Goodyear Wrangler MTR Kevlar review poll.

[6wheelin]

End of January 2018 I purchased 4 new 285/75/16 Goodyear Wrangler MTR Kevlar tires and had them mounted on stock 4runner wheels (16x7) the beginning of February 2018. I immediately had them balanced and got an alignment drove awesome. 6 months and 5200k miles they are virtual impossible to drive at highway speeds from 50mph and up. I still drove it but there is no sense of comfort. Just getting to the trail is agony.

A bit more information, I've had them balanced 3 times and one of those was a road force test on a Hunter (tm) balancer. No difference in ride.

Being diligent about maintenance I had them rotated about 4800k miles this past June front to back and rear to front. There was noticeable front end shake. Had them balanced no help. Rotated again no go. Had another wheel balance no change. Then the road force balance. At this time the shop elevated the front and spun the fronts, lots of hop! Same on the rear. So road force balancing did no good it's maybe even worse. That same shop said one of the wheels is slightly out of round?

I've read that Mud terrains can flat spot based on their construction? The vehicle did sit for 2 weeks while the engine was being rebuilt. Also read about lateral run out based on specific tire construction maybe soft rubber compounds.

So in this poll I'm creating three choices only for those that have run these tires. 1. Did they wear well? 2. Did they wear poorly. 3. Would you buy again. Of course please tell me about your experiences below in a reply post.

If you haven't run them but have run a different brand mud terrain I'd like to hear your experience? Please include your vehicle, mods, wheels you run them on and the type of terrains you drive. For instance: 80% dirt 20% blacktop to get to the trail? Or I'm a daily driver and hit a mellow Forest Service road from time to time. Or I'm a mall crawler or I wheel hardcore.

Looking forward to your comments and any link to a relevant discussion on this very topic is appreciated.

But if you just want to tell me this topic has been beat to death then maybe just move along. Many of my searchs end up with a thread 10 plus years ago. I want current experiences.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and hopefully participate.

Best Regards,

Hugh

 

[Industrialwrench]

I got 6,400 miles with them on my Jeep and they were toast. But they did perform great. I go through Goodyear super f1’s on my srt8 every 6k also but nothing hooks up or stops as well. So that’s the tire I use. Right now I’m rolling stock till they’re bald. And will probably go with the Goodyear wranglers at that time.

 

[Industrialwrench]

I should state that the Jeep spent most of its life off-road. It’s suspension was stock. I had an aftermarket bumper and winch. The Jeep had full skid plates. And I had the inside sprayed by linex. So the Jeep had a little extra weight. Almost no street driving other than to and from the trail.

 

[6wheelin]

I got 6,400 miles with them on my Jeep and they were toast. But they did perform great. I go through Goodyear super f1’s on my srt8 every 6k also but nothing hooks up or stops as well. So that’s the tire I use. Right now I’m rolling stock till they’re bald. And will probably go with the Goodyear wranglers at that time.

So 6,400 of 100% off road driving may not be that bad. In my case I want to be capable of driving to the trail then off road. I'm starting to think maybe a MT isn't for me. I do agree it's off road performance is stellar.

 

[fourwd1]

Moving to Wheels &Tire section.

 

[6wheelin]

Moving to Wheels &Tire section.

Thanks.

 

[fsroader]

from my personal experience and from forums that I spend some time on Goodyears are the bottom shelf of tires. They must really discount them to the OEM guys. My'13 GT500 came with them and they were nice if you had a death wish. I quickly replaced mine with Michelins highest performance tires.
They were usually referred to as Badyears. I had them on a jeep once.The side walls were all wavy and wrinkly. I have a Juke the has them but only 10,000 mi. we'll see. They are pretty much crap.

 

[6wheelin]

Update: Opened a claim with Goodyear. Took it to the original tire installer "Just Tires" the manager had his mechanic take it for a spin. The mechanic is maybe mid twenties doesn't say much other than I feel the front end shake.

Back to the shop and on the hoist shake both front wheels and spin the tires and determine I have two IFS bent axles and worn loose tie rods. The manger says tires are fine and I should talk to who ever did my suspension. And my tires are under inflated. 40 psi he claims they should be 50 psi.

First, the axles are not bent. Second the tie rods can not create the front end wobble I'm experiencing. Maybe accentuate it but not create the problem. I confirmed all this with a my mechanic.

I read somewhere on this forum that Goodyear has great customer service and warranty. So far the Manager at Just Tires in La Crescenta has been purposely obstructive in helping me with the claim. He knows it's the tires. For what it's worth the shop is owed by Goodyear. These companies that try to make you feel secure on initial purchase make the warranty process like going to war.

Rant over.

 

[6wheelin]

from my personal experience and from forums that I spend some time on Goodyears are the bottom shelf of tires. They must really discount them to the OEM guys. My'13 GT500 came with them and they were nice if you had a death wish. I quickly replaced mine with Michelins highest performance tires.
They were usually referred to as Badyears. I had them on a jeep once.The side walls were all wavy and wrinkly. I have a Juke the has them but only 10,000 mi. we'll see. They are pretty much crap.

I appreciate the feedback back but I'm looking for people that have run these tires. I've actually heard good things about them with some downsides. These are the first mud terrain tires I've run. They cost me approximately $240 per tire. I expected them to wear quicker but my experience is ridiculous. I expected maybe 30-40k but 5k WTF. And the fact that three shops haven't been able to balance them!?!?

 

[Industrialwrench]

40k on a mud terrain tire is not going to happen. Maybe with an all terrain tire that you baby around every turn...maybe.

 

[6wheelin]

40k on a mud terrain tire is not going to happen. Maybe with an all terrain tire that you baby around every turn...maybe.

Ok but 5.5k?

What's a reasonable expectation? 20k?

 

[Industrialwrench]

I guess I should say I’ll never see 40k. I might see 25k in a MT but probably not. I’m fairly abusive to tires. I turn fast, break hard, and accelerate with gusto. And with all that I’ll probably Stick to an AT to balance ride,wear, and ability. My 4Runner is a daily driven, not a trail specific ride. It’s going to depend on how you drive and what you drive them on. Just hard breaking alone can wear out a tire fast.

 

[6wheelin]

I guess I should say I’ll never see 40k. I might see 25k in a MT but probably not. I’m fairly abusive to tires. I turn fast, break hard, and accelerate with gusto. And with all that I’ll probably Stick to an AT to balance ride,wear, and ability. My 4Runner is a daily driven, not a trail specific ride. It’s going to depend on how you drive and what you drive them on. Just hard breaking alone can wear out a tire fast.

Got cha. I drive pretty conservative, no hard breaking or sharp turns. I drive it mellow but I do take it off road and on rough trails. At this point I'd take 20k.