Going to 35s Tire Comparison

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Yukon LX

Yukon LX

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Jul 23, 2010
Threads
112
Messages
2,590
Location
Morehead City, NC
Disclaimer: i want to start by saying i apologize for another tire thread. However, i want to add, If you cannot comment on only the 2 tires in question, PLEASE DON NOT comment. This is not meant for an all tire brand "Which is better contest" I am ONLY interested in these 2 tires. ONLY

So, i will be moving up to 35s in the relatively near future and have it narrowed down to the Goodyear Duratrac and Firestone Destination MT. I have had 3 sets of the Firestones and have really loved them. For an mt, they are pretty quiet on the road until they start to age, last forever (averaged 50 k a set), and really pull off road. However, being that this is my only ride, i am also thinking of maybe going with something with good off road traction, better noise, and road manners. By an off chance, has anyone had direct experience with both of these tires, and what do you think.

I am an avid off roader, but by no means wheel every weekend. Also, i put about 20k a year highway miles on my truck. Any thoughts are appreciated.
 
Hey Yukon LX:
I have experience with the Duratrac, but not the Firestone, so I cannot give you a side-by-side comparo, but the Duratrac rocked for me when we had snowmeggadon here in DC a couple of years ago. I had absolutely no trouble getting around in that blizzard. I have since driven that truck out to Henderson NV where I keep it for my western trips, and I have had it all over the west, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, New Mexico, etc, great on the freeway, excellent in the desert, etc. Not too loud, but I had to get Curry's Auto in Chantilly to force balance them for me, as one was hard to balance. They have kept their balance since then though. HTH
 
did you have the Duratrack on your 100? if so why did you switch to the TGs now? I had the firestones on a 95 yukon during snomegeddon too. They were great. It was very cool being the only car in down town and on the mall. Very surreal.
 
They are on the UZJ80. I purchased the 100 with Goodrich AT's, and while they were in good shape, I have worn out two or three pairs of them over the years and wasn't interested in keeping them. I put the Nitto's on to give them a try. I can't imagine they will be as good as the Duratrac's on the snow or mud, but I haven't tried them yet. I will probably put a set of 315 duratracs on the 80 series, and put the 285's on the set of 16" 100 series wheels for wintertime use.
 
i am not a fan of the TG, i don't like the looks (i dont like lighting bolts on my tires), and they just aren't quite aggressive enough for me either. I know a ton of guys love them though. I really have it down between the previous two.
 
Yukon LX said:
i am not a fan of the TG, i don't like the looks (i dont like lighting bolts on my tires), and they just aren't quite aggressive enough for me either. I know a ton of guys love them though. I really have it down between the previous two.
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How aggressive do you want to go?

swamper_bogger.jpg



IMHO- The KM-2's should be the most aggressive tire a 100 sees, and they only look right on built rigs. Why not look at the DT DuraTrac? I'll probably have a set of those in a 35" around Christmas time, the KM-2's have fallen short of my expectations.
 
I have had 35" Duratrac's for about 6 months and are very pleased with them. I choose them because they were signicantly less money than the KM2s. While I have not done much trail riding with them yet, they are a comfortable ride on the road (low road noise, good handling, etc.). I did have to put 3/4" spacers on the front to get ample space for them to clear steering knucke; however, I had to go to 35s because the 285 General ATs that I had looked way too small after I lifted the truck.
 
I have not run the Destinations but have been absolutely loving the DT's on my Tacoma and it is the next tire for my 100. The advantages I see are the sipping and subtle tread design features, I have been amazed that the wet, snow, ice performance beats the BFG AT so clearly. In Mud/Sand they still perform like a mudder but the road qualities blew me away and I need the ability to haul family over winter pavement so have always avoided pure mud tires for my 'yotas. The DT fills that need perfectly, I gain a lot on the trail and give up almost nothing on the street.

I've wanted KM2's but won't because of the wet/icy road manners.
 
nick, to answer your question, i want to go as aggressive as the DT, or slightly more aggressive with the Destination MT. (i am pretty sure you read nothing at the begging of this thread):flipoff2: It sounds like the DT will be much quieter. however, i have been amazed with the ice, snow and wet handling of the Firestones. Which honestly, i have no clue how. They have no siping and very large block treads. I guess i am stuck between much better road noise of the DT, or the bit more aggressive tread on the MT. What kind of mileage have you DT gotten out of them. Also, i have read a few reports of weak side walls off road. Is there any merit to that? Has any one gone from a true MT to the DT. Say KM1 KM2 MTr?? If so what did you lose in the mud and slick stuff?

and yes 315/75/16
 
ironeagle said:
I have had 35" Duratrac's for about 6 months and are very pleased with them. I choose them because they were signicantly less money than the KM2s. While I have not done much trail riding with them yet, they are a comfortable ride on the road (low road noise, good handling, etc.). I did have to put 3/4" spacers on the front to get ample space for them to clear steering knucke; however, I had to go to 35s because the 285 General ATs that I had looked way too small after I lifted the truck.
Click to expand...

Do you have any pictures? Interested In seeing how the sit upfront with spacers.
 
Yukon LX said:
i am not a fan of the TG, i don't like the looks (i dont like lighting bolts on my tires), and they just aren't quite aggressive enough for me either.
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Terra Grappler
Trail Grappler

Different tires. The marketing team should've saw that coming.
 
sorry, good point, i meant terra grappler.
 
2000UZJ said:
IMHO- The KM-2's should be the most aggressive tire a 100 sees, and they only look right on built rigs.
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Buying or not buying a tire based mainly on looks is like marrying just because shes pretty :lol:

I haven't heard any complaints on a few boards about the duratracs other than their 2 ply sidewalls. Why GY decided to not have 3ply sidewalls is a mystery on an aggressive all-terrain.
 
Yukon LX said:
sorry, good point, i meant terra grappler.
Click to expand...
i think they referenced trail grapplers, which are pretty similar to the firestones design, but probably slightly more advanced tech in them.

as for the DTs bad rep, i think most of those are from guys running the C-rated version, which only has 2-ply sidewalls vs the 3-ply of the E-rated. i love my 285 DTs :D

you gonna regear your Hundy at the same time?
 
^ thats good info, i would certainly be E rated, and thought they were all 2 ply. No regear, just gonna be a little slower around town and on the hills. My hundy is so fast now i can hardly handle it.:lol:
 
highonpottery said:
i think they referenced trail grapplers, which are pretty similar to the firestones design, but probably slightly more advanced tech in them.

as for the DTs bad rep, i think most of those are from guys running the C-rated version, which only has 2-ply sidewalls vs the 3-ply of the E-rated. i love my 285 DTs :D

you gonna regear your Hundy at the same time?
Click to expand...

Where did you see that the E rated had 3ply vs the C rated having 2 ply side walls?

Just for reference, C rated is referring to 6 tread plies, and E rated is referring to 10 tread plies.
I don't see anything on their website or tire websites about different side plies for different weight rated tires.
 
i was also under the impression they all had 2-ply originally, perhaps they made changes. i need to check my 285 E-rateds myself, but perhaps someone else with E-rated DTs can confirm this. Recently, everywhere i've read about DTs having a 3-ply sidewall - they say it says it right on the tire:
attachment.php


img was posted by RobRed at Exp. Portal, perhaps he'll chime in here?
 
Look at the Cooper STT. I know you said not to comment if we had no experience with mentioned brands, but, what do you expect with this crowd??
 
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