Efficiency secrets?

[srnyoung]

Efficiency tip #2:
Bigger trips = better efficiency.

In town, I’m rarely above 2.0. The Rivian is actually less efficient in “city” than the Lightning. Jump on the highway for big, consistent miles and I’ll see 2.5+

This: OP's daily distance is short. What's yours, @YellowBuddy?

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[EVnewb]

Try all the recommendations above, and experiment with a medium drive. Keep the speeds low! That’s one of the most critical things. Under 65 will give you the best results, assuming no winds.

Then, try pre-conditioning and see if that brings things up (because Winter).

If neither of those bring your efficiency up, call the SC. We’ve see situations where trucks are misaligned enough that, while not causing issues driving, are dramatically impacting efficiency. Improper toe-in is usually the culprit.

Agreed. I also changed the charging schedule as suggested to start later in the early morning with hopes it might stop charging right before leaving for work and keep the batteries warmed up.

Driving slow is hard to do out here in Maryland because unless you’re doing 10-15 over the speed limit, you’ll have a line of cars riding your tailgate! Not even joking when I say 70mph in a 55 is the flow of traffic haha.

 

[goldburger]

I’ve tried being super gentle lately over the last week or so just to see how high I can get that efficiency. Haha I was expecting to see up around 3 driving the less fun way! But like others have said, winter, ~30 minute commute, and the lack of real preconditioning might be the biggest culprits here.

Winter isn't my issue since it was 70 degrees today. I've started to precondition the battery as well but worry about going over 70%, so I try to set the schedule charge based on what my mileage is when I park. It ended at 69% today (nice). Short commute is def a thing for me so if that affects efficiency even with preconditioning that could be it. I often drive the long way just to keep driving the truck and spotted two parked Rivian's on streets I don't usually drive today. Always fun.

 

[mikehmb]

Agreed. I also changed the charging schedule as suggested to start later in the early morning with hopes it might stop charging right before leaving for work and keep the batteries warmed up.

Driving slow is hard to do out here in Maryland because unless you’re doing 10-15 over the speed limit, you’ll have a line of cars riding your tailgate! Not even joking when I say 70mph in a 55 is the flow of traffic haha.

I haven’t seen a significant difference using L2 at home in terms of battery temperatures, but my garage rarely dips below 55 degrees F. You can fake-out preconditioning a bit by setting Nav to go to a DCFC, hitting “start”, and waiting a bit. It’s not ideal, and I hope Rivian comes up with a better solution, but for now it’s a functional hack.

I totally get the driving slow thing. I live in CA and on I-80 earlier in the week returning from Sacramento, I was trying to keep it at/under 70 and thought I was going to get run down. Very typical to see 80+ speeds in a 65 zone. Commuting, it’s typical to see people at 85-90 in a 65. Guess I’m just not in that much of a hurry anymore.

 

[bobaurora]

Another thing i have tried is to take a more direct route using 2 lane roads. it has a double benefit sometimes. Less miles and reduced speed often gets you there in about the same time and efficiency is great. Check out the efficiency route in google maps. But only sometimes this is worth it.

 

[Jabbahop]

I am not sure how big a difference this makes but I do pretty well relative to estimated efficiency (on our Tesla model S, i3, and R1T) by easing into regen and throttle. I almost never use the brake pedal and rarely use max regen assuming that there is more loss @ higher inputs. I am probably full of crap though ;-)

 

[SDH]

Temp/time of day is a factor but also don't forget SMOOTH driving.

I see loads of drivers racing away from the lights up to the next set of lights, then going hard on the brakes and coming to a complete stop. Meanwhile, if I can, I'll drive smoothly away and timing my arrival so my wheels don't stop rolling. Ditto for stop/start traffic. Something I learnt from the police motorbikers in London. Slow = smooth = fast.

Moving a 4t truck from standstill uses a load of energy.

 

[jollyroger]

...

Moving a 4t truck from standstill uses a load of energy.

I really think this is it. Even using regen to stop, you don't pull in all the energey you lost. But trying to move 7k of mass from stoplight to stoplight uses more energy that I think I expected.

I see this in traffic sometimes. Stop and go my efficiency is worse, when it just moves along slowly, I start to get into the threes.

 

[NY_Rob]

No heat
Conserve mode
Drive slow
Lowest suspension setting
Proper tire pressure

Shades of the Prius Hyper-Mile club all over again...

 

[EVnewb]

I am not sure how big a difference this makes but I do pretty well relative to estimated efficiency (on our Tesla model S, i3, and R1T) by easing into regen and throttle. I almost never use the brake pedal and rarely use max regen assuming that there is more loss @ higher inputs. I am probably full of crap though ;-)

That’s actually a good point. Not sure how true it is and I’ve never tried it, but it makes sense. I’ve read turning your regen down or off on long drives down the highway (without traffic of course) can increase your efficiency and range since the truck won’t be slowing it self down on smaller hills. I wouldn’t turn it off coming down I-70 into Denver obviously, but you get what I mean.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

This: OP's daily distance is short. What's yours, @YellowBuddy?

I rarely drive only a couple of miles. If I hop in the truck I'm generally driving 20 miles or more.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

Temp/time of day is a factor but also don't forget SMOOTH driving.

I see loads of drivers racing away from the lights up to the next set of lights, then going hard on the brakes and coming to a complete stop. Meanwhile, if I can, I'll drive smoothly away and timing my arrival so my wheels don't stop rolling. Ditto for stop/start traffic. Something I learnt from the police motorbikers in London. Slow = smooth = fast.

Moving a 4t truck from standstill uses a load of energy.

This would be me. When the light turns green I RACE to 5mph over the speed limit...then SMOOTHLY let off and keep it at 5mph over speed limit. Then when I come up on a red light, I SMOOTHLY ease off the accelerator until it brings itself to a full and complete stop.

 

[EVnewb]

I really think this is it. Even using regen to stop, you don't pull in all the energey you lost. But trying to move 7k of mass from stoplight to stoplight uses more energy that I think I expected.

I see this in traffic sometimes. Stop and go my efficiency is worse, when it just moves along slowly, I start to get into the threes.

Also a good point. We try to do that here too as much as we can. Luckily we live in rural farmland and only a few stoplights between here and the highway. Stop and go traffic is hard to avoid out there on the highway though and leaving a little more than a car length in front of you when cars start to move is like inviting a lane hopper to jump in front of you each time haha.

 

[EVnewb]

This would be me. When the light turns green I RACE to 5mph over the speed limit...then SMOOTHLY let off and keep it at 5mph over speed limit. Then when I come up on a red light, I SMOOTHLY ease off the accelerator until it brings itself to a full and complete stop.

Here’s a dumb question, but does it use a ton more energy to race to say, 50mph than it does to accelerate slowly to 50mph with an EV? I’m assuming it does and it would be a curve right?

 

[SDH]

Here’s a dumb question, but does it use a ton more energy to race to say, 50mph than it does to accelerate slowly to 50mph with an EV? I’m assuming it does and it would be a curve right?

I'm no physicist but if you think about it in ICE terms: gently pulling away and short shifting vs. hitting the redline before every change. Yes, you travel more slowly, but if you drive 'heads up' (I'm mainly talking urban/semi-rural) and particularly if you've got a set of traffic lights up ahead, you can pull away at the green light probably the same as the racer who got there 10 secs before you then sat still.

Also, you ever see those strong men pulling trucks? The hardest bit is getting the thing off the line. Once you have movement/momentum, it requires less force/energy.

In an EV, you really should only need to touch the brake pedal in an emergency.

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