cgm9999
Active Member
- Thread starter
- #1
This is a long post. You've been warned.
TLDR version - I you want floor liners, you want TuxMats. They're so good they pretty much make every other competitor obsolete.
...............................................................
Hey all,
Just wanted to give a shout out to TuxMats since there didn't appear to be many reviews on here. FYI, I have zero relationship to this company, nor have I been compensated in anyway by anyone for my thoughts here. I'm just a happy customer.
I didn't take photos (my mats are dirty now and I'm lazy) but feel free to check out this thread for real world photos:
https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/tuxmat-now-available-for-r1s.24224/
If you are a gear head and obsess over the condition of your vehicles, you've likely done the "floor mat" shuffle before; buying the latest and greatest floor mat only to be a bit let down for one reason or another. For me, I could never understand why none of the premium brands offered true full-coverage of the foot well. Some get closer than others, but none ever offered what I would consider satisfactory coverage, even at a higher price.
Many people swear by WeatherTech mats; I sure did for a long time(20 years or so). They continue to be a very good choice and have major advantages, including being American made (which is a big deal to me). That said, over the years, I've been disappointed by their unwillingness to innovate and keep up with the competition.
There was a time that WeatherTech mats were a "no-brainer" - no other company offered anything remotely similar. If you wanted aftermarket floor mats, you either got those cheap, universal, rubber floppy things from Pep Boys, their thicker alternatives that included deep water channels, or WeatherTechs, which actually had coverage that expanded a bit up the center console and the pedal box. WeatherTechs were the enthusiasts choice for decades.
However, in the recent years, there have been competitors that have offered much better coverage than even WeatherTech. Brands like Maxpider and Husky offered much better coverage and at a cheaper price. So, intrigued with this, I jumped ship and have tried many of the more common "floor liner" style mats starting about 5 years ago. While these brands offered better coverage, they all left me wanting, particular in the quality department. Most had odd surfaces that either wore unevenly, becoming discolored where your feet would go, or, would feel cheap, allowing your feet to slide around on the surface in ways that were counterproductive to spirited driving (especially with a clutch pedal in the mix).
So, my solution for a while was to buy a floor liner for the winter months, and Lloyd carpet mats for the summer months. Doing so gave me coverage for the dirty months, while giving me the positive feel, look and quality of a nice carpeted mat. BTW, if you want awesome carpet floor mats, get Lloyds. You'll thank me later.
Anyways, TuxMats came across my radar a couple of years ago when I was looking for floor liners for my Viper. From photos I saw, I was genuinely intrigued. They had way more coverage than any floor liner I've ever seen. Then on top of that, they actually looked fantastic, like a quality product. They're a small company, so they didn't make liners for my Viper (and still don't), but I knew that I would try them out as soon as I got another vehicle that they made mats for. When I heard they were making mats for the Rivian, I was ecstatic. I pre-ordered them as fast as they advertised them and I've had them for about 2 months now.
I'm blown away by the coverage. FINALLY, a company has made a liner that covers not only the plastic trim on the door sill, but even the metal, structural unibody section of the door sills as well. We all know that this section of any vehicle is one of the first parts of a car to wear and look like crap. The black plastic fades, the decorative metal appliqué gets scratched, sand and grit get forever-trapped in the decorative molded cutouts - they just start to look like straight ass in way too short of a time. TuxMats finally covers this up and lets the car-obsessed like me actually comfortably enter and exit my Rivian without looking like I have a Rainman-like aversion to stepping on my doorsills.
Similarly, the whole dead pedal is covered. Praise jeebus. Again, why no other company has done this baffles me, but I'm glad someone finally did. I detail my cars multiple times a year and they're always in a state of cleanliness that impresses anyone that enters my cars. One of my most hated jobs is to constantly take a pick to fling all the dirt and sand that finds its way in the rubber slats of a typical dead pedal. It's a complete pain to contort myself into a footwell - literally so as my back, hips, and knees feel like they're made of corn nuts (thanks Army!). Even when clean, a used dead pedal always looks like crap because the metal appliqué gets all scratched up. TuxMats solve this problem.
Do you hate scratches in your interior plastics? I do - it drives me crazy. It's one of the first things my eye notices when I open the door of any car. Even if you're not like me, those unsightly shoe scuffs all over the center console walls and door panels subconsciously bring down the perception of quality in a vehicle. TuxMats go way up the side of the center console wall, and continue this coverage all they way behind the pedals and then over the entire dead pedal and continue to cover that plastic wall section right in front of the dead pedal. Thus, all of this hard plastic that is usually so scratch prone is completely covered. The coverage also extends over the plastic trim that protects the seat rails. This area also gets subjected to tons of scratches and can be a pain in the ass to clean, so I'm also blown away that TuxMats sweated the details here. I'm in love.
All of that said, this would be for naught if the mats themselves felt and looked cheap. I'm incredibly grateful that the opposite is true. They look fantastic and every bit the level of quality they appear in photos. The design is such that they look natural in a luxury vehicle with high-end seats, with their textured surface and almost upholstered look. They are also stupid easy to clean. Pull 'em out, spray a decent all purpose cleaner on them, and power wash clean. Don't have a power washer? Just hose them down, hit 'em with the APC, and go over them fast with a normal brush. They come clean super easy. I always like to follow them up with a very light application of 303 plastic protectant to maintain the deep color and overall suppleness of the plastic.
In terms of feel, they blow away other floor liners. Almost every floor liner I've used has this thin, brittle kind of feel, almost like your feel are resting on an elementary school lunch tray. While this may be a design decision based on weighing cost and durability, they always felt slippery to me. Most of my cars have manual transmissions, so during the foot dance we all do as we're hustling our cars, there were often times my heels would be losing traction with the liner, leading to poor, imprecise heel/toe shifts because I wasn't able to apply the correct foot pressure on the clutch pedal needed for precise gear changes.
While I haven't had TuxMats in a manual transmission equipped car, I'm sure they would solve this problem. TuxMats are thick. They have just the right amount of soft, cushiony give that feel rich and premium when you're just going down the road. They also noticeably dampen the normal noise your feet make as you brake and accelerate. In other words, they lack that cheap, loud, plastic scratching sound that are typical of WeatherTechs when you're moving your feel around on the liner. While driving, my heels feel cushioned and well planted, secure. I have no doubt they'd be fantastic in a car with a clutch pedal.
Sorry for the long post, but I warned you. I'm an obsessive car guy and I'm glad the people behind the TuxMat share my level of obsession. I can't say I have any critiques, either. Their price is very fair - they're not cheap, but despite being the best on the market, they're not the most expensive, either. They are a Canadian company (another huge bonus, IMO) and they ship from the land of Peart, Lifeson and Lee, so shipping is a bit longer, but by no means slow - the whole shipping process from start to finish was less than a week to CO.
If you need liners, no need to think twice. Just buy 'em.
TLDR version - I you want floor liners, you want TuxMats. They're so good they pretty much make every other competitor obsolete.
...............................................................
Hey all,
Just wanted to give a shout out to TuxMats since there didn't appear to be many reviews on here. FYI, I have zero relationship to this company, nor have I been compensated in anyway by anyone for my thoughts here. I'm just a happy customer.
I didn't take photos (my mats are dirty now and I'm lazy) but feel free to check out this thread for real world photos:
https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/tuxmat-now-available-for-r1s.24224/
If you are a gear head and obsess over the condition of your vehicles, you've likely done the "floor mat" shuffle before; buying the latest and greatest floor mat only to be a bit let down for one reason or another. For me, I could never understand why none of the premium brands offered true full-coverage of the foot well. Some get closer than others, but none ever offered what I would consider satisfactory coverage, even at a higher price.
Many people swear by WeatherTech mats; I sure did for a long time(20 years or so). They continue to be a very good choice and have major advantages, including being American made (which is a big deal to me). That said, over the years, I've been disappointed by their unwillingness to innovate and keep up with the competition.
There was a time that WeatherTech mats were a "no-brainer" - no other company offered anything remotely similar. If you wanted aftermarket floor mats, you either got those cheap, universal, rubber floppy things from Pep Boys, their thicker alternatives that included deep water channels, or WeatherTechs, which actually had coverage that expanded a bit up the center console and the pedal box. WeatherTechs were the enthusiasts choice for decades.
However, in the recent years, there have been competitors that have offered much better coverage than even WeatherTech. Brands like Maxpider and Husky offered much better coverage and at a cheaper price. So, intrigued with this, I jumped ship and have tried many of the more common "floor liner" style mats starting about 5 years ago. While these brands offered better coverage, they all left me wanting, particular in the quality department. Most had odd surfaces that either wore unevenly, becoming discolored where your feet would go, or, would feel cheap, allowing your feet to slide around on the surface in ways that were counterproductive to spirited driving (especially with a clutch pedal in the mix).
So, my solution for a while was to buy a floor liner for the winter months, and Lloyd carpet mats for the summer months. Doing so gave me coverage for the dirty months, while giving me the positive feel, look and quality of a nice carpeted mat. BTW, if you want awesome carpet floor mats, get Lloyds. You'll thank me later.
Anyways, TuxMats came across my radar a couple of years ago when I was looking for floor liners for my Viper. From photos I saw, I was genuinely intrigued. They had way more coverage than any floor liner I've ever seen. Then on top of that, they actually looked fantastic, like a quality product. They're a small company, so they didn't make liners for my Viper (and still don't), but I knew that I would try them out as soon as I got another vehicle that they made mats for. When I heard they were making mats for the Rivian, I was ecstatic. I pre-ordered them as fast as they advertised them and I've had them for about 2 months now.
I'm blown away by the coverage. FINALLY, a company has made a liner that covers not only the plastic trim on the door sill, but even the metal, structural unibody section of the door sills as well. We all know that this section of any vehicle is one of the first parts of a car to wear and look like crap. The black plastic fades, the decorative metal appliqué gets scratched, sand and grit get forever-trapped in the decorative molded cutouts - they just start to look like straight ass in way too short of a time. TuxMats finally covers this up and lets the car-obsessed like me actually comfortably enter and exit my Rivian without looking like I have a Rainman-like aversion to stepping on my doorsills.
Similarly, the whole dead pedal is covered. Praise jeebus. Again, why no other company has done this baffles me, but I'm glad someone finally did. I detail my cars multiple times a year and they're always in a state of cleanliness that impresses anyone that enters my cars. One of my most hated jobs is to constantly take a pick to fling all the dirt and sand that finds its way in the rubber slats of a typical dead pedal. It's a complete pain to contort myself into a footwell - literally so as my back, hips, and knees feel like they're made of corn nuts (thanks Army!). Even when clean, a used dead pedal always looks like crap because the metal appliqué gets all scratched up. TuxMats solve this problem.
Do you hate scratches in your interior plastics? I do - it drives me crazy. It's one of the first things my eye notices when I open the door of any car. Even if you're not like me, those unsightly shoe scuffs all over the center console walls and door panels subconsciously bring down the perception of quality in a vehicle. TuxMats go way up the side of the center console wall, and continue this coverage all they way behind the pedals and then over the entire dead pedal and continue to cover that plastic wall section right in front of the dead pedal. Thus, all of this hard plastic that is usually so scratch prone is completely covered. The coverage also extends over the plastic trim that protects the seat rails. This area also gets subjected to tons of scratches and can be a pain in the ass to clean, so I'm also blown away that TuxMats sweated the details here. I'm in love.
All of that said, this would be for naught if the mats themselves felt and looked cheap. I'm incredibly grateful that the opposite is true. They look fantastic and every bit the level of quality they appear in photos. The design is such that they look natural in a luxury vehicle with high-end seats, with their textured surface and almost upholstered look. They are also stupid easy to clean. Pull 'em out, spray a decent all purpose cleaner on them, and power wash clean. Don't have a power washer? Just hose them down, hit 'em with the APC, and go over them fast with a normal brush. They come clean super easy. I always like to follow them up with a very light application of 303 plastic protectant to maintain the deep color and overall suppleness of the plastic.
In terms of feel, they blow away other floor liners. Almost every floor liner I've used has this thin, brittle kind of feel, almost like your feel are resting on an elementary school lunch tray. While this may be a design decision based on weighing cost and durability, they always felt slippery to me. Most of my cars have manual transmissions, so during the foot dance we all do as we're hustling our cars, there were often times my heels would be losing traction with the liner, leading to poor, imprecise heel/toe shifts because I wasn't able to apply the correct foot pressure on the clutch pedal needed for precise gear changes.
While I haven't had TuxMats in a manual transmission equipped car, I'm sure they would solve this problem. TuxMats are thick. They have just the right amount of soft, cushiony give that feel rich and premium when you're just going down the road. They also noticeably dampen the normal noise your feet make as you brake and accelerate. In other words, they lack that cheap, loud, plastic scratching sound that are typical of WeatherTechs when you're moving your feel around on the liner. While driving, my heels feel cushioned and well planted, secure. I have no doubt they'd be fantastic in a car with a clutch pedal.
Sorry for the long post, but I warned you. I'm an obsessive car guy and I'm glad the people behind the TuxMat share my level of obsession. I can't say I have any critiques, either. Their price is very fair - they're not cheap, but despite being the best on the market, they're not the most expensive, either. They are a Canadian company (another huge bonus, IMO) and they ship from the land of Peart, Lifeson and Lee, so shipping is a bit longer, but by no means slow - the whole shipping process from start to finish was less than a week to CO.
If you need liners, no need to think twice. Just buy 'em.
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