My 2002 Excursion is in need of some tires. I want something in an all terrian tread, but not necessarily ultra agressive. The big buck tires like Revos etc. are out - the bike race budget is getting squeezed to hard with gas prices! So, I am looking at "second tier" tires like Kelly, Dayton etc.
Must be a load range E tire, stock size 265/75R16. We tow a heavy toy hauler, frequently getting into some sandy two tracks etc while towing into races etc.
These Trex tires seem interesting. Anybody with some experience with them?
I've been running Kelly tires on my last 3 vehicles and will not be switching to any other brands. They wear extremely well and treadwear is amazing. Currently, I am running the Safari AWR on my '02 Expedition. I went up to the Load Rance 'C' from the standard SL factory rating. Kelly has since discontinued the AWR and the Trex is the replacement tire for the AWR. I know some people who are running the Trex and are very happy with the overall performance. I think they are also Severe Snow rated, if that feature is necessary where you are. Overall, I don't think you will go wrong with the Kellys. I love mine. Friends have tried to get me to switch to BFG All-Terrains or the Dueler REVO. But, I'll stick with my Kellys.
Expy - thanks for the reply (not exactly a whole lot of response to my post!). The Trex ended up being installed yesterday - clearly way to early to have any idea how they will work for us. Only down side was when they went to do the front end alignment, they discovered about $800 of other front end work - ball joints, tie rod ends etc.
I plan to start another thread on this in then Excursion section - but when my wife picked the X up, the service manager told here essentially that the ball joints had to "break in", and until they did, the truck would have a horrible case of road wander - which has been exactly the case - you move the wheel a tiny bit, like to compensate for a minor bit of road drift, release pressure on wheel, it keeps turning like your hand is still on the wheel for a moment. The service guy said it should be fine "in a few days" - I sure hope so! 130 miles of driving so far - and no improvement! Have you ever heard of this? I certainly have not.
Glad I could help somewhat. I saw your original post was back on 7-2, but thought I'd reply anyways.
No, I haven't heard anything like what the mechanic said. Any front end work I have had on a vehicle has never resulted in the drift and pull you're referring to. After the work, the front end was always re-aligned to specs and it felt awesome. I'd contact your mechanic and express your unsureness and mention that your X is still wanting to drive itself rather than letting you drive it.
On another note, I'd be VERY interested in knowing how the Trex tires work for you. The tread pattern is very different from the AWR, but I've been looking at them as my next set, if and when my AWR's ever wear out. I've run them on my last 2 vehicles and really hate that they've been discontinued. If I remember, I'll send you a message in a month or so, asking how they're working and if you like them. Good luck with your mechanic.
The Kelly Safari tires I have had (which I got used) were pretty decent. One thing I noticed were their beads (I cut the tires apart) were very tough to demount compared to other tires. I imagine this translates into a better heavy duty tire.
I have been looking on the web for reviews on the safari trex, but have not had much luck. Wondering if anyone has an update on how these tires are holding up. And do they do ok off-road? I don't want to go to aggressive with gas prices, so I like that these tire have a quite ride and do well in the snow (at least according to Kelly's web site). Need a litte help here. I feel like I am hitting my head against the wall to find an objective opinion on these tires.
