What Mode and Height is Your Default?

[Doctorjorts]

JGard18 explained well. To allow for lots of suspension travel, and prevent the tire rubbing the inside of the fender well, and control certain handling characteristics in lower/sportier situations, certain geometries have to change as heights vary. This means components have to be shaped specifically to force these changes.

Camber, where the tops of the tires tilt slightly in/out, tend to tilt inward at lower heights to clear the fenders in tight turns, as well as improve handling to counteract the vehicle's lean when cornering.

Toe, I'll just quote JGard18.

Our trucks are aligned at the standard ride height. When the truck lowers, camber changes slightly which doesn't hurt tread wear much. BUT, toe also changes which is the biggest culprit. It is very very slight, but still...

If you drive in a perfectly straight line, your steering wheel should be perfectly straight. When you change ride heights, up or down, you'll notice the steering wheel being very slightly turned to (likely) the right by just a degree or so. This can only really be explained by toe changing (only in the front of the truck, btw).

All that to say, I use all purpose, auto height, and have 22k miles on my AT tires and still have an easy 10k more to go. Being between standard and low ride heights seems to have had little to no effect on real wear. And I'm not exactly easy on the throttle.

Yes, it can cause faster wear. Unless alignment is already bad, however, I think driving habits have a greater impact.

Ok, I am following you. You said that basically the vehicle should be at neutral toe and camber (or at least ideal toe and camber) at the standard ride height, anything else results in slight changes to both. Changes to toe especially may result in faster tire wear. I think the difference from standard to highest and lowest is close to 2.75” each (max delta about 5.5” from lowest to highest height from what I measured when taking delivery). This is a big change in ride height. Most forum posts regarding suspension changes recommend realigning a car that gets a permanent suspension adjustment of even 1” because of tire wear concerns.

So unless the Rivian is re-aligning the tow automatically in response to height changes, (which seems plausible but I haven’t seen this posted anywhere) the best tire wear should be at standard height. Yeah?

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[mzdds]

AP, low, stiff, high regen.

 

[cjust2006]

Ok, I am following you. You said that basically the vehicle should be at neutral toe and camber (or at least ideal toe and camber) at the standard ride height, anything else results in slight changes to both. Changes to toe especially may result in faster tire wear. I think the difference from standard to highest and lowest is close to 2.75” each (max delta about 5.5” from lowest to highest height from what I measured when taking delivery). This is a big change in ride height. Most forum posts regarding suspension changes recommend realigning a car that gets a permanent suspension adjustment of even 1” because of tire wear concerns.

So unless the Rivian is re-aligning the tow automatically in response to height changes, (which seems plausible but I haven’t seen this posted anywhere) the best tire wear should be at standard height. Yeah?

100%. You nailed it.

 

[MXA121]

Before recent suspension update (R1T) I stayed in this setting most of the time.
All Purpose
Soft - comfy and composed*
Standard height - for most suspension comfort and handling
High Regen - love it, barely need the (excellent feeling) brakes

*These days I'm missing "old" Soft and I see here I'm not alone. Too much head toss now which totally negates the benefits of having a rebound controlled system. Stiff, while improved over its prior form, is still not as comfy as I'd like. It's too bad these updates only flow one direction. I feel downgraded.

Rivian should really provide a middle setting. These algorithms are scalable, and there could be more than 2 options.

I use Low on the higher speed interstates for improved stability and may use Conserve if road tripping and need the extra range, a nice perk to have!

Sounds like I really need to try Rally mode!

 

[beyondgravity]

I'm driving in All Purpose - Standard virtually all the time. I've talked to some folks who drive in All Purpose - Low the majority of the time. What mode and height do you drive in most of the time/as your default? And why? Comfort, effect on range, tires, other factors like parking...?

AP and Auto. It circles through standard and low all the time.

 

[Tarponman85]

Sport/low/stiff

 

[RivAW]

AP, Standard. Putting it on “auto” height will wear out your tires faster

That’s not true. Auto only adjusts your height lower if you’re over about 60mpg for a minute, and most drivers do that anyway (maybe sooner) for “efficiency”. I think it adjusts back to standard a little too quickly but it’s only causing more wear if you otherwise would never adjust to low

 

[Sevn86]

AP, soft, standard height, high regen

 

[Fclmd]

Why would Auto wear out your tires faster?

 

[TexasBob]

Prefer AP-Soft-Low-high regen but have been keeping it in standard height to protect tires. I like the improved visibility, and easier entrance / egress with low (did not like kneel mode), also it looks very cool in low.

 

[Chewy734]

AP, standard, high regen, stiff.

 

[SunDevil2213]

Rally mode at 13.1" for around town driving, all-purpose on highways, and conserve on long trips.

 

[Sean4510]

Offroad/ Rally/ High

This is the only mode that lets you keep the truck in the high ride high over 45 MPH. I like the added Hight when driving around town and makes the truck sit look and feel more like a midsize pickup/1500 than a compact ridline/ranger. I use AP on the highway and will use sport to have some fun with becase it the only option that gives full power but I hate how the truck look in the low setting. Looks like one of those mini trucks.

100%. Truck looks like a little toy truck when in low/standard height. Looks much better in the high setting. Wish I could just use all purpose in high setting over 45 mph

 

[Franksmartin]

All purpose high suspension. High is better on crappy urban pavement especially since the suspension tuning update.

 

[Pacblue22]

Stiff (changed after the suspension change .38, soft got too floaty and stiff perfect)
Regen normal
All purpose
Height, Auto
Kneel on park

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