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22” Tires in snow?

21K views 34 replies 15 participants last post by  kdy 
#1 ·
I configured my r1s with 22” rims, but the weather was nicer when I did that. Now that snow is coming, I’m second guessing the wheel/tire choice.

Any thoughts on if the 22s should be fine for a Cleveland winter?

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
22’s are completely pointless. Even 20’s are pointless on a truck. That said it says the 22 comes with a “performance all season” so you could use them in the winter, but they wouldn’t be close to the best set up for winter. I’ll add though that in a 22 tire options will be limited and performance all seasons will not last long in a big, heavy, high powered truck. I would guess 10k miles at best unless you drive very conservative. My wife went through a set of 4 tires before her first oil change (at 10k miles) when she had a Cayenne Turbo with performance all seasons.

Interestingly they do make Nokian Hakka 9 in a 275/50-22, but not sure if I’m a high enough load rating for how heavy the rivian is and highly doubt you would want to run studs in OH.

For best performance, for the most part you should run the smallest rims that fit over your brakes. I really hope the rivian will fit a18” or even a 17” rim.
 
#4 ·
They are a street oriented tire designed more for performance. Likely not be best in the snow or off-road.

I had the good fortune of being able to see it in person and the first mile event last week. I originally thought I wanted the 22's as well, but I'm in SoCal. Was still on the fence, but was leaning more towards the 20's. Then, when I saw it in person, absolutely clinched it. For me personally, being that this is not a big truck, the 22's looked too big for the size of vehicle it is. 22's fit well on a Cadillac Escalade or other very large vehicle. Having been able to see the two side by side, the 20's just naturally fit the vehicle so much better. Again, based on my personal taste. I like big wheels normally, but in this case, they were too big for the vehicle. Plus, being an adventure type of vehicle, while it has the performance capabilities of most sports cars, is still a truck and the all-terrain tire setup with some more rubber just seemed to fit the vehicle better. This all being based on aesthetics. For your case, if you're in snow each winter, would have to consider a second set. I did that as well. Was going to get one for travelling and another set of 20's for off-roading trips. But now, happy to just go with the 20's. No desire for the 22's anymore.

In the 0-60 run, the 20's slipped just a little. With the 22's, it likely wouldn't slip the tires at all and would perform just slightly better in 0-60 time. So, if that's something important to you, then that would be a reason to consider the 22's. But otherwise, even with the 20's, it's still very quick off the line.
 
#5 ·
20’s with the correct tires will be faster 0-60, 1/4 mile, and on a track then 22’s. 18’s would be even faster. Larger rims are only for subjective looks. On the road They slow acceleration, lengthen braking distance and hinder handling due to more rotational mass. The only reason on a track car to get larger rims is if you need larger brakes. Off road you want as much sidewall as possible, even the 20” rims with 34’s wil only have a 8” sidewall at best which is considered as the absolute minimum for and technical off roading that you would need AT tires for.

when F1 was switching from 15” to 18” as their standard wheel size the cars got slower around the track.
 
#6 ·
I would not want to cut corners with tires in the snow on a truck that tips the scales near 7000lbs. A set of snow tires is less expensive than fixing even a small dent on a vehicle like this. Performance oriented tires have softer rubber compounds that tend to get really hard when it's cold out. They also have tread designed for handling on pavement and not snow/ice.

The stock tires on the 20" wheels carry the severe service logo and are snow rated. I wouldn't call them dedicated snow tires but they meet certain minimum standard for snow/slush clearing and the rubber will stay pliable in cold temps. They'll be significantly better in the snow than the performance option.
 
#7 ·
I run 20s with Pirelli Scorpion all season on my current truck. We do not get a lot of snow, but when we do they are just fine. Are they as good as all- terrains, no, but they are fine. They are all season tires, not to be confused with a warm weather performance tire.

I would assume if he looking at the 20s he is not considering off roading with them.

Also, 10k miles at best for the 22s, you have to be kidding me.
 
#8 ·
I would also go with the smallest rims (20's) and would also start by trying the AT's with the Severe Weather Rating that have been purpose-built for the vehicle.

That said, if you are constantly battling ice and snow on HWY's, drive steep or windy country roads in winter, live or drive to or through ski country, then it would make sense to either have a dedicated set of winter rims + dedicated snow tires, or mount snows on the 20's then swap back to the AT's in April or May. Your tires are going to wear. If you have dedicated snows, you aren't paying more because you will extend the life of your summer tires - you are just investing in a far better driving experience and adding more safety & control.

If you have never run a true winter tire (not all-seasons) you will likely never want to go back to 1 tire for year round use (at least in zones with climates that could be challenging in winter)
 
#13 ·
I don't live there. I have no clue what types of roads he rides on or what he does on the weekend or if he has a cabin on a hill that gets 10 feet of lake effect snow. No clue. Just giving considerations for where you might consider severe service rated tires or snows.
 
#18 ·
My impression from the video was that they tested "all tires" (as they state and show in the videos), but the tests weren't traditional severe service tires tests specifically... They did a lot of drifting around and didn't get into any specifics on tire performance... Traction indicated was more a reflection of 4 motors and heavy weights. I don't see a lot of starting and stopping, or clean cornering thats for sure. Either way, this will be a very capable vehicle in terms of having 4 independent motors. With the weight, I would imagine ALL tires will have to have some degree of faster degradation.
 
#20 ·
It’s not that 22” wheels are bad in snow - it’s that there are very few snows that will fit on 22’s. My experience based on 40 years living in Colorado is that a dedicated snow is the only way to go - all seasons are crap in snow, and all terrains weren’t made for dedicated snow driving. The best snows - IMO - are Nokian Hakkepelitas - incredible traction on snow and ice and drive decent on pavement. I have two Range Rover Sports - a 17’ and a ‘12 - and I run Cooper Zeon all terrains on 20’s on the ‘12 and Nokians in the Winter. On the ‘17 - which came with 22s I bought dedicated 20’s to run Nokians in the Winter. I do not take the ‘17 off road much because the sidewalls on the 22’s don’t offer much protection and I can’t get decent all terrains in 22”s.

I ordered my RT1 with the 20’s.
 
#22 ·
It dosn’t work that way. Heavier is worse on ice. The best winter vehicles are AWD cars: Subaru, Quattro Audi/4 matic MB sedans,…. The only winter scenario where heavier is better is fresh lose snow over firm, then heavy vehicle with tall skinny tires (think semi) does slightly better since it dosn’t get tossed around by loose ruts. In the winter My sons 2004 e320 4 matic on Hakka 7’s drives circles around my LX570 on Hakka 9’s, ~3500lbs vs -6200 lbs.
 
#23 · (Edited)
I’ve looked into this quite a bit as I drive in Vermont every weekend in the winter. I’m partial to Nokian snow tires.

On the 21s, Nokian makes a 275/50 winter tire (stock is 275/55) that should work but will have a smaller radius and affect the speedometer. 275/50R21 Winter tires / Nokian Tires

On the 20” wheels Nokian also makes a 275/60 winter tire (stock is 275/65) so same situation. These tires would have the same overall diameter of the 21s and 22s so you may be able to get an accurate speedometer if you can change the wheel size somehow in the software.
On the 22s Nokian has officially recommended a winter tire for the Rivian: Tires for electric cars / Nokian Tires

And all of these are heavier than the Rivian Pirellis which are light weight for EVs, so will probably reduce range.
 
#24 ·
I’ve looked into this quite a bit as I drive in Vermont every weekend in the winter. I’m partial to Nokian snow tires.

On the 21s, Nokian makes a 275/50 winter tire (stock is 275/55) size winter tire that should work but will have a smaller radius and affect the speedometer. 275/50R21 Winter tires / Nokian Tires

On the 20” wheels Nokian also makes a 275/60 winter tire (stock is 275/65) so same situation. These tires would have the same overall diameter of the 21s and 22s so you may be able to get an accurate speedometer if you can change the wheel size somehow in the software.
On the 22s Nokian has officially recommended a winter tire for the Rivian: Tires for electric cars / Nokian Tires
I’ve run “smaller” 265/60-18 (30.5”) winter tires (Nokian Hakka 7) on my Lexus LX570 for all 9 winters (I’ll get new ones this fall) I’ve had it. I run this size Due to availability of narrower 265 width. I’m on 285/75-17 (33.8”) in the summer. I don’t notice much of a difference other then my winter tires ride softer (p metric vs LT) and the truck sits ~2” lower, both are good things in the winter. My speedometer is right on in the summer and ~3mph higher then actual at 65mph (so actually going ~62mph) in the winter
Wheel Tire Car Vehicle Automotive tire

Tire Wheel Car Vehicle Automotive tire
 
#26 ·
I purchased my R1-T through the Rivian shop as I had an immediate need for a vehicle. Consequently it was not exactly as originally configured. It came equipped with 22" sport wheels and I wanted true winter tires, not all terrain. Rivian service would not mount "third party tires due to safety concerns", so I had Discount Tire mount a set of 275/50 Nokian Hakkapellita R5 SUV tires that were purchased through Simple Tire. I drove the truck in some 10" deep unpacked snow with the original tires, and on packed snow with both. There is no question that the turning response, and most significantly, the braking are much better with the Hakas. In the spring I'll keep the 22's as the winter wheel set and get a second wheel/tire set (either the 21" all season or 20" all terrain) and sell the 22" all season tires. I will drive the truck on dirt roads, but do not plan any "off roading". Not a real test of the tires but I am much happier with the Hakas.
 
#27 ·
I had my first snow experience in upstate New York last night. I have the 22's. On the local roads with about 2 inches of wet and a bit of icy snow they were barely adequate. I went up a small grassy hill at the end of my driveway and when I came to a stop the truck slid about 2 feet backwards. it was very unpleasant backing down with stone walls on either side and at that point the surface had become icy.
I've been driving since the 60's, NY, midwest, blizzards, mountains, but this was unpleasant.

looking of winter tires today.
 
#28 ·
I purchased a set of LT3 Hakkas for winter driving right after our first snowfall, after noticing the 20 AT's weren't going to be nearly as good as dedicated snows... I was willing to give them a chance, but will now have 2 vehicles with dedicated snows for winter. I look at at it this way, you are going to wear your tires out eventually (and probably faster with the R1T), so might as well bite the bullet and have the right tires for winter. In my case, I will re-mount my AT's on a second set of wheels in the spring (maybe the Thurens, since those will be even better wheels for the AT's and are the same OEM spec as the R1T 20's) and not be wearing out my AT's in the winter when their performance will be that much worse anyway.
 
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