245/65-17 MAXXIS RAZR AT's on my Cyber Orange Lariat Maverick

[Naranjita]

Ok. Siping is common place on winter rated AT’s. Some of the claims on page one seem exaggerated based on the tread design and design purpose of an aggressive AT or possibly the result of softer tread which may not become an issue until weather gets hot.

glad you like them though and hopefully they work well this summer.

Nice. Now I'm exaggerating. Great. I live in a highly wet environment that occasionally snows. I do not live in sub-zero Canada. My experience is my own.

I will keep the thread updated. If the MAXXIS RAZR AT's prematurely wear, I will report that. I have no idea what the future holds with these. You may even be right. And if they wear early, I will take them back to Les Schwab and they will give me a pro-rated credit on the next tires I select.

Hey, @Nwduffer , how are your MAXXIS RAZR AT's holding up?

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[Mike]

Yes. So when heat hits this summer you will find out if this is the case.

I have run many AT’s including Toyo OC, KO2’s, and Wildpeaks and none are nearly as good on wet and dry pavement as the Maxxis are reported here. Quite a feat. I may try them on my Tacoma once the current set wears out.

 

[Nwduffer]

Nice. Now I'm exaggerating. Great. I live in a highly wet environment that occasionally snows. I do not live in sub-zero Canada. My experience is my own.

I will keep the thread updated. If the MAXXIS RAZR AT's prematurely wear, I will report that. I have no idea what the future holds with these. You may even be right. And if they wear early, I will take them back to Les Schwab and they will give me a pro-rated credit on the next tires I select.

Hey, @Nwduffer , how are your MAXXIS RAZR AT's holding up?

I have just over 3K miles on them now. Still feel and look new to me. To be honest, I was kind of hoping they WOULD wear just a tad because I felt like they were a little more loud than I was wanting, but I've grown accustomed to them now and just figure that's an AT tire for you.

 

[Mike]

You won’t really know if soft compound is an issue until true summer conditions. Report back in Sept.

 

[Mike]

I felt like they were a little more loud than I was wanting, but I've grown accustomed to them now and just figure that's an AT tire for you.

that’s why I’m keeping the pirelli AT’s and getting Blizzaks for snow. The Pirelli are the quietest pavement AT I’ve come across.

appreciate others want chunkier treads for looks and off road and may try the Maxxis, if they hold up well as reported here over the summer, as next tire on my Taco.

 

[Naranjita]

that’s why I’m keeping the pirelli AT’s and getting Blizzaks for snow. The Pirelli are the quietest pavement AT I’ve come across.

appreciate others want chunkier treads for looks and off road and may try the Maxxis, if they hold up well as reported here over the summer, as next tire on my Taco.

I agree about the FX4 Pirellis. Quietest AT I've ever driven. I like the AT hum from the RAZR's. Not as loud as KO2's and Wranglers I've driven.

 

[Nwduffer]

I agree about the FX4 Pirellis. Quietest AT I've ever driven. I like the AT hum from the RAZR's. Not as loud as KO2's and Wranglers I've driven.

Yeah, it's nothing terrible. My wife is pretty particular about road noise and such and hardly notices. For kicks I put a little sound deadening mat material under each of my Weathertech floor matts, and up into the firewall area--just loosely-- and it did seem to help a little as well. No regrets on the tires, I love the way they look, and they've done great around the property where I was slipping and sliding more in our older truck before.

 

[Naranjita]

Just had my first tire rotation at 5,600 miles. Wear is pretty even, surprisingly. Virtually no difference front and back. Les Schwab Tires rotates them for free. Still running strong. I love these tires. I think I will try Nitto Grappler G2's or Nokian Outpost AT's on the next set. Which will probably be mid 2023 at the rate I am putting on miles.

 

[Deerslayer1980]

Still like these tires?

 

[Naranjita]

Still like these tires?

Oh gosh, yes. I am over 8,500 miles on these now. I just rotated them for the second time. I was recently driving through an inch of hail on the road, which was like frozen ball bearings. People were sliding all over the place. The RAZR AT's did a remarkable job throwing them clear and maintaining traction.

These are the best AT's I've ever used. And they just look stellar. I get so many compliments on them. But I will not buy them for my next set, because there are others I want to try too. My next set will be either Nitto Ridge Grapplers or Nokian Outpost AT's (not the APT's).

 

[DryFlyGuy]

Oh gosh, yes. I am over 8,500 miles on these now. I just rotated them for the second time. I was recently driving through an inch of hail on the road, which was like frozen ball bearings. People were sliding all over the place. The RAZR AT's did a remarkable job throwing them clear and maintaining traction.

These are the best AT's I've ever used. And they just look stellar. I get so many compliments on them. But I will not buy them for my next set, because there are others I want to try too. My next set will be either Nitto Ridge Grapplers or Nokian Outpost AT's (not the APT's).

Oh gosh, yes. I am over 8,500 miles on these now. I just rotated them for the second time. I was recently driving through an inch of hail on the road, which was like frozen ball bearings. People were sliding all over the place. The RAZR AT's did a remarkable job throwing them clear and maintaining traction.

These are the best AT's I've ever used. And they just look stellar. I get so many compliments on them. But I will not buy them for my next set, because there are others I want to try too. My next set will be either Nitto Ridge Grapplers or Nokian Outpost AT's (not the APT's).

These appear to be XL rated tires. Is the ride stiff or ruff over expansion joints etc. on the pavement? Thank you for your reply.

 

[Naranjita]

These appear to be XL rated tires. Is the ride stiff or ruff over expansion joints etc. on the pavement? Thank you for your reply.

A little bit, when aired up at 40 psi. But at 36-38, they ride over pretty well.

 

[Vols44]

I did a lot of research before settling on which tires to purchase. I sure had a lot of time to contemplate! Was split between BFG KO2's, Toyo OC A/T III's, Nitto Terra Grappler G2's, Falken Wildpeak A/T3W's for the longest time. And then a few weeks ago I found MAXXIS RAZR AT's. I love the look. It's a relatively new tire, not been on the market long. Found lots of reviews. All very positive. Quite popular on the Ute scene in Australia and New Zealand. And it's 3-Peak Snow Rated.

I wrestled back and forth with a decision. Probably due to my strong desire to be unique, I settled on the RAZR. And I resolved to get them in the 235's, and ordered them last week. Although I struggled to choose between 235's and 245's, too. Before and after selection. The 235 pricing was $70 less for all four. However, fate had another plan. I had to wait a week for my tires to come in, but my dealer called me early and said they had 245's come in for another customer and they ended up going with another tire. They said if I came down right away they would waive the $70 price difference, because they can cancel my previous order from the warehouse.

So, because I wanted my tires now, and I love the idea of a bargain, I ran down and scooped up the 245's. I was on the road in an hour. Left the store and went for a 150 mile drive and put them through the paces. It was dry over approximately 20 miles, wet road with on and off drizzle for 50 miles, moderate rain for 50 miles, 30 miles of torrential rain, and approximately 3-5 miles of slushy snow.

They performed flawlessly. Granted this is a pretty short duration evaluation. But straight out of the shoot, I would say these were the best performing AT's I have ever driven. UPDATE: Still true after 1,000 miles. UPDATE: Still true after 3,000 miles. UPDATE: Still true after 5,000 miles.

Dry Pavement
Dry pavement traction, cornering, stopping, accelerating is good. It's very grippy. Slightly better than the FX4 Pirelli Scorpion ATR's that were on there from the factory. There is an audible A/T hum over the Pirellis. But I find it very satisfying and trucky. Braking felt better than the Scorpions too. They feel like heavier tires. It seems there is a slight acceleration reduction; and though it's hard to say for certain this early, I think I am losing about 1-2 MPG on the highway.

I was concerned the larger 245 tires was going to screw up my speedo. One of the reasons I was considering the 235's. If Waze is accurate, my speedometer was reading accurate to 50-55 MPH, when it got to be off about 1 MPH (reading slower than it actually was). At 80 MPH it was still only off about 1 MPH. Definitely can live with that. I AM SO GLAD I WENT WITH THE 245's. Highly recommend.

Wet/Slickened Roads
Oh my gosh! The difference from the Pirellis is night and day. These things shed water amazingly well, and plies right through puddles with less pull at highway speed. Also, making right turns at stop lights at pretty high speeds/accelerating where the back end would normally want to break loose, these things were planted. Never once did it break loose or even felt like it wanted to give up grip.

The RAZR AT's are better than the Falken ZIEX ZE950's my wife has on her minivan. Which was the best wet road tires I had ever driven before these. I know the excellent AWD system is contributing, but I did put the Scorpions through the rigmarole too the past week. I cannot emphasize how much more traction in wet conditions I had over the Pirelli. This is the typical road condition we have in Western Washington, so this is an important metric.

Torrential Rain
Superb. It just cuts though the water and grips the road underneath. It pulls less in high speed driving through puddling/ponding than the Pirellis. I thought it might be worse for the RAZR's because it's a wider tire. I thought it would have more of a tendency to want to sit on top of the water instead of cutting through it. But between the super aggressive tread design (and factory siping) and tire compound make up, it feels like it wants to evacuate the water quickly and make contact with the road. Also, I gotta say I just love the AWD system. It's uber responsive and just wants to keep contact. It's so sure footed.

I had one instance at 80 MPH on the freeway when I hit standing water that covered the whole inside lane where I did sit on top of the water for a quick moment, but I let off the throttle and it sunk right in and gripped. The big thing is that the tire design did not contribute to pulling the wheel out of my hand and it certainly did way better than the Scorpions which reacted worse with similar puddles at 55 MPH.

Snow Covered Roads
I did not have much driving in the snow. I had to drive a good distance to get to snow level. As it's been unseasonably warm this week. It was getting late when I got there and it was very water logged and slushy. Which is more characteristic of the snow we get here in Western Washington. About 3-4" on the paved Forest Road. I drove up a 10-15% grade from a stop and it just crawled right up. No slipping. Found a place to attempt a few doughnuts. Couldn't get it to slip or break. Got up to 45 MPH, felt great. Some ruts pulls on the wheel when moving at good speed. That's to be expected. But felt really connected.

Emergency stops were very controlled. It just throws the snow out of the treads and wants to connect. We have a much colder snow storm expected for Christmas, with temp dropping to the upper teens at sea level. I should be able to get more snow testing done. (Update with detailed snow evaluation below the photos below)

Muddy Dirt Roads
I live in a rural area down a dirt road and dirt trail, deep in a rain forest about 10' above sea level. Although I have not done much forest road and trail driving yet. I did play in the mud a little this morning. And the RAZR AT's are fun in the mud and dirt. Grip is super good. I crawled up the beach embankment near my home which is a mix of sand, natural gravel, mud, roots and rocks. Something I cannot drive up in my wife's van. They gripped on to everything solid, throwing everything that was loose clear. Climbed right up like nothing.

Special Note
The Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Centering Auto Steering were completely unaffected. With the nose pointed up a little more, I was concerned it might throw off the calibrations of the advanced systems. If anything, it actually seems a little better. Maybe seeing a little further up the road? Whew!

Summary
This tire seems to be designed for Western Washington living. Rain covered freeways, torrential rain and ponding, slushy snow, forest trails and sandy beaches. Can't wait to live life in my Maverick the next few years enjoying the Pacific Northwest. And putting the MAXXIS RAZR AT's through all the paces of life here in The Evergreen State! And the upgrade from the stock FX4 Pirelli Scorpion ATR's is more than significant. It's life changing. Did I mention I love the AWD system???

UPDATE: December 29, 2021 - More Snow Testing

It's been unseasonably cold here in Western Washington. We have been in the teens and low 20's and had snow 4 out of the past 5 days. Approximately 8-12" of snow to go play in (20-30cm).

The MAXXIS RAZR AT's are definitely an amazing all terrain tire in the snow. The aggressive tread design grips amazingly well on dry powder. The wide grooves just eject the snow out of the tread very well. Dry and wet snow just fling right out. Snow with mid levels of moisture will pack the treads a little bit at really slow speeds. But the tread pads still sit good and proud to keep gripping. And with a little throttle they fly out too.

I could play in 6-8" of fresh snow really well. Even hitting the bottom of the undercarriage. The RAZR's just blast out the snow and want to find something to connect to. The rubber is very grippy when it connects to packed snow, asphalt or ice (read ice limitations below).

It was a little less confident in deeper snow, like 9-12". Struggled more. But that is more of a clearance issue. The tires can only do so much when getting lifted off the ground by the truck. I was amazed that on one snow covered road with 11-12" of undisturbed snow, I could keep moving forward. The snow hitting the skid plates underneath pretty hard at times, and I certainly wasn't getting to the road underneath.

Even in the deep stuff, with the RAZR's and Slippery mode, it kept working its way through. A few times I lost momentum and started to get concerned I'd get stuck, but it made it. I don't think I could have made it through that 1/2 mile section with the base Continentals or FX4 Pirellis. I believe it was the RAZR tires and the extra little clearance with the 245's that made it possible. A inch lift in the front would really help. But the clearance on the Maverick may be an issue for some of you who need to travel through deep powder consistently in Winter.

Naranjita found her thrills on Blackberry Hill

The most impressive thing was climbing Blackberry Hill. It's a 25-30% grade in its steepest section. It was covered in packed snow/ice (picture below) with cars parked at the bottom. The MAXXIS RAZR AT's and the Slippery Mode made pretty easy work of the climb. It was a little nerve wracking, but not difficult. I took pictures of my Mav and the treads at the top.

The hard part was actually going down the hill. I put it in Low, Hill Descent and Slippery Mode. I am glad you can use together. I did slide a little in the iciest sections, but fortunately it was straight down sliding, and never really went sideways or toward the edge. When I got to the final section with the stop sign, I slid out a little in the road.

Black ice is the great equalizer for all All Terrain Tires

Last night I hit a patch of black ice on my way home from work. The RAZR's did lose traction a bit. I was being a little aggressive, and a probably a little too confident. The RAZR's have been so amazing, that I was pushing them further and further. Well, just like all tires that are not studded, they are not perfect on super slick/smooth ice. I was able to recover by letting off the throttle and steering into the skid. Regained traction and I could finish slowing down for a corner. Two others beefed it and were in the ditch just around the bend.

I stopped and checked on the two cars. One had called her husband and he was on his way with his lifted F250 to pull her out. The other was a Jeep Compass, and the guy had already called a tow truck. He said that they told him it would be several hours. He mentioned he had a come along in his hatch, so I offered to try to pull him out.

I pulled up as close as I could, hooked to both our tow hooks, ratcheted it up tight. Put it in reverse and tried to pull. It really didn't budge it. It was up to its axles in snow, sideways down a bank and my tires were on solid ice. No way it was going. The Maverick just did not have enough weight for this scenario. Wheels just wanted to spin, couldn't grip and pull. I didn't try too hard, as I didn't want to damage my transmission or my new tires. So the RAZR's can't do everything.

Snow Update Summary

So it was a very successful 5 day run in snow conditions. Some playing in the snow, some doing errands, some commuting. MAXXIS RAZR AT's performed very well. A very solid snow performer. In fact, the best all terrain I've ever driven in the snow.

Just don't get too confident. Because these do extremely well, up to the point they don't. All the way until you get to the point you lose traction, you have amazing grip. I do want to emphasize where I lost grip, it was totally avoidable. Had I been driving the way I normally would in that location on an icy evening, I am certain I wouldn't have had an issue. I was literally pushing the tires to the wintery limits for days.

There is only so much an all terrain tire can do on ice. If you do a lot of solid ice driving, get a studded winter tire. But for all other winter conditions, these are fantastic tires!


Looking up ominous Blackberry Hill. Because of the approach angle on the road I am on, it doesn't look as steep as it actually is in person. You can't really tell in the photo, but it was straight up packed snow and ice.

The cars at the bottom of Blackberry Hill. This was after morning commute. There were a lot more vehicles parked down here earlier. Even the 4WD vehicles didn't attempt it. How do people live up there in winter?

Example of treads after driving through 6" of undisturbed snow. It just loves to connect and the grooves just don't pack like other tires

Naranjita idling in the sun after Blackberry Hill challenge

Fantastic write up. Intitaly I was skeptical about the tires not hydroplaning since is is s light truck. I understand your concerns about getting around off and on road during all seasons. The RAZR AT's seemed to be the ideal rubber for the roads and trails you like to navigate.

 

[Zac]

@Naranjita -

I also live in the Pacific North West (BC) and plan to do some light off roading (mostly Forest Service Roads).

Have you done anything like that with these tires? Love to hear some feedback.

My Maverick is scheduled to arrive first week of July (same build as you Lariat - Fx4, lux package, and tow). I'll use stock tires until October then switch out to something like this.

Great write up - it's very compelling.

 

[Naranjita]

@Naranjita -

I also live in the Pacific North West (BC) and plan to do some light off roading (mostly Forest Service Roads).

Have you done anything like that with these tires? Love to hear some feedback.

My Maverick is scheduled to arrive first week of July (same build as you Lariat - Fx4, lux package, and tow). I'll use stock tires until October then switch out to something like this.

Great write up - it's very compelling.

Yes, definitely. Dirt trails, gravel roads, wet rocks, roots, etc. Does well. Very grippy. It's the best 'all around' tires. I'm now up to 13,000 miles.

It does everything I throw at it well, or extremely well. I'm still amazed for an off-road tire how well it does on highways at speed. I'd say the weakest thing it handles is sand. It's not bad, but it doesn't do anything amazing with fine beach sand. But of all the things I drive on, that's the condition that I do the least. I could air down on the sand too, if needed. These are the all around best tires I have used in Cascadia/PNW.

And they look fantastic, to boot! I get remarks on them several times a week by strangers.

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