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Suspension Judder

yadaBaga said:
Yes, I also feel some of those side to side movements on bumpy, local streets. Best I can describe is that the whole car moves (like it's stiff - no give at all) when I'd expect a particular wheel to absorb some of the bump gracefully. Outside of NYC, it feels smoother than anything else I have driven. Almost wonder if this is software fixable (vaguely remember hearing that Rivian R1S suspension similarly improved after a particular update).
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Ok well, at least I'm not the only one feeling this. I caught it right away when I was driving home from picking up the car. I suspect it has something to do with the weight but I'm not sure why it only does it over certain types of bumps.
 
Hmm. Can't say I have any complaints about the suspension tuning. Having test driven an R1S recently and daily driving a Model Y I find the suspension on the Gravity to be amazing. I took it through a rough back road near out house that I've driven regularly and the Gravity is a revelation compared to the Y for bump absorption and noise. I wouldn't want it any softer really as it would lose sharpness I'd think.

The R1S, to me, is the combination of two bad characteristics. It feels rough over uneven pavement but also floaty at the same time.
 
They did improve G1 R1S ride with software over time but it went from awful to bearable but not enjoyable. My kids would cringe going over speed bumps even at lower speeds.
 
I'm sure it can be improved.

For example, there are occupancy sensors on all the seats right? That's how the HVAC knows to turn on in the middle row, or the 3rd row? I imagine that you could technically adjust the suspension based on whether or not someone is in the seat.

Another option is to have the Gravity self level when placing a load on the tow hitch.
 
NoseyReporter said:
Another option is to have the Gravity self level when placing a load on the tow hitch.
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I'm sure the Gravity is self leveling like every other car with factory air suspension.
I wonder if it can level side to side like the Rivian? I think that is unusual.
The triple chamber air springs can adjust height and spring rate independently so they certainly have a lot of tuneablity. I haven't read anything about how many different adjustments the dampers have.
 
NoseyReporter said:
I'm sure it can be improved.

For example, there are occupancy sensors on all the seats right? That's how the HVAC knows to turn on in the middle row, or the 3rd row? I imagine that you could technically adjust the suspension based on whether or not someone is in the seat.

Another option is to have the Gravity self level when placing a load on the tow hitch.
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It does adjust based on weight, too. For example, if you sit in the frunk seat, it will raise the height after 5-10 seconds. If you get off, it will lower it.
 
Ron_Burgundy said:
They did improve G1 R1S ride with software over time but it went from awful to bearable but not enjoyable. My kids would cringe going over speed bumps even at lower speeds.
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Frankly I’m surprised that the one I test drove is the “improved” version of the car. I’ve read a lot about Rivian over the years as well as I just like to keep up on the EV market. When the Gen 2 came out there was so much talk about how the ride was so much better than Gen 1. Having never driven a Gen 1, if it was significantly worse than the Gen 2 I think I would have hated driving it.

My BIL has an Gen 1 R1T which I’ve driven a little bit. Either it just feels different or my expectation of it is different because it’s a truck but his car doesn’t bother me as much. Also I suppose I don’t really drive his car in a spirited way. I just found the R1S to be cumbersome and a little unpredictable.
 
Xminus6 said:
Frankly I’m surprised that the one I test drove is the “improved” version of the car. I’ve read a lot about Rivian over the years as well as I just like to keep up on the EV market. When the Gen 2 came out there was so much talk about how the ride was so much better than Gen 1. Having never driven a Gen 1, if it was significantly worse than the Gen 2 I think I would have hated driving it.

My BIL has an Gen 1 R1T which I’ve driven a little bit. Either it just feels different or my expectation of it is different because it’s a truck but his car doesn’t bother me as much. Also I suppose I don’t really drive his car in a spirited way. I just found the R1S to be cumbersome and a little unpredictable.
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R1T has a longer wheelbase which makes a huge difference on the Rivians in particular. R1T G1 drives much smoother and refined than R1S G1. Don’t know about G2 versions.

Regardless, they’re far inferior rides than Gravity online all fronts.

But, if you’re looking to drive to your compound in the mountains with no roads, that’s where the Rivians shine.
 
borski said:
It does adjust based on weight, too. For example, if you sit in the frunk seat, it will raise the height after 5-10 seconds. If you get off, it will lower it.
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Ohhh I haven't tried this. I will give it a shot this weekend to see.

I'm not a suspension tuning guru or anything, but it just feels kinda funny to me sometimes. Don't get me wrong, the car handles like a dream and I love to embarrass people with it, I'm being very picky here.
 
question: I assume the max ride height (~9") is only available up to a certain speed as is typical of other air suspension systems? the manual isn't clear on that.
 
eelpout said:
question: I assume the max ride height (~9") is only available up to a certain speed as is typical of other air suspension systems? the manual isn't clear on that.
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Correct. The specific speeds aren’t mentioned, but the manual does say this:

To manually adjust the ride height to the available levels on the Pilot Panel, go to
GUID-BCB262C8-1415-4C31-AD9A-A26833FAB798-low.png
>
GUID-BB4B26A1-92BA-4284-B388-2DF11255BA67-low.png
Driving > Ride Height and select a ride height. Only compatible ride heights for the current speed and drive mode will be available for manual selection.

NOTE: If a manually selected ride height is not compatible with the current speed during the drive session, the system will automatically adjust to the next available level for the current speed.

Ride Height selection may be temporarily unavailable due to the following reasons:
  • A door is open.
  • The vehicle is charging.
  • Prepare for Jack Mode in the vehicle settings is on.
  • The vehicle is making dynamic movements.
 
Did you end up figuring this out or getting any info from Lucid? I noticed this too in my Gravity, the side to side wobble is quite bad, the family has commented on it, and it feels quite dangerous when say yyou are on some mountain roads , have to slow way down to feel safe.
 
did you mention which tires you have?
 
Bringing this thread back to life... Anyone found an answer or solution for this? Has any SC commented on a possible solution? My feeling is that it's either air suspension leak or an issue with the compressor
 
prgarg said:
Bringing this thread back to life... Anyone found an answer or solution for this? Has any SC commented on a possible solution? My feeling is that it's either air suspension leak or an issue with the compressor
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I do notice it too. It is only on certain types of bumps. It is the very sharp bumps like you find in cites with broken pavement. I was taking friends out to diner and coming back from the restaurant the road was broken and I really noticed it. It is like a judder through the whole car. Like someone in this thread commented it is as if things are too stiff. I have an X5 M that is very stiff and it does not do this over the same road. I really hope it is something that can be improved since the ride is normally so composed and comfortable. I also have the dynamic handling and air suspension BTW.
 
mauricef said:
I do notice it too. It is only on certain types of bumps. It is the very sharp bumps like you find in cites with broken pavement. I was taking friends out to diner and coming back from the restaurant the road was broken and I really noticed it. It is like a judder through the whole car. Like someone in this thread commented it is as if things are too stiff. I have an X5 M that is very stiff and it does not do this over the same road. I really hope it is something that can be improved since the ride is normally so composed and comfortable. I also have the dynamic handling and air suspension BTW.
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Thanks for chiming in! I have an appointment on the 27th to have it checked. Same configuration as yours. Mine does it at all times and speeds. I think it's the air suspension because it drove amazingly smooth for the first 150 miles and then the shaking started. I'll keep you all posted. Hate to be one of the very few with hardware problems in addition to the known software ones.
 
Follow up after taking my wobbling GGT to the SC appointment to have the suspension judder checked. Very disappointing experience, unfortunately. They said there was nothing wrong with the air suspension (no air loss) and that the vehicle was "up to spec", even when wobbling.
I pressed for something more specific I or they can do, and their answers were "give it 4k miles to break in" and "check again when it's warmer". Translation: just live with it, even though you paid $125k for the promise of this "amazing driving experience".
Assessing my options for any next steps... I have no intentions of keeping the car in this condition.
 
prgarg said:
Follow up after taking my wobbling GGT to the SC appointment to have the suspension judder checked. Very disappointing experience, unfortunately. They said there was nothing wrong with the air suspension (no air loss) and that the vehicle was "up to spec", even when wobbling.
I pressed for something more specific I or they can do, and their answers were "give it 4k miles to break in" and "check again when it's warmer". Translation: just live with it, even though you paid $125k for the promise of this "amazing driving experience".
Assessing my options for any next steps... I have no intentions of keeping the car in this condition.
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Did they test drive it? If the air suspension isn’t leaking, there are a host of other suspension parts that could be the cause. It could even be a control problem from flaky signals due to wiring harness or sensor. I would think monitoring the sensors and control inputs to the suspension would give more insight.
 
If the air suspension was leaking it would be pretty apparent. If the Lucid software controlling the damping in the Bilstein shock absorbers was not tuned for these bumps and holes it would be much harder to know. Sometimes it feels like it adapts to the crashes after the first if there's a few of them.
 
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