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- #21
Thanks, Noel! I have high hopes for the GDTs as an all season/purpose tire. It would simplify things, as far as tires go.
GDT Icelander 265/75R 16-E on an 80
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Thanks, Noel! I have high hopes for the GDTs as an all season/purpose tire. It would simplify things, as far as tires go.
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- #22
Well, I 've taken two trips over the Cascades with these tires installed and as far as I'm concerned, noise has been a non-issue. They seem to have a harmonic right about 50 mph where they just sound like an MT. Above and below that speed, they are very quiet. I especially like them at low speeds,where I'd swear, I had ATs or passenger car tires on. They are really that quiet. They've got just under 1K miles on them and the "sheen" is starting to wear off to expose the silicium carbide granules. By 2K they will be at their maximum ice traction capibility and I'm looking forward to that. In the pic below you can see the granules starting to become visable. In the right light they actually sparkle and it wouldn't surprize me if they emitted sparks at night on pavement.
Nice. 
. I really like these tires. I am curious how it turns out. Keep us posted for sure.
. I really like these tires. I am curious how it turns out. Keep us posted for sure.
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- #24
Just a quick update for those interested. The 
and I went into Portland and back last week and I thought it was going to be another trip on bare or just wet roads. Thursday night, on the way home, as we left Gresham it was raining light, but steady. As we climbed towards Government Camp, the rain became heavier and the road had standing water which became annoying as it was splashed up and smacking on the running boards making quite the racket (another reason to remove them). The Cruiser was rock steady and no issues through the heavy rain. As we got to the top of the pass it turned to snow, and I mean those great big fluffy flakes that are "so pretty", to quote , except when you're trying to see to drive at night! It didn't take long to stick to the road and it was packing fast. Visibility was extremely difficult, not only from the falling snow in the head and fog lights, but was also coating the wipers and windshield in places, despite the defroster being on high. The snow only got to about 4 - 5 inches for us, but I pitied those behind us. We've made this trip many times in better conditions with my Wild Country M/Ts, sliding around almost constantly on the packed snow. This is the first time that I can remember the making any positive comments about how the Cruiser handled on packed snow as a passenger. She is now firmly convinced, after this trip, that these are the right tires to have. I was busy trying to see the damn road, so I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to how much we were slipping and sliding. Her comment was that she didn't feel us slide even once, which surprised me. I had assumed that it would have been a jerky ride for her since, because of the poor visibility, I was having to do a lot of corrections to stay on the road. She also loves how much quieter these GDTs are than the other M/Ts. Well, this was not as long as Idahodoug's ride home, but I was reminded of his experience on this trip. After reflection, I'd say it was overall, a positve experience, aided by some very competant ice and snow tires.
and I went into Portland and back last week and I thought it was going to be another trip on bare or just wet roads. Thursday night, on the way home, as we left Gresham it was raining light, but steady. As we climbed towards Government Camp, the rain became heavier and the road had standing water which became annoying as it was splashed up and smacking on the running boards making quite the racket (another reason to remove them). The Cruiser was rock steady and no issues through the heavy rain. As we got to the top of the pass it turned to snow, and I mean those great big fluffy flakes that are "so pretty", to quote , except when you're trying to see to drive at night! It didn't take long to stick to the road and it was packing fast. Visibility was extremely difficult, not only from the falling snow in the head and fog lights, but was also coating the wipers and windshield in places, despite the defroster being on high. The snow only got to about 4 - 5 inches for us, but I pitied those behind us. We've made this trip many times in better conditions with my Wild Country M/Ts, sliding around almost constantly on the packed snow. This is the first time that I can remember the making any positive comments about how the Cruiser handled on packed snow as a passenger. She is now firmly convinced, after this trip, that these are the right tires to have. I was busy trying to see the damn road, so I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to how much we were slipping and sliding. Her comment was that she didn't feel us slide even once, which surprised me. I had assumed that it would have been a jerky ride for her since, because of the poor visibility, I was having to do a lot of corrections to stay on the road. She also loves how much quieter these GDTs are than the other M/Ts. Well, this was not as long as Idahodoug's ride home, but I was reminded of his experience on this trip. After reflection, I'd say it was overall, a positve experience, aided by some very competant ice and snow tires. 
You could have got treadwright retread ultra grip 285/75's in a dunlop radial rover or goodyear MT/R pattern shipped to your door for less than $130 a tire. There ultra grip is almost identical to the green diamond. It is ground up walnut shell that is placed throughout the tread compound and is incredible on wet, and wintry road conditions. I am stationed in Guam where it rains almost every other day and the ultra grip is amazing in stopping my vehicle even on wet pavement made from ground up coral that is slicker than snot. I run the 305/70-16 that is on an E rated Nitto Terra gappler casing. Just another option that is not $800. Heck, I got four of these tires shipped to my door for $477. Not knocking your choice, just a little pricy for 265/75's.
I purchased the Yokohama Geolander I/T GO72 in a 315/75/16 and loved them in the past coastal Maine winter (read-lots of ice and snow). They had great tread depth and traction at about the same price you paid for yours. I would recommend them to anyone. Although they are a great tire, I can't afford to run 2 sets of tires/wheels or have that much of my garage taken up all year, so I'm selling out...
https://forum.ih8mud.com/sale-tires-wheels/278496-feeler-fs-4-315-75-16-yoko-geo-i-t-90%-maine.html
https://forum.ih8mud.com/sale-tires-wheels/278496-feeler-fs-4-315-75-16-yoko-geo-i-t-90%-maine.html
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- #27
You're second person saying I could have saved money. I did a little shopping around before I purchased. I guess we'll see. I'm sensitive to the words "you get what you pay for". Time will tell if these GDTs retreads hold up like new bought tires. From the testimonials and research that I did, I have high hopes. I'm glad those tires work good for you in Guam. I had a son in the Navy stationed there, several years ago. Ground up additives for tires are nothing new. This GDT formula is proven to work in Iceland and Europe on ice and snow, so I'm pretty confident it'll work in Oregon. Thanks for your input!
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- #28
I'm sure the GDT's work great for you. I was just pointing out the higher cost for a 265/75. Not trying to be a jerk. Sorry
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- #30
I'm sure the GDT's work great for you. I was just pointing out the higher cost for a 265/75. Not trying to be a jerk. Sorry
Hey, no worries! I didn't see it that way. Didn't see the deal you got when I was looking - guess I wasn't "shopping" hard enough. I'm still leery when it comes to recaps, guess it's the history of them. GDT convinced me they weren't the typical recap and I liked what I read. Like anything else, time will tell. The purpose of this thread is to share my experience with Mudders. I have high hopes it'll be positive.
Looks like a good tire! Curious how they would do up here. Nobody I know has a set yet.
TK
TK
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- #32
They're very limited in sizes at this time. The 80 stock tire size 265/75R 16 is the largest that GDT makes. I don't think they'll be real popular with most on MUD. There is a group of us that might consider them, though. Usually North of 40 and satisfied with the stock tire size.
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- #33
Belated answer to your ?, Doug
Just found an answer to your question, Doug. My first and incomplete answer was to go to their website. Well, if you go to their website and look at this page which shows the results of testing the GDT compared with 4 other tires, including the Michelin Alpins that you mentioned:
Green Diamond Tire
You will get the answer to your question.
Just found an answer to your question, Doug. My first and incomplete answer was to go to their website. Well, if you go to their website and look at this page which shows the results of testing the GDT compared with 4 other tires, including the Michelin Alpins that you mentioned:
Green Diamond Tire
You will get the answer to your question.
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- #34
I broke down and put the old M/Ts back on for the summer as they are almost worn out and it made no sense to me to run these new GDT M/Ts all summer since the sheen is worn off and they're ready for ice. Got about 3K on the GDTs and I noticed when I took them off that I have them over inflated. The sheen hasn't worn off the outside edges yet to expose the carbide bits so I'll adjust the pressure when they're reinstalled this fall. I'm glad I took the time to switch 'em - it wasn't very noticeable while they were on the truck. Back to howling down the highway.
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- #35
Put the GDTs back on and dropped the psi from 48 down to 36. I may need to drop it futher, but with the 80 being as heavy as it is & with the added weight of bumpers, I'm thinking 36 should be good. Tire noise seems to have slightly increased with the lower pressure also, but far from being annoying.
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- #36
An update on off road performance:
There was this hill - - you know what I mean
- - it was just begging to be climbed. A maintenance road under some power lines out in the middle of nowhere, that came almost straight down a fairly steep pitched slope. A couple of interesting turns to jog around a tower.
This tire has plenty of grip on loose rock and soil without airing down. I'm sure you could increase the gripping ability by dropping the pressure, but at 36 psi, they did well on this hill. I lost momentum on the steepest pitch only to find that I had dislodged a good size rock next to my USDS front wheel. I prolly could have continued with out moving it. But, with out sliders and lockers, I got out and moved it, and got moving again. I only got stopped that once and deliberately kept speed down to evaluate the traction abilities of the tires. I have no complaints and can only imagine the capabilities of this rig with these tires and lockers
. And of course some pics of the hill. In the last pic, the bare dirt section was the steepest part of the hill where I lost momentum. It's just past the leftmost tower in the middle of the hill in the 1st 2 pics. More pics will follow in a few more posts.
There was this hill - - you know what I mean
- - it was just begging to be climbed. A maintenance road under some power lines out in the middle of nowhere, that came almost straight down a fairly steep pitched slope. A couple of interesting turns to jog around a tower.This tire has plenty of grip on loose rock and soil without airing down. I'm sure you could increase the gripping ability by dropping the pressure, but at 36 psi, they did well on this hill. I lost momentum on the steepest pitch only to find that I had dislodged a good size rock next to my USDS front wheel. I prolly could have continued with out moving it. But, with out sliders and lockers, I got out and moved it, and got moving again. I only got stopped that once and deliberately kept speed down to evaluate the traction abilities of the tires. I have no complaints and can only imagine the capabilities of this rig with these tires and lockers
. And of course some pics of the hill. In the last pic, the bare dirt section was the steepest part of the hill where I lost momentum. It's just past the leftmost tower in the middle of the hill in the 1st 2 pics. More pics will follow in a few more posts.
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- #37
In these pics, you can see the steepness of the hill in the 1st, and the dislodged rock in the 2nd & 3rd. In the last pic you can see a sizable drop off to the right of the tower which is barely visible behind my 80. The road goes between the tower and the dropoff.
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- #38
Some pics midhill, near the tower, before the steepest section. Quite mild slope in this section:
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- #39
Safe at the top:
That's pretty neat to have a tire that can grip better than the others tested for winter traction, yet go offroad on dirt. I don't think the Michelins would compare offroad considering their mild tread pattern. OTOH, they were cheaper and are the quietest highway tires I've ever had on the 80. These are the new version of the Alpin - called Latitude X ice.
Thanks for the update.
Thanks for the update.