u/Illustrious-Tour4530

RJ Scaringe recently said in an interview that they actively scrape Reddit, et. al. for consumer feedback. I place this micro-rant here in the hopes that enough up-votes or comments might get this on their radar.

My wife and I recently test drove an R2. Nice car! Can't wait for our number to come up to place our order.

But during the drive we made a few turns. The first time I put the turn indicator on my wife startled and said "what's that noise!?". She thought something had broken in the car and was knocking against the underside. And in a way, something had broken - Rivian's consumer testing process.

That indicator serves one purpose alone: to remind the driver that the turn signal is still on. Originally this was a byproduct of the mechanical blinking circuit itself, but even as this sound began to be produced synthetically most auto makers have held to the tradition that the effect be only loud enough to be liminal - in other words subtle. The R2 blinker is not subtle. It is no only too loud, but too low in pitch. Its not so much a signal as it is a percussion line. I expect to look up and see a mechanical monkey sitting on the dash, banging its drum at me with maniacal determination every time I make a break for the Piggly Wiggly parking lot! Its...irritating, is honestly the only word for it.

Am I making too much of this? Maybe, but its hardly one man's opinion. I've been somewhat obsessed with the R2 reviews over the past few months, and the number of times that sound is mentioned disfavorably without any prompting - its well beyond significant. Rivian, ask Claude to scrape YouTube reviews and see if I'm lying.

What's interesting to me is that I come to learn that the R1 series has a similar indicator sound and that R1 owners have been complaining about this for years!

I do well understand the need for Rivian to save on the BOM for this vehicle. And for the most part I think most of the tradeoff's they've made are wise and well considered. There are a few choices that remain baffling to me (removal of a $3 FM tuner; a panoramic sunroof with neither IR-rejecting coating nor built-in shade) but this one doesn't even save them any money. We're talking about a sample file here. In a software defined vehicle resolving this requires replacing a file in the next code deployment. That's low hanging fruit.

But tastes do differ. Rivian - if you want to respond with a solution that will really delight your customers - create a simple UI panel that allows the user to select from multiple sound files and volumes in the same manner that they can select the ambient lighting color. [And if you do, a special entreat from me to steal Volvo's signal sampled from a breaking fir branch in the Göthenberg forest. I kid you not: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSipohgskng]

And then do the same thing for the anemic horn please. Even Forza let's you choose your own yawp! ;)

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front)
I am intrigued by the rear "starfish" linkage that Rivian designed and I am led to believe that it is a significant advent in that it meaningfully reduces unsprung mass, leading to improved ride and handling. What I don't understand, and have not been able to find a discussion about, is how does it reduce mass? What is the alternative linkage that it is replacing? By how much?

I was hoping someone with mechanical engineering chops might be able to shed some light.

Also, likely a näive question - why only apply this to the rear wheels?

Background
The Rivian "Starfish" refers to a uniquely shaped, forged aluminum rear knuckle used in the independent multi-link rear suspension of the Rivian R2. It acts as a central hub integrating all five suspension links. [1]

By integrating these mounting points, Rivian significantly reduces unsprung mass and improves suspension geometry. This creates a smoother, more comfortable ride and better handling without the complexity or expense of the air suspension systems used in the larger R1 models. [1]

Key Benefits of the Starfish Design

• Reduced Unsprung Mass: The forged aluminum design is lightweight, which allows the wheels to track the road more closely and improves overall ride quality.
• Integrated Bushings: It conveniently bundles the bushings for all five rear suspension links together in a single part.
• Cost Efficiency: It allows the R2 to achieve exceptional off-road performance and premium handling while keeping production costs down to reach a more accessible mass-market price point. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Gives new meaning to "Launch Edition"....