TRX Tires Not So Bad

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TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by Enchanter »

I know the price of TRX tires are outrageous, but I did purchase a recent set for my 1986 M535i. 220/55/390. From what I am told, the tires are now made with a more modern compound. I would tend to agree as the tires feel fantastic and grip like crazy! They are great in the rain and dry. I know there are some haters of them and of course for 1/3 the price, you can get Michelin pilots on a 17" wheel, but I just want to share my first hand experience.
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by hornhospital »

There are some who call him.....Tim!

For originality they are essential, but as you say, for a fraction of the price you can get tires that are better in all respects. And you can get replacements just about anywhere. Try that with a TRX.
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by Paul Humpage »

hornhospital wrote:
For originality they are essential, but as you say, for a fraction of the price you can get tires that are better in all respects.

Well no you can't. You can certainly get ones that are just as good for a fraction of the price but ones that better? Modern TRXs have just as much grip as modern tyres. They work just as well in the rain and dry as modern tyres. They are supremely quiet, quieter I've found than a fair few modern tyres I've had and I have to say, put a set of 390s on a standard 6er and the car rides better than any oversized, hubcentricly converted wheel and tyre combo you will come across.

Expensive? Bloody hell they are. Hard to find? Yep, only a few dealers worldwide. Bad tyres though? Not on your life.
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by hornhospital »

Paul, if they were that good, you'd see them being used in racing, where cost is no object. I stand by my statement.
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by Paul Humpage »

hornhospital wrote:Paul, if they were that good, you'd see them being used in racing, where cost is no object. I stand by my statement.
I don't really think racing tyres can be used in an argument for tyres for normal cars and I don't believe racing tyres are a fraction of the price of TRXs so I stand by my statement disagreeing that for a fraction of the price you can get tyres that are better in all respects.
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by Paul Humpage »

wfwright2 wrote:Although I have not driven on TRX's for a bit over 15 years now, the "current" batch sure should be better than the ones I wore out during driver improvement school.
The new compounds should make them better overall than before, but the structure still remains and the newer technology tires on regular rims are much improved in all areas especially handling, tread life, and noise.
All of this is IMO, humble or otherwise.
Michelin would not have dropped the line if they were really an improvement over their Pilot series performance tire.
Tread life, yes. The new compound is not long lasting. Handling, no. Modern TRXs handle as well as the close equivalent modern tyres I've had on the 16 and 17 inch rims I've used as well as the TRXs. In fact, with the stiff sidewall on the TRXs they handle noticeably better on the limit than noodly tall tyres on 16 inch rims.

Noise. Absolutely not. Modern TRXs are really quiet, it's a real joy to drive on them. Noise increases a bit as tread wears but you should hear how noisy the Pirelli P-Zeros are on my wife's Saab wagon as they wear, bloody awful.

As for Michelin dropping the line, well there really wasn't a great deal of choice with rims and TRXs and this didn't just apply to BMW but to Saab and some other manufacturers too. Plus, when a make doesn't take off universally it gets hard to source the tyre even when they are in mass production. Towns away from major cities in large countries such as Australia would have been unlikely to carry TRXs back in the day especially as they were really only on European imports so people tend naturally to shy away.

I'm not fussed about the reputation of TRXs being poor, I like to correct it when I can as I quite like to be thought of as a bit odd :D and I certainly like to correct it when someone whinges about them being crap and offering no grip when it turns out they are driving on a 30 year old set of spares out of 4 different car boots. No one in this thread has done that so I'm not pointing fingers.

Nothing is cheap on our cars, absolutely nothing so the cost of a set of TRXs which I will get 3 years out of the amount I drive when balanced out over those years is relatively affordable. I have to say, the day I put my first set of brand TRXs on was an absolute revelation. The car rode the best it ever had and having wheels that the car was delivered with meant no hubcentrics, no shimmy, no chance of rubbing when you bottomed out on an undulating country road at 150km/h. I've driven them at speeds that would get me locked up in all weathers. I've used them in Motorkhanas on skid pans both wet and dry and been just as competitive as modern tyred 6er drivers. If Michelin continues to make them and Longstone Tyres in the UK continue to send them to Australia for sensible freight so i don;t have to buy them from some overpriced tosser here then I shall continue to buy them. I love 'em.

Damn! I think this is the way a standard E24 was supposed to look anyway. And as for the M on the Style 5 metrics, well that is pure sex.


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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by hornhospital »

FYI: Although Michelin still catalogs them in their "Classic" line, they don't make them any longer, since they no longer have the molds. Coker Tire bought the molds and right to make them. They've been making them, still lettered for Michelin, since 2014.
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by MrE »

I reluctantly must support my irritating friend Paul. My personal TRX tyre experiences are from the early 90s, and the experience was poor and pricey. Crappy grip, shitty treadwear, cost a fortune, waste of money. Around 8 years ago, when Paul proudly announced he had imported new TRX tyres so that his car would look pretty, I scoffed at his insistence on originality. But I've been with him as we've hammered at speed through winding, abandoned country roads in rural Victoria with a fleet of 15 or so other Sixers, and his car pushed it with the best of them, held traction at speed and under extreme duress, and never failed.

It was actually very interesting for all of us to see how well they held up, knowing what we 'know' about TRX rubber. I thought they'd be an utter shambles, and I think it was equally surprising to Paul, but the reality was that their performance and handling characteristics were pretty much faultless. He and I have done this type of thing plenty of times since, and the new TRXs really are quite good.

Similarly he and I have participated a few times in Motorkhana skidpans in wet & dry, and again the TRXs were just as competitive & capable as anything else out there.

There's a video here of us going at it on the skidpan. I don't think the video actually proves anything per this discussion (apart from my lack of direction), but its good to watch.

https://vimeo.com/3781629

Paul - can't believe this is 8 years ago!
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by Paul Humpage »

Loved the video Ellis, it's a long time since I've seen that one. Looks like you needed some TRX tyres mate.... :-k
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by Pod »

I bought my first E24 back in 1993 (and I still own it!) and had to suffer the unwelcome expense of fitting new TRXs. I remember just how well the car drove and handled on them. I wonder how many of the detractors of these tyres have ever driven on a new set of these tyres "back in the day"?
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by wattsmonkey »

I think some damning period road tests for the E28 in M535i/535iSE using TRXs went some way towards sealing their reputation over here - Can't remember if it was Car or Autocar who did a back-to-back test with and Alpina B9 on Pirellis, but BMW were very keen to stand their ground on the effectiveness of the Michelins.
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by Bhart »

I have been thinking about what to do with the TRXs on my '87. It's the cost/originality debate that makes this a challenge. Finding a set of BBS 17" Style 5 or 9 and then fitting decent rubber will still be a fair chunk of change, possibly the same as a new set of TRXs?

I was worried about the current tires on my M6 so I checked the serial number against the Michelin data and found that the current set on the car were built in France in 1999, which makes them newer than I thought and newer than the tires on my '73 Volvo and original Mini - yikes. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/ ... ?techid=11
20161017_101332 copy.jpg
20161017_101332 copy.jpg (1.84 MiB) Viewed 23026 times
Michelin still shows a TRX-GT in the correct size... http://www.michelinclassic.com/en/Class ... nge/TRX-GT and might be a better option than the Coker built TRX. https://www.cokertire.com/michelin-trx.html

Does anyone have some idea on availability and price of some conventional 17" BBS rims? I could put the TRX in storage, along side my Volvo rims with the original Goodyear G800s still fitted.

Just need to check pricing and then the wallet.
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by Paul Humpage »

I'd be interested to know if Coker Tire really are the current manufacturers of TRX tyres. Worldwide or just the US market? Does anyone have a link to them saying so? All i've read are some posts here repeating what others have said but no actual proof of this. I ask because Coker themselves make no mention that they make them but they do say, and I quote; "Quantities are limited and current stock on hand may be available, but future production is not guaranteed"

If they have the moulds and the ability to make the tyres and they are a specialist tyre supplier then why would future production not be guaranteed? Surely they could just fire up the machine at some point, make a batch then cover the machine with a tarp for a while until the next batch.

My last set which are coming up to 3 years old now were made in Serbia.
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by Bhart »

Coker manufacturing info - https://www.wwag.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects ... age=!97234

and from the Michelin website in France http://www.michelinclassic.com/en/Class ... nge/TRX-GT

So it seems that there is still a proper, French made, TRX GT that's available. Correct for concourse or just maintaining a proper, stock car.

Mind you, Michelin does not state specifically the country of origin so Serbia may be the place of origin.
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by Paul Humpage »

Thanks for that.
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by Glen »

I can confirm that Serbia is the country of manufacture on the new TRX tires.
It is what my car is wearing right now.

I am new to the 635csi life, and want to keep the original 'bottle caps', and TRX tires, but possibly for shows only, and find a tire/rim set for every day usage.
I am not a street racer, but I am not a huge fan of the road noise on dry pavement at highway speeds, so now I am just another noob trying to find rims that don't look stupid, but can fit a set of affordable tires that I wont mourn as they wear out. :)
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by plip1953 »

This thread reminds of when I was chatting to some rally guy on holiday in Tenerife some 20 odd years ago who told me that in order to get round exorbitant cost (even back then) and limited choice of TRX tyres he would machine 415 TRX rims to take a 16" tyre!! I asked the obvious question regarding structural integrity, but me maintained that it wasn't materially compromised!! I've never been brave (stupid?) enough to try it for myself, although maybe he was on to something because 415mm is 16.338" and therefore "only" 0.169" (4.3mm) thickness of metal needed to be removed.
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by Pod »

Maybe somewhat less than 4.3 mm could be removed to get a 16” tyre to fit. Surely, there must be a little “flexibility” built into modern tyres - especially the cheaper brands?
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

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Pod wrote: Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:23 am Maybe somewhat less than 4.3 mm could be removed to get a 16” tyre to fit. Surely, there must be a little “flexibility” built into modern tyres - especially the cheaper brands?
Any thoughts on the structural integrity of the wheel if material was to be removed?
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by Pod »

plip1953 wrote: Sat Dec 21, 2019 8:30 am
Pod wrote: Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:23 am Maybe somewhat less than 4.3 mm could be removed to get a 16” tyre to fit. Surely, there must be a little “flexibility” built into modern tyres - especially the cheaper brands?
Any thoughts on the structural integrity of the wheel if material was to be removed?
Maybe you could sacrifice a wheel ( well, they’re ten-a-penny) and cut it in half, then once you can see the cross-section, you can take a view!
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by plip1953 »

Pod wrote: Sun Feb 16, 2020 12:43 am
plip1953 wrote: Sat Dec 21, 2019 8:30 am
Pod wrote: Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:23 am Maybe somewhat less than 4.3 mm could be removed to get a 16” tyre to fit. Surely, there must be a little “flexibility” built into modern tyres - especially the cheaper brands?
Any thoughts on the structural integrity of the wheel if material was to be removed?
Maybe you could sacrifice a wheel ( well, they’re ten-a-penny) and cut it in half, then once you can see the cross-section, you can take a view!
I do have quite a few spares......
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by Pod »

So do I. When the scrap price goes up again, I’ll weigh them in 😉
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by Caff »

After a quick google

1 Trx tyre is between 220 and 350 per tyre

for that price you can buy 2 Michelin pilot sport 4 s from black circles (in the nearest equivalent size) or conti sport contact 4s

No. I'm sorry the TRX cannot compete pound for pound with modern tyres - even if the belting and compound were the same - the tread pattern in itself puts it out of contention (big tall tread blocks heat up and move around which ruins feel). sure they might be a bit stickier nowadays but an expensive tyre that wears out quickly and performs worse than a cheaper equivalent makes no sense to me. sure for those 100% original concourse level cars that have about 200 yards on the odo and get trailered everywhere it makes sense I guess.
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by plip1953 »

Caff wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2020 8:36 pm After a quick google

1 Trx tyre is between 220 and 350 per tyre

for that price you can buy 2 Michelin pilot sport 4 s from black circles (in the nearest equivalent size) or conti sport contact 4s

No. I'm sorry the TRX cannot compete pound for pound with modern tyres - even if the belting and compound were the same - the tread pattern in itself puts it out of contention (big tall tread blocks heat up and move around which ruins feel). sure they might be a bit stickier nowadays but an expensive tyre that wears out quickly and performs worse than a cheaper equivalent makes no sense to me. sure for those 100% original concourse level cars that have about 200 yards on the odo and get trailered everywhere it makes sense I guess.
But the main point is that they are authentic to the original, and in some owner's eyes that's important.

And the TRX wheels are very nice looking too.

The ideal combo imo, and this includes for those interested in concours events, is 20 spoke Alpina wheels (ie genuine ones) and moderns tyres.
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Re: TRX Tires Not So Bad

Post by Caff »

oh i don't deny that to some that it is an important thing, i suppose applying too much logic to owning a retro classic is a fallacy anyway as there is abolutley no logic to owning an e24 its a terrible financial and totally illogical decision haha [-o< :-$
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