Should I get Goodyear Ultra Terrain AT or Duratracs?

[Hans Moleman]

So after multiple re-balancing of the stock Dunlop AT20's, they finally approved to have them replaced. It can be any Dunlop or Goodyear tires.

I was thinking of either getting the Goodyear Ultra Terrain AT or Duratracs in 265/70/17 to go with my TRD Pro wheels.

 

[IanB]

I see you're in California, if you don't drive in snow conditions you don't need Duratracs. They are great in those conditions, but there's better AT's if that's not where you'll be using them.

 

[Hans Moleman]

I see you're in California, if you don't drive in snow conditions you don't need Duratracs. They are great in those conditions, but there's better AT's if that's not where you'll be using them.

I'll be going to Tahoe from time to time. But my choices are limited because I can only get Dunlop or Goodyear tires as replacements since Goodyear is covering the replacement. So I cannot get BFG KO2 even if wanted to.

 

[a t l a s]

I had the UltraTerrains in load range E before switching to Ridge Grapplers.

I had absolutely zero issues or qualms running the UltraTerrains. They were a relatively quiet, and very comfortable tire. I took them snow wheeling at least 5 times and they did great.

I chose them over the Duratracs because I was looking for the Duratrac wet and snow performance without the Duratrac noise and wear characteristics. The UT's were/are a relatively new tire and I figured that Goodyear probably implemented improvements to it based on what they've gathered from the Duratrac over the years. Luckily, I found these tires to have met my expectations. They were some of the most surefooted AT tires in the rain that I've driven on.

That being said, some may look down on them due to lack of information/reviews on them, and because they are Discount Tire/America's Tire exclusives. TacomaWorld has a big thread on them if you want to read some real world reviews.

I went to the Ridge Grapplers for their size availability, sidewall strength, and aesthetics. But I do not feel as confident in them in rain or on snow as I did with the UT's.

 

[Decipher]

It all comes down to how much wheeling you’re doing. If it’s only occasional, the U/Ts may be better. The Duratracs offer more aggressive treads with great off road traction but at a price. That includes more noise (significantly more as they wear per reports), worse MPGs and weight compromise. Plus the Duratracs have a notoriously weak sidewall despite their popularity. There are a lot of reports of blown sidewalls. It’s a known weakness of the tire.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IanB]

I'll be going to Tahoe from time to time. But my choices are limited because I can only get Dunlop or Goodyear tires as replacements since Goodyear is covering the replacement. So I cannot get BFG KO2 even if wanted to.

You could go with whatever is worth more/easier to sell, and unload them right away, and replace with whatever you wanted.

 

[Hans Moleman]

I had the UltraTerrains in load range E before switching to Ridge Grapplers.

I had absolutely zero issues or qualms running the UltraTerrains. They were a relatively quiet, and very comfortable tire. I took them snow wheeling at least 5 times and they did great.

I chose them over the Duratracs because I was looking for the Duratrac wet and snow performance without the Duratrac noise and wear characteristics. The UT's were/are a relatively new tire and I figured that Goodyear probably implemented improvements to it based on what they've gathered from the Duratrac over the years. Luckily, I found these tires to have met my expectations. They were some of the most surefooted AT tires in the rain that I've driven on.

That being said, some may look down on them due to lack of information/reviews on them, and because they are Discount Tire/America's Tire exclusives. TacomaWorld has a big thread on them if you want to read some real world reviews.

I went to the Ridge Grapplers for their size availability, sidewall strength, and aesthetics. But I do not feel as confident in them in rain or on snow as I did with the UT's.

Thanks for your feedback. I have Duratracs on my Tacoma and I agree wet traction is not so good. Yes the lack of reviews on America's tire is why I made this thread (I guess I missed the big thread on Tacomworld lol).

 

[Hans Moleman]

It all comes down to how much wheeling you’re doing. If it’s only occasional, the U/Ts may be better. The Duratracs offer more aggressive treads with great off road traction but at a price. That includes more noise (significantly more as they wear per reports), worse MPGs and weight compromise. Plus the Duratracs have a notoriously weak sidewall despite their popularity. There are a lot of reports of blown sidewalls. It’s a known weakness of the tire.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looking at the specs of U/T and Duratracs in P-metric, both are close in weight. U/T is 44lbs and Duratrac is 45lbs.

I sure hope U/T are more uniform and easier to balance than Duratracs. With my Tacoma, I had Duratrac load range C's which were horrible to balance and cupped. They were replaced under warranty but load range E's were installed by mistake. However the load range E's don't have any vibration problems at all so I decided just to keep them.

 

[tjnptel1]

I have Duratracs on my TRD Pro wheels and yes, the lack of wet traction is but they did perform well on the beach recently. They have a shake at 60 - 70mph which is annoying, will ask dealer to address it at the 5k miles service.

 

[Hans Moleman]

I have Duratracs on my TRD Pro wheels and yes, the lack of wet traction is but they did perform well on the beach recently. They have a shake at 60 - 70mph which is annoying, will ask dealer to address it at the 5k miles service.

Good luck. The 60mph steering wheels shake is why my original Dunlop AT20's are being replaced. :sadwave:



After checking around some more, the Ultra Terrains seem like a good tire and not really complaints about vibration problems on Tacomaworld.

 

[Arnezie]

I have the Duratracs and love them. I ran 2 sets on my 3rd gen and they are awesome. Put them on my current 5th gen the first week I had it. They ride great and last better than anything I’ve tried before.

 

[iruninca]

I'm getting Duratracs installed on my 3rd gen t4r as we speak, so I hope your positive review outweighs all the negative things people have said. Honestly I didn't do much research before buying them. They were on sale, and had 4 out of 5 stars on the site I bought them from, so we'll see!

 

[Narat_524]

My vote for Duratracs

I've had three sets of Duratracs on my 3/4 truck, 285/75-16, E load, for 135000 miles or so. They've been good for me. I will be putting 285/70-17 E loads on my 4Runner here shortly. I can't speak for the durability of the C or D load tires.

Yes, they are definitely noisier than standard AT-type tires. Yes, you will need to have them rotated and balanced about every 4000 miles. Discount tire and Goodyear tire stores usually offer free balance and rotation if you buy the tires through them, but verify that policy with them.

Even if you don't use their service, rotate them on that schedule and they noise and balance won't get out of control.

They are great in the snow, dirt roads, and I've picked up a screw, nail, and piece of wire, none of which were able to puncture the tire. Wet traction isn't great, but isn't terrible either. I've been driving a pickup with a light ass-end and tons of torque for 15 years, so my experience may not equal others' experiences.

Either way, both good choices.

Narat

 

[Hans Moleman]

So I picked the Ultra Terrains. I'm going to get them installed on my TRD Pro wheels this weekend. It's the perfect timing because I've had these wheels sitting in my garage for like 2 months after getting them from the TRD 40% off sale.

 

[JustRami]

Good luck. The 60mph steering wheels shake is why my original Dunlop AT20's are being replaced. :sadwave:



After checking around some more, the Ultra Terrains seem like a good tire and not really complaints about vibration problems on Tacomaworld.

I had Duratracs on my TRD OR and hated them. They were loud and the shake at 60 mph was too much to bear. So much that I bit the bullet and put on KO2s. I still feel a slight shake at 55-60 mph but its much less noticeable and sometimes even goes away. Why would that be? All I can think of is the tires got warm.

I will say this about the duratracs, they look awesome. I had them on my V8 4th Gen for a year before that truck flooded and never had a balance issue then, although they were loud. Took them off the 4th gen and put them on my 5th gen and the shake was bad. Bad bad bad.

Here is my truck with the Duratracs. Again, they look awesome but I were to tell you that as you sat in my passenger seat going 40 mph you wouldn't be able to hear me. Good luck.

 

[bobstoy16]

Duratrac

After reading this post, who would buy Duratrac. However, i purchased my 2016 4 Runner used, 6 months ago, and it came with them. I have no vibration at highway speeds and they are not loud. So maybe the problems are not the tires, but installation, balancing, and worn suspension parts.

 

[Bayou_Pro]

Well let me state up front I've always been a Goodyear hater but I did have a little interest in the Duratracs. I like the aggressive tread design and the overall positive reviews. That being did I decided on another tire but ran across a deal on a set of 285 Duratracs that I could pass up. They had less then 500 miles on them and the guy settled on $500. Had them on for about a month now and I have nothing negative to day about them. I really love these tires so far. Did some moderate off roading last week and they performed great. They are quieter then my 42K stock Nittos, ride very good for an LT tires, haven't noticed any wet weather issues, balanced out great, and look badass. If they continue this way I'll happily buy another set.

Good luck with your decision.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AntonioCm1983]

I have the Duratracs and love them. I ran 2 sets on my 3rd gen and they are awesome. Put them on my current 5th gen the first week I had it. They ride great and last better than anything I’ve tried before.

I Have had Wrangler Duratracs on my 2000 sr5 sport 4runner for 12 plus years I love them I replace them every 3 years or so I agree they don't handle in rain very well but in massive flooding streets they do they handle in sand and snow and mud a ton better then rain I just purchased a 2000 limited 4x4 4runner has a ton of extras rock sliders and remote start lift kit bilisten shocks as well as e locker and it has the ultra terrain at's on it and to be honest I been impressed with how quite they are haven't taken the rig offroading yet but they do tend to grip better while turning at speed like a Curved road and grip well even with a lifted rig I kinda like both duratracs and now the ultra terrain at's will be hard for me to choose which rigs tires to change next time to what tire

 

[NRath]

I had a set of 33x12 E-rated DuraTrac's on my '07 Tundra that were incredible. Got about 75k on them and still had ~1/4"+ of tread left. They wore very flat, rode super smooth at all speeds and were never loud at all. So good that I bought a new set to replace them. 2nd set wasn't so awesome. Closing in on 10k and they've been balanced 2-3 times and still had a little shake around 50. That seems to have gone away in the last 1-2k miles. So, I'm almost happy with the 2nd set. I can't really complain about wet traction- they've always seemed pretty good. A mash of the 5.7's skinny pedal would probably make anything spin
Got upsized UT's on my Sequoia. Rides smooth and quiet, but no better than my DT's. Limited mileage on those and never had them offroad.
I'm here debating about UT's on the 4R Pro vs Ridge Grapplers my buddy is preaching (he has them on his Taco and 4R Pros).

Irony about my Tundra's DT situation- the 1st set were mounted on MBWheels rims, Discount Tires Chinese house brand that were mail ordered mounted and balanced. Rims were great, no issues. Switched to Methods with the new tires- really sucked to have all the vib issues and could've been wheels or tires. I could def tell the day the Methods went on that they were heavier than the MB's were. It was surprising. I wanted to drive the truck off a bridge.

 

[Ascole]

On my 2nd set of Duratracs, first set made it 70k miles. Not sure why everyone says wet traction is bad, I have no problems with them and I’m up in Seattle. I generally deflate them down to 32 psi in the winter so that does help.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk