BFG T/A KO vs Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac

[smkd13]

Well I ran a set of bfg at's for 45k and they held up fine and here is the main thing. I torture tested them. On and Off road, sand, rock, snow, rain, dirt, mud, deep water. Now when I say torture test I mean that I never had them rotated, balanced, or aligned. I drove them cross country almost 16 times. Never paid attention to the tire pressure. Ultimately the BFG A/T is a long lasting tough tire.

As for how they handle in the rain: I ran these through three Nebraska and Kansas style rain storms. Never slowed down except for the fact when I had to cause I couldn't see. Never had them slip out on me or lose traction.

Snow handling: I ran these in Idaho. So we had snow. As long as your not gunning it they do fine. I me last time these saw snow I actually was running "2wd" and they did fine but had to take it easy. I think they did pretty well for beig really messed up.

Sand: rocked it around some sand dunes. Did pretty good, not ideal but did fine. Definitely had some issues going up a sand hill when not able to get some good speed built up. Did it without any down pressuring.

Dirt and rock: preformed excellently. Definitely no issues at all.

Overall good tire IMO. Will be getting duratrac's to run on my T4R and looking forward to running them but not gonna "torture test" them. Proper tire care all the way this time.

 

[rebelbowtie]

so i've heard from everyone that has the BFG A/T's that they are terrible in the snow, is that not so? they where ALL on jeep wranglers too if that makes any difference....

:spider:

BFG T/A KO's have the sever winter weather snow flake. and for many years they were the only AT tire to do so from my understanding. I have ran a few AT's and non can hold a candle to the T/A KO's in any terrain I have driven, that list includes the popular Nitto Terra Grappler and Bridgestone Dueller AT Revo's and both pale in comparision to the BFG's.

 

[tyr0981]

i kinda thought i didn't have the whole story, seen too many around for them to be not so good a tire.... well thanks for the input guys, those tires are at least 50$ higher then the good year duratrac's .....

decisions decisions....

 

[smkd13]

They are higher but will definitely take most abide u can throw at them. When it comes down to it. It mainly depends on personal preference. It is like asking km2 or mt/r. Both tires preform amazingly

 

[JayG]

I have had both

The BFG / KO (IMHO)
Pro's: Durability a little less noise than Duratracs
Cons: Not very good in rain, mud or snow....just decent.
I did get 60k out of them and they had maybe 10k more in them.

Duratracs
Pro's: Excellent in rain and snow and good off road traction. I have taken them offroad many times, but not in too much mud (summer). I only have 6k on them so i'm not sure about durability. They handle great!

 

[THEROK]

they're close enough functionally that the aesthetic then takes over. the duratracs are a more aggressive looking tire. i find the bfg tread to look dated not timeless as they like to convey in their marketing/branding efforts.

 

[Mtn.Runner]

The BFG / KO (IMHO)
Pro's: Durability a little less noise than Duratracs
Cons: Not very good in rain, mud or snow....just decent.
I did get 60k out of them and they had maybe 10k more in them.

Duratracs
Pro's: Excellent in rain and snow and good off road traction. I have taken them offroad many times, but not in too much mud (summer). I only have 6k on them so i'm not sure about durability. They handle great!

Any update on the durability of your duratracs?

 

[JayG]

Any update on the durability of your duratracs?

Working out great for me. Have been in the snow 20-30 times and my traction control has never kicked in. Went wheeling.....did some crawling.....awesome.

They still look like the day I bought them. I purchased some new wheels and they handle even better on a wider wheel. I'll buy them again.

 

[smkd13]

Just ordered my duratracs from DT will get a full report up after I give them some time to be used lol

 

[HHIRunner]

I've been having a similar question lately. My choice is between the Duras and the BFG MT T/A KM2's. the Duras are load C and the KM2s are load E. Both are the Same price and I was wondering what the best option would be being that 1 it's my daily driver, and 2 the only offroading we do around here is in the mud. Obviously the KM2s are going to be better in the mud but for all around which would be the better option. And also for those wondering about how often we actually go mudding its usually once or twice a week. Oh and also the Duras would probably be a 31" compared to 33" KM2s

 

[tyr0981]

I've been having a similar question lately. My choice is between the Duras and the BFG MT T/A KM2's. the Duras are load C and the KM2s are load E. Both are the Same price and I was wondering what the best option would be being that 1 it's my daily driver, and 2 the only offroading we do around here is in the mud. Obviously the KM2s are going to be better in the mud but for all around which would be the better option. And also for those wondering about how often we actually go mudding its usually once or twice a week. Oh and also the Duras would probably be a 31" compared to 33" KM2s

my initial run through the forest was all mud / gravel, though i've never put Mud tires on my rig, i can tell you the Duratrac's handled the mud beautifully! emptied loose stuff very easily, the thicker clay's took more wheel spin to empty, but they emptied well!

i'm very happy with the Duratrac's, just hope they las as long as everyone says they do....

 

[alaskaflyer]

Holy Thread revival Batman!

Getting ready to buy some tires, looking to hear from the Duratrac guys as far as durability?

Thanks

Gary

 

[WXman]

I've run both. Here's my view.

Some sizes of Duratracs have 3 ply sidewalls. These are usually the LT "E" rated sizes. Most sizes of Duratracs have the 2 ply sidewalls though. Those are known to be the weak link, so stay away from jagged rocks.

Mud - no contest. The Duratrac destroys the BFG KO. The Duratrac was every bit as good in the mud as the full on MTs I've used. They dig hard and sling mud and will pull up anything that a name brand mud tire will. The BFG just fills up and can't clean itself due to the 35 year old tread design.

Snow - no contest. The Duratrac destroys the BFG KO once again. The BFG simply cannot clean itself and I found that it would "push" going into corners in the snow. I would never buy the KO with snow in mind. The Duratracs on 6" of snow with muddy trails underneath just keep on digging and moving right along.

Rain - BFG just barely. The Duratrac is slippery at first...but after the first 5,000 miles they "wear in" and start doing a great job thanks to the huge voids and tons of siping. The BFG pattern is a little tighter and is still deep enough that it just barely does a better job in the rain.

Highway - The tires both make the same level of noise. But the Duratrac is lighter and therefore uses less fuel.

Pricing - Both tires are extremely over priced for what you get. For that reason, I may not buy either ever again. Too many great options on the market for hundreds less per set.

 

[CRB357]

Pricing - Both tires are extremely over priced for what you get. For that reason, I may not buy either ever again. Too many great options on the market for hundreds less per set.

What are those options?

 

[acronin2]

In the market for new tires and looking at these two. Any updates on the Duratracs durability for those who have them? Also, I have Michelen LTX on my 4R now, how loud are these two tires compared to the LTX's?

 

[Erkelbot]

I'll toss one more tire in the ring -- not as aggressive looking, but one that performs well in my experience.

Take a look at the Cooper AT3. Decent looking tire for what most folks are looking for, and comes with an AWESOME warranty of 60K. I ran them on LC80 wheels on my 3rd gen, and on my 2015 TEP. Solid snow tire, good tread design for other inclement weather, and reasonably priced. They served me well. And made in the USA.

What I would suggest for all those searching for tires is wait for Black Friday. Tires go on sale, and Discount tire price matches. That means...let's say...you see Cooper AT3s on sale for $119/tire with free mounting, balancing, and alignment at a competitor. Call Discount tire and tell them. I did this last year and I got 5 matching AT3s on the 2015 TEP for a hair over $600 installed. I then promptly sold the (CRAP) Duellers on Craigslist for $400 with 800 miles on them.

With that said, I'm on Michelin MS2s, and plan on swapping over to the Duratracs shortly -- but only because I think I can swing a trade with a local. DTs are spendy -- less than BFGs -- but spendy nonetheless.

 

[pillguy]

Any updates on tires? I have a GX470 and am looking at firestone destination ATs. I already have 3rd gen 4runner that is my camping mud truck so I am looking to a tire that can handle light to moderate trails in SE USA and an occasional trip to Colorado mountains in a vehicle that will not be lifted.

 

[adrawk]

Running Duratracs for a few months now. Absolutely love them. A tad bit of of noise on the highway but nothing at all bothersome. Made my truck handle a bit better than the stock tires. Looking forward to getting them off road and into some snow this winter.

 

[1ffej]

I assume roaring is not a concern?

 

[WI4Runnin]

I assume roaring is not a concern?

I thought these tires were supposed to be pretty quiet. My old BFG KO (gen1) had pretty good road noise too.