GY Wrangler DuraTrac vs. Nitto TG

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rhyary

rhyary

Joined
Apr 5, 2006
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I have had the GY MT/R Kevlar for just under 10,000 miles.
Off-Road they are great and I have no complains.
But the noise is wearing me out. Gone is the nice low frequency reassuring hamming the LX450 produce on the road that I find enjoyable.

I had the Nitto TG and I consider it quite and the noise it makes well matched to the engine noise. But the TG off-road in the NE seams to slip more than I want to. To clear a trails you need to spin them. What I like about the MT/R is how it crawls thru.

So now to my question, how is the DuraTrac compares in noise to the TG, and does it perform better in loose trails?
 
Not an exact answer to your question, I've never had DuraTracs, but I'm running Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor and really like them in all conditions. They replaced my Nitto TGs. I think the Goodyear has a bit of an edge off-road and in snow over the TGs. I had the MT/Rs on my previous truck, so I know how the road noise gets old (but they are very sweet off-road).

Only 5000 miles on the new Goodyears but I'm hoping they hold up well. The TGs had a lot of tread left on them at 45,000 miles, enough that I sold them no problem to help subsidize the Goodyears.
 
I've pretty much got the same tire history as you, and have never run the DuraTracs, but aren't DuraTracs currently available only in E ratings?
 
I have 315 75 16 duratracs and I have not run them for more than 2 weeks but while I was home, they were quite, didnt really notice too much difference and I thought they offered great traction. I have not tested in snow but heard they are great in it. Had to use sticky weights to balance but rode very smooth! Can not compare to TG though. Much more aggressive then them though.
 
I have had the Silent Armors in the past as well and was very pleased with them - durability/wear was great, very quiet, and best of all, wicked in snow.

I understand from a friend the TerraGrapplers like to pack up with snow...which would go along with your experience of the need to spin them to make it through trails.

I am eyeing (and probably getting) Duratracs when it's time for new rubber. Reason being this tire is rated for Severe Snow Service, should wear well if the Silent Armor is any indication, and I am quite certain they will be quieter than many aggressive A/T tires.

My other big gripe with most aggressive A/T tires is that they aren't very good in snow. I know the Duratracs will be given the amount of siping and their somewhat shared development heritage with the Silent Armor.

I say get the Duratracs.
 
Rami, I think your better off to run two sets of tires. You currently have a legit offroad tire. I don't think you will be happy stepping backwards to an AT offroad. Get a 2nd set of wheels and pick out something for DD usage.

In my case it will be Duratracs with studs for the winter. And Trxus for the summer. (after I install a lift) And now Nay should pipe in about how good the Trxus is year round ;) Currnently I'm running the TG year round but have had to winch up to my house a few times in the winter.
 
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In your conditions, any tire is going to be a comprise. ATs aren't great in mud and mud tires are rough on the road. You can either pick your poison or switch tires.:meh:
 
I have a couple thousand miles on my DuraTacs now and here is my impression so far. The are surprisingly quiet on road, quieter in fact than the last set of BFG ATs I had on my last Jeep ZJ as others have mentioned. The compound IMHO is fairly soft however so I am not sure they will be the really long distance tire as other options, my guess is 40K tops, but that is completely conjecture at this point. I will be trying them at the dunes this weekend and report back. I also needed something that would be good for snow and am certain that they will be as good or better than a lot of the other options out there. They do look pretty choice as well.
 
Corbet, I should have been clearer. I have a second set of wheels I purchased from a fellow mudder.
So yes I am keeping the MT/Rs. But I am concerns running the MT/R in the winter, they have no sipping. So I am looking for a second set of tires for the road. But even road use I will be off the pavement so I am looking for a capable tire that is quieter then the MT/R.

Nay, it was nice meeting you at Moab. I drove a truck with Trxus. That was NOT quite. As a matter of fact it had the same problem of the MT/R. High pitch noise that drowns the hamming of the engine and make listening to radio impossible in civilized volume. For off road I am fine with the MT/Rs.

Chef J, The MT/R were advertised as quite. On the GY the DuraTracs are rated only on point quieter than the MT/R.

In general the SilentArmor does not come in 35, unless I mis read the GY site. So it has to be the DuraTrac for 35, but it has to be quieter. I hope to get into a truck with the DuraTrac. I have time until the winter.

Rami
 
maybe_a_80... said:
I understand from a friend the TerraGrapplers like to pack up with snow...which would go along with your experience of the need to spin them to make it through trails.

I am eyeing (and probably getting) Duratracs when it's time for new rubber. Reason being this tire is rated for Severe Snow Service, should wear well if the Silent Armor is any indication, and I am quite certain they will be quieter than many aggressive A/T tires.
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I don't have any experience with the DuraTracs, but I've had great experience with the TerraGrapplers in snow--found them to be without question far better than "Severe Snow Service" BFG ATs. Since then I've not been too keen on the snowflake rating.
 
My TG (295's) experience is good in the snow as well. But my next set of winter tires will have to have studs (Duratrac).

Rami, I have ridden in full size trucks with the Duratracs but not a LC. My feeling is that they are a little louder than the TG but hard to tell on a different vehicle. They seem a little more aggressive from appearance IMO so that makes sence to me. The Sheriff's dept out hear run the Duratrac's with studs. I have spoken to them about the snow performance and they all were very happy aout them.

If I were you I'd pick the AT tire that offers you the quietest ride, snow performance, etc, and switch out to your MTR's when you know you'll be wheeling. Most any AT will do OK on a trail if you end up there but you'll not be happy compaired to the MTRs. So make sure your happy with them on concrete.
 
Vote for Duratrac's man. I've 10k kms in gnarly snow/sleet towing my sled and they're the best AT's I've run. Ice is ice, but that's what studs are for. Personally, I just slow down on the skating rinks and they're solid. Haven't aired them down yet, so no info there. They seem quiet at hwy speeds, but I don't hear much above the purr of the turbo! Only downside - the tire tread is super tight in the center, so they tend to pick up stones on gravel roads. The only other tire I was considering, for my needs, were the Yokohama ice with walnut shells (no need to stud). They come in 315 as well. But, I'm glad I got a tire I can run year round. Oh yeah, they look killer for an AT. Good luck!
 
I have two 80's and both are coming/came to the end of their tire life. Both had Nitto TG's and have 50K+ miles. I replaced the one most likely to stay on the road with new TG's and the other will wait until the new Nitto Trail Grapplers are out in 285/75/16--supposedly in the 4th quarter of this year.

I have heard good things about the Goodyear tires.

I have had Interco Trxus MT's and thought they were very loud and proved impossible to keep balanced. Lasted about 12k miles. If they were on a dedicated off road vehicle, they might have done better for me.
 
rhyary said:
Nay, it was nice meeting you at Moab. I drove a truck with Trxus. That was NOT quite.
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Good to meet you, too :cheers:

Interesting that some are finding Trxus loud. They remain AT quiet for me (and I ran AT's for years). Although I never keep them past about 60% tread depth -they still sell well at that point and it is typically about 3 years of usage for me. All tires with decent tread depth and lug spacing get louder as they get older.

If you can afford two sets, that is a good route. One of the reasons I won't run two sets is that I only put about 7,500 miles a year on my 80. I can hardly wear out one set with a soft compound in 3-4 years and I don't want to be running older tires that are getting harder and more prone to failure and spending the coin on two sets in the process.

If I would wear them out, I'd run IROKs offroad and Terra Grapplers onroad. There are no perfect solutions - I'd definitely consider the Duratracs as a good middle ground.
 
I put on a set of Duratrac's before the 2010 east coast winter storms and was very impressed with the grip on snow and ice. Much better than any A/T I have ever run on. I have comparable sized MT/R's on my 40, and they are louder than the Duratrac's on my 80, and of course, terrible on snow without sipping, but the Duratrac's are not "michelin quiet", and I think they are louder than my last set of Goodrich All Terrain A/T's. I spent a few years working in Yosemite National Park year round, and the Duratrac is the tire I would run if I knew I needed to get somewhere, regardless of weather or terrain, and did not want to have to stop and "chain up", or change tires seasonally.
 
lrowe_csp said:
I put on a set of Duratrac's before the 2010 east coast winter storms and was very impressed with the grip on snow and ice. Much better than any A/T I have ever run on. I have comparable sized MT/R's on my 40, and they are louder than the Duratrac's on my 80, and of course, terrible on snow without sipping, but the Duratrac's are not "michelin quiet", and I think they are louder than my last set of Goodrich All Terrain A/T's. I spent a few years working in Yosemite National Park year round, and the Duratrac is the tire I would run if I knew I needed to get somewhere, regardless of weather or terrain, and did not want to have to stop and "chain up", or change tires seasonally.
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X2
If you want a one tire solution IMHO the Duratracs are the way to go. When I got my last set of BFG M/Ts (after the A/Ts on the same ZJ) I was told they wouldn't be much louder, that was crap, they sounded like a single engine prop plane about to crash in comparison. I can honestly say the Duratracs are unbelievable quiet compared to the M/T and definitely more so than the A/T. The aren't the Michelins as mentioned but I'm definitely pleased. I'm told the sound reduction is because of the way the shoulders are designed, if you look close at the pic every other lug is set back with a rounded profile. Could be BS but it made sense to me.
DuraTrac Lugs.jpg
 
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