Seeking Knowledge About Rivian Battery: Max vs. Standard+

[RoseR1S]

Okay, forgive me as this may seem remedial to many of you, but some of the battery discussions have been over my head.

Is it correct that the Standard+ battery is simply a max pack that is software locked to 79%? (Will Rivian say as much? I saw people found it was indicated as SW lock in some EPA(?) documents.)

If it’s purely a software lock, some related questions:

• Will the S+ charge to “100%” as quickly as the Max charges to 79%?

• Can a S+ owner then routinely charge to 100% and effectively only be degrading the battery as if charging it to 79%?

• Does the SW lock approach mean S+ owner won’t see degradation (to range) until the battery is actually more than 21% degraded overall? Or is one “locked out” such that degradation hits proportionally to overall battery health?

• How would the hit from cold weather affect the S+? Suppose it’s sufficiently cold that the overall battery takes a 20% hit. What happens to S+‘s range?

Is it possible the sole disadvantage of S+ compared to Max is inability to charge past 79% on occasion? (That could be a meaningful disadvantage to some but makes the S+ a screaming deal for many use cases.)

Thank you in advance.

 

[Rivian Mom]

Okay, forgive me as this may seem remedial to many of you, but some of the battery discussions have been over my head.

Is it correct that the Standard+ battery is simply a max pack that is software locked to 79%? (Will Rivian say as much? I saw people found it was indicated as SW lock in some EPA(?) documents.)

If it’s purely a software lock, some related questions:

• Will the S+ charge to “100%” as quickly as the Max charges to 79%?

• Can a S+ owner then routinely charge to 100% and effectively only be degrading the battery as if charging it to 79%?

• Does the SW lock approach mean S+ owner won’t see degradation (to range) until the battery is actually more than 21% degraded overall? Or is one “locked out” such that degradation hits proportionally to overall battery health?

• How would the hit from cold weather affect the S+? Suppose it’s sufficiently cold that the overall battery takes a 20% hit. What happens to S+‘s range?

Is it possible the sole disadvantage of S+ compared to Max is inability to charge past 79% on occasion? (That could be a meaningful disadvantage to some but makes the S+ a screaming deal for many use cases.)

Thank you in advance.

First off indications are that S+ is a Large pack that is software locked not a max pack. Of course that is what charging curves seen so far indicate Rivian could change that at any point for example by changing to LFP packs.

To your questions:

- You have got the right idea
- Mostly, but since S+ is still ~90% of the large pack you might see some degradation, but again you have the right idea. You could charge it higher than a large pack and have less degradation.
- I think it depends on how Rivian handles this.
- No I don't think so. The efficiency lost isn't in the battery capacity. You just lose efficiency because you have to heat your battery and cabin.

Hope this answers all your questions and, good morning

 

[RoseR1S]

First off indications are that S+ is a Large pack that is software locked not a max pack. Of course that is what charging curves seen so far indicate Rivian could change that at any point for example by changing to LFP packs.

To your questions:

- You have got the right idea
- Mostly, but since S+ is still ~90% of the large pack you might see some degradation, but again you have the right idea. You could charge it higher than a large pack and have less degradation.
- I think it depends on how Rivian handles this.
- No I don't think so. The efficiency lost isn't in the battery capacity. You just lose efficiency because you have to heat your battery and cabin.

Hope this answers all your questions and, good morning

Good morning and thank you for taking out the time to respond to this so fast. I really appreciate your answers. Thank you