian is plenty fast enough to hit the trucks handling limits or get a felony speeding ticket in short order.
The rear motor clutch I haven’t felt engage or disengage but there is a slight 1/4 second of lag if you hammer down in AP mode. Negligible and if I really cared sport mode is a click away.

My lightning felt like it had some better bits of luxury, such as the steering wheel leather, automatic roof shade, power sliding rear window. The sound system might have had a slight edge as well although I appreciate how much less plastic the Rivian has in it and all the thoughtful tech and features.

The Rivian is quieter on the highway, despite having AT tires which surprised me. I like hearing the motors wine, but I have owned many v8s so I may be in the minority here, the fords were nearly silent.

I’ve heard lots of feedback about rattles in the Rivian, at least mine so far is very good save for a small squeak in driver door which I can’t hear at speed.

The Rivian handling and feel is worlds apart from my platinum, can’t believe how nimble it feels in comparison, especially considering it’s 7k lbs!

Have not done any off-road yet in the Rivian, my lightning had a rear locker but was set up with sport 22s so was using my Bronco for most of the off road fun but I’m an amateur off roader at best.
I’ve heard mixed reviews on the breaking torque vectoring of the Rivian but I would expect it to still be much more capable and can hopefully use this to replace the Bronco as well in future.

The technology is also way better than the ford, although I will say ford with CarPlay and Blue Cruz felt almost just as capable as autonomy plus, just with a slower screen and load time

Looking forward to collaborating and learning on the site.

side by side with the last Rivian I test drove

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[Mousetrap]

Welcome to the forum! I'm about to hit 4 years with my T. It's currently in the shop for "normal stuff" (suspension noises again), and I still love it every time I drive it.

There are a lot of posts about issues with people's Rivians here, but that's largely what the forum is about - fewer posts when things go swimmingly. Overall, a good group of people with incredibly helpful advice and troubleshooting when you do have issues.

Did you buy new? If not, gen 1 or gen 2?

Congrats on the truck, I suspect you'll love it!

 

[Captain JB]

Congrats! I am in Socal also in Hermosa Beach with a 2023 R1S Quad. We go off roading several times a year but also use it for speed bumps in LA! ))) Needed a control computer in the first few months but has been great ever since. Even go hit by a deer at 65mph but all is working well after repairs. Enjoy

 

[ESteve]

It’s a new gen 2
Love everything about it so far.
Looking forward to hitting the sequoias in it this spring

 

[rinconryder]

I am picking up pretty much the exact same spec down to the wheels on Friday! Did you tint the moon roof? I know it has been hotter than all hell this week (I am up in the Santa Barbara area) so the cars are getting insanely hot not matter what but I was wondering how much the cloud feature (or whatever it is called) on the moon roof actually helps with the heat in the car or if a tint is necessary.

 

[ESteve]

Congrats on the new car!
Tint is Absolutley necessary in any car as far as I’m concerned but especially an EV to help the AC work less hard. Also helps protect the interior long term if you get a proper ceramic tint.

I wanted to do the sunroof, but the company called me mid job to say Rivian doesn’t recommend tint on the roof if you have the augmented shade feature. Apparently it holds to much heat and can crack or break the glass.

That said, in the high 90s in Corona this week, I would say the roof didn’t need tint. Works amazingly well in my opinion. Even held my hand up near the glass and felt practically no heat.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Roof is already tinted. Any heat you feel from it is temp of glass itself (touch it), not radiation passing through. More effective to add IR barrier on the exterior than any film that is applied on the interior side of it. Check out Twraps’ protection film, which has IR rejection properties. Personally, I don’t find it necessary (OC) once the AC has had enough time to lower and keep temp steady. Plus, if you don’t treat the windshield, it’s really like partially plugging a leaking dam (i.e. moot). Twraps’ has same exterior protection film for windshield: https://twraps.com/products/windshi...m-rock-chips-uv-ir-defense-for-rivian-r1s-r1t

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