By jmon on Saturday, November 17, 2001 - 10:43 pm: Edit

i went tire shopping today ans saw several "mud" tires..after this i have two major questions..first after looking at all the tires (bfg, gy, cooper, futura, and others) the ones that i found to be really good for the price and traction were the futuras and the new swampers..question:does anyone know anything about these performance, quality, tread pattern? they seem to be really good and for only 100.00 dollars a tire..all info on this would be appreciated..
second-now i know the tire question size has been discussed about a million times and believe me i have read all the posts..but i still have some concern with size..i do a lot of wheeling and the tire size of 235 is great the concern is on the loss of power i go on a lot of long distance trips to mexico, baja, canada, and other places..but there can be a fair bit of hill climbing envolved.many miles of it! is the power loss so drastic that these long uphills will be a major hassle and turn into a major obstacle? if its not then i am stoked on the 235's please the best advice is needed i would hate to be in baja traveling over the mtns heading south and wishing i had just a hair more power...so basically are the 235s going to be ok for major distance traveling with a lot of uphill or should i got 245..thanks everyone.cheers

By Phillip Perkinson (R0ver4x4) on Saturday, November 17, 2001 - 11:45 pm: Edit

picutures of the new swamper

By jmon on Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 12:59 am: Edit

here is the website..not sure how to put it in as link...you can also go to interco tires...

http://www.intercotire.com/trexus_mud_terrain-600.jpg

By Brian Jackson (Nerover) on Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 12:18 pm: Edit

Jmon,

I've had Futuras and they're great for the money. I've seen people get lots of miles out of them and know people who've driven cross-country on the 235/85 Futuras, I think the power loss is not sooo bad. Sort of a willing trade-off for the offroad perfromance.

I've seen the Trexus, and they seem to perform excellently. The price is right and the sizes are right for our trucks. The carcuss is the same as a Swamper, so you know they'll be really tough.

I'd go with the 235/85 and probably the Trxus for a couple of extra bucks...

Brian

By Brian Jackson (Nerover) on Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 12:27 pm: Edit

...forgot to add:

The Trxus is siped which will make a huge difference on the road in 'not ideal' conditions. My biggest gripe with mud tires that I've run (Futura, BFG, Dunlop, BFG/KM, MT bias ply Claw) is that in rain...if you have to stop quickly, it's very easy to lock up the wheels, and once the traction is lost...you accelerate towards that car/red light in front of you. I found the AT/KO to be the best tire on the road that was still good offroad, but not great offroad. This Trxus could be that magic tire that's strong, wears well and evenly, is great offroad, inexpensive and great onroad as well! Give them a try!

Brian

By Robert Mann (Oldscout) on Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 01:16 pm: Edit

I only have about a 1000 miles on them, but I like my TruXus a great deal. There noise level is below the last set of BFG AT I had, and seem to hook up very well on the light wheeling I have done so far.

By jmon on Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 10:35 pm: Edit

ok thanks for the great responses..what about engine breaking..i remember reading back on one of the long strands about tire size that engine breaking capabilities when locked in low range and a low gear are drastically effected and you have to use your breaks all the time...is this true and just how bad is it? need to here from those with lots of experience..thanks everyone

By Moe on Monday, November 19, 2001 - 03:43 pm: Edit

Of course engine braking (not breaking!) will be improved with regearing and will return to close to stock when running the 235/85 tires. You will definitely notice power loss on long, loaded climbs and you will be wishing for the 4.10 gears, maybe even needing them.

I just installed the 235/85 Trixus a couple of weeks ago so will have to wait for a year to see how they perform in different conditions. On wet bitumin road, I am surprised how well they handle even when pushed a bit under heavy braking and power in curves. They will see snow in a couple of weeks so will know more then.

By Larryg on Monday, November 19, 2001 - 06:48 pm: Edit

I bought the 235/85/16 TrXus tires in April. I have been to Moab and many 9 rated trails in Colorado. They have good traction on and off-road, BUT I have slashed 3 different tires while off-roading. Warrantied them out luckily. I never once slashed the BFG M/T's I replaced them with. Once the these tires wear out I will once again return to the BFG's. The TrXus aren't nearly as durable as the TSL Radials and other tires from Interco. I will probably return to BFG's or TSL Radial 265/80 for my next set of tires.

Larry
'90 RR

By jmon on Tuesday, November 20, 2001 - 12:32 am: Edit

thaks for the input guys my bad on the breaking (braking) well i have some thinking to do now..i do run a lot of trails like the stuff in moab with sometimes sharp jagged rocks...larry were the trxus tires that you had 10 ply or 8 ply..just curious man i was all set to get these now i am just not sure...cant really afford to be slashing tires and stuck in the middle of baja...any others with inputs

By RVR OVR (Tom) on Tuesday, November 20, 2001 - 12:57 pm: Edit

jmon,

what size lift do you have? will all that driving you are doing from place to place be on or off road.

if you have 3" of lift or more, and the driving will be off road, you may want to consider the TSL radials. They are stronger and are better "mud tires". If you aren't hitting the mud all that much but still want an agressive tire, i would think about the Bridgestone Dueler MT's. they aren't as loud on the road as the swampers and are a bit less agressive. they do last very long.

tom

By Larryg on Tuesday, November 20, 2001 - 03:28 pm: Edit

jmon,
They list both 8 or 10 ply for 235/85. Reality is there is only the 10 ply for 235/85. The 8 ply listed is actually the 255/85 tire they sell.. apparently someone at Interco screwed up the matrix chart way back when, and 4Wheelparts and the other tire dealers aren't smart enough to check on the tire sizes available. Maybe this shows how many of these tires they are actually selling.

Honestly, buy the BFG's. They are the most durable, usable tire I have seen. The Swamper TSL radials may be more durable, but not nearly as drivable on the street.

Just my thoughts!

Larry
'90 RR

By jmon on Tuesday, November 20, 2001 - 09:45 pm: Edit

thanks..i have an ome hd lift (2inches) doing lots of mud, rock,sand, etc etc...well driving down baja this year we will spend about 50% on the road and 50% off road, but boy the 50% off road is gruelling and oh so fun! so larry you recomend the bfg mud terrains..yeah that was my initial choice too..those or the futuras

By RVR OVR (Tom) on Wednesday, November 21, 2001 - 03:59 am: Edit

Jmon, Sounds like you can't go wrong with the BFG MT's or Futura's. A lot of guys run those in the conditions you are talking about with success.

Tom

By jmon on Thursday, November 22, 2001 - 07:01 pm: Edit

will tsl radials fit on a 16x7 wheel with a two inch emu hd lift?

By Brian Jackson (Nerover) on Thursday, November 22, 2001 - 07:06 pm: Edit

jmon,

What size TSL radial?

Brian

By jmon on Thursday, November 22, 2001 - 08:29 pm: Edit

i am not sure..my post was a question...does anyone know..thanks

By matt peckham on Friday, November 23, 2001 - 05:52 pm: Edit

I;ve had the Trxus for 12,000 miles. Slashed one the first weekend at Shamokin, it held on, it was a deep sidewall gash, finally gave out 2 weeks later on my wife while she was in Camden, ME. Oops! hey, at least I taught her and her biz partner how to change a tire...

I got another one (wish I had some warranty on them, ordered thru tyres.com) and slapped it on and haven't had any problem since. They are great in the mud, ruts, rocks (well, I did gash one) and loose shale. I have done 800 miles of dirt roads in Labrador, lots of it washboard, most of it dusty, and cruising at 80mph. They handled well. Not recommending it, but I've had em up to 98mph on a loooong slow hill in Nova Scotia, they were fine and kinda quiet at that speed...

There's probably 25% of the tread gone, I have my 400 mile tire to compare with.

They are good for the price, and most importantly, are very quiet for such an aggresive tire. Good selling point for the wifey.

By JCC on Saturday, November 24, 2001 - 09:20 am: Edit

Jmon and Bryan, The closest size TSL Radial are the 260/85 16's which are the tires that I am going to run when i get some money this christmas. if im not mistaken they are 32.4" in DIA. I think they would work good in conjunction with my Rovertym three inch springs that I installed yesterday!!!!!!

By RVR OVR (Tom) on Saturday, November 24, 2001 - 05:40 pm: Edit

Sure will. Almost the same as the 32x9.5x15 bias ply whice are 32.3" tall that I have with the 3" RT lift.

JCC - Are you using stock rims? The only problem you may have is rubbing the wheel inside the wheel well.

Tom