Is it OK to keep the height setting low when driving around town?

[rjcarlson49]

It's really annoying to have to wait for kneeling to happen. Is it OK to drive around town (up to 55 mph) on city streets with the suspension set to stay as low as possible? Neither of us likes to have to jump down from the seats or climb up. My wife just had a knee replacement 2 days ago so the issue has become more salient. We have a gen2 R1S dual max.

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[CANCERDOC]

Sure you can, at the slight cost of a little more tire wear and a less soft ride. I'm not sure driving on "lowest" is even usable, its so rough.

 

[ElGuano]

I think it's supposed to be fine for daily driving. But from my basic understanding about how the suspension works, the one thing to be aware of is lower right height will angle the wheels in a way that increases negative camber, which causes uneven/increased tire wear. This is similar to the Tesla Model S/X that uses a similar adjustable air suspension system and also suffers from the problem.

 

[badger4149]

It's really annoying to have to wait for kneeling to happen. Is it OK to drive around town (up to 55 mph) on city streets with the suspension set to stay as low as possible? Neither of us likes to have to jump down from the seats or climb up. My wife just had a knee replacement 2 days ago so the issue has become more salient. We have a gen2 R1S dual max.

I didn't like waiting for "kneel mode" either, so I installed a set of running boards. That solved the problem for me.

 

[dleepnw]

I think it's supposed to be fine for daily driving. But from my basic understanding about how the suspension works, the one thing to be aware of is lower right height will angle the wheels in a way that increases negative camber, which causes uneven/increased tire wear. This is similar to the Tesla Model S/X that uses a similar adjustable air suspension system and also suffers from the problem.

I agree with this, youre going to increase uneven tire wear, especially considering the weight of the vehicle. An alternative would be to get running boards. Makes ingress/egress much easier, even at lowest height setting.

 

[shamoo]

From my understanding, the Rivian (or any vehicle) is aligned to a specific ride height/suspension setting/weight distribution.

Having a 180lb person sitting in the driver's seat vs. nobody in the driver's seat is going to change how the vehicle sits, and thus how the tire is contacting the ground.

I *think* Rivian is aligned optimally for standard height. If you want to optimize tire wear, I'd perhaps suggest getting an alignment on the lowest setting. It is a bit rougher (although you can set the suspension to soft if you like).

Depending on suspension linkage design, some "fancier" vehicles will minimize camber changes when ride height changes, but there is still some change.

An important thing to note is that camber is NOT the primary driver for tire wear. It is toe. So keep that in mind. If you rotate your tires, even with not optimal camber, it shouldn't decrease your tire life THAT much.

I routinely drive around in All Purpose/Standard and Sport/Lowest about 50/50% of the time and I drive hard. My OEM 22" Pirellis lasted 29K miles and it was only one tire that had significant wear. The others probably had another 5K miles easily. Coming from sports cars where soft summer performance tires last <10K miles (and you can't rotate them due to the stagger)....the Rivian was nice.

 

[sfvR1S]

"It's really annoying to have to wait for kneeling to happen."

When I arrive at my destination, I push the park button, grab my stuff, open the door and get out. I think by the time I'm stepping out the vehicle has kneeled or is in the process of kneeling.

It's amazing the things that annoy people. I guess this is what people refer to as "white people problems."

 

[RivAW]

If it’s too annoying to wait the 10 seconds for the truck to kneel, and you don’t mind the harsh ride at the lowest setting, sure.
Keep in mind your vehicles alignment is for the middle setting so you will wear your tires out more quickly unless you have the alignment done specifically to suit the lowest settting, assuming that’s even a thing .
Maybe try some mediation so you aren’t so annoyed at the ~10 seconds kneel mode needs to work,,..

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

It's really annoying to have to wait for kneeling to happen. Is it OK to drive around town (up to 55 mph) on city streets with the suspension set to stay as low as possible? Neither of us likes to have to jump down from the seats or climb up. My wife just had a knee replacement 2 days ago so the issue has become more salient. We have a gen2 R1S dual max.

Guaranteed way to wear out tires prematurely. Terrible idea. A solution for manufacturing a problem.

 

[Time2Roll]

By the time you get out and open her door to help her out it should be kneeled down.

 

[godfodder0901]

By the time you get out and open her door to help her out it should be kneeled down.

No, it pauses when you open the door. Even Rivian knows it annoyingly slow.

 

[ChicagoYeti]

My technique is to switch to Sport mode as I approach my destination. That forces lowest ride height and takes care of it while still moving. No kneel needed when I hit Park.

 

[2kwik4u]

I didn't like waiting for "kneel mode" either, so I installed a set of running boards. That solved the problem for me.

Same. Kneel wasn't low enough to allow me to exit without "sliding" across the seat.

I bought the super cheap EVBase boards. They're hot garbage products in terms of metal quality, appearance and durability.....BUT.....They hold my weight and work as a step. If I get 3 seasons out of them I'll be impressed. Luckily that's how long the lease is

 

[Davethadog]

It’s fine. Your tires aren’t going to appreciably mind. Your highway miles are already done in low usually and your front wheel drive dominant car is going to hurt your tires way more than city driving in low.

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