Rivian vs Tesla skateboard chassis

[GreenMonster]

So Rivian and Tesla both use so called skateboard chassis. They look and sound very similar with both housing the battery packs, wheels, suspension, brakes, and motors. Does Rivian's skateboard have any improvements or advantages?

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[ElectricTrucking]

My concern is about the issues of half shafts on the Model X and to a degree with the Model S. Many comments on the Tesla forums about this problem. I hope Rivian is aware of this problem which seems to be related to the air suspension on Tesla model X and S. Too high of a driving height and heavy acceleration seem to cause wear on the pivot points. Tesla, not having a solution blames aggressive driving. Some owners say they have the problem even though they drive their vehicle on low level. For this very reason I've shied away from Tesla. This could be a big design flaw. Lets hope Rivian goes in a different direction with their air suspension. Have not read about these issues with air suspension on ICE vehicles but maybe they don't have such a large range of height.

 

[Electric Rivilution]

My concern is about the issues of half shafts on the Model X and to a degree with the Model S. Many comments on the Tesla forums about this problem. I hope Rivian is aware of this problem which seems to be related to the air suspension on Tesla model X and S. Too high of a driving height and heavy acceleration seem to cause wear on the pivot points. Tesla, not having a solution blames aggressive driving. Some owners say they have the problem even though they drive their vehicle on low level. For this very reason I'v shied away from Tesla. This could be a big design flaw. Lets hope Rivian goes in a different direction with their air suspension. Have not read about these issues with air suspension on ICE vehicles but maybe they don't have such a large range of height.

Yup. Half shafts on my Model X have been vibrating when full out accelerating and are due for replacement. Issue is they don't even have an ETA on when the replacement axle will come in. It's been 2 months already. Hoping no such problems on Rivian's. Good thing is they can learn from all the teething issues that Teslas have experienced.

 

[GJMOH]

Do they touch on this issue here3:02)
?

 

[Hmp10]

Too high of a driving height and heavy acceleration seem to cause wear on the pivot points. Tesla, not having a solution blames aggressive driving. Some owners say they have the problem even though they drive their vehicle on low level. For this very reason I've shied away from Tesla. This could be a big design flaw. Lets hope Rivian goes in a different direction with their air suspension. Have not read about these issues with air suspension on ICE vehicles but maybe they don't have such a large range of height.

It may be more than a matter of suspension height. Very few ICE vehicles of similar weight to a Tesla or Rivian are capable of the acceleration these vehicles are. I bought a Model S P85 precisely because I am an acceleration addict. I have been endlessly amazed at how fast a 5,000-pound sedan can accelerate. The tires are relatively skinny for a vehicle of that weight, so I'm sure the system is modulating the wheel spin. Even so, the Tesla is noticeably quicker than the Audi R8 V10 I traded in for it. But I have sometimes wondered how intense the strain on the driveline components must be. Tesla warns of accelerated driveline wear when you use "ludicrous" mode, but even doing full acceleration runs in "insane" mode (3.2 seconds to 60 in my car) must exert incredible force on the drive shafts, especially given the car's weight.

At about three and a half years in, my Tesla developed a crack in a battery pack weld and a failure in the rear drive unit (inverter and motor combined). I half expected Tesla to run the history on my car and argue that the failures were induced by too much hard acceleration. They never uttered a word and replaced everything under warranty, even putting in a 90 kW battery pack, and upgraded J-generation rear motor, and all the software to a P90 model. (They even rebadged the car.)

A Rivian is going to weigh almost 1,000 pounds more than a Tesla Model S while claiming the same acceleration figures as Teslas in "insane" mode. It means the driveline is going to have to be extremely robust, especially given the height adjustment range. I know of almost no production vehicles of that weight which can claim such quickness.

 

[Pherdnut]

Rivian's isn't just an air suspension. It's a linked air/hydraulic setup. Apparently similar to what McLarens have. It eliminates the need for rollbars among other things. I think handling and 1st gen reliability are two spots where Rivian definitely aims to outdo Tesla.

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