Snow Driving Issues

[sgtpeper]

The wiper warmer is just activated by pressing the rear defroster right?

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[R.I.P.]

 

[TollKeeper]

I was driving around in my R1S last night, QM with 22" Bright Sport.. Had no issues with traction, unless I just pressed to hard on the throttle. I was in Snow mode, and only had slight slippage on decel on the exit ramps.

I did have my windshield freezing over... But turned on my front defrost, and the problem went away.

Didnt even know about the rear defrost turning on a heater on the front cowl.

Didnt really notice to much for lighting issues. But I always turn on all my lights, fogs front and rear. Maybe that helped?

And that was not a dumping on... The ice before it was the bad part. But a couple of inchs of snow was nothing compared to what I have seen here in Denver thru the years.

The worst part of the storm last night was the idiots driving 10mph, and at 630pm driving around with no headlights on.

 

[bummin]

I live in Denver as well, do agree stock 20” not the best in snow/ice. Think in part may be the due to design for reduced rolling resistance for EV range. I switch out both vehicles each year to Nokian LT3 and Nokian's on my daughters WRX which provide an amazing difference over stock. I have run winter tires since moving to CO on all my vehicles except my Raptor as BFG's we not too bad. Seems like $ better spent than on my deductible when life goes sideways. I rarely use snow mode as tires allow all purpose with higher regen without slippage issues in most cases. Would like to see camera washer from R1S on R1T for the rear.

I run the Bosch icon wiper bladed, not as impressed with performance on Rivian's. Most vehicles have heat from engine coming up where wipers rest which I think helps, Rivian definitely needs a dedicated cold weather package with heated windshield and heat by wiper rest area.

LED headlights in general are poor in snow as heat is generated at back of bulb and away from snow affected area. Shape of headlights probably contributes to buildup, but no MFG has a great solution yet. Halogen and HID generate heat to the lens, LED does not. I put LED bulbs in multiple Peterbilt's in our fleet back in the day with same snow issue after installing. Waxing lenses did help to a degree.

 

[Cycliste]

Is R.I.P actually rogue?
Rogue: resembling or suggesting a rogue elephant especially in being isolated, aberrant, dangerous, or uncontrollable

 

[R.I.P.]

Is R.I.P actually rogue?
Rogue: resembling or suggesting a rogue elephant especially in being isolated, aberrant, dangerous, or uncontrollable

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_River_Indians

 

[R.I.P.]

Is R.I.P actually rogue?
Rogue: resembling or suggesting a rogue elephant especially in being isolated, aberrant, dangerous, or uncontrollable

So, I am the "other" kind of Indian lol (elephants are usually thought of as from the country of India)

I guess I could have called the company "Rogue Native American Power"? "RNAP"?

 

[NineElectrics]

I've also had issues in the snow. I now run 20" Hakka LT3s (which are real winter tires) and they've been better, but one can still lose traction. They're not miracle workers. I would be especially wary of ice, and regen, and downward slopes. Remember, Rivians are much heavier than other SUVs with the same tire width.

 

[waitingonanr1s]

Big problem with last nights storm was the freezing rain/fog that kicked it off, leaving a layer of ice underneath. Anything short of snow tires is going to have traction issues in those types of conditions, regardless of the vehicle. I run the AT's, but also keep that in mind in that type of storm. Same story with the windshield wiper and headlight issues. Thankfully, we don't get ice and wet snow too much.

 

[RayzorBEV]

buy the DM?

I think he's suggesting the Dual Motor... ?

 

[Mikebike97]

I will try to make some suggestions.
1. Go to NAPA and obtain WINTER Wiper blades. They are much better blades, similar to snow tires.
2. With regard to the headlights, this is a challenge... Best options I can think of: is to buy Soonish or other External Led lights. Since you already have PPF on the headlights and the sleet/snow sticks you could try silicon spray. Methanol will work short term, only. Let me know if that works for you.

 

[cgm9999]

1. Been in a few snow storms here in Denver and I can't say I've had the same issue. From years of winter driving, I've observed that the real issue is never the wipers per se, but the warmth of the windshield itself. Therefore, as long as the defroster is nice and hot and on full blast, there should be no degradation in wiper performance. De-icer in the windshield washer fluid also helps a lot in my experience.

2. I too have ceramic coated headlights and can't say that it's helped or not since they've been coated since day one. That said, again, I've never had an issue. Many cars today lack halogen bulbs and suffer from not having enough heat to defrost ice on the headlights during storms. I think the Rivian's upright front end exacerbates the problem compared to other cars, though.

3. You're conflating "all-terrain" and "all-season" tires, here. Assuming you're on the stock 20" Pirelli Scorpions, those are "all-terrain" tires. All-terrains generally have poorer than average performance in snow and ice. "All-season" tires, especially modern ones, can have snow performance that are more than sufficient in snowy conditions. I have the stock 21s" (all-season) and they are shockingly capable in snow. If I had the 20 inch wheels, the Scorpions would come off in the winter and a good all-season would take their place. That's essentially my current setup - I use the stock 21s in daily driving and when I hit the trails, I have a set of 20" Atomic wheels with 35" Yokohama Geolandar mud-terrains that I pop on. Best of both worlds.

4. Winter mode has a lighter regen setting, yes, but also a much less sensitive throttle pedal. If you're still spinning the tires with light throttle application, it's because your tires suck in the winter. This isn't a Rivian thing, it's a physics thing. The inevitable trade-off with having rugged looking off-road tires with "luggy" tread blocks is less siping to "bite" into snow. Also, the rubber "recipe" for all-terrain tire composition is not ideal in cold temperatures and becomes less flexible than an all-season or winter tire. Get better tires and your winter woes will disappear. My 21s give me plenty of confidence in the snow. That said, we don't get the type of snow in Denver that the east coast gets. I grew up in Buffalo and if I lived in an area that got that kind of snow, I'd definitely slap some dedicated winter tires on the Rivian.

 

[SeaGeo]

The trucks seem to have a tendency to slide laterally, regardless of tires. They also have a lot of mass, so there is more inertia for the tires to handle. Just get a winter tire. There's a link below showing the performance of the Pirelli against other ATs, and all-season, and a good winter tire.

That being said I have had 3 peak rated tires that are amazing in snow/ ice and others that feel truly dangerous. The stock Pirellis are probably somewhere in the middle of that. I wouldn’t say they are dangerous, but they aren’t as good as some I’ve owned.

The pirelli's did pretty poor in this test.

3. You're conflating "all-terrain" and "all-season" tires, here. Assuming you're on the stock 20" Pirelli Scorpions, those are "all-terrain" tires. All-terrains generally have poorer than average performance in snow and ice. "All-season" tires, especially modern ones, can have snow performance that are more than sufficient in snowy conditions. I have the stock 21s" (all-season) and they are shockingly capable in snow. If I had the 20 inch wheels, the Scorpions would come off in the winter and a good all-season would take their place. That's essentially my current setup - I use the stock 21s in daily driving and when I hit the trails, I have a set of 20" Atomic wheels with 35" Yokohama Geolandar mud-terrains that I pop on. Best of both worlds.

"all-seaons" are generally really only 3-season tires. An "all weather" tire is a european all-season that at least does a decent job in winter like the cross-climates.

 

[runningdenver]

The stock ATs aren't great in the snow, but that's not just Rivian. I had a Y and the stock ATs on that were also 'iffy' in the snow.

I'm in Denver, and we have a place in Leadville, so I'm up and down a lot to the mountains. I switched out to nokian hakkapelitta (recommended in the Rocky Mountain Rivian Facebook group), and haven't looked back. So much more stable in the snow / ice. I was out in it this morning, zipping around, and no problems. Because I had the 21 inch ATs, I got a wheel / tire package through EV. Will switch back to the 21 ATs in April or so. But you could just get the tires and save $.

https://evsportline.com/collections...1ev-for-rivian-r1t-r1s?variant=41572804067468

As for the wipers - agreed - the stock ones also suck. Another RMR FB group recommendation - I switched out to Trico Silicone ceramic blades (replaced all 3). They definitely seem to work better.

https://www.tricoproducts.com/produ...240,90-251,90-260,90-280,90-281,90-290,90-291

Fortunately yesterday's ice storm is pretty rare for here.

 

[usulio]

This front range ice/snow storm was worse for traction than our typical snow storms, the previous storm too -- slush and ice. I always say snow tires are never a mistake, but I've found the 20" ATs are ok if I drive conservatively like one should in the snow with a 4-ton vehicle.

Wiper info in this thread is helpful.

Headlights icing up is an issue I've been following for over a year and ended up installing bumper lights like skookum950s did here: https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...dlights-not-melting-snow-ice.9956/post-462897
And others here: https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/fog-lights-installed-near-on-the-lower-grill-area.18468/

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