Quad vs dual motor performance

[HBDave]

I know there are a number of threads comparing efficiency of the quad vs dual motor but does anyone have personal experience driving both? I have a quad motor R1S and my wife now has shop access to order hers. We are leaning towards the dual motor performance because honestly neither of us will be going off road... Any reason to get another quad motor (resale, reliability, etc). They are similarly priced so that isn't an issue. Any first hand experience would be helpful.

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[CypressRivian]

The biggest reason may be the longer warranty with the Quad, that's what sold me.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

If you’re never going off-road on a path that is higher than category 3, there is no reason to get Quad. Even the non-performance Dual would more than suffice.

 

[runningdenver]

I don't know if you'll be driving in the snow, but this thread was helpful to me. I'm waiting to configure, and now will certainly be leaning to the DM.

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/r1t-vs-r1s-in-snow.21621/

 

[runningdenver]

this is also a nice video showing the differences between the QM and DM. The recommendation here is also for the DM for the vast majority of people.

 

[EV-by-the-Sea]

Briefly drove a quad before taking delivery of our Performance DM. TBH don't notice much difference at all. But again, never had much time with a quad beforehand.

 

[R.I.P.]

I owned a quad, sold it and bought a DM. I am an avid off-roader, and have found the DM to handle real off-road obstacles better than my quad did. The DM's traction behavior is also far better than the quad was in snow/ice, and the DM is significantly more efficient.

The quad has known issues with half shafts that many still complain have not been resolved, is an older motor design with questionable cooling and is in the process of being phased out.

DM would seem a pretty easy choice, but it's ultimately up to your use case and preferences.

 

[R1Tom]

For me the Quad would be the way to go. Longer warranty, more power, and torque vectoring all are pluses to me. And I am not convinced that clutching mechanism in the rear of the duals is going to stand the test of time with the frequent engagement and disengagement it will be seeing (or if you lock it out by selecting a drive mode that keeps both motors constantly engaged...you then give up much of the dual efficiency gain).

 

[Proxy]

Off road the DM performance is far superior. The quad motors have overheated on me going up a long, slippery sand hill. Losing momentum and getting stuck was the bad outcome. Also the most any single wheel can get with a quad is less than 250 ft-lbs of torque. With a DM performance and traction control applying the spinning wheel’s brake, you can get over 400 ft-lbs to a single wheel. There are other advantages but these two are easy to show the difference.

 

[R1Tom]

Off road the DM performance is far superior. The quad motors have overheated on me going up a long, slippery sand hill. Losing momentum and getting stuck was the bad outcome. Also the most any single wheel can get with a quad is less than 250 ft-lbs of torque. With a DM performance and traction control applying the spinning wheel’s brake, you can get over 400 ft-lbs to a single wheel. There are other advantages but these two are easy to show the difference.

For the off road customers, I wish Rivian had included a lockable center diff in the front and rear of the DM to avoid brake lock diff techniques. Hard to beat a true locking differential off road. Unfortunately even with the DM still can't lock a center diff...which is ultimate off road set-up...one power source and all 4 tires locked together and turning at same speed.

 

[BCondrey]

I owned a QM for 9 months before it was totaled. I bought a DM to replace it (not performance DM). Key differences I have observed:

• DM is quieter - The two enduro motors produce much less noise.
• DM Regenerative Braking is Softer - Above 17 miles an hour, the rear motor is disengaged, so only the front motor is providing the braking.
• Cost - The quad is $8K more. I also didn't opt for the performance DM, which was $5K more. My thinking was if I missed the "performance" DM, I could probably buy it later since it is a software-enabled/disabled feature.
• DM has fewer drive modes - The quad has all the dive modes, most of which I never used. Drift, rally, etc. The DM has all purpose, snow, all terrain and tow.
• DM feels a bit softer - I had to be really careful with the QM because it had so much immediate torque. I like the DM better like this. More acceleration than you need, without the jumpiness. Still quick as all heck.
• QM has an extra year of warranty. I didn't see that as a big deal for people that don't drive the truck to extreme. I may be wrong about this.
• DM has the best efficiency, miles per full charge, whatever you want to call it.

Not all of these things are important to everyone I get that, it is really a matter of what means the most to the individual. For me it was the DM with more miles, less money, fewer modes I never used and still getting a beast of a truck.

 

[WhidbeyIsland]

QM has an extra year of warranty. I didn't see that as a big deal for people that don't drive the truck to extreme. I may be wrong about this.

I too am a bit worried about the shorter warranty. I have the DM Performance version. I resolve it in my mind with the fact that the new Enduro motors are oil-immersion cooled and being of a newer (in-house) design will last considerably longer. Only time will tell.

 

[ndmiller]

Waiting on my truck, so take with grain of salt. The power discussion IMHO seems silly. 800 or 900 LB-FT of torque and 600 versus 800 HP. Over 500 of either seems like a coin flip.

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