Best practices for driving in extreme cold

[Billofaustin2]

Thank you. I will post an update after the trip.

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[Glembi2]

Be sure you keep an eye on the cold tire pressure. Once the pressure drops below 46, efficiency drops fast.

 

[iansriv]

You might have considered this already. Plan out backup charger locations incase the first ones don't work out. If you don't have a spare tyre kit, consider getting a repair kit (search here for recommendations). This might be an overkill but get an emergency kit that has thermal blankets. Have a safe and enjoyable trip.

 

[Justsaygourd]

Just drove 300 miles from lower Michigan to the UP. Temps around 28. A bit windy. Efficency for the trip was around 1.65. Down from my average 2.2 or so. Performance was fine, ride was comfortable, just plan on sub par range. Rivian Nav was pretty accurate with the range estimate.

20” AT tires FWIW.

 

[sherold]

My personal tips from 20K miles of ownership w/QM Large pack:


1.) Watch your speed! This will have the single biggest effect on your efficiency. Running above 70mph will generally start dropping your estimated range.

2.) Plan on 85-90% of your normal efficiency. This is subjective to actual wind & temps but, has generally been a good "rule of thumb" correction factor for driving in cold weather.

3.) Stage your pre-departure charging session to finish roughly .5-1hr before you leave (charge to 100%). This will help to bring the batteries up to a better starting temperature for best efficiency.

4.) Pre-condition the cabin prior to departure using charger power.

5.) Set your HVAC controls to a lower temp, still in a comfortable range for everyone, but economically minded.

6.) Double check proper cold (outside ambient temp, not garaged temp) tire pressures before leaving. You can also overfill to a degree if you know the destination's temperatures will be significantly lower.

7.) Use conserve mode on the highway (If your model supports this). You do not have to leave the suspension at the lowest setting when using this if you are uncomfortable with the ride and concerned about inner tire wear. Disengaging the rear motors when they do not need to be providing power/braking to the pavement does help a decent amount. Note that braking power from regen will be reduced when using this mode.

8.) Carry your portable charger, 120V extension cord, AND both NACS to J1772 charging adapters (DC & AC). Better safe than sorry.

 

[CrazyOne]

Be sure you keep an eye on the cold tire pressure. Once the pressure drops below 46, efficiency drops fast.

I run 49-50 psi in winter. In summer 46 would increase while driving because of heat. In winter, that doesn't happen. To compensate, I run slightly higher tire pressures.

 

[HyperionMark]

Is your vehicle with the new heat pump or the old heating system?

 

[Birdowin]

Yes, when you set up a new scheduled preconditioning time, there is a toggle at the bottom of the configuration page:

I Don't see this on my phone app, is it only available on the truck screen?

 

[Rudylake]

Draft off of the semi's, but duck for any rocks they throw at you.

 

[JohnB]

My personal tips from 20K miles of ownership w/QM Large pack:


1.) Watch your speed! This will have the single biggest effect on your efficiency. Running above 70mph will generally start dropping your estimated range.

2.) Plan on 85-90% of your normal efficiency. This is subjective to actual wind & temps but, has generally been a good "rule of thumb" correction factor for

3.) Stage your pre-departure charging session to finish roughly .5-1hr before you leave (charge to 100%). This will help to bring the batteries up to a better starting temperature for best efficiency.

4.) Pre-condition the cabin prior to departure using charger power.

5.) Set your HVAC controls to a lower temp, still in a comfortable range for everyone, but economically minded.

6.) Double check proper cold (outside ambient temp, not garaged temp) tire pressures before leaving. You can also overfill to a degree if you know the destination's temperatures will be significantly lower.

7.) Use conserve mode on the highway (If your model supports this). You do not have to leave the suspension at the lowest setting when using this if you are uncomfortable with the ride and concerned about inner tire wear. Disengaging the rear motors when they do not need to be providing power/braking to the pavement does help a decent amount. Note that braking power from regen will be reduced when using this mode.

8.) Carry your portable charger, 120V extension cord, AND both NACS to J1772 charging adapters (DC & AC). Better safe than sorry.

This was very insightful. Thanks for the bulleted items. I can't stress enough that if you decide to get over 70 mph on the highways, the range really gets affected.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Drive conservatively. And use the nav to get to your charging stops, which will automatically engage pack pre-conditioning as you near each charging site.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

@mikehmb said it, @Billofaustin2, but he didn't elaborate. So I will.

Heating bodies directly (seat warmers, steering wheel warmers) uses a little bit of energy.

Heating bodies by heating the air around the bodies (cabin heater) uses a lot of energy.

Use the seat warmers and steering wheel warmers first. This allows you to use the cabin heater sparingly, while still giving you and passengers an enjoyable trip.

Very best wishes!

 

[usofrob]

With my Tesla, I noticed that if I turned the HVAC on and off, that seemed to be more efficient than just keeping it on all the time. I haven't tested that on the freeway in my R1S yet, but driving around town, I get a lot better efficiency when the HVAC is off. As long as it's a short drive, I've been only turning on the HVAC to clear the front window. (Unless my wife is in the car. )

 

[Jim4]

@mikehmb said it, @Billofaustin2, but he didn't elaborate. So I will.

Heating bodies directly (seat warmers, steering wheel warmers) uses a little bit of energy.

Heating bodies by heating the air around the bodies (cabin heater) uses a lot of energy.

Use the seat warmers and steering wheel warmers first. This allows you to use the cabin heater sparingly, while still giving you and passengers an enjoyable trip.

Very best wishes!

interesting. I didn’t know the seat heaters were more economical. I always told my kids to turn off their butt warmers in the back seat last winter lol. They’ll be happy to know they can use them this year.

 

[HyperionMark]

And for those that have heat pumps those are way more efficient than what we have in the Gen1.

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