Rivian R1T thermal system teardown by Munro

[Friscorays]

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[RivianXpress]

Rated ‘B+’

 

[jclicky]

Beat me to the punch, looks good. Seems like a super repairable system & relatively simple design vs. over-complicated tangles in a ton of other EVs (EQS). Also that filter should help with lifespan. Another well-built part on the Rivian, and it doesn’t seem so over-engineered (as the front header, for example) that it’s needlessly complicating & slowing manufacture. This seems sufficient for needs & rigorous enough, even though there’s always opportunities to add efficiencies in the construction.

 

[MountainBikeDude]

@OutofSpecKyle has commented and demonstrated in several videos that the Rivian has issue with sustained regenerative braking. Most recent example is the R1T lucid tow where the regenerative braking capacity started to back off rather quickly on the downhill portions of the tow. Initially I thought it was (like Kyle) a thermal limitation, but I wonder now if it's just the 4 motors overwhelming the charge rate of the pack

 

[DJG]

@OutofSpecKyle has commented and demonstrated in several videos that the Rivian has issue with sustained regenerative braking. Most recent example is the R1T lucid tow where the regenerative braking capacity started to back off rather quickly on the downhill portions of the tow. Initially I thought it was (like Kyle) a thermal limitation, but I wonder now if it's just the 4 motors overwhelming the charge rate of the pack

A good test would be to do the same exercise in AP and then Conserve. Presumably the latter has half the regen of the former, and wouldn't exceed that limit.

A note I'll add. The other day, I was at 78% soc, and briefly got a notice that regen was limited while slowing (due to high state of charge). It was at the beginning of the drive, and not an long or taxing event. It was noteworthy because the soc was only 78% and thus shouldn't be limited (wasn't any greyed out prior to the notice), but perhaps there was just enough current generated that it tripped it.

 

[R1Tom]

Beat me to the punch, looks good. Seems like a super repairable system & relatively simple design vs. over-complicated tangles in a ton of other EVs (EQS). Also that filter should help with lifespan. Another well-built part on the Rivian, and it doesn’t seem so over-engineered (as the front header, for example) that it’s needlessly complicating & slowing manufacture. This seems sufficient for needs & rigorous enough, even though there’s always opportunities to add efficiencies in the construction.

Does anybody know where this filter is located and how to get at it? There is a NHTSA communication regarding it that talks about it being mounted wrong in some vehicles and being a source of noise...and since I have a noise...I'd like to check it out...

 

[COdogman]

Rated ‘B+’

Thank you

I am a giant nerd and love learning about this stuff but some mornings I can't bring myself to watch these Munro videos

 

[MountainBikeDude]

A good test would be to do the same exercise in AP and then Conserve. Presumably the latter has half the regen of the former, and wouldn't exceed that limit.

A note I'll add. The other day, I was at 78% soc, and briefly got a notice that regen was limited while slowing (due to high state of charge). It was at the beginning of the drive, and not an long or taxing event. It was noteworthy because the soc was only 78% and thus shouldn't be limited (wasn't any greyed out prior to the notice), but perhaps there was just enough current generated that it tripped it.

The video that demonstrates the limitiation best is this one just recently done by Kyle (starts about a minute prior to the regen back off)

 

[SeaGeo]

The video that demonstrates the limitiation best is this one just recently done by Kyle (starts about a minute prior to the regen back off)

I've experienced surprisingly quick regen limitations without charging while going downhill. It's been a concern I had since they had the same issue in the Breckenridge media even. Just hazarding a guess between this and the truck's inability to hold the charging curve is that there is something in the design of the pack that is causing them to limit charging quicker than expected. I'm a little curious if anyone has heard of similar recharge limits on the Lightning when people have the tow pack.

 

[JoulesVerne]

Interesting that although there is no air-source heat pump, the cabin and battery can be heated with waste heat from the motors and inverters.

For a long time there was speculation that Rivian would exclusively rely on PTC heaters that would suck range in the cold. Nice to see that they were able to scavenge enough heat to avoid that.

 

[camaroz1985]

I'm noticing a lack of Sandy in recent videos. I give that an A+.

Interesting that the thermal system can basically use the compressor as a heat pump for the battery cooling/heating loop, but the same isn't true for the cabin cooling/heating.

 

[CharonPDX]

A good test would be to do the same exercise in AP and then Conserve. Presumably the latter has half the regen of the former, and wouldn't exceed that limit.

A note I'll add. The other day, I was at 78% soc, and briefly got a notice that regen was limited while slowing (due to high state of charge). It was at the beginning of the drive, and not an long or taxing event. It was noteworthy because the soc was only 78% and thus shouldn't be limited (wasn't any greyed out prior to the notice), but perhaps there was just enough current generated that it tripped it.

I've been driving in Conserve a lot - and there are *MANY* times where regenerative braking is severely limited in Conserve, but if I switch to All-Purpose, I gain a lot of regen ability. Not sure what the factor was - I was in low 70s% charge, and it was "moderately cool" - in the 50s F.

 

[DJG]

I've been driving in Conserve a lot - and there are *MANY* times where regenerative braking is severely limited in Conserve, but if I switch to All-Purpose, I gain a lot of regen ability. Not sure what the factor was - I was in low 70s% charge, and it was "moderately cool" - in the 50s F.

Well, I guess by the same token, you have half the motors to slow the vehicle just like you have half the motors to accelerate it. So yes, the ability to slow the vehicle is greatly reduced in Conserve. I don't recall, but is roughly half of the regen section of the power meter greyed out just like half of the power section is?

Or was the limitation you're speaking of something that popped up a notification on screen?

 

[electruck]

Interesting that although there is no air-source heat pump, the cabin and battery can be heated with waste heat from the motors and inverters.

For a long time there was speculation that Rivian would exclusively rely on PTC heaters that would suck range in the cold. Nice to see that they were able to scavenge enough heat to avoid that.

I don't know about the speculation but the video seemed to reflect precisely how the system was described by Richard Farquhar back in Nov 2018.

 

[NY_Rob]

No "Octovalve"? damn....

The system is very unremarkable otherwise which in itself is actually quite remarkable considering it comes from Rivian

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