DuraTracs getting chewed by UCA

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the Coopers came out about 4 months after i bought my DTs - had I waited to buy, I might have been swayed toward the Coopers. I love my DTs, but the lugs on the sidewalls don't really seem very functional to me and seem more like an aesthetic addition, especially the "hollow lugs." if the "hollow" side lugs were filled-in or were thicker on the "outer-V", I could see them being slightly more functional as they would actually give good resistance and not rip off/chunk (mine have a few missing chunks here and there) - and it might actually stiffen the sidewalls. anyways, the tread pattern of the Coopers is very similar to the DTs and is what i consider a "hybrid" AT or an aggressive AT - so both should be equal in terms of performance.
 
Update:

I stopped by the Discount Tire store where I bought the tires and went right for the managers office. I asked him to come outside with me so we could chat for a minute, as his waiting room was packed and I didn't want to discuss this situation in front of his customers.

He wasn't all that pleased that I was coming back 8 months later with this issue, and he tried to argue with me at first...but I politely stated that I specifically asked his techs to check for rubbing to begin with, and they reported none. Then, upon bringing the truck back in for a tire rotation, even after pulling the tires off they didn't catch the damage and rotated the tires, causing 4 out of 5 brand new tires to get chewed up. I then told him that I would like to have the situation resolved.

He didn't look too happy as we walked back inside and he started making phone calls, but in the end he apologized for not catching the error, shook my hand, and said that my 5 new 285/75/16 Duratracs would be here on Monday and he would swap them out. :D

Additional:

It is still disconcerting to me that a 305 series tire rubbed THIS badly, to the point of needing to replace the tires. There are no other apparent variables with my truck, so as I mentioned before, I'm going to have to chalk this up to the tires being exceptionally wide compared to others in the same size.
 
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WOW! That is awesome!

Any way you could put a big caliper across the wide point of the mounted 305's before they're gone?
(Goodyear claims 12.2" on a 9" rim for the 305/70-16 and 11.3" on an 8" rim for the 285/75-16)
(BFGoodrich claims 12.2" on a 9" rim for the 305/70-16 and 11.4" on an 8" rim for the 285/75-16 BFG A/T KO)
Would be interesting to get some measurements on our LC rims...

Big sigh of relief for you I bet and good move for Discount as they have a faithful customer who's telling his buddys about his positive experience,
 
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Thats for sure...I was sweating bullets there for a while trying to figure out how I was going to afford a new set of tires. I'm glad they are stepping up. I was going to suggest those Coopers as the replacements, but he just sort of assumed that I wanted the same tires so I rolled with it. Not trying to push my luck.

I don't have access to a caliper that big, so any measurements I come up with would only be half-assed. I can try to find something though.
 
TheFuzz said:
Thats for sure...I was sweating bullets there for a while trying to figure out how I was going to afford a new set of tires. I'm glad they are stepping up. I was going to suggest those Coopers as the replacements, but he just sort of assumed that I wanted the same tires so I rolled with it. Not trying to push my luck.

I don't have access to a caliper that big, so any measurements I come up with would only be half-assed. I can try to find something though.
Click to expand...

You could use a couple of boards against the side walls and measure.
 
Well, new tires went on today. The manager was still a little peeved when I walked in because he had pulled my records up and noticed when I had made the initial purchase. He said, "Um, you know that you bought these tires back in FEBRUARY, right? And you didn't notice any issues until last Friday?" I then told him that I have a work truck and hardly ever drive it, and showed him my current mileage - less than 900 miles on my rig since the last rotation 4 months ago.

"Wow, that explains alot. No wonder you didn't notice anything."

Long story short, the 285s look straight up skinny compared to the super-fat 305s, but I have no UCA rubbing issues anymore, I can turn lock-to-lock again (without any hellacious noises from rubbing on stuff, that is), and the truck feels like it has a tad more spring in it's step from shedding 5lbs per corner in tire mass. I'm very happy with the end result. Surprisingly, the carnage didn't look as bad as I thought it would when we pulled the tires off. Still warranted a replacement I think, but there weren't gaping holes in the sidewalls or anything.

Passenger side inner sidewall:
IMG_20111107_115258.jpg


Passenger side steering knuckle rub spot, just below ball joint/UCA:
IMG_20111107_115543.jpg

IMG_20111107_115555.jpg


Last but not least, PLENTY of space in there now w/ the 285s on:
IMG_20111107_122116.jpg


I will post better pics of the 285s/comparison shots/pics of other stuff when I update my build thread in a couple of weeks. For now this issue is resolved, and I'm a happy (and less broke!) camper.

Special thanks to Mike Heimmler and his staff at Discount Tire, 1990 E. County Line Road at University Blvd, Littleton, CO 80126. Great service, and the cheapest tax rate around the area at 5.1%. Out the door cost will likely be the cheapest in south Denver metro. Go see them!
 
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Congrats Fuzz on the outcome. It looks like a little work with a grinder could make 305's work in the future.......

TLC Dan
 
Hey Fuzz, did you notice if there was any room to grind down the knuckle a bit without compromising it's integrity? In those first pictures it looks like it's sticking out unnecessarily.

I think good call on sticking with the Duratracs, they'll be good for those Colorado winters. Plus you're 285's will be even better at cutting through the snow.
 
Discount Tire has almost always been pretty good to me. The one in Boulder is the only one to let me down, so I may head in that direction the next time I need tires.
 
TLC Dan said:
Congrats Fuzz on the outcome. It looks like a little work with a grinder could make 305's work in the future.......

TLC Dan
Click to expand...

patrickfinley said:
Hey Fuzz, did you notice if there was any room to grind down the knuckle a bit without compromising it's integrity? In those first pictures it looks like it's sticking out unnecessarily.
Click to expand...

I was actually looking at that a little bit at the shop yesterday and again last night with the 285s mounted. It appears that the outer edge of the steering knuckle can indeed be ground down some, but how much I'm not sure. I don't know if that little 3/4" nub sticking out is just a casting element that they use during the production process that serves no purpose, or if it actually has some sort of lubrication channel cast into it or other important function that I'm not seeing in relation the UCA/ball joint assembly. I'm probably not going to experiment with it further until I decide to slap 315s on this thing in a year or two. I'm too happy with the restored steering ability and lack of rubbing! :D

mister bean said:
Discount Tire has almost always been pretty good to me. The one in Boulder is the only one to let me down, so I may head in that direction the next time I need tires.
Click to expand...

Do it. It wasn't a straight up "gimme" on the tires, I had to explain my case a little bit, but in the end Mike was very understanding of my predicament, even 8 months later.
 
TheFuzz said:
I was actually looking at that a little bit at the shop yesterday and again last night with the 285s mounted. It appears that the outer edge of the steering knuckle can indeed be ground down some, but how much I'm not sure. I don't know if that little 3/4" nub sticking out is just a casting element that they use during the production process that serves no purpose, or if it actually has some sort of lubrication channel cast into it or other important function that I'm not seeing in relation the UCA/ball joint assembly. I'm probably not going to experiment with it further until I decide to slap 315s on this thing in a year or two. I'm too happy with the restored steering ability and lack of rubbing! :D

Do it. It wasn't a straight up "gimme" on the tires, I had to explain my case a little bit, but in the end Mike was very understanding of my predicament, even 8 months later.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure spressoman said in the "what spare parts to carry thread" that these were intended to bed used in the brute force method of knuckle removal - hit the flats with BFH.

Typos sent from my HTC EVO using the IH8MUD app...
 
^^^ yes. The other factor most of us face at one time or another is deep mud. Even if you improve the clearance between the knuckle and the tire, by removing the metal knocker nub, for lack of a better term, you're still insufficient IMO when you get the tire sidewall mucked up with mud and grit. Grit and/or small rock infused mud will need adequate (more than a quarter or even a half inch) clearance otherwise its the soft rubber of the tire that gives/wears.

This is one plus for a 35" tire...as it gets the widest portion of the tire a little higher in relationship to that knuckle nub.

YMMV.
 
Does this interfere with snow chains as well?
 
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