DuraTrac owners

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WindomEarles said:
Hows the road noise and ride on the highway?

this guy says no hum
Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac off-road tire - YouTube
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Mine depends greatly on tire pressure. Lower pressure is a better ride, but more noise (35-40). Higher pressure is stiffer ride and less noise (45-50). Stereo on and windows up at 40psi and I do not really hear them unless I am listening for them. Windows down and they serenade me. In all reality, for as wide as the lugs are, they don't make much noise. I highly recommend them.
 
There is a definite hum. Not as bad as a full blown mud tire but not as quite as a true A/T tire. I have about 35k miles on mine and they did get a little louder. My truck was my daily driver and the noise was very bearable. Most likely will be getting another set once these wear out.
 
I've had them on my Wrangler for about 20,000 miles now. They are the exact same size tire that our 4Rs come with from the factory. There is most definitely a hum associated with these tires, but nothing obnoxious. They are excellent tires in all conditions, except on ice or compacted snow.

When I took delivery of my TE last month the first thing I did (within an hour of taking delivery) was upgrade the stock tires. I chose not to put Duratracs on my TE and instead went with the Firestone A/Ts. I wanted at least one of my vehicles to offer a quiet, smooth ride. In addition, and although this is strictly a personal perspective, the Duratracs look more Jeepish to me. I prefer the look of the Firestone A/Ts on my TE. The Firestones have been an excellent tire so far.
 
OK I am going to say it...these things are WAAY louder than the BFGAT's that I had on before. I am very disappointed in the amount of road noise. I tried reading everywhere to find out if it would be an issue and most of what I read was that there was a noticeable hum, SLIGHTLY louder than the BFGs, etc. Basically very similar comments as those who were commenting on the BFGAT's, because I was worried about that when I originally bought those too.

The reason I switched to these was partly for better traction on wet and snowy surfaces, since we are planning to live in the rockies for several months early 2013, and also planning trips to MOAB and other such places on the way out and back. I have driven my old BFGs in the snow a number of times and was not very impressed. When I got my lift, I figured I would go ahead with the new tires too so I could sell my BFGs for good money, which I did. Have not driven the DuraTracs in the snow yet, but these things FAR EXCEED the BFGs on wet pavement IMO. I literally cannot get my rig to kick in the traction control going around turns in the heavy rain. Really impressed with handling of these tires, and with ride softness (compared to the E-rated BFGs...my DuraTracs are D-rated), but simply bummed about the noise. People hear me coming...for sure.

I really would like to take a ride in somebody else's 4runner with the same tires to see if mine are just louder than normal duratracs for some reason...tire defect, etc???

I am running them at about 37psi, which results in a good ride. If I pump them up to 42psi or more, then it gets too bumpy, but the noise is less...

Based on my own experience, I would not buy these tires unless you need extremely good traction in snow and rain, and also need offroad capability. I admittedly may have been another victim of the snowflake symbol marketing pitch...but they really are sticky in the rain...can only assume snow traction is better than the BFGs also...

EDIT: I have since gotten another alignment and the toe was way off. They ride quieter now, but still not as quiet as BFGATs. I can definitely live with it now.
 
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WindomEarles said:
Hows the road noise and ride on the highway?

this guy says no hum
Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac off-road tire - YouTube

Feel free to post your own video with sound! :-)
Click to expand...

You should have asked yesterday about video, I was driving on higway and without kayaks on the roof. But anyway, the youtube video gives good noise estimation. When I pulled trigger on Duratracs I was afraid of the noise, but it turns out that noise was not enough to bother me even on long 1000 miles trips. I think my next tires would be Duratracs too.
 
Thanks for the post OP! I'm glad I read this before getting a set. I was pretty sold, but the humming noise would result in a different kind of humming noise at home :bash: from the wife.


:thanks:
 
brockeverly said:
FWIW, mine doesn't even notice it
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mine too, I had to specifically point the noise out. And she said something like you men funny, worrying about every little thing in you tucks. To my deep relief she doesn't care about that little hum at all.
 
DannyLlama said:
How many miles brock? Seems to kick in after 30k.
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I might be wrong but I think that people might overinflate tires and at let's say 40 psi side lugs didn't fully touch the ground so there's less noise. When centre lugs wore out side lung come in contact with pavement and noise level get louder. If you keep tires at 35-36 psi I don't think you should get more noise with mileage, but it's just my theory, there might be something else involved I can't think of. I'll tell you when I go over 30k miles, I have only 12 k miles on Duratracs so far.
 
Properly inflated they barely make a sound! If you intentionally run your tire with less pressure than recommended so you'll have a softer ride then they will be louder because your deforming the tire more.

Anyone complaining about the noise of these must have an unreasonably low tolerance for noise.. They seriously are not even close to being loud when correctly inflated.
 
Just make sure you rotate them every 3k miles or they'll wear pretty badly and that can make them louder.
 
Beakerbox said:
Properly inflated they barely make a sound! If you intentionally run your tire with less pressure than recommended so you'll have a softer ride then they will be louder because your deforming the tire more.

Anyone complaining about the noise of these must have an unreasonably low tolerance for noise.. They seriously are not even close to being loud when correctly inflated.
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I am a drummer in a rock band...so I think it is safe to say that my tolerance is pretty high. LOL! :drummer:

What psi are you running on yours?
 
Snooperstyle said:
I am a drummer in a rock band...so I think it is safe to say that my tolerance is pretty high. LOL! :drummer:

What psi are you running on yours?
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haha, nice! I'm a guitarist - I don't gig anymore but maybe i'm just deaf.

The duratrac / LT pressure question. At first I ran them at 37 thinking that was correct based on threads I had read. Then JD made a very informative post that cleared things up once and for all. Regardless of load rating, stock size LT tires should be run about 44 PSI. If you running 285's I they were slightly lower PSI than stock size.

See this thread here
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/general-discussions/110299-lt-tires-need-more-air-pressure.html

I'm just drove the truck 10 mins ago with the windows closed and honestly I could hear the engine louder than anything else at surface street speeds.
On the Freeway there is a slight hum but it's very slight. I have C load duratracs - I don't know if the lighter tire has any effect - It's possible the stiffer D or E rated make more noise I guess.
 
Beakerbox said:
haha, nice! I'm a guitarist - I don't gig anymore but maybe i'm just deaf.
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Maybe I will pump them back up a bit and see how that works again. When I had them back over 40psi before, I also had my Icon CO's jacked up about a quarter inch higher than I have them now, so maybe it will be better now since the Icons get significantly softer as you lower them. Thanks for the link. Once I get my sliders on, that will add weight, and presumably reduce road harshness given higher psi. Also, on our trips, we are normally loaded down pretty good with gear...

phillyd2 said:
Add a roof rack and some lights. Suddenly tire noise will be the least of your worries.
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...ahh the sacrifices we make...on and old car I had once, I used to have a roof rack that howled like a rabid owl...so I know what that is like!
 
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