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Tire contribution to microplastics / potential solution

yizzung

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bd5400

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While the tech can evolve over time, the current concept doesn't align with Rivian's outdoor/off road adventure vehicle branding. Those devices wouldn't handle much away from pavement and would very easily be damaged/destroyed on a trail.

I also question their practicality since they aren't passive. They collect rubber particles but then what? Vehicle owners have to replace them every X number of miles? Check them every week? Take the particles to a center so they can be reused or properly discarded?
 

Craigins

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how would this even work in mud and snow?
 
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yizzung

yizzung

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Folks, (#1) I don't work there so I can't answer a bunch of questions about how it works. (#2) It's a startup so it's basically a working prototype created by a small bunch of scientists, not a commercially viable product at this stage, so I wouldn't get too hung up on the specifics.

Point was to acknowledge that this is indeed an environmental problem that even EVs will contribute to (perhaps even more so than ICE vehicles, given the added weight/torque).

...the current concept doesn't align with Rivian's outdoor/off road adventure vehicle branding.
Going to have to strongly disagree on this point. Rivian has adopted arguably more of a "leave no trace" brand than any other car company. Leaving a bunch of "burned rubber" on the highway to find its way into the water table is exactly the opposite of what Rivian claims to be about.

They collect rubber particles but then what? Vehicle owners have to replace them every X number of miles? Check them every week? Take the particles to a center so they can be reused or properly discarded?
IDK. I'm sure people asked the same questions when people first proposed the idea that we might recycle instead of just doing the easiest thing, which was to throw everything into a landfill.

how would this even work in mud and snow?
You're an engineer and you're asking a marketing guy??? Ha! That said, my guess is that tires don't come apart as readily in mud/snow as they do on dry pavement. Repeat: not an engineer.
 

bd5400

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Going to have to strongly disagree on this point. Rivian has adopted arguably more of a "leave no trace" brand than any other car company. Leaving a bunch of "burned rubber" on the highway to find its way into the water table is exactly the opposite of what Rivian claims to be about.
That completely ignores the fact that these vehicles are being designed and promoted as off-road vehicles, which I mentioned in my original reply. Regardless of Rivian's environmental aspirations, devices that hang behind a tire, close to the point of contact with the road, are going to create problems when the vehicle is asked to drive on a trail.

I don't think anyone is expecting you to answer for the company and its clear that it is a startup and that this is nothing but a prototype. But my concerns are a direct reply to the idea that this could be an interesting partnership for Rivian. As the tech currently stands, it would be unusable on the R1T and R1S because it would restrict the off-road use they are specifically designed for.
 
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yizzung

yizzung

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That completely ignores the fact that these vehicles are being designed and promoted as off-road vehicles, which I mentioned in my original reply. Regardless of Rivian's environmental aspirations, devices that hang behind a tire, close to the point of contact with the road, are going to create problems when the vehicle is asked to drive on a trail.

I don't think anyone is expecting you to answer for the company and its clear that it is a startup and that this is nothing but a prototype. But my concerns are a direct reply to the idea that this could be an interesting partnership for Rivian. As the tech currently stands, it would be unusable on the R1T and R1S because it would restrict the off-road use they are specifically designed for.
Sorry, I'm not ignoring anything you wrote. I just think your logic is flawed so I don't agree with your assessment.

I pointed out an environmental problem that a company like Rivian would conceivably care about and linked a potentially promising new technology, which might be one of many possible solutions. (Maybe the actual solution is tank treads or tires made out of carbon fiber or goats mounted to the axles. Who knows?)

The prototype they built was meant to prove a very specific part of the science: that the static charge of the waste works in favor of their ability to collect it at the point of separation from the tire. That's it. And it apparently did work. Kudos.

They weren't trying to prove or disprove that this technology would work in snow storms or in muddy streams or on city buses or on jetliners or on Rivians. Those tests typically come later as they try to determine product viability and figure out the go-to-market plans for the technology.

You rightly acknowledge that it's just a prototype, but you don't acknowledge that the prototype was never meant to prove or disprove whether or not it would work on a Rivian. I'm not actually saying that you're wrong because, just like you, I also don't know the answer.

What I'm saying is that you're failing to imagine a scenario in which the engineers might actually try to prove or disprove that the technology could work on a Rivian or a plane or a Zamboni. If they wanted to do that, they would very likely build a more robust prototype that's up to the task at hand. And those results would provide a more definitive answer.

What they would not do is post the idea in a message board and ask random internet people if they think it would work. That would save a lot of R&D money but wouldn't actually provide any value, much like this debate.
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