22” vs 20” Wheel Comparison - Real World

[LL75]

On paper the pro for 22 more direct steering is kind of irrelevant. It’s a 7k lbs SUV. It handles like such. People that get the 22’s and say it handles like a sporty truck are the definition of oxymoron. Just personal opinion. If you want a sporty SUV, then get a Cayenne, Urus, RSQ8 etc. Not a 7k lbs boxy SUV. It’ll never be sporty with its size and aerodynamics no matter what tires you put on it.

Just put 275/60/20 AS tires on. I have the Pirelli AS plus 3 on 20 brights on my R1S. My R1S is 7% more efficient than my R1T with 21’s. Lifetime mi/kwh on R1T was 2.31. It’s currently 2.47 on my S.

20’s on 275/60/20 is the best all around setup for on pavement Rivian’s. Aesthetics aside (even though I think the Rivian 20’s are sweet looking), it rides the best with the most amount of rubber compared to the 21’s or 22’s, least amount of risk of curb rash or popping tire compared to 22’s, a plethora of tires to select from (calling you out Rivian for the 21’s), and the most efficiency of the tire setups.

Lastly, a point on eco friendliness. I originally wanted the 22’s on my pre order. But the more I researched tires and understood the range loss and ride quality. The more I wanted to go against the trend of large wheels and thin rubber. Aesthetics are sometimes hindering true progress. Tire size the same, smaller wheels are more efficient on evs and gas cars. Think about the less emissions we would have if cars all came with the smallest wheel and tire package? There is no practical benefit to the average person driving a car with 22’s and low profile tires.

End rant. Thank you for your time.

Yeap. 20" on 275/60/20 AS tires. Why didn't Rivian has this set up as one of the option is beyond me. Best efficiency and the ride is awesome.

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[922110]

I'm waiting for the Michelin Defender LTX M/S2 in the 275/65R20 size. Still decent on typical dirt paths, quiet, great range, safe in inclement weather.

Best of all worlds. I live in Texas so handling is a none issue and I really want that Rolls Royce floating carpet feeling and as little tire roar as possible.

Knowing how the Defenders perform I bet they'd keep up with the Pirellis in most off road conditions too.

 

[KimBrennan]

You should consider switching to All season tires. There so are many choices for your 20". I'm currently run general grabbers HTS60 275/60/20 and they are comparable to my 21" OEM. The best part is it costs less than half. Efficiency is the same as my 21"

I put the HTS60 275/60R20 on my lightweight wheels, so I'm getting about 10% better range (60-61 pounds per wheel/tire versus 79 pounds for stock 21s.)

 

[LL75]

I put the HTS60 275/60R20 on my lightweight wheels, so I'm getting about 10% better range (60-61 pounds per wheel/tire versus 79 pounds for stock 21s.)

That is some seriously light weight. I'm using the atomic wheels at 31 lbs with these tires.

 

[electruck]

If you don't need AT, I would use the Continental ProContact TX. These are SOOOO quiet. I shopped for hours to land on these, and it was successful. It's hard to find tire ratings by simply noise, rather than wear and performance. Another one that's equally good but probably a little more expensive is the Goodyear Goodyear Assurance ComfortDrive. Had these on the Tesla and really liked them a lot. Super smooth ride too. I ran them a few PSI below the rating. I run the Contis at exactly the car's recommended air. A chalk test showed both of those were correct and ideal.

FYI, while the Continental ProContact TX and Goodyear Assurance ComfortDrive may be nice quiet tires, they are not available in a size with a load index at all suitable for our extremely heavy Rivians. These tires should absolutely NOT be installed on a Rivian (and no reputable tire shop would install them).

 

[SwampNut]

Bummer. I haven't shopped for R1T tires yet so I hadn't look at load ratings. The Contis are on my Smart...1600 pounds and all the fury of a 0.89L motor!

 

[ksurfier]

I put the HTS60 275/60R20 on my lightweight wheels, so I'm getting about 10% better range (60-61 pounds per wheel/tire versus 79 pounds for stock 21s.)

Wow, could you please do a standalone post on your new tire/wheel setup? Gotta be the highest efficiency combo ever, look forward to photos and any test data you can share...

 

[ksurfier]

FYI, while the Continental ProContact TX and Goodyear Assurance ComfortDrive may be nice quiet tires, they are not available in a size with a load index at all suitable for our extremely heavy Rivians. These tires should absolutely NOT be installed on a Rivian (and no reputable tire shop would install them).

Thinking he was talking about his Tesla, that tire isn't available in a Rivian fitment...

 

[electruck]

Thinking he was talking about his Tesla, that tire isn't available in a Rivian fitment...

That seemed to be his experience but it wasn't clear whether he was recommending for Rivian (the statement did lead off with, "if you don't need AT"). Regardless, wanted to make sure it was clear to others that those tires are not suitable for the R1 and perhaps save some unnecessary investigation time.

 

[sparkles]

On paper the pro for 22 more direct steering is kind of irrelevant. It’s a 7k lbs SUV. It handles like such. People that get the 22’s and say it handles like a sporty truck are the definition of oxymoron. Just personal opinion. If you want a sporty SUV, then get a Cayenne, Urus, RSQ8 etc. Not a 7k lbs boxy SUV. It’ll never be sporty with its size and aerodynamics no matter what tires you put on it.

Completely disagree on this point. The 22's make a massive difference in steering feel to the 20's with the AT tires. The R1 handles ridiculously well for it's size and having that sharp turn-in is awesome. My R1S was delivered with the 20's and swapping to the 22's made a world of difference in the feel of the truck.

Also, a 275/50 tire has PLENTY of rubber to protect the rims and absorb bigger impacts.

 

[foxerson]

Yeah that’s about where I’m at. I don’t like the look of AS tires on the 20s so that’s where the 22s come in. I would absolutely keep the 20s as 1 - they are original for the car and 2 - for off road fun.

If your plan is to keep the 20s for off road then it might be worthwhile to try a different AT that has a chance of being quieter. The Falken Wildpeak A/T3W and Nitto Recon Grappler A/T have been popular and you should be able to find some useful feedback from other owners here. Personally, I am interested in the Toyo OpenCountry A/T3 EV. They are a relatively recent release so there isn't much owner feedback yet. However I was quite happy with the conventional version on my old truck and am optimistic that an EV version would work well on a Rivian.

 

[anthonysfl]

Completely disagree on this point. The 22's make a massive difference in steering feel to the 20's with the AT tires. The R1 handles ridiculously well for it's size and having that sharp turn-in is awesome. My R1S was delivered with the 20's and swapping to the 22's made a world of difference in the feel of the truck.

Also, a 275/50 tire has PLENTY of rubber to protect the rims and absorb bigger impacts.

Obviously the 22” Rivian tire would handle better than the 20” AT tire. I’m not talking about the AT tire I though. No, I am talking about a AS 275/60/20 tire.

275/60/20 has more tire to ride better, absorb even bigger impacts and is more efficient than the 275/50/22 tire.

 

[mkhuffman]

Gotta be the highest efficiency combo ever...

Not necessarily. Rolling resistance and aerodynamics are the two biggest factors that impact wheel efficiency.

 

[ksurfier]

Not necessarily. Rolling resistance and aerodynamics are the two biggest factors that impact wheel efficiency.

??????????????????

Mass and Inertia: Reducing the weight of the tire decreases the energy required for acceleration and maintaining vehicle speed. MORE EFFICIENT!

Deformation: Lighter tires may deform less under the vehicle's weight, leading to less energy lost as heat when the tire flexes.
MORE EFFICIENT!

Contact Patch: A smaller or more efficiently shaped contact patch can reduce the friction between the tire and the road, thereby lowering rolling resistance.
MORE EFFICIENT!

Here’s a hypothetical estimate of RR and how tire weight influences it (constants would need to be measured in a lab…not something that’s likely to happen):

For the 34-pound tire:
Crr-34= 0.01+0.0005×34=0.01+0.017=
0.027

For the 47-pound tire:
Crr-47= 0.01+0.0005×47=0.01+0.0235=
0.0335

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Never understood why Rivian didn't give an option for street tires for the 20s. Seems this would of been a winner considering the poor selection of tires for the 21" tires.

Still not familiar with brand mission? Rivians are adventure vehicles. Out of three options, the tires paired with 20” wheels are selected to have best ground clearance and off-pavement performance, at the expense of some efficiency/range. They already offer two street oriented options.

If they could have done any different, it would have been to pair the 20s with kevlar reinforced and slightly smaller 275/60R20 ATs or AT/MT hybrid to get a little more toughness and efficiency back. But doing so would perhaps diminish differentiation between the three offerings.

Imagine the heckling if they had pushed out a line of “adventure vehicles” that did not have a single AT offering.

If you disagree, well, that’s what aftermarket options are for.

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