GY Duratrac issues!

H

huntsonora

Member
I put on 265/70/17 Duratracs a week and a half ago on my 2011 trail edition and they are the load range E tires. I feel like they drift quite a bit. They just feel squishy. I tried to tow a little 93 Toyota regular cab 4x4 that has a tow bar attached to the ARB bumper and it felt like I was driving a boat and that was doing 40mph tops around my neighborhood. It was a weird, unsafe feeling. I am running 42 psi in all tires.

I had my Lieutenant from the fire department follow me to the ranch and I drove that little Toyota that I had wanted to tow and he said they felt a little off to him as well and that was without me asking for his opinion, he proactively brought it up, said he felt like they drifted a bit.

I have 30 days to return them to Discount tire and get something else but wanted to see if anybody else was having these issues. I love them off road and I got 23 mpg when I drove it home from the ranch so they haven't impacted mileage at all. I want to like em but I don't. They just don't feel safe to me
 
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BFG mean Big F'n Gash in the sidewall sorry...I had AT ko and I slashed 3 sidewalls in a year on logging and fire roads no real rough stuff either..
 
are you sure they're the E-load? i've had mine for 3.5 years/30k miles and they're super solid and very firmly planted at all times. have held a balance perfectly; like buttah!

2 things: 42 psi is actually a little low. you should be running ~44psi because LTs need additional tire pressure to effectively carry the same load as an identically sized P-rated tire (the stock Dunlops or Bridgestones). see here for more info.

and when you tow you should actually be upping the pressure even a bit more.

hope that helps.
 
One other thing to consider is that there was really no tongue weight on my hitch as I am basically just pulling the little Toyota. The tow bar just sits on the ball basically and the 4 tires of the little truck carry the load. That little truck pulls like a dream behind every other vehicle I've pulled it with.
 
huntsonora said:
I put on 265/70/17 Duratracs. I feel like they drift quite a bit. They just feel squishy. It was a weird, unsafe feeling.
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You've got more than half an inch of tread with a lot of void and lots of siping. I have no doubt the tire is good in the snow, but attributes don't come without tradeoffs. Pavement stability is not going to be a strong point.
 
If you are comparing the feeling to your OE tires, they will feel a bit more "squishy". I felt the same exact way when I switched from my OE dunlops to the duratracs...
 
42psi may be a little high on the pressure, particularly with a light load. I would suggest experimenting w/ the pressures going as low as 35psi and working your way up to find what feels to be the sweet spot. As others have suggested, MT tires are not going to feel as glued to the road as P metric tires, but they should not feel excessively twitchy.

David
 
huntsonora said:
I put on 265/70/17 Duratracs a week and a half ago on my 2011 trail edition and they are the load range E tires...
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I ran those tires for 45K miles before just recently changing them out. Only issue was noise near the end.
Any other mods (maybe a lift without UCAs)?

snivilous said:
42psi sounds really high. You could try running 25-30psi, I don't know if that would help.
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Way low for LTs, need to be in the low to mid 40s.

Quatre Coureur said:
Its been said here a thousand times, but I'll say it again... BFG!!! Either the ATs or the KM2s. I own both and will never run anything but. I'm sure someone will come on and say just the opposite, but the vast majority will concur with me. For the record, yes I've owned GYs, Firestones, Coopers, Generals, and Michelins(which owns BFG btw). FWIW :deadhorse:
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Your brand preference is irrelevant. Lots of people run Duratracs without any issue.

huntsonora said:
Have you towed anything since your switch to Duratracs?
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I have pulled 5K+ for thousands of miles on 265/70/17 Duratracs with no issue, whatsoever.
 
another vote for taking some time to get used to them. I have used these tires on tundras at work and yea they feel a bit weird compared to the dungflops or the brdigestones or what ever came on it. but its like apples and oranges. you have one of the most agressive AT tires out there on your truck with out going to a strictly mud tire. its gonna take some getting used to.
but at the end of the day ask your self can you live with it? if not take them back. also ask your self do you really need that agressive of a tire on your runner?
I highly suggest checking out the danapro atm from hankook i have 20 k on mine and I am nothing but pleased
 
Jeremy556 said:
I have pulled 5K+ for thousands of miles on 265/70/17 Duratracs with no issue, whatsoever.
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Good to know. I am finding more reviews where people had issues like mine but you have to look for them. Some say that the issue resolves itself over time and it has something to do with the mold? Who knows. My 4Runner literally felt like it was going down the road at an angle then would straighten out only to do it again. The little Toyota I was pulling doesn't weigh very much

I think I will make the switch to ST MAXX tires, they weigh 5lbs more than the duratracs but I have had good luck with Cooper over the years
 
huntsonora said:
Good to know. I am finding more reviews where people had issues like mine but you have to look for them. Some say that the issue resolves itself over time and it has something to do with the mold? Who knows. My 4Runner literally felt like it was going down the road at an angle then would straighten out only to do it again. The little Toyota I was pulling doesn't weigh very much

I think I will make the switch to ST MAXX tires, they weigh 5lbs more than the duratracs but I have had good luck with Cooper over the years
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Nope sorry, I've never towed anything with or without the duratracs on. I think the mold-release agents on the tire treads should wear off after a few hundred miles if that is what you are asking?

My experience did not feel like how you are describing it...I think the best way for me to describe it is, it felt a bit more "disconnected" from the road (as compared to the OEM dunlops). I don't notice it as much now, but it is probably because I am just more used to it.

But hey, at the end of the day if you're not happy with the duratracs and you have the opportunity to switch the tires, why the heck not? If you don't make the switch for the Coopers, you're always going to wonder what if, lol.
 
It is normal for the new tires with deep tread to feel less responsive than tires with some tread wear. (and Pro-rated tires have even more tread depth initially) Give them a few hundred miles and that "wandering" sensation will have disappeared.

I put the DuraTracs on my Taco (255/85/16's) and they initially felt the same way and now feel fine. The KM2's on my 4Runner "wandered" quite noticeably at first and now are solid as a rock on the highway.

Drive them easy for 500 miles and report back.
 
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Been running 285/75/16 Duratracs on my 3rd gen for about 30,000 miles now and no problems. Sure, they felt different switching from an everyday LT to a meaty AT but not squishy. These tires are great tires. I plan on getting around 50,000-60,000 miles out of mine and I wheel with them regularly. Know a lot of guys who run them and our only complain is a soft side wall when on the trails.
 
I have 1800 miles on them and they are still wandering a bit but seems like its not as bad as they were when I first got them. I need to pull a trailer or something to see how it does before I make up my mind. I left my little Toyota on the ranch last week or I would pull that to see how it did.

On another thread I read where the compound they use will harden as the tire is run and gets worn and that they do wander quite a bit when you first get them on. This would have been great information to know before I bought the tires but at least I know now

I appreciate everybody's input. If the ride firms up and I can tow with them I may be happy with em but if it doesn't I will get rid of them
 
Mine are load range E running at 35PSI and I occassionally tow a 19ft ski boat or a 5x8 utility trailer loaded with 4wheelers and have no problem with the tires... I'm not sure why you've having such problems with the tires? Maybe you just need to give it some time and get used to switching from street tires to offroad tires? It's rare that someone is disappointed with the Duratracs due to ride.
 
E rated LT tires don't feel the same as C rated P tires.

E rating is for vehicles heavier than 6000 pounds that tow a lot.

I ran D load range tires on my 2500 HD Sierra.
 
LandCruiser said:
E rated LT tires don't feel the same as C rated P tires.

E rating is for vehicles heavier than 6000 pounds that tow a lot.

I ran D load range tires on my 2500 HD Sierra.
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E rating in AT/MT tires is also for cut/puncture resistance. The tire carcasses/side walls are built heavier to hold the pressure/load and provide increased protection in off-road scenarios.

David
 
Canazes9 said:
E rating in AT/MT tires is also for cut/puncture resistance. The tire carcasses/side walls are built heavier to hold the pressure/load and provide increased protection in off-road scenarios.

David
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True, still those ultra stiff sidewalls are going to make ride rougher.
 
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