Will R1S go the distance? - How to maximize range

[Singletracker]

Wind, elevation gain, and speed are key determining efficiency factors. In my experience, wind, even a little, has a sizable impact and elevation gain is a killer. Of the three, speed is the only factor the driver can control. Wanna go farther, slow down! Anything over 65-70 mph is going to kill range.

My ‘23 R1T QM, large pack, on 20”A/T’s is averaging around 300 miles of range in mixed driving, often in the mountains, - more in the spring/summer/fall, less in the winter. Over the last 9600+ miles, my onboard trip meter is showing 2.34 M/kWh. This is virtually all in All Purpose mode and some Sport mode in the mountains.

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[usulio]

First time poster, long time lurker. 2026 R1S dual max. Am I unreasonably pissed off to see Rivian Roamer reporting my real life range closer to 315 rather than the reported 410 when fully charged? The trip calculator seems to report accurate arrival mileage, but that 410 seems to disappear pretty quickly. At least when the Taycan said 215 it meant 215......

Are you talking about a highway road trip range? 410 is an EPA rating that includes city and "highway" driving. City driving is much more efficient for EVs, and the "highway" test is at low speeds. So 410 was never meant to be realistic on the highway. Unfortunately Rivian (like others) doesn't explain this well prior to purchase. 315 miles for R1S dual max on all-season tires at say 75mph sounds about right.

When Gen 1 Quad first launched, Rivian's advertised range was very realistic for highway driving range at 70mph or so. After that, not so much.

 

[usulio]

Traveling Las Vegas RAN to the Superchargers in Ely, NV tomorrow.
251 miles, 5300' elevation gain according to google. Rivian says arrive with 15% if I start at 100%.

Would like to go 70mph and I think it may cut a bit close. My first real road trip in the 2026 quad with off road tires.

Will this be easy? Do I slow down? Please let me know what you think. Love to hear if anyone has been on this road.

On the road tomorrow Friday morning.

How did it go?

 

[camapili]

Traveling Las Vegas RAN to the Superchargers in Ely, NV tomorrow.
251 miles, 5300' elevation gain according to google. Rivian says arrive with 15% if I start at 100%.

Would like to go 70mph and I think it may cut a bit close. My first real road trip in the 2026 quad with off road tires.

Will this be easy? Do I slow down? Please let me know what you think. Love to hear if anyone has been on this road.

On the road tomorrow Friday morning.

Please let us know how this went. I have the same trip next spring. That is a lot of elevation gain and the route really invites high speeds. I am thinking about going the long route through Salt Lake City.

 

[Weck]

Porsche are without doubt the masters of sandbagging when it comes to EPA range - I don't think anyone is as 'honest' (frankly pessimistic) with how they set up their cars during the test cycle.

There's nothing wrong with your R1 (most likely); I've written overly long pieces on how rivian do their testing, but in summary: they are amongst the group of MFS who play games, but far from the worst. 315 miles real world for a max pack'd R1 is right around what I think most folks here expect. You can get ~400, but you need to drive like grandma to do so.

Edit: the numbers shown on the energy screen for range are simply a fixed number for mi/kWh multiplied by the addressable kWh viable in the battery pack (which varies a bit at the same SOC based on temperature etc) - as of today its got nothing to do with driving habits etc.

Gen 2 max pack dual R1T with 22 in tires. I've done 2 round trips so far from Milwaukee to Butternut WI, 289 miles, 4 1/2 hours each way, with 3 1/2 of that being interstate 65 -70 mph limit, and the last hour 55 mph two lanes. From 100% charge, I've arrived both ways with 19-21 percent left, depending on wind and weather. This is with setting the speed at 8 over, so between 63 and 78, with most being around 74 ish mph. Based on end percent left, that's around 365 miles to empty.

I have noticed my bed rail crossbars and bike racks do make a difference, so I take that off before this drive to maximum efficiency.

 

[HaveBlue]

I have a dual max pack and always go over 300 miles. I haven't emptied the battery to try to get 350. My lifetime average is 2.5 mi/kwh over 16K miles. Less than 10% under epa of 380 for me.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

Traveling Las Vegas RAN to the Superchargers in Ely, NV tomorrow.
251 miles, 5300' elevation gain according to google. Rivian says arrive with 15% if I start at 100%.

Would like to go 70mph and I think it may cut a bit close. My first real road trip in the 2026 quad with off road tires.

Will this be easy? Do I slow down? Please let me know what you think. Love to hear if anyone has been on this road.

On the road tomorrow Friday morning.

I think it’ll be relatively easy if you’re easy on the go pedal. That doesn’t mean you can’t speed but don’t mash it.

I haven’t been in that road but data points on a trip I just did that ma help you

1) Per Rivian: 2.8mi/kWh on conserve with an average speed of 78mph per the energy tab. (Quad/Large/Aero wheels)
2) My gut: My elevations aren’t as great, but in heavy wind, 35-40F, and 70-80mph, I find I’m still getting about
3) ABRP: Has me calibrated at 2.68mi/kWh, and averaging 117% over limit.

Lowest range I’ve ever gotten was about 275mi, highest was about 330. I feel pretty comfortable going 290-300mi regularly. The day I picked up this truck I asked them to full charge it, they only went to 95% and I went 294 mi with it with no hesitation.

Personally I would say start in AP mode. Watch the nav to see if it moves on your arrival %. If it drops more than 2-3%, pop it into conserve. I find it adds about 10% overall, soif you wait to see that drop, popping it into conserve at that point will pretty much guarantee you’ll be ok. The earlier you drop, the close to the full 10% you’ll get. The later you drop, the less you’ll gain, but you’ll need less at that point anyway.

I believe out of spec has done that drive as well, so it might be worth digging through their videos.

 

[hudesigns]

I did a trip in October to test if I can make it without charging. I did.

Update NY to mid coast Maine
2026 R1S dual max performance
Range wheels with EPA 410 miles range.
OEM Pirelli 22” tires at 45 psi on the road.
Outside temperature mid 60s with little wind.
Elevation of route 80 ft to 1725 ft
Started with 100%.
Arrived with 52 miles and 13%.
Total traveled 370 miles.
Total driving time 6+ hours
(2 rest stops but no charging stop)
Average efficiency 3.0 mi/kwh
Highway average speed 68 mph (sweet spot)

But I don’t think I can make it in coming winter. We’ll see. One thing I noticed that unlike other EVs, Rivian seems to like 68 mph for highway efficiency. Any lower mph may not increase efficiency. Need more test to confirm of course.

 

[Time2Roll]

Please let us know how this went. I have the same trip next spring. That is a lot of elevation gain and the route really invites high speeds. I am thinking about going the long route through Salt Lake City.

Made the journey with no issues and no nail biting excitement.

Filled to 100% at the RAN near the airport but was down a bit by the time I picked up my passengers so filled at the Tesla SC north end of town to 98%. Started at 62 mph and after some time the estimate remaining began to climb. With the additional cushion, speed increased to 65 and eventually 70 mph. Easier to be comfortable later in the journey as the remaining miles become a larger percentage of the remaining distance. IIRC we arrived at Ely SC with about 25/30 miles remaining.

Tires inflated to 50psi cold before the trip. Did the entire length in conserve. Seems to actually help. With steady speed there are no issues with 2wd and reduced power. The speed limit is mostly 70mph.

Far better to get passed a few times than go the long way through Salt Lake. Did that in a minivan once and took much longer due to increased distance and traffic. Use the cruise control to keep the speed down. Yes plenty of spaces to go much faster except the route is well patrolled. Especially watch speed through the small towns.

 

[Time2Roll]

BTW it is another long drive without charging from Ely to Twin Falls. Need to charge 100% in Ely.
Wells SC are not compatible, Shell Recharge is off line, GM Energy is new and mostly done but not yet open... could be soon. Otherwise would need a 50 mile detour to Walmart in Elko.

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