Advice on tire selection (20" ATs vs. 22" AS)

[COdogman]

Background: I live in Phoenix, AZ, and have an R1S on order for "1H'23". I continue to waffle between the 20" All-Terrains vs. 22" All-Seasons. Most of my decision has been based on my personal preference on aesthetics. I tend to like the dimensions of the 20" ATs more than the 22s. My driving will dominantly be road with little off-road adventures (although this might increase dramatically with ownership of an actual off-road capable vehicle).

My question is a bit different than what I've seen discussed in these forums so far: Are there any other impacts I should be considering when choosing a wheel/tire combo aside from aesthetics and off-road/on-road activity?

By way of example, the Phoenix sun is obviously hot the vast majority of the year, which means the roads will be relatively hot vs. cooler climates. My worry is that perhaps an All-Terrain tire will have a softer compound (like snow tires) and literally 'melt' on the hot roadways causing a significant drop in tread wear/life. If that's true, would the 22" All-Seasons be better? I've seen comments that the 20" ATs are actually a HARDER compound, which is counter to what I had expected.

Any advice or intelligence that can help clear-up my confusion/concern would be appreciated!

The 20s and 22s take basically the same hit to range on paper. The 20s because of tread and 22s because they are a version of “sticky” performance street tires. I doubt the AZ weather would make one of those better or worse than the other. A case could be made the 20s might even be better in that department.

So get what you like if you aren’t going to be doing any off-roading.

Sponsored

 

[larrydallas]

22” tire option is a “performance” all season, so it’s a softer(stickier) compound compared to, say, the 21”. 20” all terrain is less sticky for durability.

Thanks - THIS is what I was looking for. I've heard the 20" are actually a harder compound vs. the 22" tires, which seemed counter-intuitive. Thanks. I actually think I'm going to stick with the 20s regardless of the range hit.

Ask me again tomorrow, and I'll probably waffle yet again.

 

[Cactusone]

There probably is no range hit if you switch to a “street” tire on the 20s compared to the 22s.

 

[crashmtb]

Thanks - THIS is what I was looking for. I've heard the 20" are actually a harder compound vs. the 22" tires, which seemed counter-intuitive. Thanks. I actually think I'm going to stick with the 20s regardless of the range hit.

Ask me again tomorrow, and I'll probably waffle yet again.

Since you’re not going off pavement much, you might also consoder replacing the all terrain tires with something more road biased in the same diameter, once the ATs wear out. Ought to get you better mileage, and you have the bonus of more sidewall compared to the 22” for less worry about taking a chunk out of a wheel.

 

[Speedrye]

The 21" and 22" OEM tires both have 'A' temperature ratings while the 20" tire has a 'B' temperature rating. So, Pirelli doesn't think the 20" A/T tire will hold up as well in the heat...

I'll get 20" wheels and downsize to a 275/60-20 tire to maximize range.

 

[Rivuylkill]

One member recently spotted a R1T at the North Phoenix SC with Michelin Defender 20"s on the truck, so there are alternate 20" tires are available:
https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/20”-wheels-with-with-all-seasons-michelin-defender-ltx-m-s-275-65r20.7916/#post-198720

Thanks yeah I saw that but there was some debate on if they actually met requirements in a legal sense. Realistically they're probably fine. Hoping to see some reports /range info on the swap at some point.

 

[manitou202]

A couple of comments on temperature and wear ratings.

Here are the wear ratings for each tire:

20" 640
21" 600
22" 500

Based on the wear rating alone, the 20" should last the longest. However as mentioned above the 20" have a "B" temp rating, which means it won't perform as well in high temperatures. This makes sense because it has a "3 Peak" snow rating which is very close to full winter tires. So in a very hot climate like Phoenix they could end up wearing much faster because of the high temps.

 

[ironpig]

I've been impressed with the 20inch AT tires so far. I have other trucks that are currently on KO2s and have used NITTOs as well in the past. These Pirelli AT tires are the best on road feel at the moment and I'm sure they were designed knowing most people would be driving them on road 99% of the time. I would not get the 22s for any reason.

 

[JerseyGreens]

I waffled enough making this decision but as others stated...once the A/T wear down on the 20inch forged wheels - I'm moving to A/S tires which some are assuming will have as much range as the 21s. Once I came to this conclusion...I stopped waffling...

I do go back and forth between the brights and the black ones (so sexy)...either going to powder coat the brights gloss black or just bite the bullet ($1,700) and buy them black from the factory. Nothing beats factory finish, ever...I don't care what a powder coat guy or detailer is telling you...

 

[golden_frog]

I have 21s on mine. Can I just buy a second set of size 20 wheels with all-weather tires for winter?

 

[bjcleaver]

I have the 20" A/T and like them so far. I agree that range is king, but I'm in the mountains so climate and road conditions really dictated my thinking, with just enough gravel/dirt roads in my days to day to make it an easy decision. They do a great job keeping the roads clear during the winter but still, I'm at 7,000' and we get a ton of snow. I'll try these tires out this winter and get a dedicated snow tire if they don't handle it well enough. I doubt I'd ever put on an A/S for the spring/summer/fall but hopefully in the coming years we have more choices.

It's not apples to apples, but my Bronco had 35" Goodyear Territory/Wrangler M/T tires and the Pirelli's are much quieter and more comfortable so far (and don't catch & throw gravel they way those did.) Those Goodyears weren't 3 peak tires and did fine last winter so I'm hopeful for the Pirelli's this winter.

 

[JerseyGreens]

I have the 20" A/T and like them so far. I agree that range is king, but I'm in the mountains so climate and road conditions really dictated my thinking, with just enough gravel/dirt roads in my days to day to make it an easy decision. They do a great job keeping the roads clear during the winter but still, I'm at 7,000' and we get a ton of snow. I'll try these tires out this winter and get a dedicated snow tire if they don't handle it well enough. I doubt I'd ever put on an A/S for the spring/summer/fall but hopefully in the coming years we have more choices.

It's not apples to apples, but my Bronco had 35" Goodyear Territory/Wrangler M/T tires and the Pirelli's are much quieter and more comfortable so far (and don't catch & throw gravel they way those did.) Those Goodyears weren't 3 peak tires and did fine last winter so I'm hopeful for the Pirelli's this winter.

How much realistically do you think the range hit is?

 

[bjcleaver]

How much realistically do you think the range hit is?

The energy screen shows I’d get 270 miles in all purpose mode on a full charge. Rivian says it’s about a 40 mile hit on the 20s so 310 miles on the 21s seems about right.

 

[usofrob]

I considered making a new thread for this, but the tire sizes have different diameter.

The 20's are 1.3" larger than the 21 or 22" tires.
SCORPION™ ZERO ALL SEASON
275/50R22 : 32.8" (*Couldn't confirm the exact size of the Pirelli's, but should be within 0.1")

SCORPION™ VERDE ALL SEASON
275/55R21 116H XL RIVIAN ELECT : 32.8"

SCORPION™ ALL TERRAIN PLUS
275/65R20 : 34.1"

Certainly being .65" taller would hurt range a little. So, getting the 20" wheels, then swapping to something like 275/60R20 would get you to the same height as the others, which would be 33". It could help efficiency and dry handling. But that depends on how much advantage the built for electric claim has.

Also, the 22's seem to be better rated all around (including off road,) than the 21's by Pirelli:
https://www.pirelli.com/tires/en-us/car/catalog/product/scorpion-zero-all-season/275_50-r22
https://www.pirelli.com/tires/en-us...de-all-season/275_55-r21/116h-xl-rivian-elect
https://www.pirelli.com/tires/en-us/car/catalog/product/scorpion-all-terrain-plus/275_65-r20

I feel like I'd rather get something like 285/55R20 with good dry performance for the summers, then maybe the stock for the winters. But again, I really don't know about how much Pirelli did to make it an electric vehicle's tire. Which would make me lean towards the 22's for simplicity.

 

[tbradley1015]

Where did you find that diameter for the 21? TireRack shows 27.7 as diameter and pirelli site doesn't seem to show diameter.

Sponsored