Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor, 265/70R17, Load C

[Ukie]

2/12/2012 Installed
Since it's been a tire season on the forum lately, let me share some info on recently mounted Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor tires (C-rated, stock size 265/70R17).
C-rated tires are pretty heavy, 48 lbs vs 39 lbs stock Bridgestone Dueler but there is a reason for that: Kevlar belt, wider tread pattern and more tread depth: 16 32nds vs 11 32nds (OE).
Tires are inflated @ 38psi and ride is nice and smooth.
I see less nose diving, probably because of a stronger sidewall and stronger tire overall.
I would say road noise is the same as it was with OE tires.
Don't have any real info to share about MPG yet...computer shows 0.6 mpg drop so far for mostly city driving.
First fuel-up. 3/6/2012
I've put 306 miles so far on new tires. 110 miles (~1/3) were driven on a highway at ~70mph. Everything else were short rides around suburbs going 35-45 mph, some traffic lights but no heavy traffic. MPG has decreased about 2.5 mpg by my calculation and 1.7 by on-board computer. Those short rides were actually killing mpg according to on-board computer. Each time I pulled out from my driveway I saw -0.1 on a computer.

2nd fuel-up. 3/20/2012
353 miles on a tank of gas. 50/50 highway/city driving. MPG has increased 1.9 mpg (by my calculation) since my last fuel up. On-board computer reading is 0.2 mpg short of an average I used to have running stock Bridgestone Dueler tires. Having MPG back feels pretty good!

EDIT: here's another GY Silent Armor tires thread started by DEKA3

 

[Ukie]

Like! Curious, any specific reasoning for going with C- vs. P- rated in the SAs?

No specific reason. Just never had a C-rated tire before and decided to give it a shot.
Pros: C-rated has 3 32nds of inch more tread depth compare to P-metric tire (according to a GY spec).
Cons: C-rated is 4lbs heavier (48 vs 44). Hopefully some Konig wheels will compensate this in a future.

 

[Ramzey28]

No specific reason. Just never had a C-rated tire before and decided to give it a shot.
Pros: C-rated has 3 32nds of inch more tread depth compare to P-metric tire (according to a GY spec).
Cons: C-rated is 4lbs heavier (48 vs 44). Hopefully some Konig wheels will compensate this in a future.

Notice a different in drive with load c?

 

[playinitslo]

Hey nice lookin tires, I work at a tire shop and had to check inventory on a few certain sizes of the Silentarmors due to a 'recall' from Goodyear not long ago. This is the only link iv been able to find on it so far ... https://www.hs.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=313624982006540&id=118471268188580 I know... but its the only link I could find. The tires were from 09 which hopefully those arent, but you never know (the LT265/70r17 was one of the sizes, along with LT285/70r17 also)

 

[Makdad]

Just a heads up, but I saw that goodyear is having a recall on some of their silent armors made at a certain plant (not sure which and when). You are probably good since you just bought them, but might be worth checking into...goodyear is replacing defective tires for free.

 

[Ukie]

Hey nice lookin tires, I work at a tire shop and had to check inventory on a few certain sizes of the Silentarmors due to a 'recall' from Goodyear not long ago. This is the only link iv been able to find on it so far ... https://www.hs.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=313624982006540&id=118471268188580 I know... but its the only link I could find. The tires were from 09 which hopefully those arent, but you never know (the LT265/70r17 was one of the sizes, along with LT285/70r17 also)

Makdad, thanks for the info! Even my tires should have a newer manufacturing date since I've bough them about 2 month ago and they were shipped to my local Toyota dealer from some 'dealer tire - chicago warehouse' place where I believe inventory rotation should be pretty high...but you never know. Anyway, it's better to be safe than sorry and I went ahead and checked your link. Recall applies to 'Prograde' tires only. Tirerack says 'Prograde' is an E-rated tire. And my DOT and Part No. do not match items in a recall list. eace:

 

[Stu-Runner]

Ukie,

Looks great...nice choice. Keep us posted on how the tires wear. Where did you come up with the 38 psi? I was a die hard Goodrich guy and just crossed over to the GY duratracs and so far love them. I looked at the silent armors as well.

Stu

 

[Batang.Gapo]

Nice looking tires bro!

 

[ImOnAPlain51]

Those look great on your 4Runner! Had 2 sets of Goodyear SA on previous vehicles, they were an all around good tire. Will probably look at getting a set for my 5th gen fairly soon.

 

[sandcrawler]

info on the recall: Recall Results | Safercar.gov | NHTSA

 

[Ukie]

info on the recall: Recall Results | Safercar.gov | NHTSA

Thanks everyone for the recall info!
Just googled how to decode DOT number... basically 4 last digits are: week of a year followed by 2 digit year.
Mine are 4911, so tires were manufactured during 49th week (Dec 3 - Dec 9) 2011. I can smell fresh rubber

Where did you come up with the 38 psi?

Research on the forum... here's a link
I might pressure up a little bit to 42-44PSI, we'll see.

Funny thing is, when mounting tires @ Toyota dealership I asked a guy who took an order and personally asked a guy who was mounting tires to inflate them to 38 psi. Both said no problem and assured tires will be inflated according to my request. To my surprise rear of my 4Runner felt wobble @ 50-60 mph when driving home. First thing at home, I checked tire pressure and here we go 32 PSI! After inflating to 38 psi my 4Runner rides really nice. PSI matters!

 

[Jin]

thanks for posting the pictures! is the other side of the tire that has the white outlined lettering?

i was thinking of having the white lettering showing when i change my tires...

 

[Ukie]

thanks for posting the pictures! is the other side of the tire that has the white outlined lettering?

yes, they are white outlined letters.

 

[DannyLlama]

Ukie - tires look nice ma man!!! Tasty :hungry:

Can you post a pic from the front directly facing the 4R like you did in the back.

They look better on the rig than just in pics on tire websites.

 

[Grizzld]

Has anyone mounted the 275/55/20 version of these on their Limited? Pics?

 

[Ukie]

Update on PSI
40 psi cold seems to be good.

Update on MPG
Failing dramatically on short drives (let's say 20-30minutes) around suburbs.
Going to burn this tank of gas (have 1/3 left) as it is to calculate an actual mileage using odometer reading and taking any actions.
And yes I know tires are heavy.

 

[Ukie]

First fuel-up updated added and front pictures posted for DannyLlama.

 

[ArcticEd]

Update on PSIFailing dramatically on short drives (let's say 20-30minutes) around suburbs.

Are you saying that your mpg around the suburbs has dropped with the new tire, or that mpg in the suburbs just sucks in general?

Just curious - the traffic lights in Jacksonville are carefully timed so that you hit as many reds as possible :rant:. Effectively kills your mpg no matter how you drive.

 

[Ukie]

Are you saying that your mpg around the suburbs has dropped with the new tire, or that mpg in the suburbs just sucks in general?

I'm saying it dropped and see the top post in this thread I'm saying for how much it dropped. My goal is to compare apples to apples e.g. stock tire vs SA under the same type of driving.

Just curious - the traffic lights in Jacksonville are carefully timed so that you hit as many reds as possible :rant:. Effectively kills your mpg no matter how you drive.

I personally think driving short distances when you engine is not warm enough is the main MPG killer.

 

[oldsweng]

I've had my SA-C's for about 18 months and 21K miles. It's hard to tell if they have any wear. I average about 19.3MPG on summer gas and 18.5MPG on winter gas. The tires have been terrific for me in the snow, rain, and ice we get around here.