Goodyear Wrangler DURA-TRAC Review

tommudd · **Posted:** Sat Dec 12, 2009 11:23 pm

dieselenthusiast wrote:

tommudd wrote:

May have to reform the inside area behind the bumper, heat gun and a few minutes time

Or just install an ARB bumper and you wont need to do any reforming.......... :wink:

Then the Wrangler guys will think you are really cool

so true, so true!

mrneen · **Posted:** Sun Dec 13, 2009 1:42 am

HAHA thanks guys

mrneen · **Posted:** Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:43 pm

So here is the link that i posted that showed my lift and tires completed... i used my camera phone.. sorry if the quality is not the best.

http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/v ... 037#535037

Tom- thanks for ALL of your help.

I love the duratracs so far... i did a slight mudding adventure with them. lol... and they are unbelievable... i already have been getting looks from people and telling me that they are nice tires... i love it... now my next mod is probably going to be some more lights... perhaps a lightbar. lol

hope you guys like the pics... ill try to get better pics... and even action shots of them soon

-- josh

mrneen · **Posted:** Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:05 pm

Sooo.... as many of you guys heard... the Northeast got pounded with snow last night.... here in Rhode Island.. i got 17 inches...

all that being said.. i decided to have some fun with my new duratracs

alll i can say is WOW!!!!.... so so so much better than my previous mastercraft courser at2's. i only had to use 4wd on the highwya when i decided to pass some people. the tires grip so good.

on the backroads to my house, i decided to use an untreated road... for some laughs, i decided to use no 4wd... and i made it through the 17 inches with no problems. i even tried to get stuck on a hill... i stopped at the steepest point, and then accelerated in 1st gear. there was a lil slipping at first, but then i was soon going up the hill with no problem.

overrall these tires are the best for my needs.

Thanks again for everyones input and feedback for these tires..

I LOVE THEM!!! lol

i can not wait to the spring now.. i want to try them out in the trails and some mud. lol

:BANANA:

peanut butter jelly time

johnnyloco · **Posted:** Thu Dec 24, 2009 6:37 pm

I actually had the first set of these in San Antonio on my Chevy truck in 31x10.50 15. Fairly quiet. Drove to Montreal Ca and the whole north east. They do well on wet pavement, ice, and snow. I've driven them hunting on the east coast and here in Texas a bunch.

My review is:
They do very well on wet grass
They do VERY well on dry offroad conditions
They take a BUNCH of weights to balance properly
They are a very tuff tire
Excellent in Ice & snow
They are completely useless in mud!! I've been stuck on several occassions.

Much better than Goodrich

Because they are so useless in mud, I'm going with those new Michelin LTX AT/2 on my 2010 KK for a quieter ride, Ice & snow.

tommudd · **Posted:** Sun Dec 27, 2009 3:32 pm

mmmmm mines been great in mud and have read several posts on other forums saying the same :shock:

Also I will add that none of mine took much weight at all to balance. The tire shop guys were amazed how well they did balance up!

mrneen · **Posted:** Sun Dec 27, 2009 8:04 pm

tommudd wrote:

mmmmm mines been great in mud and have read several posts on other forums saying the same :shock:

Also I will add that none of mine took much weight at all to balance. The tire shop guys were amazed how well they did balance up!

i have to agree with tom... these tires have been gresat in the snow... 22inches of snow to be exact... and also, like what tom said.. i didnt have to use a lot of weight to balance the tires also. the tire shop were actually surprised they said.

WolverineFW · **Posted:** Sun Dec 27, 2009 8:32 pm

Very little weight to balance mine as well....in fact one wheel required no weight...no problems at all with it.

johnnyloco · **Posted:** Tue Dec 29, 2009 12:03 pm

I've got 35K on the tires now and they seem to take more weight each time I have them balanced. I have them rotated and balanced every 5K.

I never said I was switching tires for mud traction, I'm switching because they are useless in mud. Running an extreme M/T would work better. Mud traction with Dura-Trac is a farce for me. Sometimes I've driven as much a 15 miles before the tires would clear.

The mud I've been in just packed up each and every time. Some of the holes, I was going to get stuck in anyway because I bottomed out. I even got stuck several times on top of solid slick ground because the mud would not clear. I had to use a winch and boat anchor to get out.

Great in Ice, snow. Great on wet pavement and dirty water. For me, Useless with sticky clay mud.

The reason I'm looking into other tires is, during my 6000 mile road trips, I go off far road less than I'm on road. So those others would suit me better for ice, snow, and wet grass because of the biting edges. The Dura-tracs are useless in mud for me.

I think the misunderstanding is in the term "MUD". I'm talking the kind of mud that sticks so bad it takes a long screwdriver to pop it loose when its wet and a chisel when its dry.

I can take a street tire through this type of mud, it packs up and performs the same as a Duratrac. Its traction comes from more mud buildup and vehicle power. After about three seconds the tread becomes a non-factor.

Believe me, I tried to like them, I'm glad you fellas are getting great results with them.

They look super swell though :-)r

roc · **Posted:** Thu Dec 31, 2009 3:09 am

245/75/16 on CRD with Frankenlift. Just kiss the swaybar at full lock. Excellent snow tire.

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Jan 08, 2010 12:11 pm

Been out running around in the snow for the last couple of days, doesn't matter if its several inches of slush, snow 7 to 8 inches deep or whatever the Duratracs go through without any problems. Last year I had the BFG ATs on and would have to lock it in at stop lights at times to take off, not anymore they grip and go!
So far on my KJ I have ran Destination ATs, Kumho KL78s, BFG ATs and now the Duratracs and these are doing the best all around ! :pepper:

LostEddie · **Posted:** Sun Jan 10, 2010 7:29 pm

I am considering buying Goodyear Wrangler DURA-TRAC. What load range is best for on and off road use, P245/75R16 Load Range C or LT245/75R16 Load Range E? And why? Which type are you guys running?

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 3:03 am

I'm just running "Cs"

wolverine · **Posted:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 3:04 pm

Hi Tom,

I apoligize if you have already answered this, but I am planning on buying some duratracs real soon but I haven't yet nailed down the size nor the wheels I plan on putting them on.

Just curious what wheels you are running and what backspacing they are. Have you done some fender trimming or do those 265s actually fit a stock liberty when the shock is compressed?

The stock wheels I have now are 7" with 5.5" backspacing and I haven't seen anything with any more than 4.5" backspacing so if I understand correctly that alone would push the tire out 1" even if I still run 235s.

Thanks

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 3:42 pm

Wolverine
What type of lift do you have or getting ? I am running an 8 inch wide wheel ( Rubicon Moabs) with 5 inches of backspacing, also have the ARB front bumper so that does away with a lot of the bumper problems many have even with 245-75-16s. Then I have what comes out to about a 4.5 inch lift ( measuring 23.5 bottom of the flare to middle of the wheel) when I was at 22.5 I had some rubbing on the sway bar and a little on the pinch weld even with it pounded over. I still have the liners in the fenders as I don't really want to remove them.
On KJs a good all around wheel size/width/backspacing is 16x7 with 4 inches of back spacing
Does that help a little bit?

wolverine · **Posted:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 11:30 pm

Thanks Tom that does help some.
I ordered the new JBA Adjust-a-strut lift (2.5") with bilstein's in back too. I am expecting it to give me 2 to 2.5 lift in the rear, and I'll make it about 3" in the front to level it out.

I am strongly leaning toward LT245/75R16 duratracs because I am going to pound the pinch weld over but don't plan on making any other modifications. I might go up to 4" lift in a few years when this new set begin to sag, and I'll probably make some more mods and go with 265s like you have at that point.

I have been looking at some 16x7's with 4" backspacing but I was hoping to not have the wheels pushed out past the fender which it seems to me they will be with 1 1/2" less backspacing.

I am a fan of the Black Rock lobos and dunes.
http://www.quadratec.com/vendor/Black+Rock+Wheels/Jeep+Wheels/index.htm
Anyone see anything similar in a 16x7 with 4.5 or 5" backspacing?

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 11:44 pm

I like those wheels as well. Good choice , with 245-75s you won't have to worry as much with rubbing, trimming etc plus you won't notice as much power lose!

stumpjumper_09 · **Posted:** Wed Jan 13, 2010 4:21 pm

johnnyloco wrote:

I actually had the first set of these in San Antonio on my Chevy truck in 31x10.50 15. Fairly quiet. Drove to Montreal Ca and the whole north east. They do well on wet pavement, ice, and snow. I've driven them hunting on the east coast and here in Texas a bunch.

My review is:
They do very well on wet grass
They do VERY well on dry offroad conditions
They take a BUNCH of weights to balance properly
They are a very tuff tire
Excellent in Ice & snow
They are completely useless in mud!! I've been stuck on several occassions.

Much better than Goodrich

Because they are so useless in mud, I'm going with those new Michelin LTX AT/2 on my 2010 KK for a quieter ride, Ice & snow.

Well, being that I walked all over trucks with 33's in a mudd bog comp. with a set of 245-75-16 at 21psi I really have a hard time believing someone got these things stuck without hanging the jeep.

Anyway.

Review---
- 16k on dura tracs
- Have not been gentle on them
- Starting to show some signs of wear even with 3k rotation intervals
- Definately a soft compound cause it sticks like glue to ice but chunks on the rocks.
- Very happy other than the signs of wear.
- Sound like a scolded dog when ya turn them loose. Kinda cool

tommudd · **Posted:** Wed Jan 13, 2010 4:47 pm

At this point if I only get 30,000 I will be happy, mine are wearing great though. I like the feel and sound . They do howl pretty good when taking off, pulled out of the car wash the other day ( too cold to wash at home) road was sort of wet and when i punched it wow! :-)r

johnnyloco · **Posted:** Wed Jan 13, 2010 8:23 pm

Good Grief Mr. Mudd, you are one of those closed minded last word kinda guys. You just don't like different opinions. I'm so happy your little Jeepy walked all over the 33's...Good for you little fella :-)r

Holy Crap, what did I ever do to you except have my own review. :SOMBRERO:

I still stand behind my first review :BANANA:

I pull out my LR3 with street tires for the heavy stuff. :JEEPIN:

<<< See how the icon goes up and down? Yeah, thats what the LR air system does.

I would appreciate if you don't PM me with your opinion again either. When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you. :dead:

Goodyear Wrangler DURA-TRAC Review

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