Latest range maximization recommendations?

[Dennisis]

I find the Rivian planner more accurate at range estimation than teslas. The charging stops it gives are fine. In fact because its not limited to a single network I find its recommendations to be better than Tesla.

Good to know! Given a choice which chargers do you usually select? I’ve only charged at Tesla superchargers (and the occasional ChargePoint in more remote areas) and one time at an EA charger years ago just to make sure my adapter worked . I just tossed that adapter as it’s not up to Rivian specs I read, may get a new Rivian CCS one but not sure if it’s worth the cost? Thoughts?

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[jrmbadger]

@Dennisis i prefer Ionna, Kwik Trip chargers, and Tesla v4 chargers. The v3 are fine but you may have to take 2 spaces and i find them a bit slower (if you have an R2 this doesnt matter as much). The ionna and kwik trips are fast and have both NACs and CCS. EA stations are ok too but dont seem as reliable.

If you dont know KwikTrip is a gas station chain in Minn, Wi, and Iowa (where its called kwik star) so if you dont live or travel through those states you probably wont ever come across one but they have nice 400kw chargers with both NACS and CCS and the stores are clean and have food and pretty much anything you want. These aren't in the Rivian nav yet so I navigate to them manually.

I did buy a CCS adapter for our model Y and Ive used it a few times. i find it to be worth it just in case. There are still some remote level 3 chargers that are ccs only

Since you are coming from tesla you probably know about plugshare, but if not its a great app that shows you all the chargers in an area, their power, and ratings from users.

One more thing, since you arent Tesla anymore you pay a higher rate per kwh. You can get the lower rate but you have to buy into the membership. This is usually worth it if you charge there more than once on a trip. But to get this rate you have to start charging through the tesla app. Not plug n charge. Same thing with EA.

 

[Dennisis]

@Dennisis i prefer Ionna, Kwik Trip chargers, and Tesla v4 chargers. The v3 are fine but you may have to take 2 spaces and i find them a bit slower (if you have an R2 this doesnt matter as much). The ionna and kwik trips are fast and have both NACs and CCS. EA stations are ok too but dont seem as reliable.

If you dont know KwikTrip is a gas station chain in Minn, Wi, and Iowa (where its called kwik star) so if you dont live or travel through those states you probably wont ever come across one but they have nice 400kw chargers with both NACS and CCS and the stores are clean and have food and pretty much anything you want. These aren't in the Rivian nav yet so I navigate to them manually.

I did buy a CCS adapter for our model Y and Ive used it a few times. i find it to be worth it just in case. There are still some remote level 3 chargers that are ccs only

Since you are coming from tesla you probably know about plugshare, but if not its a great app that shows you all the chargers in an area, their power, and ratings from users.

One more thing, since you arent Tesla anymore you pay a higher rate per kwh. You can get the lower rate but you have to buy into the membership. This is usually worth it if you charge there more than once on a trip. But to get this rate you have to start charging through the tesla app. Not plug n charge. Same thing with EA.

Thanks! Yes have used PlugShare for many years, very helpful, and read about the Tesla app monthly charge thing too. I’m taking a trip to San Diego in a couple of days and may try the Ionna as people seem to love them. But why not the RAN?

 

[jrmbadger]

@Dennisis - My area has one RAN charger and its close to my home, so really not much opportunity to use it!

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

@Dennisis - My area has one RAN charger and its close to my home, so really not much opportunity to use it!

If you had referrals and free charging... you would

 

[ndmiller]

Best way to save range is going to be to reduce drag, so slow down. 75 mph to 65 mph is a big difference.

This is the way along with proper tire pressure.

Lighter rims and tires would do something as well but slowing down is the #1 way to add more EV range or gas milage for ICE vehicles.

 

[Electron]

I have done thousands of miles using the Conserve mode for long road trips. There is no issue. Unlike city driving where there are stops and acceleration all the time, highway cruising is not hard on the drive tires.

Since the conserve mode puts the vehicle into FWD mode and changes the ride height to lowest, it reduces drag and shuts the rear motor down using a physical clutch. My most recent road trip was roughly 2,800 miles and 80% or so was done on the conserve mode.

My recommendation is to use the conserve mode on the freeways only. I have driven from Houston to LA and it takes 2 days to get out of Texas. The first day to Fort Stockton, then the second day to Phoenix, The 3rd day to LA. The road is mostly flat and straight so the conserve mode is just fine.

On the mountain and canyon sections, where there are lots of curves, go back to AP or sport mode as R1S behaves better in AWD mode.

Personally, I usually drive at 75~85 mph on the road trips. Match meal and nature breaks with charging and works out just fine. Just use the nav to find out where charging locations are and plan to your stops using your head, not what the nav tells you. I only use Tesla or RAN chargers. Tesla with membership on road trips results in the lowest cost in my experience.

Enjoy and don't over think it. Safe travels.

I agree. Zero issues.

To add, I have AT mode on until I get to cruising speed and only then switch on Conserve mode. When exiting I switch it back to AT before regenning.

 

[lefkonj]

Conserve helps because it becomes a front wheel drive vehicle. This is great when cruising on the highway. As others have stated the tires are your biggest drain so changing those will increase your range but in reality drive longer get the range down further you will be fine.

 

[BCondrey]

I have a dual motor R1T, and our conserve mode is sort of automatic for us in allpurpose drive mode. Rear motor cuts out at speed, kicks back in instantly when you need torque. Works great. I have almost 40K on the original tires with good tread left. I think conserve operates similarly on quad/tri, except that you are starting from a standstill with just one set of wheels. That may be a bit more stress on the tires, I don't know. Don't be afraid to use it when you need it.

 

[mkg3]

Long time Tesla guy. So do you feel the Rivian doesn’t give the best info re where to charge and how long? Or do you just prefer to stop at particular chargers? Trying to bone up on the Rivian process after Tesla roadtripping for many years.

Me too and still own 2018 Model 3 (for now - I'm looking to update later this year) and I find that, since Tesla SC is so simple and reliable, for my use Tesla nav is better than Rivian's. I have found the Rivian nav is inconsistent showing available Tesla SC, especially if there is RAN in proximity.

As for stops, I prefer to consider both the charging needs and meal/nature breaks together on any road trips. An example is if there are multiple charging locations about the time for lunch, I'll always pick one in/near shopping center rather than whatever the nav picks.

Since I am in the west coast, unless the road trips takes me to east, there are virtually no Ionna and certainly no Buckee's. I would (and have) stop at Buckee's .

 

[SwampNut]

Conserve mode is my go to on every road trip, and makes a huge difference.

 

[VandalSibs]

Thanks! Yes have used PlugShare for many years, very helpful, and read about the Tesla app monthly charge thing too. I’m taking a trip to San Diego in a couple of days and may try the Ionna as people seem to love them. But why not the RAN?

RANs are more than fine too. Some people don't use them because in their experience they are more expensive, but in my neck of the woods they've been about the same or cheaper. Plus more often than not they have trailer pull-thru spots, and my wife and I tow our camper enough that it's a factor.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

Our R1T seems to get 5-10% better mileage per kWh in Conserve mode.

Almost all of that advantage, though, seems to be due to Front Wheel Drive operation. The Low ride height (which causes uneven tire wear) seems to be only a small fraction of the savings with Conserve mode.

To get the benefits of front wheel drive, without the tire wear problems of low ride height, here's what we do:

On both our R1's, unless we're in a low-ceiling parking garage, we switch ride height back to Standard whenever we notice it's in Low. Usually that's needed only once or twice a day.

Best to all!

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Our R1T seems to get 5-10% better mileage per kWh in Conserve mode.

Almost all of that advantage, though, seems to be due to Front Wheel Drive operation. The Low ride height (which causes uneven tire wear) seems to be only a small fraction of the savings with Conserve mode.

To get the benefits of front wheel drive, without the tire wear problems of low ride height, here's what we do:

On both our R1's, unless we're in a low-ceiling parking garage, we switch ride height back to Standard whenever we notice it's in Low. Usually that's needed only once or twice a day.

Best to all!

In a gen1 quad, Conserve disconnect the rear, so they are just along for the ride. 2 active motors consume less energy than 4 active motors. Plus, Conserve mode also pare back power output and change throttle mapping. Lowering ride height create greater air speed/pressure differential under the car compared to everywhere else. Thus reduce drag and turbulence. This is why race cars are low to the ground. This becomes a greater influence on efficiency at higher speeds, like over 70 mph.

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