Mastercraft Glacier Trex Tire Review and Rating

The Glacier Trex’s “snow groove” technology also plays a crucial part in helping it remain stable on snow-laden roads. The technology locks the snow into the tread, pitting snow against snow to get better traction. Multiple corrugated, multi-angle sipes enhance the tire’s grip when turning corners.

This tire is studdable to offer better traction on ice. Studdable tires let you stick tiny metal studs past their tread area. These studs then dig into packed snow and ice, helping the tire offer improved traction in extreme weather conditions. Make sure to take out the studs when the roads get clearer.

Its Winter Compound Technology also deserves your attention. The technology helps the tire’s rubber stay flexible in poor weather conditions, ensuring the tire offers a safer winter driving experience. Then come the lateral and circumferential grooves that work in tandem to resist hydroplaning.

The grooves work by eliminating water, mud, and slush from beneath this tire’s footprint. This ensures that the tire’s contact with the road stays intact at all times. That, in turn, achieves two objectives: prevent hydroplaning and boost the tire’s traction in wet, snowy, and slushy conditions.

Note: Before inserting studs in these tires, check your state’s highway laws. Many states prevent the use of studded tires on the account that studs dig into the road and damage the pavement. If you’re caught driving with studs on in a state where their use is prohibited, you might be looking at a steep fine.

How does it behave on dry tarmac?

The Glacier Trex has an average performance on dry tarmac.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that this tire is uncomfortable and produces a lot of noise in summer conditions. But when compared with dedicated all-season or touring tires, its ability to grip the road in dry conditions cannot be deemed above-average.

That is mainly because of the tire’s design. Its directional tread pattern, multiple circumferential & lateral grooves, and innumerable biting edges are designed to offer above-average performance in wet conditions. On a dry road, you cannot count on them to help this tire rival the best in this category.

How does it behave on wet and slippery roads?

The Glacier Trex performs exceptionally on wet and slippery roads.

Mastercraft upgraded this tire’s wet performance with its directional tread design and unique Winter Compound technology. The tread design’s high siping pattern and water grooves work together to ensure the tire retains adequate contact with the road.

As for the Winter Compound technology, it ensures the tire’s rubber stays flexible in wet conditions, ensuring it performs excellently in winter. Meanwhile, both the lateral and circumferential grooves work side-by-side to prevent hydroplaning.

Both eliminate water from beneath this tire’s footprint, ensuring the tire’s surface remains in constant contact with the road. That’s why, regardless of how deep the water puddle this tire is rolling through, you’d never feel as if it’s struggling to grip the road.

How is it over snow?

Here is an area where the Glacier Trex shines.

Regardless of whether you’re driving over hard, packed snow or loose ice, the Glacier Trex is more than capable of safely carrying your vehicle from point A to point B. Its Winter Compound Technology, siping edges and optimal tread design give the driver complete control over the vehicle.

Inside the directional tread design, the continuous center rib helps the tire maintain ideal road contact at all times. The optimal road contact, in turn, leads to upgraded steering response and driving stability. This allows the tire to respond brilliantly to the driver’s commands.

Then comes the high-density siping pattern, which boosts the tire’s traction and manages to reduce the braking distance. The sipes manage that by creating friction between the tire’s surface and the road surface. You could thus drive safely in the snow with the Glacier Trex.

Is it comfortable and refined?

Most studded tires fail to offer a comfortable driving experience.

The Glacier Trex is an exception, unless you add studs, in which case the extra road disturbances will make their presence felt inside the cabin, hurting the quality of your journey. Studs also increase a tire’s rolling resistance, adversely impacting its fuel efficiency and service life.

Without the studs on, this tire will make you feel as if you’re driving a standard, studless winter tire. There won’t be many vibrations inside the cabin. Nor will you feel that your car has to apply too much effort to help the tires roll over, a good sign for fuel-efficiency.

Unfortunately, studs or no studs, this tire is pretty noisy. Even at average driving speeds, it isn’t quiet, making the vehicle’s passengers aware of everything going on outside the cabin. So if you’re looking for an ultra-quiet tire, steer clear of the Glacier Trex.

Is it good for off-roading?

The Glacier Trex might perform admirably in off-road conditions.

Its directional tread pattern helps it get the grip necessary to overcome mud-laden roads. The biting edges will provide this tire with the grip required to conquer slushy and rocky terrains. And the grooves will impart it with the self-cleaning ability needed to eject any stones that might enter its tread.

Having said that, this tire isn’t designed for off-road conditions. It could withstand an occasional trip to the woods. But you might be inviting uneven tire wear if you decide to use the Glacier Trex every time you are off-roading.

Is it good for sporty conditions?

The Glacier Trex isn’t designed for sporty driving.

In fact, if you’re an enthusiast driver, the Goodyear Eagle F1 Super Car 3 deserves your attention. Unlike the Glacier Trex, the F1 Super Car 3 has the cornering power, speed rating and high-speed stability that ensure the tire doesn’t become a casualty of high-speed driving.

Provided you compare both the tires, you’d notice that the Glacier Trex’s belts are at a higher angle than the Eagle F1 Super Car 3. This shows what most enthusiast drivers already know: the F1 Super Car 3 offers a much better steering response at high speeds, making it a better choice.

A glance at both these tires’ sidewalls gives another clue. Unlike the F1 Super Car 3, which has a low-profile sidewall (that helps it offer enhanced cornering), the Glacier Trex’s sidewall is as high as it gets. This mini-comparison should tell you all about the Glacier Trex’s sporty capabilities (or the lack of them.)

Mastercraft Glacier Trex Warranty

The Glacier Trex’s wear-warranty covers it for the first 2/32’’ wear. Mastercraft also backs this tire with a 45-day test-drive warranty. You also get a manufacturer mileage warranty for defects in workmanship and materials under ‘normal and reasonable’ use.

Mastercraft Glacier Trex: Is it worth the money

The Mastercraft Glacier Trex is a budget-friendly option, yet it hasn’t cut any corners to keep the asking price low. Its price starts from around $93, which seems like a pittance when you compare it with other winter tires.

Should I buy the Mastercraft Glacier Trex?