Who's running TrXus MT 37x12.50R16L?

[baldilocks]

How necessary do you think the 1" spacers are for the Trxus 37s? I didn't run any on my 345s but they do rub a bit in the rear on the frame rail, even with 4" bump stop extensions and they aren't even true 37s.

If the rubbing you are experiencing does not bother you, then a wheel spacer won't be needed especially with 4" bump drops. I dropped mine 3.5" and with the wheel spacers the tires don't touch anywhere but they do come close to the frame and inner fender.

My last 35's would rub the frame as evidenced by the missing paint. I was running no bump extenders or wheel spacers.

The main reason I installed wheel spacers was to gain cleance in the front for the turning wheels. And another positive outcome is the stability that's regained by a 2" wider axle assembly.

The photo isn't a very good example because the tire isn't close to being fully stuffed but you can see how it would tuck right up inside the fender lip even with the 1" wheel spacer. The Trxus has a slightly narrower tread than most tires with a 12.5" section width which makes them easier to fit.

I have been wheeling since 1990 and the only tire I ever had that could compare off road is the Irok but a bias ply Irok is pretty bad on the highway. This is the wheel and tire combo I will run as long as it's available. I see no reason to go to a 17" wheel because the 16x8 promotes a better side wall bulge and bead retention when aired down.

 

[Nay]

Trxus are awesome. The key to this tire, which will end up both the good and the bad, is that at road pressures (run them lower, like 28-30 PSI), the tread contact width is very narrow on a stock rim, like 9" or so on the 37x12.5. This means your road experience is mostly on those inner lugs, they track great, and that narrow contact patch with soft compound means they are incredible in the winter.

That same function means you don't have a squared off tread, and so it's difficult to get them to wear without cupping. Rotate every 3-5K. As others noted, Interco tires are still made in clamshell molds, so lateral balance can be difficult to achieve and maintain. I'd get the roadforce balance and then install balance beads to deal with wear over time - don't install the balance beads first as they fool the balancing machine.

I got about 35K out of my last set, but I siped and grooved them at around 20K to restore performance. If you search you'll probably find a thread from me on this.

In any case, highly recommended as long as you are willing to deal with the balance and wear compromises. For a wheeler, those compromises really don't matter IMO. For a ton of family miles, which is what I was eventually doing, it's too much money and the downsides show up too soon (I have 30K on a set of 37" BFG KO2 and they are like new, never rebalanced).

But, if money was no object, I'd probably run Trxus and change them every 10K. Soft compounds like that are so sweet as they absorb everything around town and kill it in bad weather and rock crawling. But one must pay to play.

 

[baldilocks]

Trxus are awesome. The key to this tire, which will end up both the good and the bad, is that at road pressures (run them lower, like 28-30 PSI), the tread contact width is very narrow on a stock rim, like 9" or so on the 37x12.5. This means your road experience is mostly on those inner lugs, they track great, and that narrow contact patch with soft compound means they are incredible in the winter.

That same function means you don't have a squared off tread, and so it's difficult to get them to wear without cupping. Rotate every 3-5K. As others noted, Interco tires are still made in clamshell molds, so lateral balance can be difficult to achieve and maintain. I'd get the roadforce balance and then install balance beads to deal with wear over time - don't install the balance beads first as they fool the balancing machine.

I got about 35K out of my last set, but I siped and grooved them at around 20K to restore performance. If you search you'll probably find a thread from me on this.

In any case, highly recommended as long as you are willing to deal with the balance and wear compromises. For a wheeler, those compromises really don't matter IMO. For a ton of family miles, which is what I was eventually doing, it's too much money and the downsides show up too soon (I have 30K on a set of 37" BFG KO2 and they are like new, never rebalanced).

But, if money was no object, I'd probably run Trxus and change them every 10K. Soft compounds like that are so sweet as they absorb everything around town and kill it in bad weather and rock crawling. But one must pay to play.

As per the YouTube video I watched, and my local discount tire, (Americas tire) whom I have bought my tires from for 20 years, the Hunter road force balance machine is not meant for large nor agressive tires. They won't do it.

One out of my five Trxus has a small balance issue with ten ounces of dynabeads. Between 45 and 53-54mph it causes the steering wheel to cycle left-right-left-right a small amount. Once 55mph is reached it smooths out again.

National tire and wheel, where I got the tires because my America's tire store told me they could no longer buy these tires (which ended up not being true) told me to ditch the dynabeads and use lead to balance that one tire. If it won't balance, I will send it back to them with a pretty bow on it and get another tire from them.

It's my understanding that the balance beads should keep the tire balanced for life. Replacing these tires every 15k is feasible because I don't put that many miles on per year.

 

[Broski]

View attachment 1487048
If the rubbing you are experiencing does not bother you, then a wheel spacer won't be needed especially with 4" bump drops. I dropped mine 3.5" and with the wheel spacers the tires don't touch anywhere but they do come close to the frame and inner fender.

My last 35's would rub the frame as evidenced by the missing paint. I was running no bump extenders or wheel spacers.

The main reason I installed wheel spacers was to gain cleance in the front for the turning wheels. And another positive outcome is the stability that's regained by a 2" wider axle assembly.

The photo isn't a very good example because the tire isn't close to being fully stuffed but you can see how it would tuck right up inside the fender lip even with the 1" wheel spacer. The Trxus has a slightly narrower tread than most tires with a 12.5" section width which makes them easier to fit.

I have been wheeling since 1990 and the only tire I ever had that could compare off road is the Irok but a bias ply Irok is pretty bad on the highway. This is the wheel and tire combo I will run as long as it's available. I see no reason to go to a 17" wheel because the 16x8 promotes a better side wall bulge and bead retention when aired down.

Baldilocks
I not running any wheel spacers. As you can see I am running stock wheel, OME J springs with a 1" spacer & was very impressed that it turns lock to lock with out rubbing. The only rubbing was at the Costa Fab Front bumper A trim fixed that.
The rear I have OME 863 , 2" bump stops that are to short to do any thing. It was rubbing on the rear seat belt bolt, the back of the wheel wells & the frame of course. I pounded out the bolt cut open the wheel wells & the frame still rubs.

 

[baldilocks]

Baldilocks
I not running any wheel spacers. As you can see I am running stock wheel, OME J springs with a 1" spacer & was very impressed that it turns lock to lock with out rubbing. The only rubbing was at the Costa Fab Front bumper A trim fixed that.
The rear I have OME 863 , 2" bump stops that are to short to do any thing. It was rubbing on the rear seat belt bolt, the back of the wheel wells & the frame of course. I pounded out the bolt cut open the wheel wells & the frame still rubs.

Perhaps that's has to do with your track bar adjustment. The wheel spacers also make the axle assembly 2" wider which lends to lateral stalbility that I can feel on and off road.

It took a good deal of time but I have zero interference anywhere.

 

[Nay]

As per the YouTube video I watched and my local discount tire (Americas tire) whom I have bought my tires from fir 20 years, the Hunter road force balance machine is it meant for large nor agressibe tires. They won't do it.

One out of my five Trxus has a small balance issue with ten ounces of dynabeads. Between 45 and 53-54mph it causes the steering wheel to cycle left-right-left-right a small amount. Once 55mph is reached it smoooth out again.

National tire and wheel, where I got the tires because my America's tire store told me they could no longer buy these tires (which ended up not being true) told me to ditch the dynabeads and use lead to balance that one tire. If it won't balance, I will send it back to them with a pretty bow on it and get another tire from them.

It's my understanding that the balance beads should keep the tire balanced for life. Replacing these tires every 15k is feasible because I don't put that many miles on per year.

Discount Tire has never had an issue using the Hunter machines to balance 37's for me.

The problem with Dynabeads is they only affect roundness issues and don't address lateral imbalance. That wobble you feel is lateral imbalance, which can be corrected by wheel weights, but your tire store has to actually be willing to do it (their story is crap) and Dynabeads have to come out first, because with them installed the tire never balances according to the machine as the weights continually shift.

I know this because I had Discount Tire install Dynabeads on my last set and then they went to balance and it was literally undriveable. Beads had to get tossed and all was good. For a few thousand miles anyway.

I think the Dynabeads will make a big difference because a tire this soft is going to get out of round over time, but that's no excuse for any tire store to refuse to laterally balance first on a road force machine.

 

[Nay]

2" bumpstop drop in the rear, 1" wheel spacers. Zero tire contact.

 

[Broski]

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Perhaps that's has to do with your track bar adjustment. The wheel spacers also make the axle assembly 2" wider which lends to lateral stalbility that I can feel on and off road.

It took a good deal of time but I have zero interference anywhere.

If it were the track bar Adjustment it would rub on one side and not the other. Plus I have adjustable track bars and just dial in the fount one when I replaced the bushing. Baldilock I don't mean to be argumentative just trying to understand how 37 can rub in the fount without spacers. I to am a long time wheeler my first being a 1958 willys wagon in 1975 when I was 16, I put a 283 Chevy v8 in it so been turning wenches a long time also. I have used spacers in the past on other rigs and don't care for them as they add leverage, change the scrub radius, and most of all they can come lose. The only interference I am experiencing is in the rear at the frame/wheel well and I can live with that.

 

[baldilocks]

s



If it were the track bar Adjustment it would rub on one side and not the other. Plus I have adjustable track bars and just dial in the fount one when I replaced the bushing. Baldilock I don't mean to be argumentative just trying to understand how 37 can rub in the fount without spacers. I to am a long time wheeler my first being a 1958 willys wagon in 1975 when I was 16, I put a 283 Chevy v8 in it so been turning wenches a long time also. I have used spacers in the past on other rigs and don't care for them as they add leverage, change the scrub radius, and most of all they can come lose. The only interference I am experiencing is in the rear at the frame/wheel well and I can live with that.

My tires came extremely close to the upper spring bucket on full compression during my garage testing phase. The driver tire actually rubbed on the fat ass Dobinson yellow shock in a hard left turn.

I notice no difference in how the vehicle steers with the spacers installed. But, I do sense better lateral stability. Going wider as you go taller only makes sense. Many many people have run wheel spacers on different rigs without issues.

What I have found since I installed 37's and went through all of the axle cycling and testing without the springs installed in order to have the shortest bumpstops possible in any scenario is that, the spacers helped keep the bump stops a bit shorter. But, I also learned that, in actual off-road performance, 100% wheel stuff happens rarely, at least with the springs I am running.

 

[Nay]

I can also run the front without spacers and no rubbing, but since you can forget about it for the rear to me it's a moot point.

As for spacers failing, I finally had one fail after about 10 years and I've determined that the MB Motors TKO rim where there was the failure has some pitting on the mating surface, and that could cause failure on the hub as well. So I have a warranty claim to make.

So in that regard, spacers protect your hub and it's lugs. I carry a spare spacer now. Wheel off, spacer off, new spacer on, wheel back on. Vastly simpler trail repair.

If I was starting from scratch, I'd be hunting down a set of first gen Sequoia rims (I really like split spoke rims on an 80) and using 1.25" hub centric spacers. With the 5.25" backspace of that rim you get a net .5" of spacing, which is the minimum for clearance, and you still have the hub centric mounting. I actually run those spacers on my Sequoia, and I think that is the most solid setup you can design. Plus, you get the full range of 17" tires.

As a side note, the MB TKO rims I run are purpose built for the 80 spec-wise. It's a 17x8.5 with -6mm offset so backspacing is stock, the hub bore is the 80's 106mm, and it's a slightly narrower 17" rim as most are 17x9. That's pretty much a direct OEM replacement 17" rim. It's not hub centric, but the bore specs are perfect.

 

[216jax]

@baldilocks Wondering a few years later whether or not your opinions of this tire have changed or if your running something different now. About the pull the trigger on these and greatly appreciate your feedback.

Good Things

 

[baldilocks]

@baldilocks Wondering a few years later whether or not your opinions of this tire have changed or if your running something different now. About the pull the trigger on these and greatly appreciate your feedback.

Good Things

Mine will be 4 years old in July. They have been on a couple of long, multi week road trips and they have endured lots of abuse on all types of terrain down to 4psi on stock wheels. They have about 30k miles on them and maybe 25-35% tread remaining.

They don’t chunk out and are surprisingly quiet on pavement. They grip rocks and snow/ice very well until the factory siping disappears at about 40- 50% tread depth. I bought a tire grooving iron and did my own siping on the inner tread blocks and grooves on the outers 18 months ago and that brought them back quite well.

They are load range E and have a nice thick carcass. One of my tires has a sidewalk cut down to cords and another is plugged but neither give me a problem so far.

Balancing any tire this big can be a challenge. I started with 10 ounces of balance beads in each tire per the Dynabeads chart for my exact tire. It turned out to be too much weight. We removed the beads and they balance well with 8 ounce sticker weights on the back of each wheel. The only balancing issue I’ve experienced is a little bit of lateral wobble of the steering wheel between 45 and 50 but that usually happens for a short while after a rotation and somehow just goes away for the most part.

I’m contemplating new tires by summer simply due to the fact that this set has been used and abused an I’ve seen similar aged tires shredded. The TrXus are the top pick right now for a couple reasons: Everything I said above is true and thus leaves no mysteries to unfold in the coming years. I kinda like the extra sidewall you get with a 37 on a 16” wheel not to mention the money I’ll save not buying 17” wheels.

The trXus are more expensive than the overseas brands that seem to be garnering a good bit of interest from our comrades, but for me, they are proven and they say made in USA on the side. Grab a set, I think you won’t be disappointed.

 

[216jax]

Mine will be 4 years old in July. They have been on a couple of long, multi week road trips and they have endured lots of abuse on all types of terrain down to 4psi on stock wheels. They have about 30k miles on them and maybe 25-35% tread remaining.

They don’t chunk out and are surprisingly quiet on pavement. They grip rocks and snow/ice very well until the factory siping disappears at about 40- 50% tread depth. I bought a tire grooving iron and did my own siping on the inner tread blocks and grooves on the outers 18 months ago and that brought them back quite well.

They are load range E and have a nice thick carcass. One of my tires has a sidewalk cut down to cords and another is plugged but neither give me a problem so far.

Balancing any tire this big can be a challenge. I started with 10 ounces of balance beads in each tire per the Dynabeads chart for my exact tire. It turned out to be too much weight. We removed the beads and they balance well with 8 ounce sticker weights on the back of each wheel. The only balancing issue I’ve experienced is a little bit of lateral wobble of the steering wheel between 45 and 50 but that usually happens for a short while after a rotation a somehow just away for the most part.

I’m contemplating new tires by summer simply due to the fact that this set has been used an abused an I’ve seen similar aged tires shredded. The TrXus are the top pick right now for a couple reasons: Everything I said above is true and thus leaves no mysteries the unfold in the coming years. I kinda like the extra sidewall you get with a 37 on a 16” wheel not to mention the money I’ll save not buying 17” wheels.

The trXus are more expensive than the overseas brands that seem to be garnering a good bit of interest from our comrades, but for me, they are proven and they say made in USA on the side. Grab a set, I think you won’t be disappointed.

Killer insight and very much appreciated. Running a 15x8 steel wheel and the list of compatible tires are limited at best. Also considering the TSL radial as well as they come in a 36 which I like the idea of for optimal flex and clearance sake but after searched through your content it appears it's not an earth shattering process getting full articulation and rubbing issues addressed running the TRXUS in a 37 (that has better road manners to boot). And as always, anytime that "Made in USA" is stamped on something, it seals the deal for me.

Thanks again and Good Things.

 

[concretejungle]

I ran two sets and loved them. I had hit or miss issues with balancing them but they were tuff as nails, rode pretty smoothly and were not any louder than a set of BFG mud terrains. I finally swapped to BFG At's and have not looked back, but if I were still in more of a hard-core mind set I would consider them again.

 

[Nay]

At first blush, the Patagonia MT is the modern Trxus. I just went to 38x12.5, and what sold me was a) seeing the level of traction my son was getting out of these on his Taco both in wet and on rocks and b) realizing that this tire is rounded like Trxus and also meant to be run on the inner part of the tread.

This aids stuffing into the wheel wells offroad vs. a squared off tire, riding quiet, and tracking better just like Trxus. I had more trouble with 37” ko2 that are an inch smaller than Trxus and a lot of trouble with 37” STT Pro that are a full size 37, requiring more trimming. So much so that the 38’s fit.

The Milestars balance up easily, one required 6 oz and the rest were 2-3. My son is putting himself through school working at Discount Tire and hears first hand how much people love this tire.

It rides soft, tracks perfectly, and is very quiet. You can see the intended contact patch staying off those outer lugs, just like Trxus but without the Interco three stage lug design. Snow performance is outstanding, including blizzard. You want Trxus without old school manufacturing? Here’s your pony.

 

[baldilocks]

I’ll be going with Made in USA trXus again at the end of 2021.

 

[Nay]

I’ll be going with Made in USA trXus again at the end of 2021.

Trxus are awesome. It would be nice if they would update the molds to 12 point instead of clamshell so they don’t have such horrid lateral imbalances.

I just can’t go back to tires that are hard to run at higher speeds due to manufacturing design issues, but I totally get the made in US preference.

 

[baldilocks]

Trxus are awesome. It would be nice if they would update the molds to 12 point instead of clamshell so they don’t have such horrid lateral imbalances.

I just can’t go back to tires that are hard to run at higher speeds due to manufacturing design issues, but I totally get the made in US preference.

I haven’t had problems with lateral balance until the tires got about 50-60% worn and then it would only crop up between 45-50 mph and usually only on a curve in the road. There is plenty of testimony to the difficulty folks have had trying to get many brands of tires in larger sizes to balance out and stay balanced. Got rocks and snow?

 

[Broski]

Some of the so called cheep tires runs super smooth with out any balancing even in the 39" size at all speeds. That being said I really liked my TrXus when I was running them even through it took a lot of weight to balance them.

 

[Shipwreck]

TrXus has been my go-to tire for a few years now. Since I run true beadlocks most big name tire shops will not balance them. I finally invested in a cheap old-school bubble balancer and a pile of stick-on weights. I rebalance them every 5K or whenever I start to feel a wobble.
Bubble balancing may not necessarily work well for lateral imbalances, but frequent balancing made a big difference for me. I've prevented the cupping I used to get and prolonged the life of the tire since doing this.