Which is better in snow BFG's A/T's or GY Duratracs

[greenbeast]

I have pretty much used BFG's A/T's on my cruisers in past few years. This year I had to put Blizzak snow tires on since moving to Steamboat. With new cruiser being driven to new home this weekend, im curious how duratrac owners fare on snow?

Thanks

 

[gregnash]

From what I have read, the Duratrac's are much better in snow than the BFGs due to the fact that they are more of a Mud Terrain tire than a true A/T. With that said, the champagne powder that the 'Boat gets, you may be ok with what you have. I would ask the locals. I know my SIL/BIL have dedicated snow tires for both their cars.

Go to Sun Pies and have a drink for me.. God I miss that place!

 

[KWalkerM]

oh god i had BFG ATs and then swapped to Kelly Safari TSRs (duratrack) and i will NOT go back to the ATs for snow. i got stuck in less snow faster and got crap for grip whereas the duratracs have siping and work much better on ice and in snow.

this is with 3 months ATs and 3 months Duras. i like the duratracs. mine are 31x10.5xr15. not impressed with the ATs at all

 

[greenbeast]

I think I'm gonna put some 275/70/18's on the new cruiser this week.

I thought the A/Ts were good until I moved to Colorado. Of course the blizzaks blew them away I was surprised how poor they were in snow!

 

[KWalkerM]

I think I'm gonna put some 275/70/18's on the new cruiser this week.

I thought the A/Ts were good until I moved to Colorado. Of course the blizzaks blew them away I was surprised how poor they were in snow!

ya i thought they would do ok but dont get me wrong, its a great summer tire. ill probably pick a set up since the snow is almost all melted and the duratracs are pretty soft for the rock here and i want to keep my winter tires nice for next year.

 

[IanB]

Duratracs on packed snow and ice are really tough to beat, anything short of a true winter tire will have a very tough time hanging with them. And they are an excellent AT for the rest of the year as well. Not what I'd go with for rock crawling, but otherwise I fully recommend them. I'm on my 3rd set now.

 

[KWalkerM]

Duratracs on packed snow and ice are really tough to beat, anything short of a true winter tire will have a very tough time hanging with them. And they are an excellent AT for the rest of the year as well. Not what I'd go with for rock crawling, but otherwise I fully recommend them. I'm on my 3rd set now.

IMO they are way to soft of a rubber for crawling. mine are getting torn up on this sierra nevada slate rock.

 

[Bryan E.]

My brother in law lived in Steamboat until recently moving to Craig. While in Steamboat, he bought a new set of Duratracks for his Ford Ranger pick up truck. He said they performed better than any tire he had ever used there and he's been there a while. Everytime I talked to him about the winter performance, I would ask and he said it was like he had chains on his rig all the time. He said it totally transformed his rig for the better in the winter performance of snow and icy roads. They performed great as a light trail tire while he was out elk hunting as well. He isn't a hard core wheeler, just a local that loves to hunt and is out there all the time. He loves that tire and I went out with him and was impressed at how well they did in the mud up there.

I don't think they have the strongest side wall, and expect the MTR would be a better for more hard core wheeling but for a road vehicle and in snow, and regular wheeling around there, doubt you will find a better tire for somebody that wants a great all weather tire for their SUV.

 

[spn004]

The Duratrac for snow for sure... Soft rubber compound will stay more pliable in cold temp, tons of siping (very key) larger void areas will clean out quicker, so the tread will not pack up

Sent from my phone so excuse errors please - using IH8MUD

 

[gaijin]

I run the BFG AT T/A KO's because I want to be able to mount chains.

If all you want is the tire - go for the Duratracs.

If you ever want to mount chains, and have longer hivhway tread life, go for the BFG's.

 

[greenbeast]

The Duratracs win this hand down! I live in steamboat and travel to Craig for work. We had late season snow and I got to test them about a month ago. It was worse drive since I started working in Feb. they do make more road noise especially at low speeds.

If there is any chance of snow for any prolonged amount of time definitely lean towards the GY Duratracs!

 

[Dazrin]

I run the BFG AT T/A KO's because I want to be able to mount chains.

If all you want is the tire - go for the Duratracs.

If you ever want to mount chains, and have longer hivhway tread life, go for the BFG's.

You can't run chains on the Duratracs? I haven't heard that before. Do you have a source for that?

 

[gaijin]

You can't run chains on the Duratracs? I haven't heard that before. Do you have a source for that?

Just my personal experience/observation and the recommendation from Toyota.

On my 2013 LC200, Toyota recommends ONLY the BFG AT T/A KO 285/70R17E tire for use with the TRD 17" wheels.

Toyota also says that chains can be used with those tires.

When I mount chains on mine, there is very little clearance - I mean extremely little clearance.

It's just my opinion, but looking at the 285/70R17D Duratracs, even though they spec out on paper the same (both are: 32.8" diameter, 11.5" section width, tread width 9.1" and 9.2"), it looks to me like chaining up the Duratracs would be iffy.

YMMV

 

[mr jits]

According to Toyota you can't run a tire larger than 31.5" on an 80 series, but we all know even a 35" will fit without a lift. Just goes to show you typically have more room than suggested by the manufacturer.

 

[Dazrin]

Ok. That makes some sense if it is vehicle specific. It looks like the greenbeast has an 80 and a 40, so I doubt there is the same restriction.

For the 200 and this recommendation, I wonder if it is because the BFGs typically run small? Per Tirerack the 285/75R16 BFG AT is 32.8 and the Duratrac is 33.1. I am not sure if the same is true for an R17, but I do know that the BFG MTs are typically quite a bit smaller than others in flotation sizes too.

Just my personal experience/observation and the recommendation from Toyota.

On my 2013 LC200, Toyota recommends ONLY the BFG AT T/A KO 285/70R17E tire for use with the TRD 17" wheels.

Toyota also says that chains can be used with those tires.

When I mount chains on mine, there is very little clearance - I mean extremely little clearance.

It's just my opinion, but looking at the 285/70R17D Duratracs, even though they spec out on paper the same (both are: 32.8" diameter, 11.5" section width, tread width 9.1" and 9.2"), it looks to me like chaining up the Duratracs would be iffy.

YMMV

 

[Spook50]

How's the tread wear on the DuraTracs versus the BFGs? Would you guys running the DuraTracs recommend them on a daily driver that typically sees ugly winters and hot summers?

 

[KWalkerM]

How's the tread wear on the DuraTracs versus the BFGs? Would you guys running the DuraTracs recommend them on a daily driver that typically sees ugly winters and hot summers?

I got mine in novemebr and we are just now hitting the 100 degrees F weather here. so far they are great. I have a 60 mile round trip commute and they are really not loud and wear is minimal for me. but I drive like a grandma so ya. ill give you an update in a month for the hot weather

 

[gregnash]

Yeah lotus know how the duratracs are holding K. So I take it that Bessie is back up and running?

 

[KWalkerM]

Yeah lotus know how the duratracs are holding K. So I take it that Bessie is back up and running?

ya she runs but craps oil...compression test tomorrow to see if its piston rings but might be dropping in a new to me SBC. see my build thread. lots of fun for the next few weeks