Trxus tires

bigreen505

Expedition Leader
Does anyone here have any first hand experience with Trxus tires, either as a daily driver or on-road snow tire? I have seen a handful of reviews on the net, but they are so polarized it is hard to take them too seriously. People say they are really quiet (compared to their 40" boggers?) and great in snow (compared to a BFG MT?).

There is a guy on mud who is very evangelistic about his because they are great snow tires compared to Nokians and wear really well. Well, when pushed in a couple threads it seems that he doesn't really drive them in less than about 6" of snow and he thinks his tires will make it to 20,000 miles and is pretty pleased with that.

Ideally I am looking for a tire that is great on on-road snow (packed snow, ice, slush and say wind slab up to about about a foot deep), off-road rocks and dirt, light mud (spring thaw, fall storms, etc.), is quiet on road at highway speeds (say, no louder than studded snows, but quieter is better) and has a useful life (meaning the tire can handle any condition it could when new without me thinking twice about it) of 20,000 miles or better.

If such a beast does not exist or the Trxus isn't it I suppose I can raid my savings for a set of proper snow tires and steel wheels and then buy a set of good AT tires for the summer. It is a tough call because that seems like a very irresponsible thing to do, but sending my family out with tires that don't cut the mustard in the conditions we drive in seems dumb.

Right now, the Trooper is my wife's daily driver as her weekly mileage is only slightly more than my daily mileage.
 

Ursidae69

Expedition Leader
Bill, sounds like you are trying to talk yourself into some BFG KOs. No matter which mud terrain you run, they won't be all that great with on-road snow conditions. I had the same questions when I was looking at tires last year and I took the compromise in on-road snow handling and tread life to go with my Bighorns. I don't have any real experience with the Trxus specifially though. Maybe you'll be the ExPo Trxus tester. :elkgrin:
 

Bad Voodoo

Unassuming Superhero
http://www.offroaders.com/tech/AT-MT-Tires/TrXus_MT.htm

Had them on a Chevy Avalanche myself, and I couldn't recommend them in good conscience for anyone using them for a dual purpose tire. They're great offroad in desert conditions and mud, but that's where you'll leave your smile.

Sounds like the BFG AT KOs would be just the ticket for what you described. You may want to research the Yokohama Geolander MT+ as well. I had really, really good performance with these tires and would have them on my FJC if they had a comparable size. The don't, so I'm on Cooper MTs right now, which are great offroad and in heavy highway rain. No complaints so far.
 

bigreen505

Expedition Leader
Shovel said:
Heh... it's easy to get a positive review of almost any tire... because almost any new tire is going to be a huge improvement over the worn out ones they're likely replacing on the customer's rig.

I exchanged PM's with someone, maybe you, but I would love to see a head to head tire test with tires that had 60% tread and were about one year old. I think it would look very different.

I don't have any first hand experience with either TrXus model, but have been eyeballing the STS one as a "tread lightly" all terrain. Were you talking about the STS or the MT?

Trxus MT. I don't think the tread pattern on the STS has enough void area in the right place to really clear water and slush.

Ursidae69 said:
Bill, sounds like you are trying to talk yourself into some BFG KOs.

No, I'm really not. All the reports I've seen is that the tire is great when new, but loses winter worthiness by about the 20,000 mile mark. I suppose I could go that route and sell them after a year or couple, but that is basically the situation I was in with my Pro Comp AT's -- incredible in virtually every condition when new, acceptable but not the best at 10,000, probably should be replaced at about 15,000 and simply unsafe by 20,000. I think the rubber just gets really hard, really fast.

If I just gave up and went that route, I think I would sooner go with the Goodyear Silent Armor.

No matter which mud terrain you run, they won't be all that great with on-road snow conditions.

That is what my common sense tells me. Reports from people who actually use the Trxus as a winter tire say differently. Good siping (though very luggy) and very soft rubber that stays flexible at cold temperatures.

I think that I have pretty much settled on the 235/85 size on the logic that I think 265 is too wide for winter conditions and 255 is too tall for my gearing.
 
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akraven

New member
The problem with the truxus is the soft rubber makes them wear out fast. I use BFG MT's and have them siped. I run that year round on all my trucks and am very happy with the. Good wear,good traction with the added sipes in snow and not very noisy. Good luck akraven
 

nvprospector

Adventurer
WARNING: ALL THIS IS IMHO

I currently run Truxus and I will never get them again. I really don't care about the fact they wear out way to fast because I replace my tires every year anyways. They are really hard to get and keep balanced. The tread is soft rubber but the side walls are really stiff rubber. When you hit wash board pavement it feels like all four tires are out of balance. You can make the last longer if you run the psi at 40 when on pavement. Even then I can see them only beening able to be pushed to 22,000. I uselly have tires destroyed before I get close enough to the wear out bands.

But now for a little praise. For a self cleaning tread that can handle deep mud and execlent traction on slick rocks without the side wall collasping they are great.

I have ran the Truxus on both my Disco2 and Taco and I was never impressed. I like the Maxxis and have a set on the Disco2 and will soon have a set on the Taco.
 

kcowyo

ExPo Original
bigreen505 said:
All the reports I've seen is that the tire (BFG AT KO) is great when new, but loses winter worthiness by about the 20,000 mile mark.

I'm dying to try the TrXus MT's as well, for something different and because I hear great things about them in the snow. I'm probably going to be springing for a new set of tires myself in the coming year.

However it's going to be hard to not go with the KO's again....

I'm at 38K on my current set, my 3rd or 4th overall. Some have been through Lake City winters and some in Lander winters. Very similar to your conditions. They've been used and abused on the highways and trails.

I had to go out a few times this weekend in the storm that dumped over a foot of snow here. They did great, never giving me cause for concern. A-Ok on the slicker city streets and no problems during a run up a not-yet-plowed dirt road, back to a friend's house. I wound up breaking trail for their plow truck in a foot of snow without issue.

I'm all about the 'safety for the family' thing too. That's why last month, when it came time to put new tires on the 4Runner that totes my kids around, I told their Mother to get the KO's. She's driving in the same mess in the winter and some dirt roads in the summer, plus the daily runnin'. They're too good not to have.

I know this doesn't help regarding the TrXus, but you shouldn't feel like that's your only option. The KO's would be great in your world.

:beer:
 

chrismc

Adventurer
I'm currently running TrXus MT's, and in the past have used BFG AT's & MT's, as well as Goodyear MTR's. Here's my opinion:

Traction-wise, the Trxus are awesome. Off-road, they do great on the rocks and in the mud (only thing better is a Swamper or Bogger). The sidewalls are some of the toughest around (although I did manage to slash one very quickly on a particularly sharp rock. On-road, they do much better than tires with similar off-road traits. Wet pavement and snow traction is better than any other mud terrain I've used. My BFG MT's (first version) were terrifying on wet pavement. The best on-road snow tires I've used were the BFG AT's, but they were complete crap for almost all off-road uses. They also didn't stand a chance when the snow got deep.

Now here's the bad parts: They are not quiet. They are not extremely loud like a Swamper, but they definitely tell you that they aren't an AT. Personally, they don't bother me at all, but I drive a CRD with an already not-so-quiet engine (and good sound insulation). They are fast-wearing as well. You will probably be able to get 20k out of them, but I can't imagine you'd get any more than that. The hardest-wearing tire I've had was my BFG MT's, but they were also the crappiest on-road tire I've ever had.

All said and done, my favorite tire has been the Wrangler MTR. It has the best performance balance for my mixed on- and off-road needs. However, they ain't cheap, so I run the TrXus instead. When taking tire lifetime into account, I probably come out the same.

If you go with the TrXus, make sure you get them from a reputable tire shop that guarantees they will get them perfectly balanced. They are notoriously hard to get balanced and require a good 3d balancing machine. With a competent tire tech, and patience, they are balanceable (at least up to 35's or so- above that your need Equal or Airsoft pellets for dynamic balancing). Don't hesitate to go back to the shop make them "do right" if they aren't perfect. Every once in awhile, the shops get an out-of-round tire that just isn't useable. If that happens, make sure they swap it out for you. TrXus aren't known for particularly good quality control.

I would not hesitate to buy TrXus again. Given all the trade-offs, I am happy with mine.
 

Jacket

2008 Expedition Trophy Champion
bigreen505 said:
I exchanged PM's with someone, maybe you, but I would love to see a head to head tire test with tires that had 60% tread and were about one year old. I think it would look very different.

That was me :) and I agree. Long term tire studies are rare if not non-existent. I guess one question I would ask is whether there is an AT or MT tire out there that doesn't exhibit that same deterioration after the first 25-50% of the rubber is worn away.

You question is about the Trxus tires, which I can't offer any useful information on. But I agree with KC that based on what you describe as your needs, the KO's really seem like the best fit. Given the way the roads were around here yesterday and today, I'm happy to be in my KO's. That packed snow/ice combo on the roads is nasty in MT's.

I'm not sure if you're looking for other options, but it seems like there's quite a few of the Cruiser guys around here running Toyo MT's on the 80 series daily drivers. They're heavy, but seem to get good performance reviews. You could check for some road/snow reviews on them.

For AT's, the Nitto TG's are pretty popular as a cheaper alternative to the KO's. It's still a pretty aggressive tread, but with the on-road characteristics of a AT. But they won't wear as long as the KO's.
 

bigreen505

Expedition Leader
Thanks everyone.

KC -- That is a pretty glowing endorsement.
Matt -- I would be interested in the Nittos, but they start at 265/75 and for this go around I really want to try 235/85.

What I still can't get my mind around is how the Trxus work in snow. I'm starting to get the feeling that they are the best MT in snow, which is kind of like being the tallest jockey.
 

chrismc

Adventurer
bigreen505 said:
What I still can't get my mind around is how the Trxus work in snow. I'm starting to get the feeling that they are the best MT in snow, which is kind of like being the tallest jockey.
How much snow are you talking about? On light snow (just a couple or few inches), cruising along at 30-40 mph, an AT is going to be better due to all the small voids in the tread. In the heavy stuff (like a foot) is where the TrXus shines. Lesser tires just spin because they have no bite. The large tread of the TrXus digs in to the snow pack with no mercy and just claws straight through.

Is that what you're looking for?

...and here's an ExPo smiley because I like them. :1888fbbd:
 

bigreen505

Expedition Leader
You know what really annoys me? When someone posts for help on a "which one should I choose" question and then goes a totally different way. So that said I just got a set of studded Cooper Discoverer M&S tires. From my research they are adequate, though not perfect, and the price was reasonable -- at least as far as studded snows go.

So I think that means I'll be looking for an aggressive AT in the spring. Chris' comments reinforce that they are a great tire in the deep, but probably not all around in snow, and too many comments suggest that occasionally the heavens smile and you get a set of tires that are round, but more often it is a struggle and I would probably get very annoyed with them.
 

chrismc

Adventurer
Sounds like a well-informed decision. If you don't have a need for the more aggressive features of the TrXus, then you will definitely be better off with a different tire.
 

kcowyo

ExPo Original
bigreen505 said:
You know what really annoys me? When someone posts for help on a "which one should I choose" question and then goes a totally different way.

Me too.....:littlefriend:

I find solace though in the fact that I won't have to read another "Which Tire?" thread for like, another 5 mins or so.

Hope those work out for you and yours Bill - :beer:
 
bigreen505 said:
You know what really annoys me? When someone posts for help on a "which one should I choose" question and then goes a totally different way.

It's funny you say that because I've been doing some research of my own, and it's probably worth mentioning here.

I'm sure it's no big secret, but I just "discovered" (sort of like Columbus "discovered" America) the ******** Cepek Fun Country II AT/MT Hybrid, sort of an AT middle tread design with a mild MT outer lug design. Anyway, they may be what you're looking for...maybe not.

Check 'em out here --> ******** Cepek FC-II
 

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