Tahoeblue
Member
- First Name
- Ben
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2025
- Threads
- 2
- Messages
- 14
- Reaction score
- 24
- Location
- Lake Tahoe, CA
- Vehicles
- R1S
- Occupation
- Trouble maker
- Thread starter
- #1
Hi everyone.
Thought I would share my R1S impressions, charging experiences, tires, after market gear set-up, plus some key hacks learned form these forums. As always, all opinions are my own and if you have a different opinion or suggestion, I’m all ears. These forums have been a huge resource for me in the first months of ownership and working out the nuances of owning a Rivian.
Key details of the rig:
Purchased in September ‘24
2025 Gen2 R1S
22 Sport Bright with the Pirelli ATs – 275/50/R22 116H
Adventure Trim / Blackout Package
Dual Motor Perf + Max Pack
Midnight Paint
Premium Audio
Aftermarket PPF and ceramic coating applied
Charging Experiences:
At home: We have a Tesla wall charger from a prior Model S. I just the Tesla Mini Tap to charge the Rivian while at home. Works like a charm. Some threads suggest you connect the charging cable to the Mini-Tap and wait 30 seconds before plugging into the car itself. I don’t know if this actually is a “thing” or not.
Tesla charging: We recently did a road trip from Tahoe down to Southern California and drove down the 395 Highway (amazing drive if you’re interested). We used a few Tesla chargers over the course of the road trip and only had one connection issue out of about 6 uses. The connection issue resolved itself on a 2nd try and moving do a different charging lane. Prices vary and are what they are so I won’t go into that. Generally had very high charge speeds at each stop.
RAN charging: I’ve used the RAN charging in Sacramento, Truckee, Lee Vining, and Bishop. No issues at any of them and charging speeds were solid (120 to 165), but also dependent on the number of other Rivian also on-site. For a holiday week, I was expecting to wait, but we got lucky and had no delays. Always nice to speak to other owners at the stations while you charge - great community of owners out there.
EVGO: We have some local EVGOs and my experience is very hit and miss (which is consistent with others in these forums). My experience is they are working 70% of the time and the charge speeds are never what is advertised or painted in the parking stall. There is a brand new EVGO that has 8 bays and all tout 350KW speeds. I’ve tried at different times, arrived with different SOC levels, preconditioned the battery, and been the only car at the station…and never exceeded 140KW once. Average tends to be 110-120 if I’m lucky.
ChargePoint: Similar to EVGO I find these L2 stations to be hit and miss. We have one at my office location and it works just fine for some modest juice up.
Overall: Genearlly good experience charging, but I do my homework in advance when it comes to non RAN or Tesla stations. As people have said in other threads, I don’t have range anxiety, I have charger availability anxiety…
Other Impressions:
Rivian App: I’d rate the app a 5 out of 10 if I’m being honest. Clunky at best. My only compare is the Tesla App which was far more reliable. Updating climate settings, charging pre-sets or looking at gear guard clips can be slow, unresponsive, or just annoying. The app periodically forgets that is a key and I have to repair the phone from time to time. Unlocking or locking the car remotely works most of the time, but not all the time. I’ve had my family tell me that it worked and is unlocked, but the app tells me that it is not and is unable to reach the car. I assume Rivian will improve the stability of the app over time. Can’t get any worse.
Premium Audio: Still a lot of work to do on this. Compared to other cars I’ve owned with premium audio packages, the Rivian’s is in last place in terms of overall sound quality and audio consistency across services. I also find that I need to do periodic soft resets on the audio system to fix the radio not connecting or Apple Music being unable to connect, etc. This is not the end of the world, but Audio should be farther along than it is. There are plenty of threads on this issue on the forums.
Tires:
All Season Tires: The rig came with the Scorpions 275/50/R22s. No issues with those for basic driving, minimal road noise, etc. I have had experience with Scorpion tires before on my wife’s XC90 and will probably look for a better option when those tires run out of tread. I just don’t see the value/mileage in Pirelli vs. other tires. Just anecdotal evidence and experience. As the old saying goes, your mileage may vary…
Winter Tires: I just swapped out the Pirelli’s for a true winter tire and had my local shop install Nokian R5s of the exact same size. I have a set of JackPucks and my local shop had experience in this. We just had a nice winter storm up here in Tahoe a few days ago that dropped about 8 to 10 inches on top of existing slush and wet conditions. We have a number of steep hills near our location plus winding turns with odd cambers that can be tricky in icy conditions. It was also a holiday week so it looked like the annual meeting of the summer tire club in some parts of Tahoe. The Rivian handled the roads like a billy goat and I didn’t slip once or have any issues navigating the roads. I alternated between all purpose and snow modes and tried to break traction several times – couldn’t make it happen. I suspect my experience would have been similar in Defenders, Blizzaks, or other popular winter tires. Either way, the Nokians are a great fit, match the original tire size and that minimized the need for any other changes to the car’s set-up.
I should point out that there are tons of great posts and threads on tires, brand preferences, and winter driving experiences and situations. This is the set-up that works for me. I know some have had great experience in snow/ice with just the stock ATs and some have not. I’m an experienced winter/snow/ice driver and just prefer the added security of a winter tire - more so with a 7000lb vehicle under me. I was taught a few key lessons about driving in the snow/ice: 1) assume everyone around you doesn’t know how to 2) Drive like there is an egg behind your brake and accelerator pedal 3) turn the wheel toward the direction your ass is sliding 4) A few extra car lengths between you and the guy in front of you never hurts
Gear (Rivian Gear & Aftermarket Gear):
All Weather Mats: The rig came with the Chilewich mats which look nice, but I quickly replaced with Rivian branded front and middle all weather floor mats. They are well made, clip in nicely and have held up well in rainy/slushy/muddy type conditions. Pull them out, hose ‘em off, dry and put back in. I know multiple people who ordered the rear Cargo liner from WeatherTech and are very disappointed. General commentary is that it is a bad fit and does not really work well with the way the cargo area is setup for 3rd row, spare storage space and the various nooks and crannies. If you have one and it works great, then kudos to you. Just sharing feedback.
Cargo Area Liner: I ordered the full cargo liner setup from Canvasback.com. I was hesitant at first and a bit skeptical when it showed up in multiple pieces, but after putting it in place and having it for several months I’m sold. High quality product, great company, cleans very easily, and looks really clean with the dark interior. Zero impact on any functionality of the back seats or storage area and protects it all. We have a yellow lab who spends time in the back and it keeps his shedding and muddy paws in check. Our rig is meant to be used, not pampered so having a cargo liner that does the work is a huge benefit. It comes with a ‘spill over cover’ that protects the tailgate when you lower it – don’t underestimate that feature.
Rack Bars: We have Rivian rack bars (black) to handle a Yakima cargo box on top or paddle boards in the summer. In my experience, I usually get 3 of the 4 sections to click in nicely and one needs a bit of finesse to lock into place. I’ve found that if you really pull down on the end of the cargo bar and then push in the latch, it will usually always take. I’ve not had to do adjustments like others in the forum have talked about.
Rack Bar Hack: When I first got the rack bars, I took it for test spin on the highway and it had a lot of whistle to it. Thanks to feedback on these forums, I used black electrical tape to cover the front ‘seams’ that run across the bars. This eliminated the whistle and noise. With the black bars, you hardly notice the tape if you take your time and apply it right. This feels like a Rivian design flaw, but I’m not an engineer.
Cargo Storage Boxes: This not really a Rivian specific thing, but if you have kids, tons of gear, do roadtrips, a dog, or some other mix of flotsam and jetsam then check out the CleverMade collapsible storage boxes on Amazon. They stack nicely on top of each other and won’t tip over when you make turns, collapse when not in use, and helps keep my sanity in place on roadtrips. I don’t like to open the tailgate at a charging station and have our road trip life spill out onto the parking lot. They come in different sizes.
Glass Roof Shade: We have the panoramic glass roof and during hot California days, that can really cook the inside. I bought a shade that fits snugly inside and covers the glass. I bought the ‘BestEVMod foldable shade’ on Amazon. About $65 I think. There seemed to be a half dozen or so vendors of these so I just picked one that had decent reviews. Final verdict is: Much better than expected and would buy again. The clips and fit are very snug and tight. There is no sagging or other cheap fringe work that makes it feel sloppy. If keeping the rig cool in the summer is something you want to do, then I recommend this. The color closely matches the interior and most people don’t even notice it.
Thank you for reading.
Thought I would share my R1S impressions, charging experiences, tires, after market gear set-up, plus some key hacks learned form these forums. As always, all opinions are my own and if you have a different opinion or suggestion, I’m all ears. These forums have been a huge resource for me in the first months of ownership and working out the nuances of owning a Rivian.
Key details of the rig:
Purchased in September ‘24
2025 Gen2 R1S
22 Sport Bright with the Pirelli ATs – 275/50/R22 116H
Adventure Trim / Blackout Package
Dual Motor Perf + Max Pack
Midnight Paint
Premium Audio
Aftermarket PPF and ceramic coating applied
Charging Experiences:
At home: We have a Tesla wall charger from a prior Model S. I just the Tesla Mini Tap to charge the Rivian while at home. Works like a charm. Some threads suggest you connect the charging cable to the Mini-Tap and wait 30 seconds before plugging into the car itself. I don’t know if this actually is a “thing” or not.
Tesla charging: We recently did a road trip from Tahoe down to Southern California and drove down the 395 Highway (amazing drive if you’re interested). We used a few Tesla chargers over the course of the road trip and only had one connection issue out of about 6 uses. The connection issue resolved itself on a 2nd try and moving do a different charging lane. Prices vary and are what they are so I won’t go into that. Generally had very high charge speeds at each stop.
RAN charging: I’ve used the RAN charging in Sacramento, Truckee, Lee Vining, and Bishop. No issues at any of them and charging speeds were solid (120 to 165), but also dependent on the number of other Rivian also on-site. For a holiday week, I was expecting to wait, but we got lucky and had no delays. Always nice to speak to other owners at the stations while you charge - great community of owners out there.
EVGO: We have some local EVGOs and my experience is very hit and miss (which is consistent with others in these forums). My experience is they are working 70% of the time and the charge speeds are never what is advertised or painted in the parking stall. There is a brand new EVGO that has 8 bays and all tout 350KW speeds. I’ve tried at different times, arrived with different SOC levels, preconditioned the battery, and been the only car at the station…and never exceeded 140KW once. Average tends to be 110-120 if I’m lucky.
ChargePoint: Similar to EVGO I find these L2 stations to be hit and miss. We have one at my office location and it works just fine for some modest juice up.
Overall: Genearlly good experience charging, but I do my homework in advance when it comes to non RAN or Tesla stations. As people have said in other threads, I don’t have range anxiety, I have charger availability anxiety…
Other Impressions:
Rivian App: I’d rate the app a 5 out of 10 if I’m being honest. Clunky at best. My only compare is the Tesla App which was far more reliable. Updating climate settings, charging pre-sets or looking at gear guard clips can be slow, unresponsive, or just annoying. The app periodically forgets that is a key and I have to repair the phone from time to time. Unlocking or locking the car remotely works most of the time, but not all the time. I’ve had my family tell me that it worked and is unlocked, but the app tells me that it is not and is unable to reach the car. I assume Rivian will improve the stability of the app over time. Can’t get any worse.
Premium Audio: Still a lot of work to do on this. Compared to other cars I’ve owned with premium audio packages, the Rivian’s is in last place in terms of overall sound quality and audio consistency across services. I also find that I need to do periodic soft resets on the audio system to fix the radio not connecting or Apple Music being unable to connect, etc. This is not the end of the world, but Audio should be farther along than it is. There are plenty of threads on this issue on the forums.
Tires:
All Season Tires: The rig came with the Scorpions 275/50/R22s. No issues with those for basic driving, minimal road noise, etc. I have had experience with Scorpion tires before on my wife’s XC90 and will probably look for a better option when those tires run out of tread. I just don’t see the value/mileage in Pirelli vs. other tires. Just anecdotal evidence and experience. As the old saying goes, your mileage may vary…
Winter Tires: I just swapped out the Pirelli’s for a true winter tire and had my local shop install Nokian R5s of the exact same size. I have a set of JackPucks and my local shop had experience in this. We just had a nice winter storm up here in Tahoe a few days ago that dropped about 8 to 10 inches on top of existing slush and wet conditions. We have a number of steep hills near our location plus winding turns with odd cambers that can be tricky in icy conditions. It was also a holiday week so it looked like the annual meeting of the summer tire club in some parts of Tahoe. The Rivian handled the roads like a billy goat and I didn’t slip once or have any issues navigating the roads. I alternated between all purpose and snow modes and tried to break traction several times – couldn’t make it happen. I suspect my experience would have been similar in Defenders, Blizzaks, or other popular winter tires. Either way, the Nokians are a great fit, match the original tire size and that minimized the need for any other changes to the car’s set-up.
I should point out that there are tons of great posts and threads on tires, brand preferences, and winter driving experiences and situations. This is the set-up that works for me. I know some have had great experience in snow/ice with just the stock ATs and some have not. I’m an experienced winter/snow/ice driver and just prefer the added security of a winter tire - more so with a 7000lb vehicle under me. I was taught a few key lessons about driving in the snow/ice: 1) assume everyone around you doesn’t know how to 2) Drive like there is an egg behind your brake and accelerator pedal 3) turn the wheel toward the direction your ass is sliding 4) A few extra car lengths between you and the guy in front of you never hurts
Gear (Rivian Gear & Aftermarket Gear):
All Weather Mats: The rig came with the Chilewich mats which look nice, but I quickly replaced with Rivian branded front and middle all weather floor mats. They are well made, clip in nicely and have held up well in rainy/slushy/muddy type conditions. Pull them out, hose ‘em off, dry and put back in. I know multiple people who ordered the rear Cargo liner from WeatherTech and are very disappointed. General commentary is that it is a bad fit and does not really work well with the way the cargo area is setup for 3rd row, spare storage space and the various nooks and crannies. If you have one and it works great, then kudos to you. Just sharing feedback.
Cargo Area Liner: I ordered the full cargo liner setup from Canvasback.com. I was hesitant at first and a bit skeptical when it showed up in multiple pieces, but after putting it in place and having it for several months I’m sold. High quality product, great company, cleans very easily, and looks really clean with the dark interior. Zero impact on any functionality of the back seats or storage area and protects it all. We have a yellow lab who spends time in the back and it keeps his shedding and muddy paws in check. Our rig is meant to be used, not pampered so having a cargo liner that does the work is a huge benefit. It comes with a ‘spill over cover’ that protects the tailgate when you lower it – don’t underestimate that feature.
Rack Bars: We have Rivian rack bars (black) to handle a Yakima cargo box on top or paddle boards in the summer. In my experience, I usually get 3 of the 4 sections to click in nicely and one needs a bit of finesse to lock into place. I’ve found that if you really pull down on the end of the cargo bar and then push in the latch, it will usually always take. I’ve not had to do adjustments like others in the forum have talked about.
Rack Bar Hack: When I first got the rack bars, I took it for test spin on the highway and it had a lot of whistle to it. Thanks to feedback on these forums, I used black electrical tape to cover the front ‘seams’ that run across the bars. This eliminated the whistle and noise. With the black bars, you hardly notice the tape if you take your time and apply it right. This feels like a Rivian design flaw, but I’m not an engineer.
Cargo Storage Boxes: This not really a Rivian specific thing, but if you have kids, tons of gear, do roadtrips, a dog, or some other mix of flotsam and jetsam then check out the CleverMade collapsible storage boxes on Amazon. They stack nicely on top of each other and won’t tip over when you make turns, collapse when not in use, and helps keep my sanity in place on roadtrips. I don’t like to open the tailgate at a charging station and have our road trip life spill out onto the parking lot. They come in different sizes.
Glass Roof Shade: We have the panoramic glass roof and during hot California days, that can really cook the inside. I bought a shade that fits snugly inside and covers the glass. I bought the ‘BestEVMod foldable shade’ on Amazon. About $65 I think. There seemed to be a half dozen or so vendors of these so I just picked one that had decent reviews. Final verdict is: Much better than expected and would buy again. The clips and fit are very snug and tight. There is no sagging or other cheap fringe work that makes it feel sloppy. If keeping the rig cool in the summer is something you want to do, then I recommend this. The color closely matches the interior and most people don’t even notice it.
Thank you for reading.
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