Posted on 08/11/2023 3:20:48 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
The Rivian R1T and R1S are both super cool electric vehicles, offering huge power, impressive range and distinctive styling. They aren’t cheap, but if you can afford one, we suspect you’ll find it’s an absolute hoot to drive. Sadly, no vehicle is perfect, and apparently, one downside of owning a Rivian is that they tend to eat through tires much faster than you’d expect given that the Pirellis they come with from the factory are warrantied for up to 50,000 miles.
According to The Drive, owners have been complaining on Rivian forums that their tires, specifically their front tires, haven’t lasted as long as they expected. At least one owner claims to have had to replace theirs after only 6,000 miles. Considering they’re large EVs with big, heavy batteries, it’s not surprising to hear that tires wear out faster than they would if they were installed on, say, a Mazda Miata. But there’s more going on here than the fact that the R1T is heavy.
As it turns out, this excessive front tire wear can likely be tied back to Rivian’s “Conserve” drive mode. In order to maximize range, when you switch to Conserve, your Rivian switches from four-wheel drive to front-wheel drive and lowers the ride height. Sending more than 400 hp to the front wheels in a truck that weighs more than 7,000 lbs is bound to increase tire wear, but it appears that lowering the suspension also causes problems.
Apparently, the lowest ride height causes toe-in and more negative camber, which can accelerate and also cause uneven tire wear. According to one owner who drove in Conserve mode for 6,000 miles, the front tires lost an entire millimeter more than the rears. Which seems bad but also explains why Rivian has reportedly told owners not to use Conserve mode over long distances. Owners have also reported issues with the stock alignment.
So, essentially, Conserve mode gives you better range, but the changes that improve range also wear through tires faster. It’s a tradeoff that owners will need to weigh for themselves, although, as The Drive points out, owners who want to maximize range while minimizing treadwear can also get a more toe-out alignment that will help preserve their tires while driving in Conserve mode. Rotating tires regularly can also help. But ultimately, there’s no getting around the fact that you’re driving something that weighs as much as three Miatas.
Making lots of new ev tires isn’t bad for environment. Ev’s are climate and environment friendly /s
There are a lot of factors that could lead to much reduced life. Softer tires with better grip, and a driver who uses it, could easily lead to half that. It’s isn’t a simple “everyone should get 48-60k tire life”.
Weight, of course, can affect chamber and toe-in.
“...super cool electric vehicles, offering huge power, impressive range and distinctive styling....”
Not hardly. They’re ugly as crap.
Tires for larger vehicles are also more expensive. So theres that.
What do you do with those beasts? Run over little Miatas for fun?
If the battery weight is so high, won’t we be seeing longer braking distances and more severe impact damage due to it taking more crunching of my normal car to absorb the forward momentum of some Green Meanie’s Magical Goodness Machine?
Where are tires being degradable?
Usually, tires are stored in huge fields, where lightning “degrades” them...
Cry more liberal idiots. No one cares about your “I’m a liberal idiot” problems.
LOLOLOLOL!
Seems those tire treads are buffing right out
The tire wear is real. They must have oversize brakes. So there is another hidden cost. Replacing them will cost a fortune. As far as accidents, what would normally be a $2000 fender bender will often cost ten times that because most of the under body is battery so it gets damaged and that is big money maybe total the car.
So they have a feature that drops the suspension so the toe and camber wipes out the tires in short order? That’s some rookie mistakes right there. We are talking “Donk” grade suspension technology right there.
As far as weight and power, my 3/4 ton 4x4 Cummins diesel with 400hp and about 1000ft/lbs of torque gets 60K on a set of BFG All Terrains weighing about 7K lbs empty. It’s usually pulling a trailer.
Just checked Tire Rack, Each tire cost from $278.00 for Continentals to $500 for the original equipment Pirelli.
OUCH!
“Rivian Tires Are Lasting As Little As 6,000 Miles (EV Truck)”
maybe that’s why i’ve NEVER seen a rivian around here with any load in its tiny truck bed: the extra weight would wear the tires out even faster ...
Where are tires being degradable?
Usually, tires are stored in huge fields, where lightning “degrades” them...
More fuel for the tire fires. That’ll cancel out the carbon savings.
It’s a scam: insurance pays for it...
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