Would you go with 20" wheels or 21" wheels on Launch Edition R2?

[RivianRocks25]

Loath the large rim thing. So many bad things: worse range, rim damage, worse ride, always more $$ to replace a tire with less side wall. Always go for smallest rim available.

Looks are subjective and I don't know why all rim/no rubber became cool. Really don't agree with that on a truck. But subjective, so no right answer on that one. FACT, larger rims get worse range if all else equal. (Same rubber, same aero).

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[r2fb]

If there was a 20" all season option I'd have picked that but I'm not subjecting my brand new suv to all terrain tires that won't be used offroad so I'll have to get the 21s.

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

21's don't have a lot of tire options, so 20" would be the most compatible across a wider variety of tire variants.

This was a huge issue for early R1 deliveries that opted for the 21" range wheel and tire option. Only Pirelli supported it.

I’ve read a lot of complaints about the Pirelli’s on this forum. I used to have a vehicle with an uncommon tire size. It’s a pain in the ass. Your tires are hopefully only one of a few things you’ll need to replace on your EV, outside of windshield washer fluid and blades. I’m saying in general, of course.

 

[JasonK]

If there was a 20" all season option I'd have picked that but I'm not subjecting my brand new suv to all terrain tires that won't be used offroad so I'll have to get the 21s.

You can easily get the 20's and change the tires out. You can easily sell those AT tires. Many tire shops will even buy them from you. You will take a bit of a loss in costs when selling them. But you will save much more in the long run in tire costs and possibly even more range depending on what tire you put on. Plus you will have a better ride quality. It seems like a no brainer to chose the 20's.

 

[r2fb]

You can easily get the 20's and change the tires out. You can easily sell those AT tires. Many tire shops will even buy them from you. You will take a bit of a loss in costs when selling them. But you will save much more in the long run in tire costs and possibly even more range depending on what tire you put on. Plus you will have a better ride quality. It seems like a no brainer to chose the 20's.

Selling tires is definitely hassle for me though.

 

[TexasBob]

My 2c having gone through a few different tires on our R1s is:

1. more range, more range, more range - you will hate anything that steals range
2. Pirellis suck

I would buy the 20s and head immediately over to discount tire and swap for Hankook Ions if it were me. The Michelin LTXs are absolutely NOT as good as Pirellis on range (7% - 8% lower in my experience) and so it is Hankook Ions or Bridgestone Alenza IMO. I will do Hankook as my next trade if I keep the R1s long enough.

 

[Great Gatsby]

Matt from CarWow described his driving impressions in a R2 with AT tires, both on a winding canyon road and freeway. On the freeway he said he couldn't hear any road noise and also stated the R2 has acoustic glass for the drivers (and presumably passengers) window and the windscreen.

On brand AT tires? Sure, I could believe that. After a few thousand miles though? There would probably be a difference. Hopefully not a big one, but like others have said, the move would be to just replace the 20s with AS as soon as you eat the first ones. In my experience, AT tires are always going to be loud or have some droning noise due to the aggressive thread.

 

[emoore]

Selling tires is definitely hassle for me though.

So just use the AT until they wear out then go with AS. Easy. I'll never get a 21" tire again like I have on my R1T. Options are too limited.

 

[r2fb]

So just use the AT until they wear out then go with AS. Easy. I'll never get a 21" tire again like I have on my R1T. Options are too limited.

I would never want to use an AT tire, I don't care about offroading and only reason I want a R2S instead of a Lucid Earth is that Lucid is even further behind Tesla than Rivian is in software. Also in manufacturing.

 

[madhat]

Test drove a Gen 1 R1S in Brooklyn on 22's back in 2023 and quickly changed my config to 20's. I can't believe they would even allow test drives on 22's which felt like absolute crap in city driving.

Because some of us don't like to drive on jello. I much prefer the lower profile, but more substantial than any sports car, tires on the 22s to the slop bucket ride of 20s or even 21s.
Your personal opinion is not universal, just like mine isn't.

I do unfortunately agree with consensus to get 20s due to tire availability. I personally would get Atomic Wheels to do custom 21s or 22s and find a tire size i could get some good sporty tires in.

 

[r1t718]

I would buy the 20s and head immediately over to discount tire and swap for Hankook Ions if it were me.

why not just use up the stockies and then swap?

 

[DuoRivian]

Won’t there be more 21” options in the next few years? It is not like many people who buy an R2 this year on 21s will need to change for some time (other than punctures).

 

[emoore]

Won’t there be more 21” options in the next few years? It is not like many people who buy an R2 this year on 21s will need to change for some time (other than punctures).

That's what I thought about the 21s on the R1. But after 4 plus years there are really only 3 options. So I wouldn't count on there being more options.

 

[RivianTrackr]

I have updated the RivianTrackr Tire Guide to include all currently available R2 tires:

https://riviantrackr.com/rivian-tire-guide/?vehicle=R2

 

[emoore]

I have updated the RivianTrackr Tire Guide to include all currently available R2 tires:

https://riviantrackr.com/rivian-tire-guide/?vehicle=R2

Nice work. So there is exactly one 21" tire option available today for the R2. And it's Pirelli. No thanks., I won't make that mistake again.

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