How Rivian s off-roading electric vehicles get their supercar-like feel HEAD TOPICS

How Rivian s off-roading electric vehicles get their supercar-like feel

10/22/2022 10:09:00 PM

These electric vehicles are carefully designed with supercar-like tech Here' s how their roll-control system works

Source

Popular Science

The R1T and the R1S both competed in the Rebelle Rally, a 1,600-mile raid in Nevada and California. Let's take a closer look at their tech. These electric vehicles are carefully designed with supercar-like tech. Here's how their roll-control system works. Meanwhile, small-batch upstart Rivian has been selling itsR1T pickupsince 2021 and R1S SUV since 2022—and coming up with new ways to make electric trucks as capable off the pavement as they are on it. Part of that formula can be attributed to the kinetic system, a proprietary electro-hydraulic roll control setup that replaces a mechanical anti-roll bar and smooths out the ride. On traditional vehicles, an anti-roll bar is a simple U-shaped piece of metal that acts as a torsion spring, connecting the axles to prevent excessive roll that is both uncomfortable and makes controlling the vehicle difficult. Read more:
Popular Science » The joys — and perils — of off-roading in an electric vehicle GMC Sierra EV electric truck, Cadillac Celestiq: The Week In Reverse New EV charging stations to dot highways beginning next year Ohio ranks poorly for electric vehicle infrastructure, but solutions in the works

Snap sets off alarm bells in ad-reliant social media sector

Snap Inc shares sank more than 30% on Friday and hit their lowest since the pandemic, after the company's forecast of zero revenue growth pointed to more pain ahead for a social media sector heavily dependant on digital advertising. Read more >> The joys — and perils — of off-roading in an electric vehicleThe sound of an EV off-roading in nature is silence. Joys? Perils only GMC Sierra EV electric truck, Cadillac Celestiq: The Week In ReverseJeep, GMC, and Cadillac all take the covers off their newest electric vehicles. New EV charging stations to dot highways beginning next yearThe District, Maryland and Virginia are getting $186 million in federal funding to improve electric vehicle infrastructure as part of a $5 billion nationwide program. This will be great as long as they work. dang I can't type - numbing agent/cobwebs - ugh! - will it be the same as voting lines? - long long wait times? fair questions EVs and ICEVs were developed and introduced at the same time EVs were marketed to women as clean, quiet, cheap to operate and easy to maintain The reason they did not dominate was because their range was limited by lack of infrastructure THIS answer is 150 years late And WELCOME Ohio ranks poorly for electric vehicle infrastructure, but solutions in the worksLocal communities are working to create and grow their network of electric vehicle charging stations. DON'T BUY THEM, IT'S THAT SIMPLE SEE IT: Rolls-Royce announces its first fully-electric vehicleRolls-Royce unveiled its first fully-electric vehicle this week, marking its commitment to go all-electric by 2030. 55 Cleaning Basics It's About Time You LearnedJust crossing one of these things off the list will feel so good. wasn’t far behind.Everyone knows off-road vehicles are loud, obnoxious, and polluting.previewed a future model that might make more sense for the trek across the Atlantic.D. Chevrolet is nipping at its heels with an electric-powered Silverado truck coming to market soon. Meanwhile, small-batch upstart Rivian has been selling its R1T pickup since 2021 and R1S SUV since 2022—and coming up with new ways to make electric trucks as capable off the pavement as they are on it. I was driving through the woods in an 835-horsepower SUV with 908 pound-feet of torque, a 7,000-pound behemoth capable of sprinting to 60 mph in three seconds. Part of that formula can be attributed to the kinetic system, a proprietary electro-hydraulic roll control setup that replaces a mechanical anti-roll bar and smooths out the ride. A rear seat will be a no-cost option. On traditional vehicles, an anti-roll bar is a simple U-shaped piece of metal that acts as a torsion spring, connecting the axles to prevent excessive roll that is both uncomfortable and makes controlling the vehicle difficult.) This monster offered 15 inches of ground clearance and was making short work of every obstacle the trail threw at me. The company sent teams in both of its vehicles to this year’s all-female Rebelle Rally, the longest rally raid (long distance off-road racing that takes place over several days) in the United States, at over 1,600 miles between Nevada and California. A reliable network of public charging stations is critical for meeting environmental goals set across the Washington region, transportation and planning officials said. At the rally, Rivian put its trucks to the test on dirt, rock, and sand, finishing triumphantly. However, despite the extreme overkill of the whole situation, I felt at total peace with nature. Tags:. Rookie team Lillian Macaruso and Alex Anderson, both engineers for the automaker, placed fourth overall out of 53 teams in an R1T and Rosanna Nuch and Nicole Johnson also performed admirably in the top half of the field in an R1S. Macaruso explained more about Rivian technology to PopSci during a ride along after the competition to explain how it works. Only the alerts of a few angry squirrels ruined the serenity, but they’d have been chirping just as loudly had I been strolling instead of rolling by. Rivian’s hydraulic roll control provides stiffness when cornering in the same manner (and with similar equipment) as a McLaren 720S supercar. That’s no coincidence: Rivian recruited chief engineer Charles Sanderson from the auto manufacturer in 2018, and Sanderson integrated the Tenneco-supplied linked hydraulic damper system he knew quite well. That vehicle was an all-electric Rivian R1S , and while it wasn’t my first time running an EV through the mud, it certainly was the most profound. He said more fast-charging options will be a major incentive in the transition to EVs, although he said parts of the region will likely face challenges in finding sites, particularly in the District and other urban areas where real estate prices are high. That means the R1T has a sportscar feel, especially when accelerating, but the system leaves space for a looser fit in situations where articulation—vertical wheel travel, or how far the axle can move up and down— is present. On a typical gas-powered off-road-capable vehicle, the sway bar (another name for an anti-roll bar) reduces the vehicle’s body roll and “sway” to stabilize the weight distribution. Ignoring the performance, EV off-roading was simply a nicer, calmer experience. One thing you don’t want when you’re entering a turn on a racetrack, or cresting a dune, is for a weight shift to cause the car to tip; in heavy electric vehicles, even more so. Significant “head toss,” or the way the vehicle shakes your body around while traversing uneven terrain, is clearly undesirable, and Rivian strives to improve the drive to what Macaruso calls “living room comfort. I was cruising through the forest, silently scrabbling up a rocky and dusty trail, when a side-by-side UTV blasted by with only a token exhaust pipe between my ears and its engine’s combustion chamber.” “Essentially, you feel the vehicle tip or tilt when you turn a corner, and that’s what [the hydraulic system] is controlling with different pressures on each corner of the vehicle,” Macaruso says., Maryland and Virginia. “Imagine if you were to try to walk up a set of stairs with your arms and your legs on all fours and one leg starts to get more tired, the other three compensate for it. I was struck by the curious cultural divide at play.” Rivian’s R1T has 800 horsepower and more than 900 pound-feet of torque on tap, and drivers can mash the accelerator and reach 60-mph in a scant three seconds. That’s fantastic when speed is the goal, but four-by-four driving requires more finesse to avoid breaking the truck. Your average off-roader, meanwhile, also wants to get Out There, but they often want to kick up as much commotion as possible along the way. The R1T boasts balanced geometry for its approach, breakover (the angle between the vehicle’s tires and the middle its underbelly), and departure angles matched with a fairly generous ground clearance of 15 inches, giving the truck plenty of poise and steady movement over obstacles on the trail. The company is watching how the truck handles tough test runs and is adjusting accordingly. Image: Zero Motorcycles Maybe I’m being optimistic, but with EV off-roading, I feel like there’s an opportunity to bridge that gap. The federal funding would expand rapid charging in high-demand corridors such as Interstate 270 in Maryland — home to the state’s Zip codes with the highest rates of EV ownership — and along interstates 66 and 95 in Virginia. After longtime Rebelle team Emme Hall and Rebecca Donaghe found the settings in their model R1T to be unconducive for sand dune driving during 2021’s rally, Rivian added a soft sand mode to both the R1T and R1S and pushed it out via an over-the-air software update earlier this year. On hard sand, changing to soft sand mode isn’t necessary, but floating on top of dunes or on a beach requires more rotation, and the mode allows for better control. She’s a senior special project engineer at Rivian and half of one of the teams that the company entered into this year’s Rebelle Rally , an off-road navigation rally event for women held annually in Nevada. “When you activate soft sand mode, it changes how much wheel spin you can have,” Macaruso says. “And it’s essentially telling the truck, ‘Hey, you can dig more’ because every single wheel is independently controlled.” Maybe I’m being optimistic, but with EV off-roading, I feel like there’s an opportunity to bridge that gap By “inhabitants,” Lilly is talking about locals of the fauna variety, but human inhabitants are well worth considering, especially as urban sprawl creeps closer to the trails. And that means that each motor can control a wheel and move it differently. Advertisement Pedestrian, bike and transit projects in D. ” While Rivian’s .” This is integrated into the very DNA of Zero’s off-road bike.