Wrangler DuraTrac

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akarilo

akarilo

Joined
Jan 19, 2006
Threads
254
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2,013
Location
Tulsa, OK
Website
www.cardomain.com
Been looking into this tire for a swap to 315's. It is a load E tire advertised as a "work truck tire". All the reviews I have read (by wheelers) have all been really good; "flexible side wall", "excellent traction", "very quiet on the road". This is about the only tire I'm pitting against another set of BFG a/t's.

Do you think this tire has a future in the Mud community?

DuraTrac.jpg
 
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There was just a thread on these tires a few days ago. Can't be more than a few pages back and some feedback. Not a lot of users yet, it seemed, but mostly positive.
 
I am considering it as my main option when it comes time to replace my BFG ATs next summer. One of the things I like about it is the winter rating, since there is now a requirement for winter tires in Quebec. I liked the BFGs in the winter, but this one looks like it has more siping.

It also looks like it may be slightly more aggressive than the BFGs offroad (more voids, irregular shaped lugs), but I'm no tire expert. My current BFGs are load range D, I wonder how much stiffer are E's going to be?
 
It looks like it will do well offroad. I wouldn't mind giving it a try.
 
I've got a set of the 285s on my 80, and I've been very happy with them. Quite a few other people vouch for them as well if you do a broad search across all forums here. If you like them, go for it. Seems like people's biggest complaint has been with the looks, not with the performance. People either like knobbys on the sides or they don't. Again, very quiet, plenty strong, and great traction. The consensus seems to be that these will perform better in the snow than the BFG A/Ts because they're made of softer rubber/different tread pattern, but I don't have any first hand experience yet. It's still too hot in the AZ for anything like that.

There was a thread on the Duratracs with some pics, but I too can't find it anymore.
 
akarilo said:
Been looking into this tire for a swap to 315's. It is a load E tire advertised as a "work truck tire". All the reviews I have read (by wheelers) have all been really good; "flexible side wall", "excellent traction", "very quiet on the road". This is about the only tire I'm pitting against another set of BFG a/t's.

Do you think this tire has a future in the Mud community?
Click to expand...

I hope they're the best thing since vulcanized rubber.

I have 10 of them on order :eek: - should be here this week or early next.

5 in 265/75R16 for the wife's truck :princess:.
5 in 315/75R16 for mine :D.

So... yes, I hope they're the best tires ever :grinpimp:.

OK, so I overused the smileys. Still excited about the tires. :princess:'s truck has a flat so she's driving mine until her new tires are on.
 
It is a load E tire advertised as a "work truck tire".

That would be attractive to me, I just bought a set of 315 BFG A/T KO and settled for the 'D' rating as I was told the 'E' was unavailable in the 16''. FWIW.

Gord
 
It is a load E tire advertised as a "work truck tire".

That would be attractive to me, I just bought a set of 315 BFG A/T KO and settled for the 'D' rating as I was told the 'E' was unavailable in the 16''. FWIW.

Gord
 
I've been very pleased with the nitto terragrapplers. The tread isnt as aggressive as the duratrack (that looks like a very nice tire). the nitto does well on the road, snow and ice, but not as well in slick tennessee clay/mud. Depending on what you need, you might want to consider the nitto, as it is about 30 bucks cheaper per tire. I got about 60k out of my first set of nittos (295's). The duratrack looks like a happy medium between an at and mud tire. If you go with it give some feedback.
hth
 
Well, I have the tires on both trucks and have put a tens miles on them. :D

The 265/75R16 load C Duratrac tires on the wife's OME stock height '96 FZJ80 took minimal weight to balance. They're quiet and smooth as silk. They handle nicely and she's happy. The spare mounted up nicely underneath - funny the difference that 10mm narrower in width can make for the spare. I had them mounted white letters in. Grade A+

The 315/75R16 load E Duratrac tires on my OME 850/863 '96 FZJ80 took quite a bit of weight to balance - but they did balance. No tire hop or vibrations at 80mph. Very quiet - I can barely hear them. The only real drawbacks have been the amount of weights needed (not unusual for a 10 ply 315 tire) and a tendency for the tire to ride up the crown in the middle of the blacktop at low speeds. Just a bit of wheel pull coming up to stop lights on old blacktop, nothing severe. Grade A

Her old tires were stock 275/70R16 Michelines and worn out - scraped.

My 'old' tires were 285/75R16 load E Goodyear Wrangler MTRs - the old symmetrical style. They're in good shape with about 2/3? of the tread left on them, no chunking, never needed patched or plugged. I'm wrestling with pricing them for the used market. My thought is they should be worth about $500 for the matched set of 5 - but is that too low/high or about right? Once I figure out the price, I'll post them up in the classifieds.

Anyway, the Duratrac tires are very nice indeed. I'm looking forward to a few road trips, some snow and some off-road to fully check them out - but so far I'm impressed. They are very nice indeed - in both stock and super sized.

And I'm scheduled for re-gear in a month. :bounce::bounce2:
 
Have put 2300 miles on my 385 in the last week and a half and they handle great. Lots of gravel roads/washboard and high speed highway. They corner great to boot.

D
 
Heard that TireRack will have more 285 Duratracks in stock after October 12. Going to pull the trigger on 5 when they are available.

-KK
 
I'm running the 285 Duratrac on my work truck and have about 3,000 miles on em so far. Lots of highway miles and some off-road. They have handled well on pavement, wet and dry, at all speeds. Off-road they have been excellent. I was running Wrangler Silent Armors on my truck and put metal through 2 tires in one trip and the Goodyear dealer couldn't get any replacements right away so I had to get the only available at the time and they were the Duratracs. I wasn't real sure about them because I usually don't run that aggressive a tread on my work truck but I am now loving em. They handle well and allot less noise than I expected. I think they are going to be a great tire. Even though they are a fairly new tire, the guys at my tire shop have had no problems or complaints from any of them so far......which is a good sign.

I just got some quotes to put the 315s on my LC. I'm going to pull the trigger on em in the next couple of weeks.
 
I have a few hundred miles on my 285 Duratracs now.

1) They look great. :cool:

2) Sound is louder than the worn, stock Michelin 275; however, road noise is not an issue. Disclaimer: all 4 doors each have a continuous layer of Dynamat as a sound barrier.

3) Tire pressure: they left the shop with 50 psi on all 4. Steering response was great, but ride was "harsh." (I have stock springs and KYB Monomax shocks). After driving a couple of hundred miles @ 50 psi, I decided to reduce to 35 psi for all 4 tires. This made a big improvement for ride comfort, and less sharp for turn-in response. I'll gladly take the ride comfort over the modest reduction in steering response. As a sanity check for 35 psi, I ran the tires with the chalk test. The test showed wear all the way to within about 1/4-1/2 inch to the edges (inboard & outboard) at the rear. The test also showed even wear across the front...wear to the edge likely from steering given the rear comparison. This is a mostly a stock weight rig without heavy weight gainers (no bumpers, sliders, etc.).

So far I'm highly satisfied. ...especially to have a stock rig begin to look tough. ;)

Hope this helps anyone shopping for Duratracs.

-KK
 
KurtKuhn said:
I have a few hundred miles on my 285 Duratracs now.

1) They look great. :cool:

2) Sound is louder than the worn, stock Michelin 275; however, road noise is not an issue. Disclaimer: all 4 doors each have a continuous layer of Dynamat as a sound barrier.

3) Tire pressure: they left the shop with 50 psi on all 4. Steering response was great, but ride was "harsh." (I have stock springs and KYB Monomax shocks). After driving a couple of hundred miles @ 50 psi, I decided to reduce to 35 psi for all 4 tires. This made a big improvement for ride comfort, and less sharp for turn-in response. I'll gladly take the ride comfort over the modest reduction in steering response. As a sanity check for 35 psi, I ran the tires with the chalk test. The test showed wear all the way to within about 1/4-1/2 inch to the edges (inboard & outboard) at the rear. The test also showed even wear across the front...wear to the edge likely from steering given the rear comparison. This is a mostly a stock weight rig without heavy weight gainers (no bumpers, sliders, etc.).

So far I'm highly satisfied. ...especially to have a stock rig begin to look tough. ;)

Hope this helps anyone shopping for Duratracs.

-KK
Click to expand...

KK,

How has gas mileage changed going from stock tire size to the 285s? Do you notice the extra weight of the tires?

Brian
 
maybe_a_80... said:
KK,

How has gas mileage changed going from stock tire size to the 285s? Do you notice the extra weight of the tires?

Brian
Click to expand...

Brian-

Too early to tell on the gas mileage for a couple of reasons. Since it is my 3rd vehicle, I have only been through one tank of gas so far. And, during the use of that tank, I changed speedo gears to correct for 3% of the 5% difference in the tire circumference.

I have not noticed any difference in acceleration or braking with the new tires. Only difference felt so far was an abrupt downshift with a steady gas pedal at the top of a very long grade. I drive this hill regularly, and the down shift behavior was not consistent with my experience.

I'll report back once I get a handle on gas mileage. I hope I can get some decent data before cold weather hits.

-KK
 
Hey Kurt,

You got a pic of those tires on your cruiser? I am planning on getting that same size for mine which currently doesn't have a lift on it yet.
Thanks
 
dalma said:
Hey Kurt,

You got a pic of those tires on your cruiser? I am planning on getting that same size for mine which currently doesn't have a lift on it yet.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Took this one the other night since it looked cool in the headlights of my :princess:'s car. And, yes, I'm glad to report that dirt is all over the tires.

692868947_w2gyU-L.jpg


I will post a profile shot as soon as I can.

-KK
 
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