Max Pack vs Large Pack range test (by Out of Spec)

[Supratachophobia]

I do not know if someone offers extended battery warranties for Rivians but one is available for Teslas: 057tech.com.

Nope, they shut their doors. The only Tesla battery upgrade place is the one in California. I forget their name, I'll go back to my quote I received.

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[RivianDad2]

Another issue I’ll raise just because I haven’t seen it mentioned yet, is real world added cost of the Large pack. Yes, the Max pack is $10,000 more (maybe more or less depending on your tax situation), but there are real world costs of having less range. [Spoiler alert: probably not enough out of pocket to offset the max pack cost].

Many people talk about making fewer stops on a road trip. However, many others, including me, having talked about the difference being enough to safely get to a home charger, be that at home, at a second house, or perhaps a relative’s house. Each time, assuming the home charge would be at the lowest rates, that’s probably a $20-$30 savings per trip. For most people, charging at a supercharger means paying a premium on what are most likely peak or close to peak rates. Practically speaking, once there most will probably add 50kWh or so. My guess is that extra stops also result in buying things like coffee, snacks, or other impulse purchases. There’s, of course, also the time factor.

Everyone has a different use case, but if a max battery saves you 20-30 stops per year it could be saving you $400-$900/year. On the other hand, much of that savings could be eaten up by the interest on the $10K you saved.

From a purely out of pocket perspective, the Large battery probably wins even after factoring in the additional out of pocket costs.

All that said, I did my first 250 mile round trip in my max R1S yesterday and was glad I had the max. I started out with 97% and got home with 21%.

 

[ssincl3]

I think max pack makes more sense and a bigger difference for 20” all terrain tires. I get under 220-250 miles, on a full charge, on road trips with all overland gear hanging off. So there are times an extra 30-50 miles of range would have definitely saved us. If I got anything over 300 miles with these tires I’d be a lil happier.

 

[ssincl3]

Depends on typical travel distances. For some that extra 22 mile could be the difference between making it to the next charging stop, or not. Though, I think most are choosing it because of current pricing and/or range anxiety (because you can theoretically get 400+ if configured with 21" wheels)—large numbers of Rivian owners are first-time EV owners.

I think max pack makes more sense and a bigger difference for 20” all terrain tires. I get around 220-250 miles, on a full charge, on road trips with all overland gear hanging off. So there are times an extra 30-50 miles of range would have definitely saved us. If I got anything over 300 miles with these tires I’d be a lil happier.

 

[ssincl3]

Another issue I’ll raise just because I haven’t seen it mentioned yet, is real world added cost of the Large pack. Yes, the Max pack is $10,000 more (maybe more or less depending on your tax situation), but there are real world costs of having less range. [Spoiler alert: probably not enough out of pocket to offset the max pack cost].

Many people talk about making fewer stops on a road trip. However, many others, including me, having talked about the difference being enough to safely get to a home charger, be that at home, at a second house, or perhaps a relative’s house. Each time, assuming the home charge would be at the lowest rates, that’s probably a $20-$30 savings per trip. For most people, charging at a supercharger means paying a premium on what are most likely peak or close to peak rates. Practically speaking, once there most will probably add 50kWh or so. My guess is that extra stops also result in buying things like coffee, snacks, or other impulse purchases. There’s, of course, also the time factor.

Everyone has a different use case, but if a max battery saves you 20-30 stops per year it could be saving you $400-$900/year. On the other hand, much of that savings could be eaten up by the interest on the $10K you saved.

From a purely out of pocket perspective, the Large battery probably wins even after factoring in the additional out of pocket costs.

All that said, I did my first 250 mile round trip in my max R1S yesterday and was glad I had the max. I started out with 97% and got home with 21%.

These days I only want to use RAN chargers on road trips. I have 20” ATs. Getting anything over 300 miles with these tires would be a win (I want/need these tires) . I get ~230 miles. Paying 10k, you pay it and deal with it, but constantly wanting just 20-50 more miles per charge/trip is stressful.

 

[usulio]

These days I only want to use RAN chargers on road trips. I have 20” ATs. Getting anything over 300 miles with these tires would be a win (I want/need these tires) . I get ~230 miles. Paying 10k, you pay it and deal with it, but constantly wanting just 20-50 more miles per charge/trip is stressful.

Is it an option to drive slower? I get 300+ miles on ATs if my speed is under 65 or so.

 

[ssincl3]

Is it an option to drive slower? I get 300+ miles on ATs if my speed is under 65 or so.

Short And: Nope!

Long Ans: Heeck no! I’m too young to drive slow! My pride won’t let me. It’s a sad day when all the big rigs in AZ are passing my 835 HP truck. If I had to drive that slow for road trips I’d just drive som’n else more simple.

Real Ans: I always carry many things outside the truck that add weight and causes drag which reduces range. (Tent, awning, bikes, etc.)

So yes, I’m the main cause of my problems that’s why it will cost me.

 

[emoore]

These days I only want to use RAN chargers on road trips. I have 20” ATs. Getting anything over 300 miles with these tires would be a win (I want/need these tires) . I get ~230 miles. Paying 10k, you pay it and deal with it, but constantly wanting just 20-50 more miles per charge/trip is stressful.

You'll get access to thousands of more chargers next year too. Although a lot of the rural Superchargers are only v1 and v2 and we won't be able to charge at those.

 

[jdinsb]

There is a lot of Dual Motor Max Pack R1S inventory sitting on the Shop right now (33 as of two seconds ago!), hardly any Large Packs. I would not be shocked to see a price cut on the Max in Q1, particularly with the reception it is getting.

 

[Supratachophobia]

There is a lot of Dual Motor Max Pack R1S inventory sitting on the Shop right now (33 as of two seconds ago!), hardly any Large Packs. I would not be shocked to see a price cut on the Max in Q1, particularly with the reception it is getting.

I see 2......

 

[Indy avocado]

All that said, I did my first 250 mile round trip in my max R1S yesterday and was glad I had the max. I started out with 97% and got home with 21%.

With the large you would have arrived with a terrifying 15% remaining!

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have 6% more energy, but I'm not willing to pay anywhere near $10k for it. Driving 3-5mph slower will do the same thing.

 

[ev_fanatic]

With the large you would have arrived with a terrifying 15% remaining!

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have 6% more energy, but I'm not willing to pay anywhere near $10k for it. Driving 3-5mph slower will do the same thing.

Would you change your opinion if this was a regular trip (250 miles) and after 7-8 years battery degradation caused a 8-10% range drop? Also, would it not be worse (in terms of degradation) for the battery to be discharged to a lower percentage on a regular basis? Also possible that they paid $6500 instead of $10000 if they're a pre-price-hike reservation holder.

 

[Indy avocado]

Would you change your opinion if this was a regular trip (250 miles) and after 7-8 years battery degradation caused a 8-10% range drop? Also, would it not be worse (in terms of degradation) for the battery to be discharged to a lower percentage on a regular basis? Also possible that they paid $6500 instead of $10000 if they're a pre-price-hike reservation holder.

No. Because in 7-8 years any/all of the following are likely:
1. I won't need to perform that "regular trip"
2. There will be L2 charging at both ends.
3. There will be a variety of DCFC options along the route
4. I will have a different, longer range vehicle.
5. I can drive a little bit slower or on more efficient tires.

It is not known either way yet, but all else equal, higher capacity cells/chemistries generally degrade faster. The 6% difference in effective cycle count is probably negligible in the grand scheme.

$6500 is still salty, but if you're not price sensitive, is borderline sensible to me. I personally would consider Max Pack at ~$2-3k.

 

[usofrob]

When I bought my 2015 Model S, I paid an extra $3k to go from 85D to 90D. That was probably a similar cost per kwh. I didn't think it was needed, but I wanted to max range I could get at the time. I can easily see the same sort of logic here.

I don't believe there is any evidence that this chemistry change will cause faster degradation. While it is kind of true, it's also the case that batteries are lasting longer and holding more charge than they were in the past. So, I'd say on average it can't be true.

 

[BrentInCO]

When I bought my 2015 Model S, I paid an extra $3k to go from 85D to 90D. That was probably a similar cost per kwh. I didn't think it was needed, but I wanted to max range I could get at the time. I can easily see the same sort of logic here.

I don't believe there is any evidence that this chemistry change will cause faster degradation. While it is kind of true, it's also the case that batteries are lasting longer and holding more charge than they were in the past. So, I'd say on average it can't be true.

https://electrek.co/2020/06/06/tesla-battery-degradation-replacement/

https://electrek.co/2020/06/12/tesla-data-battery-degradation-limited-mileage-packs-equal/

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