22" Tires Vs. 20" Tires

[jambaman84]

Hey all,

I currently have the OEM 22" tires for our Rivian. We will soon be needing new tires. I am debating about if I should keep the 22's and get the Michelin Defenders or try a 20" tire.
This is our family SUV, so it's city/highway driving. No off-roading with it. Just looking to get the best tire for efficiency and tread life.

One thing is, when we've had a loaner from Rivian, we've had the 20s and they were extremely loud. Is that the case with all 20s? Or just the Scorpions? My wife hated the noise and said she'd never want to drive the Rivian if it made that much noise.

Basically were looking for quiet road noise, good efficiency, and good tire life.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

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[No_Name5330]

The scorpions are definitely a louder tire, but if your doing mostly highway/ around town driving, than you’d be fine with any all season tire and that makes the car a very quiet ride, and in my opinion, makes it a smoother ride also.

 

[1stPlace]

Stick with the 22"s...I also had a super loud R1T loaner with 20"s. They said tires needed to be rotated, but I've also heard this complaint among others after 15k miles on 20"s. The Michelin Defender LTX M/S2 have been getting good reviews on sound and ride. I haven't had any issues with my OEM scorpions zeros. I might switch but I also value performance so I'm kind of on the fence about it.

 

[DayTripping]

If you go with 20's, there are an incredible amount of alternative tires in that size and cheaper than the 22's. I had 21's on my R1T and I bought 20" wheels and went with the Goodyear Territory AT's which come from the factory as an optional tires on the Gen2 trucks/SUVs.

The only thing they might not be better than the 21's is maybe efficiency and the jury is still out for me. Everything else I like better about these tires. Another good option, that is very efficient, are the Michelin LTX M/S2's. They should last 50k+ miles on most Rivians. Both the Goodyear and Michelins are most commonly in the 275/60/20 size. This matches the overall diameter of the factory 21's at 33".

The 275/65/20 will match the Rivian tires that are 34" in diameter. The factory 20's from the Gen1's get pretty noisy with some miles on them. The Gen2 20" Goodyears are pretty quiet.

 

[tps5352]

Hey all,

I currently have the OEM 22" tires for our Rivian. We will soon be needing new tires. I am debating about if I should keep the 22's and get the Michelin Defenders or try a 20" tire...Basically were looking for quiet road noise, good efficiency, and good tire life.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

May I plug this post as a possible source for pertinent information? It is lengthy, but it can be skimmed and does cover many of the highlights. Also, this handy guide to Rivian-applicable tires?

There are many factors that determine the characteristics of tires and their effects and performance on the vehicle so outfitted. Depending on the intended use (e.g., off-road, highway, performance) these can include:

• Wheel size (diameter). (For Rivian the OEM sizes have been 20", 21"*, and 22".)
• Tire size (diameter). (33" and 34".)
• Sidewall height. (Total tire diameter; minus wheel diameter; divided by two.)
• Tread width. (For Rivian this has been 275 mm.)
• Tread design (e.g., for all-terrain, all-season, road, winter, sport/performance purposes).
• Depth of tread.

My understanding is that the following general factors tend to give better driving-on-pavement performance:

• a somewhat smaller wheel size (within reason), combined with...
• ...a tire with somewhat greater sidewall height (to maintain the preferred OEM tire diameter).
• A tire and tread designed for road/touring/highway/all-season use with...
• ...relatively shallow tread depth.
• And of course an appropriate rubber composition in a tire designed with proper weight index and so fourth for the (in this case heavy, high-performance) vehicle in question.

Contrary to what seems to be the popular trend (and to what Rivian currently offers as an OEM option), I intend to outfit my (future) R1S with 20-inch wheels and 34-inch (diameter) touring/all-season tires in hopes that this will provide:

• the best road comfort,
• the least tire-road noise,
• the greatest durability and lifespan, and
• maximum range.

Naturally, safe performance in rain is also an important characteristic. I do not yet know the brand-model of tire to try first. I am hoping that there is or will be a good comparison of Rivian-pertinent all-season/highway (34") tires (made for 20" wheel rims) on this Forum or another site.

This is my current thinking. Perhaps it will change? I am not saying that 22-inch wheel-sets or 33-inch tires are bad. But until convinced otherwise, I suspect that 20-inch wheel-sets with 34-inch (pavement-friendly) tires may provide the best chance of achieving the objective listed above.** And I look forward to demonstrating this with a Rivian. (Regardless of the outcome it should be a win-win scenario, as I'll end up with a Rivian.)
_____
* The 21" wheel turned out to be problematic, because there remain so few aftermarket tires of that size that meet Rivian (load or other) requirements.
** Would a 19" or 18" wheel with higher profile tire be even better? Unknown. But for now I plan to be conservative and stick with Rivian OEM wheel-tire sizes. There are obviously tire models in other sizes, but many do not meet the Load Index rating of 116. A Rivian is a heavy vehicle for its size. Also, I prefer not to venture away from 34" or 33" tire diameters, in order to maintain speedometer, camera, and other onboard software accuracy.

 

[Eeyore]

** Would a 19" or 18" wheel with higher profile tire be even better? Unknown.

I believe that a 20" wheel is the smallest you can put on an R1 due to the size of the brake calipers.

The factory tires that came on the 20" wheels, at least for my LE R1T, were All Terrain. That means a more aggressive tread and with that, more road noise. As the tread wore down, they became noisier. I changed to the factory 22" wheels/tires and they are noticeably quieter.

 

[DayTripping]

The 20" Goodyear Territory AT's that are an option on the Gen2 2025's is a very quiet tire. They replaced my factory 21" all seasons and I couldn't be happier. The extra sidewall cushion has improved the ride quality which was pretty good to begin with but the truck still feels very planted in quick transitions.

 

[usofrob]

Remember that grip is important too! I'm regularly surprised at how seemingly everything except grip is discussed with these discussions. Unfortunately, the better grip usually leads to lower efficiency. I'd really like to see some 70-0 brake tests and skid pad for all the main tire options in dry, wet, cold dry, cold wet, ice and snow (lower speeds). This is the stuff Tire Rack tends to do, but they don't test all our tires together.

 

[DayTripping]

That was one of my primary considerations, and why I didn’t go with the Michelin LTX M/S2's. They are at least an inch narrower than the Goodyears I put on. I was more concerned with grip than I was efficiency, but I didn’t want terrible efficiency either. I wrote about my priorities and another thread here.

I don’t have them fully broken in yet, but they handle at least as good my 21s, but I haven’t been able to do any acceleration or braking tests yet. I did have to panic brake shortly after getting them put on and they worked very well.

 

[Riviam]

That was one of my primary considerations, and why I didn’t go with the Michelin LTX M/S2's. They are at least an inch narrower than the Goodyears I put on. I was more concerned with grip than I was efficiency, but I didn’t want terrible efficiency either. I wrote about my priorities and another thread here.

I don’t have them fully broken in yet, but they handle at least as good my 21s, but I haven’t been able to do any acceleration or braking tests yet. I did have to panic brake shortly after getting them put on and they worked very well.

Am researching all the options with the OEM 21s (going to 60/20, 65/20, or sticking with the 21s) and what's interesting is that based on what I see, the 21 OEM pirellis are not wider than the 21 Defenders. Seems like that changes once you're in the 20 inch wheel range.

 

[DayTripping]

The Michelins seem to be pretty narrow, at least at the sizes I looked considered at 7.8" wide. The Goodyears are at least an inch wider. In this thread I started, post #98, I tried to show the difference in tire width between the Goodyear and what the Michelins would be.

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...75-60-20-factory-at-tires-saving.37522/page-7

Here is the exact post where I have a photo of them on my truck and I highlighted where the extra tread area on the Goodyears.

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...-20-factory-at-tires-saving.37522/post-698421

 

[HaveBlue]

Sounds like sticking to the 22s and an all season tire would be ideal for you. Michelin LTX M/S or LTX Primacy or Continental Terrain Contact HT.

 

[Riviam]

The Michelins seem to be pretty narrow, at least at the sizes I looked considered at 7.8" wide. The Goodyears are at least an inch wider. In this thread I started, post #98, I tried to show the difference in tire width between the Goodyear and what the Michelins would be.

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...75-60-20-factory-at-tires-saving.37522/page-7

Here is the exact post where I have a photo of them on my truck and I highlighted where the extra tread area on the Goodyears.

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...-20-factory-at-tires-saving.37522/post-698421

That's what is weird. On the 21 Defenders, TireRack shows the width at 8.7". I verified on the 60R20s (also TireRack) and you are correct, it lists at 7.8" wide. That is interesting to me.

 

[tps5352]

I believe that a 20" wheel is the smallest you can put on an R1 due to the size of the brake calipers...

Right. Good point. I forgot about those big 'ol Brembo calipers (up front).

 

[HaveBlue]

Tires are also often listed in section width. The tread is often not the widest part of the tire. Some are more "round". Others are more square in the sidewall with a wide tread.

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