Duratracs vs. Silent Armors... Help!

[kmccrate]

So I really can't decide between the Duratracs and the Silent Armors. Here is my thoughts on each category....

Cost: silent armor wins. $700 vs. $1000 for the Duratracs

Looks: Duratrac wins. I want an aggressive tire

Practicality: silent armor wins. These tires will be 90% on pavement

Weight: silent armor wins. The duratracs in my size (275/65/18) only come in 10-ply, E rating. Which means they are heavy as hell and not even meant for a 4runner, really.

Sound: silent armor wins, but I don't really mind a little highway drone either.

Size: if the duratracs still don't fit even after my daystar 2.5/1.5 is put on, I guess I'll have no choice but to get the silent Armors (or the cooper discover a/t3's). I don't really want to do a bunch of trimming if I can help it.

MPG: I'm averaging 18 mpg right now and would really hate to drop down to 15 or 16 by putting the duratracs on. My guess is that it would stay about the same with the silent Armors.


Any input would be great. From what I've seen, most people love the duratracs, and are 50/50 on the silent Armors.

Thanks!!

 

[k91]

I chose the Duratracs and I'm glad I did....yes my mileage suffered and sure they are little louder, but I can't hear them over my exhaust so who cares!!

 

[Doozi]

The Silent Armors are great tires... they've never let me down, but they do lack in the aggressive appearance category. Mine are P265/70r17. I just drove my buddy's Tacoma with brand new LT285/75r16 E DuraTracs and, to my surprise, they were actually quieter than my Silent Armors!! My next tires will be DuraTracs... now if Good Year would just make them in the 275 size, I'd be set!

 

[kmccrate]

I chose the Duratracs and I'm glad I did....yes my mileage suffered and sure they are little louder, but I can't hear them over my exhaust so who cares!!

Lol! God those duratracs look amazing! Gonna be hard not to go with those...

 

[WXman]

My Duratracs weren't very good in rain, esp. when new. Ditto for light snow. But in deep snow they were awesome and in the mud they performed just like full MTs I've used in the past. VERY good in nasty conditions.

The weak point is the sidewalls..but if you are 90% pavement that won't matter. The noise got significantly louder after my first cross rotation, but it still wasn't bad.

All in all they were great tires, but they weren't perfect for pavement and the price on them is INSANE. Much better tires on the market for lower cost if you are a 95/5 pavement/trail guy.

 

[Flyer]

I'd prefer the DuraTracs if all was similar but I would never use an E rated tired on the 4Runner. My Rubicon is getting modified, and I will probably add 1,000 lbs to it. Every installer I talked to told me to absolutely avoid E rated tires. The on-road and off-road ride suffers, and your suspension will take a beating. Fortunately, Goodyear makes a C rated 35 inch MTR Kevlar.

 

[wadle5]

Logically from everything you assessed it looks like S.A. won 4 out of 5 categories. I would say go with the S.A. then. Worse case scenario you drive them until its time for a new set in which now you know for a fact you want Durtracs now that you have real life tested the S.A. I say S.A.

 

[Icepuck72]

My Duratracs weren't very good in rain, esp. when new. Ditto for light snow. But in deep snow they were awesome and in the mud they performed just like full MTs I've used in the past. VERY good in nasty conditions.

The weak point is the sidewalls..but if you are 90% pavement that won't matter. The noise got significantly louder after my first cross rotation, but it still wasn't bad.

All in all they were great tires, but they weren't perfect for pavement and the price on them is INSANE. Much better tires on the market for lower cost if you are a 95/5 pavement/trail guy.

Do what???? Not good in the rain?? I've owned Duratracs on my 04 Runner, 99 Tacoma, and 11 DC Tacoma. All of them were outstanding in the rain!!! That is my favorite part about them!!!!

 

[RonMAIDEN]

I got my set of Duratracs back in Oct. '09 and with 25k miles on them I'm sold on them as a good DD tire and handles the rough stuff off road quite nicely. Just this morning I got a little sideways on some ice and with a little skill and the solid manners in the snow i saved it from hopping a curb but still freaked my wife out a bit.

On or off road they look good.

 

[Red]

In your post you basically pointed out that the SA's are the better tire for you so it sounds like you're torn between have "cool" tires vs. having practical tires.

Maybe consider another brand? toyo, nitto, general grabbers, etc.

 

[Flyer]

You should consider some of the other ATs...maybe you already have. The Cooper AT3 and Hankook Dynapro ATM RF10s are my favorites. This advice is IF you are actually going offroad (not just dirt roads). My Hankooks have been quiet and tough, and even did well at Moab. However, you may be restricted by the specific size you have.

 

[Stuck CAPS]

I've got silent armors, and couldn't be happier.

The product page rates SA's higher in all but off road, where it suffers by 1 point. Wrangler SilentArmor Tires | Goodyear Tires vs Wrangler DuraTrac Tires | Goodyear Tires

 

[BCfish]

I bought SA's after the users here recommended them. In my opinion they were great outta the box but traction fell off after 75% tread left. Not a lot of traction in the wet when worn down 50%. I'm gonna be lookin for something other than GY this time around 2nd time I've owned GY tires and both times the tires sucked in my opinion.

 

[98LtdT4R]

I know you have a 4th gen, but my Duratracs have been nothing but awesome since the day I put them on. They handle everything myself and mother nature have thrown at them, and keep on going. I have about 35k miles on them now and they still appear to have more than half tread left. They are amazingly quiet and smooth for how aggressive they look. While the "E" load range rating is a bit much, I prefer the truck-like ride. In the end it is really up to you, but in my experience I never hesitate recommending the Duratracs to everyone. Good luck.

 

[Desert Fox]

I had Duratrac on a 2006 Frontier and I really liked them. They were good on road and off road. I did take a noticable hit on my gas milage.The noise was not anissue to me. I only drove them in the Spring and Summer so no experience in snow or ice.

Now on my 4Runner, I have Silent Armor. My next set of tires will be Silent Armor too. These are excellent tires for Colorado. They are great off road, in snow and on ice.

Before I bought these I read the reviews and surveys on Tirerack. For the driving I do they came out the best choice.

You will probably be happy either way but SA are the tires I am staying with.

 

[TFJ-4runner]

I've ran Duratrac tires in the past and they are now on a friends truck. They are wearing extremely well and he hasn't had any issues. My complainants are that they have too soft of side walls and are only siped 2/3 tread depth compared to the ST MAXX full siped tread depth. For this reason I won't be getting them again. Friday I'm ordering some Cooper ST MAXX Tires. They seem to have improved on the concerns I have with the the Duratrac's and are also made in America like the Duratrac tire. No snow here in GA, which would probably sway my decision otherwise. I've read nothing but good things about them and can't wait to get them installed. GL with your choice :thumb3:

 

[kmccrate]

In your post you basically pointed out that the SA's are the better tire for you so it sounds like you're torn between have "cool" tires vs. having practical tires.

Maybe consider another brand? toyo, nitto, general grabbers, etc.

Yes I think you might be right. I really like the Toyo AT's or the Cooper Discover AT3's.

Although in terms of just looks the Duratracs still win hands down IMO.

 

[Red]

Yes I think you might be right. I really like the Toyo AT's or the Cooper Discover AT3's.

Although in terms of just looks the Duratracs still win hands down IMO.

The Toyo's and the Coopers are still very good compromises. I really like the new Toyo tires

I'm always thinking about my next set of tires and believe me, I have the same issue. duratracs seem like awesome tires but may be a bit aggressive for what I use my 4Runner for currently so I always end up looking at the slightly less aggressive tires that still have a nice sidewall like the Toyo, Nitto and General Grabbers, also BFG Rugged Terrains have caught my eye recently

 

[kmccrate]

The Toyo's and the Coopers are still very good compromises. I really like the new Toyo tires

I'm always thinking about my next set of tires and believe me, I have the same issue. duratracs seem like awesome tires but may be a bit aggressive for what I use my 4Runner for currently so I always end up looking at the slightly less aggressive tires that still have a nice sidewall like the Toyo, Nitto and General Grabbers, also BFG Rugged Terrains have caught my eye recently

So I just noticed that Gooyear makes the MTR Kevlar in 275/65/18 in a "C" rating... But they still weigh 54lbs each!

I was told that its mainly the tire weight that affects MPG.. does anyone know how valid that is?

 

[WXman]

The offroaders' rule of thumb is that 10 lbs. of unsprung weight = 100 lbs. of weight loaded into your cargo area.

So, if you buy tires that weigh 10 lbs. more each that's 40 more lbs. of unsprung weight you are adding and that makes it as if you were loading 400 lbs. into the cargo area.

So yeah, weight kills performance, increases stopping distances, and hurts MPGs pretty bad. From experience I can say that it will be more noticeable on V6 engines that make less torque, but all engines will use more fuel with heavier tires.

I don't know why people here are so afraid of the Cooper AT3. It's rated the #1 AT tire on the market now, it's USA made, it's inexpensive to purchase, it's got a tread warranty, and it has the most open lugs of any AT out there except maybe the Duratrac. The Cooper will chew up snow, rain, mud, dirt, etc. and not even break a sweat.