Snow Mode Needed! - My first snow drives in R1S and R1T

[M00v0vr]

I wanna make a new post but I waste enough time as it is. I'M CALLING BULLSHIT ON THIS WHOLE "SNOW MODE" CARPING.

I've now driven the R1T in bad ice/snow conditions on 3 different tires. My R1T on 21" stock tires, my R1T with Toyo Snow tires and finally a loaner LE with 20" stock AT.

I spent the better part of today (a good 150 miles) slogging through a winter storm in the LE loaner. 6" of new snow and good hour drive on glare ice stop & go rush hour traffic. For kicks I left it on high regen most of the time. The truck performed perfect and the Pirelli AT aren't that bad. Not nearly as good as my Toyos and better than the 21" Pirelli's (which weren't event that bad on snow/ice)

I don't know what kind of drivers you guys are but I just have NONE of the issues you describe. None. Maybe I'm just a freakishly good driver but never once over the last 3 snow outings on any of these tires did I feel a new for something different...aka Snow Mode.

Lived and learned to drive on frozen White Bear Lake, flat Minny is not the issue, send that big boy down hwy 26 in Oregon and come back with a report.

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[Kuro-Rivian]

Lived and learned to drive on frozen White Bear Lake, flat Minny is not the issue, send that big boy down hwy 26 in Oregon and come back with a report.

^Flatlander in slow stop and go traffic say what?

Spent 1/2 my middle aged life driving the roads and mountains around butte Montana. So nope.....!

And you girls can believe it or not. (you probably wont) But driving Minnesota winters is WAY more challenging than driving out west.

 

[moosehead]

^Butte my arse! You were out slaying it at Mall of America on Black Friday.

 

[M00v0vr]

Spent 1/2 my middle aged life driving the roads and mountains around butte Montana. So nope.....!

And you girls can believe it or not. (you probably wont) But driving Minnesota winters is WAY more challenging than driving out west.

So your data points are from when?

Spent 1/2 my middle aged life driving the roads and mountains around butte Montana. So nope.....!

And you girls can believe it or not. (you probably wont) But driving Minnesota winters is WAY more challenging than driving out west.

Ok Boomer.

 

[Kuro-Rivian]

So your data points are from when?

Ok Boomer.

Oh for F#$k's sake... chill out and have a sense of humor.

 

[COdogman]

I wanna make a new post but I waste enough time as it is. I'M CALLING BULLSHIT ON THIS WHOLE "SNOW MODE" CARPING.

I've now driven the R1T in bad ice/snow conditions on 3 different tires. My R1T on 21" stock tires, my R1T with Toyo Snow tires and finally a loaner LE with 20" stock AT.

I spent the better part of today (a good 150 miles) slogging through a winter storm in the LE loaner. 6" of new snow and good hour drive on glare ice stop & go rush hour traffic. For kicks I left it on high regen most of the time. The truck performed perfect and the Pirelli AT aren't that bad. Not nearly as good as my Toyos and better than the 21" Pirelli's (which weren't event that bad on snow/ice)

I don't know what kind of drivers you guys are but I just have NONE of the issues you describe. None. Maybe I'm just a freakishly good driver but never once over the last 3 snow outings on any of these tires did I feel a new for something different...aka Snow Mode.

No offense but this is the kind of roads we are talking about here. You don’t have ANYTHING like this in MN. This is after a snow has partially melted and it’s perfectly plowed. If you happen to be driving over one of these passes when a snow storm hits but before the plows are out, you are on your own. 2 lanes with no guard rails.

 

[Kuro-Rivian]

No offense but this is the kind of roads we are talking about here. You don’t have ANYTHING like this in MN. This is after a snow has partially melted and it’s perfectly plowed. If you happen to be driving over one of these passes when a snow storm hits but before the plows are out, you are on your own. 2 lanes with no guard rails.

First, I'm compelled to explicitly state being kinda tongue-in-cheek and having a little fun. So as not to get anyone's gander up again! Hope that's straight if anyone thought otherwise by calling them "ladies." For the record, I'm probably close to the same age as the dude with the profile pic of himself and his child. Everyone is so frickin' literal online. An quick to throw insults!

Ok, with that. Yes, I understand, I've driven many a mountain pass and grew up out west. (see above posts) I get it. In all seriousnes, given my experience with an actual R1T with 3 different tire setups in 3 separate ice & snow days......and as good samaritan contributing forum member...and along with my experience driving in all types of terrain. It's my view the need for snow mode is grossly exaggerated here. Now that's just my opinion but I think is based on a solid foundation. The 22" tires (and maybe the 21" to lesser degree) are another story. No amount of snow mode is gonna make that tire perform well in snow.

 

[COdogman]

First, I'm compelled to explicitly state being kinda tongue-in-cheek and having a little fun. So as not to get anyone's gander up again! Hope that's straight if anyone thought otherwise by calling them "ladies." For the record, I'm probably close to the same age as the dude with the profile pic of himself and his child. Everyone is so frickin' literal online. An quick to throw insults!

Ok, with that. Yes, I understand, I've driven many a mountain pass and grew up out west. (see above posts) I get it. In all seriousnes, given my experience with an actual R1T with 3 different tire setups in 3 separate ice & snow days......and as good samaritan contributing forum member...and along with my experience driving in all types of terrain. It's my view the need for snow mode is grossly exaggerated here. Now that's just my opinion but I think is based on a solid foundation. The 22" tires (and maybe the 21" to lesser degree) are another story. No amount of snow mode is gonna make that tire perform well in snow.

I follow you. It wasn’t totally clear at first that you weren’t serious, but as a full time smart ass myself I certainly will take your word for it I don’t have my truck yet so I’m supporting the idea of snow mode based on what others are saying who drive on the same types of roads I do here in CO and how the truck felt to me during my test drive… Maybe I get it and feel it wasn’t all that necessary, but I do trust the opinions of others here who drive on slick steep roads.

There is a reason that most modern vehicles have a snow mode though - it usually makes a difference. I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

 

[Ravenron]

First, I'm compelled to explicitly state being kinda tongue-in-cheek and having a little fun. So as not to get anyone's gander up again! Hope that's straight if anyone thought otherwise by calling them "ladies." For the record, I'm probably close to the same age as the dude with the profile pic of himself and his child. Everyone is so frickin' literal online. An quick to throw insults!

Ok, with that. Yes, I understand, I've driven many a mountain pass and grew up out west. (see above posts) I get it. In all seriousnes, given my experience with an actual R1T with 3 different tire setups in 3 separate ice & snow days......and as good samaritan contributing forum member...and along with my experience driving in all types of terrain. It's my view the need for snow mode is grossly exaggerated here. Now that's just my opinion but I think is based on a solid foundation. The 22" tires (and maybe the 21" to lesser degree) are another story. No amount of snow mode is gonna make that tire perform well in snow.

Based on your other posts, I suspected you were mostly kidding and I get your point. I freely admit my driving skills in snow are probably middle of the pack at best and since I need all the help I can get, a snow mode would be most welcome. Since I also currently have the 22”s, I’ve been mostly leaving it at home when the white stuff starts flying. Think I’m gonna have to bite the bullet and pick up a set of Rivian 20”s with that $4k I’ve just got sitting around (my wife’s the best!). Keep the rubber side down!

 

[MNLightning]

If @COdogman you are referring to the quantity of snow I’d agree. Not sure how a snow mode is going to differentiate or help in deep snow though.

 

[MNLightning]

After driving in snow and ice again today I still think that the R1T does a good job handling it. Yes I can be careless letting off the go peddle or stepping on it and cause the truck to lose traction. But it recovers quickly imho. I find that accelerating it has a much more connected feel relative to traction than my gassers.

Regen/Braking does require thoughtfulness compared to a brake only function. A BIG but is that even with anti lock on my gassers they slide more than my R1T (aka) lock up.

I’m not a fan of having another nanny to assist with driving. However I do understand the other side and know some people that aren’t the greatest drivers in good conditions and could see them struggling with the regenerative braking. But those would be the same ones using to much throttle and braking even without it. Others just don’t want to think that “hard” about driving and want the truck to adjust to the conditions versus having to adjust themselves.

I just don’t think it’s fair to say that this is a concerning issue to consider when purchasing a Rivian.

 

[SeaGeo]

I wanna make a new post but I waste enough time as it is. I'M CALLING BULLSHIT ON THIS WHOLE "SNOW MODE" CARPING.

I've now driven the R1T in bad ice/snow conditions on 3 different tires. My R1T on 21" stock tires, my R1T with Toyo Snow tires and finally a loaner LE with 20" stock AT.

I spent the better part of today (a good 150 miles) slogging through a winter storm in the LE loaner. 6" of new snow and good hour drive on glare ice stop & go rush hour traffic. For kicks I left it on high regen most of the time. The truck performed perfect and the Pirelli AT aren't that bad. Not nearly as good as my Toyos and better than the 21" Pirelli's (which weren't event that bad on snow/ice)

I don't know what kind of drivers you guys are but I just have NONE of the issues you describe. None. Maybe I'm just a freakishly good driver but never once over the last 3 snow outings on any of these tires did I feel a new for something different...aka Snow Mode.

And you girls can believe it or not. (you probably wont) But driving Minnesota winters is WAY more challenging than driving out west.

I know you said you were joking around, but they aren't. I'm sorry. I've spent many years in South Dakota and Minnesota as well as out west and it's not hard to go straight, especially when the risk is rolling into the drainage ditch and having to call your buddy to pull you out. The number of Pontiac Grand Prix that were rolling around there on summer and all seasons in the middle of winter without a problem was not indicative of driving skill.

I’m not a fan of having another nanny to assist with driving. However I do understand the other side and know some people that aren’t the greatest drivers in good conditions and could see them struggling with the regenerative braking. But those would be the same ones using to much throttle and braking even without it. Others just don’t want to think that “hard” about driving and want the truck to adjust to the conditions versus having to adjust themselves.

I get what you're saying but the tires seem to unlock from a slide unusually slowly compared to a proper ABS system, and I'm honestly not sure if they lock up while someone tries to gently decelerate if there is a way for them to actually cause the ABS system to engage one the wheels have already locked.


I've had my truck with the OEM ATs on wet ice and packed snow and finally had the opportunity to try my Nokians in the snow tonight. Obviously the Nokians perform better. However, the truck is still quite chonky and has a lot of inertia to stop compared to most vehicles. Both myself and some friends who were testing their trucks out in the snow have observed that the truck really likes to go straight and without a FWD bias it tends to plow forward rather than pulling itself into a turn. Both myself and my friends have all noted that the truck does a pretty good job of accelerating in a straight line. My personal opinion is that the ATs don't do the truck many favors managing lateral stresses when they are cold on wet surfaces, so the truck seems to be more likely to slide sideways than what people may be used to.

I think the answer of whether someone thinks that the truck needs a snow mode is really dependent on the driving conditions they frequently have. The other issue is that if a snow mode isn't needed, then it also shouldn't rely on a significant amount of skill for a person to keep it from performing in a way that they wouldn't expect. For example - regen causing sliding and the wheels locking because someone lifted their foot off the accelerator to try to slowly slow down approaching an intersection currently is mitigated by accelerating slightly. Most folks won't do that, they'll hit the brake or continue to keep their foot off both pedals. To me it seems very similar to the need and potential benefit of an ABS system. Sure, folks with a lot of skill at least used to be able to perform as well as an ABS (though I highly doubt anyone can at this point in an emergency), but overall most folks don't have the presence to pump the brakes appropriately to limit sliding.

At the end of the day it seems like most people in every day driving would benefit from a couple of software tweaks
1. A front wheel drive bias - if not full time then as the wheels turn to try and pull the nose around.
2. Much better ABS-like behavior on regen.

Other than that, slap some winter tires on the truck if you aren't thrilled with the OEM tire performance and I think the truck would handle about as well in the snow as a 7,000 lb vehicle is going to.

 

[Bigskyinminnie]

Jumping in late but got 8" in MN yesterday. In All Purpose mode, the truck gets sideways quite easily and it feels like very little in the way of traction control. Now, once in Off-Road (auto), completely different experience. Very planted even at some speed. OR mode felt much more like my Tacoma did with Nitto AT's in the deep, sloppy snow.

 

[Kuro-Rivian]

...... the truck is still quite chonky and has a lot of inertia to stop compared to most vehicles.

My personal opinion is that the ATs don't do the truck many favors managing lateral stresses when they are cold on wet surfaces, so the truck seems to be more likely to slide sideways than what people may be used to.

Well I guess it's gonna be the great debate until we see a snow mode. I wouldn't hold out any hopes it'll be a big improvement.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Yes the truck has a lot of inertia. More than most cars? Yes, just by pure math. More than what you should expect from this truck? In my view no. It's all about expectations and I think people have unrealistic expectations here.

Tire pressure and weight are two of the big ones that are going to contribute to poor handling in deep snow if you don't have tires with the proper compound for the cold temps.

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