OMG The freaking OG 180kWh Max Pack was actually made!!!!

[MountainBikeDude]

Like a fair amount of other long time 2018-2022 preorder holders, The OG Max pack was around 180kWh usable, as compared to 141kWh like the current version on sale today.

The video is from OutOfSpec as they tour Normal Illinois EV facilities, etc while picking up an OOS Gen2 Max pack on lease. Super cool that Rivian, very early on, was trying to help prop up the community and engage with students to foster an interest in automotive, and EV's specifically. Shout out to Ford as well.

The comment from the tech is incorrect in the OutofSpec video below, it's actually an extra 3 modules. From 9 in the original large pack, to 12 in the max pack. 2 on the back of the pack and one additional module under the rear seats. Which actually aligns with the original under seat storage loss per the spec sheets.

I wonder if the main reason for the max pack being altered to a similar 9 module higher density form factor, was due to some pack incompatibility with the R1S and it's shorter skateboard. I know there was some talk that the payload was too hampered by the additional modules which could have been a further reason for its non production.

I still wish they managed to make it to production, however, given some of the thermal limitations etc, they probably made the right choice.

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[sub]

Instead of losing the third row, I would have voted to put the extra batteries in the compact-spare tire cavity. I would use the extra 50kw way more often than a spare.

 

[DayTripping]

Just think of how long that would take to charge at the crappy rates we have now. If they couldn't manage the thermal load better than they could with the large and max packs, you might be sitting at a charger for 90 minutes before continuing on.

 

[DKM_R1S]

Exactly. Sorry, but Rivian doesn’t deserve a 180kWH pack if it can only charge at 220kW. You can only benefit from this size if you do 200 - 250 mile roadtrips with a destination charger at the end.

 

[DKM_R1S]

Exactly. Sorry, but Rivian doesn’t deserve a 180kWH pack if it can only charge at 220kW. You can only benefit from this size if you do 200 - 250 mile roadtrips with a destination charger at the end.

let me clarify, this is assuming that 180kW equals more batteries equals more weight so lower efficiency.

 

[CharonPDX]

Just think of how long that would take to charge at the crappy rates we have now. If they couldn't manage the thermal load better than they could with the large and max packs, you might be sitting at a charger for 90 minutes before continuing on.

It likely would have been able to handle ~30% more charging rate, to go with the 30% more capacity.

Of course, the 400V-architecture pack would still have been limited to 500A, so unless the extra modules bumped it to higher voltage to make more of those 500A (maybe 250 kW?) the biggest benefit would likely be longer time at 500A.

But yeah, if Rivian ever does release a 160kWh+ pack, they better move to 800V-class pack, too.

 

[DayTripping]

It likely would have been able to handle ~30% more charging rate, to go with the 30% more capacity.

Of course, the 400V-architecture pack would still have been limited to 500A, so unless the extra modules bumped it to higher voltage to make more of those 500A (maybe 250 kW?) the biggest benefit would likely be longer time at 500A.

But yeah, if Rivian ever does release a 160kWh+ pack, they better move to 800V-class pack, too.

That would have been my hope (increased charging rate) but who knows with them. Not to mention what they would have ultimately charged for it. Given the extra $7k for the slight bump from large to max on G1 trucks, they might have charged an extra 20-30k. Not worth the upgrade cost in my book, especially if they stayed with a 400V architecture.

All that extra weight to carry around seems like a waste unless you needed all of the capacity all of the time. Maybe if I was towing it might make sense but then they'd need to have better home charging like an 80 amp setup like Chevy.

 

[runwithscissors]

How can Porsche get it so right but Rivian can't?

 

[HaveBlue]

The max pack fit in the r1t because of the longer wheelbase. They toyed with using the third row seating area for the extra modules on the R1S. Can't put them in the spare storage area due to crash issues.

A bigger battery will charge faster than a smaller one. For instance a max pack will add 100kw faster than an lfp standard pack. The C rate is better especially at the top of the 100kw. You can construct scenarios where they charge at the same speed though.

 

[emoore]

How can Porsche get it so right but Rivian can't?

Porsche is 800V and more expensive.

 

[Throwdown]

How can Porsche get it so right but Rivian can't?

Because porsche doesn't care what things cost, 800v components are more expensive at this moment in time. Plus nobody does thermal efficiency like Porsche, the Achilles heel of the rivian fast charging is the battery getting too hot, part of that is being 400v and needing so much amperage to get 200kwh of charge rate, and the other is the poor thermal management of the pack. A rivian needs almost 500a of charging power to get its max charge rate of 220kwh, a taycan only needs 320a to get its peak, less amperage less heat

 

[Joules Burn]

My Kia EV6 GT-L is 800 volt and is lightning quick - if and when the EA 350kW charger actually works.

 

[theonetruestripes]

A bigger battery will charge faster than a smaller one. For instance a max pack will add 100kw faster than an lfp standard pack. The C rate is better especially at the top of the 100kw. You can construct scenarios where they charge at the same speed though.

The electronics wouldn’t have problems pushing power faster with more packs (assuming you wire them properly for it), but you don’t automatically get more cooling which is also a big charge rate limiter.

So maybe peak charge rate does up proportionally, but real world charge rates will not keep up (unless you do something very different with the coolant loops).

It would be a cool option for people that tow a lot though.

 

[zefram47]

Exactly. Sorry, but Rivian doesn’t deserve a 180kWH pack if it can only charge at 220kW. You can only benefit from this size if you do 200 - 250 mile roadtrips with a destination charger at the end.

Clearly you don't ever tow anything. Especially out here in the west where chargers are further apart, I would very much prefer the 180 kWh pack that I originally spec'd. The number of times I had to do a very deep charge to make it to the next charger is absurd and a larger pack would've stayed charging faster for longer to boot. The R1 platform charges like shit above 72% and I had to go into the 90% real with my Large (131 kWh usable) pack several times on a 1000 mi roundtrip while towing a car.

 

[zefram47]

Yes, the original Max pack would've been 12 modules. The fun part today is with the 53G cell over the previous 50G cell you could actually get a 180 kWh Max pack with 11 modules, leaving all the current cargo space available. I'm convinced the biggest reason we never got an 11 module pack is because there was no room for it in the R1S frame due to the shorter wheelbase. Rivian probably rightly chose the single 9-module pack so that every pack could be used in both the R1T *and* R1S without modification. It was a cost optimization.

Those of us who tow would really love the 180 kWh pack we'd original spec'd in our pre-orders. At this rate, I have no plans to upgrade my R1T until we actually get a significantly larger pack as an option as 141 kWh isn't big enough vs my 131 kWh Large pack to be worth it, especially seeing as it charges worse than the pack with the 50G cells.

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