Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac

[cj80cruiser]

I got my Duratrac's from Brian at WabFab and these tires suck!!!! I never had a set like this before with all the all terrains and mud tires that I've owned in my life. I can't go over 68mph without getting a lot of vibration. I had them rebalanced and know the guy at the shop I took them to so he let me come back to see what's wrong. When you spin the tires they have a wobble from being out of round. Anyone else have any problems with their set????

 

[Y2KSR5]

My 4Runner had those on when I bought it. They never could balance right. Hav Michelin LTX on it now. Better ride!

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Is it one tire or the whole set being out of round which the odds of all 4 being the problem would almost be next to impossible. Mine have been fine since day one and have stayed in balance since October even with all the abuse they've seen on and off road.

 

[Blackdot]

I got my Duratrac's from Brian at WabFab and these tires suck!!!! I never had a set like this before with all the all terrains and mud tires that I've owned in my life. I can't go over 68mph without getting a lot of vibration. I had them rebalanced and know the guy at the shop I took them to so he let me come back to see what's wrong. When you spin the tires they have a wobble from being out of round. Anyone else have any problems with their set????

What size and load rating did you get?

 

[cj80cruiser]

Is it one tire or the whole set being out of round which the odds of all 4 being the problem would almost be next to impossible. Mine have been fine since day one and have stayed in balance since October even with all the abuse they've seen on and off road.

It is every one of them some worse than others but all pretty shi**y. I have the best 2 on the front now and plan to never rotate except side to side...that's all I can do.

 

[cj80cruiser]

What size and load rating did you get?

Sorry for not doing multiquote but they are a load range E

 

[bulger22]

Should have gone with D. E's are a nightmare on 4Runners. That's a bummer hopefully they calm downbut not sure it will be anytime soon.

 

[BigFishAllDay]

CJ80cruiser, correct me if I'm wrong, but you went with 285/75-16's right?

The Duratrac's are only offered in load range "E" in the 285/75/16 size. You can get load range "C" or "E" in a 265/75-16, but those are the only two load ranges that are offered throughout the entire range of sizes as far as I can tell. I've checked with Discount/America's Tire, and Tirerack.com, and they confirm this as well.

Despite the bad review, I'll probably still get these tires as you are one of very few who have offered a negative review on them.

 

[cj80cruiser]

CJ80cruiser, correct me if I'm wrong, but you went with 285/75-16's right?

The Duratrac's are only offered in load range "E" in the 285/75/16 size. You can get load range "C" or "E" in a 265/75-16, but those are the only two load ranges that are offered throughout the entire range of sizes as far as I can tell. I've checked with Discount/America's Tire, and Tirerack.com, and they confirm this as well.

Despite the bad review, I'll probably still get these tires as you are one of very few who have offered a negative review on them.

Yeah, they are 285's and looks like I'm the second guy on this thread that had a negative review...you want some? I have a set I'll sell you for $500 LOL!

Btw I had another friend tell me these tires were crap and it's probably common knowledge in the 80s section of mud but I haven't lurked there in quite some time so I was in the dark when I bought these. I thought, goodyear, probably a really good tire...not so much anymore. You keep searching around and I bet you find more negative reviews. I started this thread to see if people here had the same experience as my buddies knowledge of other Duratrac owners. Moral of the story...buy these tires at your own risk and make sure it's at a place where you can exchange the bad ones out. Just watch yourself with these tires is all I'm saying.

 

[BigFishAllDay]

The word of caution is definitely appreciated. I guess I should be more specific when I say that you are "one of very few who have offered a negative review."

I have actually seen tons of negative reviews on these tires. The caveat is that 95% of the negative reviews came from owners driving heavier vehicles. 1/2 ton to 1 ton pickups, large SUV's based on 1/2 ton pickups, etc. They generally described the tire as "squishy" "squirmy" "lacking on center feel" "scary to drive at high speeds" etc.

On the flip side of things, when I filtered the reviews to Tacoma & 4Runner owners, I found a lot of positive reviews. I know there are many guys on this forum running these tires who love them, in both the "C" and "E" load ranges.

I like the tires based on their winter performance (which is reputed to be very good), reputation for being relatively quiet despite an aggressive tread pattern, good looks, solid construction, and pro-rated warranty (based on tread depth). If I do end up getting them I'll buy them from Discount Tire and get the "free replacement" certificates. Walk in with a bad one, and out with a good one.

I'm with you though, in that if anyone else has a bad review to offer up, please do. I'd love to hear it as well. The more info the better.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

I've got about 7000 miles on mine since October and i was a bit unsure of them going from the positive results over the 5 years I was on my Nittos TGs but have been very happy with these tires (I did get the road hazard replacements) and their winter performance was very good and good in the rain with a good margin of error when you hydroplane unlike BFGs which seemed to have little warning. If I get over 40-45k miles from these I won't hesitate to buy another set.
I driver 70-75mph regualrly and they are fine in the stability dept. and I keep mine at 35-36psi (C load rated) but I did try 32psi and they always looked a little flat when parked and maybe a tad soft when cornering but just a few psi increase made a difference.

Plus they look good and different than what other people have.:reddance:

 

[cj80cruiser]

I've got about 7000 miles on mine since October and i was a bit unsure of them going from the positive results over the 5 years I was on my Nittos TGs but have been very happy with these tires (I did get the road hazard replacements) and their winter performance was very good and good in the rain with a good margin of error when you hydroplane unlike BFGs which seemed to have little warning. If I get over 40-45k miles from these I won't hesitate to buy another set.
I driver 70-75mph regualrly and they are fine in the stability dept. and I keep mine at 35-36psi (C load rated) but I did try 32psi and they always looked a little flat when parked and maybe a tad soft when cornering but just a few psi increase made a difference.

Plus they look good and different than what other people have.:reddance:

Yeah, they're a pretty decent looking tire. I like the fact they are an aggressive all terrain which is perfect for what I need except for the fact I regularly travel over 70 mph. I've they only vibrated really bad at 80 then I wouldn't be happy but I could make do.

 

[biglar]

I'm not sure if any tire shops still have these, but in the 70's/80's the Les Schwab in Orofino, ID had a "lathe" that would trim the tires to round. It was commonly done with heavier tires since most in that era were out of round. Kind of made me a little sick to see how much rubber they trimmed off some - brand new - expensive - tires to true them up. I put new 8.00/16's on my '72 Bronco back then and nearly had tears in my eyes when they trued those things. Floor was covered in rubber. They Did run smooth and true, tho'. Then we'd have them siped.

My understanding is that with the new technology, true-ing is no longer necessary. Your post - and the replies to it - shows that it is. Maybe you can find a shop that has one of those old machines. It'd save you a lot of grief. Possibly an old time truck shop ??

Lar.

 

[97RunnerSR5]

If you do any mud just a warning that they take a lot of wheelspin to clean out. In the rocks they are great but in mud they suck. I have these tires on my wrangler...about 15k on them so far and they are wearing very well. I have them on cragar soft 8 steelies and they balanced fine. They are good tires and you won't be disappointed in them.

 

[runrunner]

I have had these tire since Aug of 2009 and havent had any issues. Mine are 265/75's in the D load. Had them on my 09' Frontier for 7k and swapped them to my 4runner when I traded it in for an additional 3k. Tires seem to wear really well as there isnt really any noticable wear yet.

Its funny as when I test drove my Runner it had horrible vibes in the front end and I thought it was the steering rack or ball joints. The dealer agreed to take care of the issue but the problem fixed itself when they removed the crappy Toyo's and slapped on the Duratrac's. The dealer commented that Goodyear makes a much better tire than Toyo...

As far as vibes go, dont really notice any and I mostly drive on the freeway. At times it feels like there are some, but I attribute that to 167k on original steering components and a very aggresive all terrain tire.

Overall, I'm happy with mine.

 

[toytech76]

I have a set of these on my 02 tundra and couldnt be happier. I got mine from discount tire. They are the 285's and I drive 70-80mph without any problem whatsoever. They dont feel sqirmy or unstable. I wouldnt hesitate to buy these again

 

[XJeepguy]

LMAO ! Toyo makes a way better tire than Goodcrap does !

The dealer commented that Goodyear makes a much better tire than Toyo...

.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

LMAO ! Toyo makes a way better tire than Goodcrap does !

An opinion or do you have some facts?

 

[XJeepguy]

Only facts I have is I spent 30+ years in the tire business and most of that time spent was doing the 'adjustments' for warranty claims. Out of rounds , defects , blow outs , shoulder separations etc.. Anything the customer *****ed about came to me

Goodyear was one of the worst for complaints out of what I consider the high dollar tires. Least amount of complaints for high dollar units came from Michelin and not to far behind was Bridgestone and Toyo's .

Mid grade , hands down , General was the worst and we wont even mention older Firestones ( pre-Bridgestone purchase) .

An opinion or do you have some facts?

 

[runrunner]

Not to make this a Toyo vs Goodyear debate but Toyo doesnt make an aggresive all terrain tire. Their offerings are fairly bland and I am sure I am not the only one who likes a good looking tire on their rig.

I am familiar with the Open Country MT, we have a set on a work truck but they wear out so quickly its rediculous. Plus they are so damn expensive...

I am by no means a diehard goodyear fan. Would I buy them again? Sure. Would I try something different? Sure. I had a set of Toyo Proxes on my E36 M3 and they performed great.

In my opinion Duratrac's are in their own category. More aggresive than an all terrain, but not quite a mud terrain. It would be great to have a wider variety of this type of tire for us mall crawlers!