Winter/Snow/Ice performance

[Temerarius]

You decide how well it does in the cold...



That said, garage it if you can (keeps her warmer).

It will have preconditioning for warming the cabin (remote via the mobile app), and they would be silly to not support preconditioning of the car for scheduled departures.

As for braking, for me, in my X, the regen breaking has been great, thought you do occasionally need to feather the accelerator (like any cold weather/icy driving).

The weight balance will also be your friend... less fishtailing/understeer, but also keep in mind, you have motors in all four corners that react to traction inputs/ABS needs in milliseconds, in both slipping in acceleration and braking.

Your range will take a hit (expect (in my experience) 30% range loss, however, I also noted that using the heated seats and heated steering wheel saved my X some juice. I don't know if the R1T has a heat pump, if it does, it will help on overall cabin heating though to make it less energy intensive.

Sponsored

 

[Monkey]

The tires are custom versions of existing tires, in the case of the 20":

Got it. See the press info and all that...

Still interesting that the 275/65-20 118T is no longer available... And the Rivian-spec275/65-20 116H is in the system as available.

We buy tires distributor-direct for all our trucks. But just for grins, I checked a couple other options... Here are the Rivian 20" Scorpion ATs on Tire Rack. I can have a set here end of week if I wanted. So it doesn't look like these are going to be special or hard to get and they have definitely replaced the 275/65-20 118T in the Pirelli catalog.

Kinda pricey though. Says Rivian. lol...

 

[hola29]

Wow. Those are expensive tires. At least for what I am used to.

Got it. See the press info and all that...

Still interesting that the 275/65-20 118T is no longer available... And the Rivian-spec275/65-20 116H is in the system as available.

We buy tires distributor-direct for all our trucks. But just for grins, I checked a couple other options... Here are the Rivian 20" Scorpion ATs on Tire Rack. I can have a set here end of week if I wanted. So it doesn't look like these are going to be special or hard to get and they have definitely replaced the 275/65-20 118T in the Pirelli catalog.

Kinda pricey though. Says Rivian. lol...

 

[Sgt Beavis]

Wow. Those are expensive tires. At least for what I am used to.

AT tires are not cheap, but those are still $45 less than the same sized Falken AT3Ws.

 

[shkelton]

Thank you all for the added info. It does seem like Rivian could provide more detail on winter/cold performance. I will probably gather up the questions and send to customer service.

I the meantime back to the regen braking for stopping on slippery roads. I know that engine breaking is way safer than trying to use brakes when slippery. I know and have plenty of examples in my RAM 1500 EcoDiesel where just touching the brakes I would slide, and if I just took the foot of the gas and down shifted it would slow down without sliding.

Would the regen brakes not do similar behavior? Regen brakes are not really brakes. Its the motors using power of the momentum of the vehicle to charge the battery, in turn causing internal friction which slows the vehicle down.

 

[mkg3]

...I know that engine breaking is way safer than trying to use brakes when slippery. I know and have plenty of examples in my RAM 1500 EcoDiesel where just touching the brakes I would slide, and if I just took the foot of the gas and down shifted it would slow down without sliding.

Would the regen brakes not do similar behavior? Regen brakes are not really brakes. Its the motors using power of the momentum of the vehicle to charge the battery, in turn causing internal friction which slows the vehicle down.

I've read that Rivian has 3 settings for regenerative braking (low med max for lack of exact labeling). On my Model 3, I have normal and low. With normal setting on Model 3, it slows the vehicle down significantly enough that I only touch the brakes to bring the vehicle to complete stop. The downside is that I cannot take my foot off the accelerator pedal to coast like a regular vehicle. In the low mode, its much better to simply coast but I've gotten used to harder regeneration braking.

As long as the tires maintain non-slip condition in the snow, it will work the same. That said I clearly don't know which Rivian setting will work the best in the snow/icy condition. So the good news is that I will do what you want - I am certain. The bad news is I have no idea how it compares to your Ram 1500.

 

[TheManInTheSea]

Hello



I was wondering if there has been any data provided on performance/normal daily driving experience in cold weather. I’m assuming 20” Tires with off road package.

Things that come to my mind:

• Because of the extreme weight stopping distance in snow/ice
• How deep of snow can it handle? Slushy snow vs white powder
  what about a steep incline with snow or ice on the road
• What kind of range hit when lets say it is 0 degrees outside? Running the heaters inside, heated seats? Comparable to running the AC?
• How well does the defrost work for the front and rear windows
• How well do the wipers work with snow and ice on the windshield? Strong wiper motors?
• Are the side mirrors heated?

I’m coming from a 2015 RAM 1500 EcoDiesel big horn addition with aggressive all terrain 20” tires. I certainly needed more room to come to a complete stop when icy on the roads (assume regen breaking a big plus on this one). Always had to watch not to start-fish tailing – slow down put it in 4x4. Never had an issue going from stopped position in snowy/icy weather, even up our steep road. I could easily take 9/10” of snow. I have seen plenty of info on the R1T in dry conditions, summer, off road, ect. But not much on winter/cold weather.

Lastly any info on a remote start type function. I get that here is no “start to the engine” but in cold or even hot weather can you use the remote app on the phone to heat up the truck, get the seats and steering wheel nice and toasty – defrost the windows remotely before get to it? I suppose I can ask customer service on this one. The RAM was great, it would detect if cold or hot outside, when I would remote start the vehicle it would automatically warm up the steering wheel, and defrost the windows.

Perhaps there is a post with this kind of info already that I missed, if so could someone please provide a link that would be great.


Thanks

I’ve always found that the fishtailing in pickup trucks is related to the little weight over the rear axle (truck bed). I always solved this by adding in sandbags to the back of my trucks at the beginning of winter (this was when I lived in MT and snow was guaranteed). I imagine because of the weight distributed throughout the skateboard design, we will avoid this issue. That said, I do imagine that braking may be adversely affect, however.

 

[Lyon]

In my experience driving Teslas in the snow for a number of years the regenerative braking is fantastic when paired with snow tires. It's primary benefit though is to help you maintain speed (not speed up) when going down hills and things but it is also really useful for applying just a little bit of braking at a time so as not to start sliding.

Traction is king though; if the motor acts to slow down the wheel but there's not enough resistance from friction between the tire and the road surface the vehicle will slide. No 4x4 system will help you stop (although it can help keep you going the direction you want to) and anyone who drives in the snow with any regularity should have snow tires. If you're buying a truck like this you've got the money to get a set of snow tires. The stock 20" will probably be good enough.

 

[endress14]

Thank you all for the added info. It does seem like Rivian could provide more detail on winter/cold performance. I will probably gather up the questions and send to customer service.

https://stories.rivian.com/cold-weather-testing

you've probably already seen this, but it has some decent information.

 

[delmi]

The tires are custom versions of existing tires, in the case of the 20":

PIRELLI SCORPION ALL TERRAIN: THE OFF-ROAD TIRE
Pirelli’s 275/65R20 off-road tire, the Scorpion All Terrain Plus, was also specifically developed for the R1T and R1S with electric adventure in mind.
The Scorpion All Terrain Plus is Pirelli's On-/Off- Road All-Terrain light truck tire developed for drivers of pickup trucks, crossovers, and SUVs who want a balanced blend of on-road civility with off-road capability. The Scorpion All Terrain Plus is designed with a focus on optimizing durability, traction and wear resistance, in addition to providing snow traction: it gained indeed the three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol.
The Scorpion All Terrain Plus is molded into a symmetric, high-void pattern. This pattern is designed to provide smooth and quiet on-road operation along with aggressive looks and confident off-road traction. Deep grooves and independent tread blocks help provide the clawing action needed to find grip in loose terrain, and conical stone ejectors resist punctures by forcing small rocks from the tread.
In this case, the challenge to create a dedicated version of these tires for Rivian has been to match their low rolling resistance targets with the off-road applications of the Scorpion All Terrain.
To achieve this result, Pirelli’s engineers designed a dedicated mold in order to reduce the weight of the tire, adding then a special compound for light trucks that made the tires more resistant to cuts and lacerations.

https://www.pirelli.com/global/en-ww/road/pirelli-tires-tailor-made-for-rivian

It sounds like we have some very knowledgeable tire people here. I would like to hear a discussion on run flat tires and their suit ability for the R1S.
Does the R1S come with a jack and lug wrench?
At 90 yoa I don't want to be changing any flats.

 

[delmi]

Hit expand on previous post.

 

[shkelton]

Hey folks

I did send an email to customer service asking a few questions related to this post. Questions and answers listed below. They reference the R1T owners guide, I have included that link below as well.

https://assets.rivian.com/k534zewng...b7870c554/r1t-owners-guide-en-us-20211122.pdf

2. Is there a sunglasses holder in the front for the driver?
There is no sunglass holder, but there is convenient under-seat storage where you can store such items. Please reference page 106 on the R1T Owner’s Guide to see a picture.

3. Tire pressure monitor is there one included. My 2015 Ram 1500 had tire pressure warning and could show each tire and its current pressure
Yes, tire pressure will be shown on the Driver Display. The vehicle is equipped with a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) with individual tire pressure display. Please reference page 154 on the Owner’s Guide.

4. Does the R1T utilize heat pumps for efficiency?
No, the R1T does not have a heat pump.

5. Garage door opener – is there one built into the R1T?
There is no garage door opener built in. However, with our Over the Air (OTA) system updates, that could be a possibility in the future. I agree, that would be a great feature.

6. Does the R1T offer cabin preconditioning via the mobile app? In the winter heat things up, in the summer cool things off?
Yes, you will be able to control the vehicle HVAC through the Rivian app. You can also set rules and schedule heating and cooling your vehicle depending on max convenience.

 

[shkelton]

Just a quick follow-up. Rivian customer service has confirmed that all Rivian Vehicles come with a heated steering wheel.

Now if only I could plug in a USB Flash drive with my songs, grab my sunglasses out of the sunglasses holder and use the built in garage door opened to pull out of my garage for a cruise - that would be perfect. But alas that is not the case

 

[RideAlong]

I keep my car in the garage, but it still does get pretty cold in the winter. It would be wonderful to be able to warm the truck up in the garage without gassing myself to death.

That is one problem you will NOT have with a Rivian !?

 

[Laurent]

I think that the 20" all-terrain tires are fine for occasional snow but they're no substitute for true winter tires. Tire Rack tested all-terrain tires a couple of years ago and found that the Pirelli performed worse than other tires that don't carry the 3PMSF symbol. On ice, the braking distance with the Pirelli is almost twice that of a studless winter tire.

Sponsored