Goodyear Duratrac's

[GirdieAbides]

punkrawker, perhaps I phrased my question poorly. My issue with the duratracs is not the performance or balance or even the rubbing that much... it is that the only ones that fit our 15" rims are 6 ply. Last summer I punctured 3 duratracs in 4 months driving logging roads (LOGGING ROADS!!) don't ask me how... What I am wondering is how people like us get 8-10 ply durtracs under their vans... does that require an increase in rim size?

I agree that side wall is important, but for my driving needs getting less flats is more important than tire flex during offroading and as I understand it, an increase from 6-8 or 10 ply would do this... perhaps I am wrong?

[punkrawker]

Not too sure as to why you keep having flat issues. Just checked my tires and don't see 10ply stamped anywhere. Says its LT, 235 75 15, load range c. I do know that there is a day and night difference between p rated (passenger rated) and LT rated (light truck) tires. How do you know what one you have? Look on the sidewall, it will say either p235 75 15 or LT235 75 15. I have been doing quite a bit of off roading and river crossings with the duratracs and so far have had zero flats.

Probably not the answer you were looking for but thats all I got.

[Triumph73]

From what I understand 10 ply tires really don't exist; however, a load rating of "E" means it has a stronger sidewall to carry extra weight. The "E" rated tires will perform similar to what everyone refers to as a 10 Ply tire. "C" rated would be closer to to a 6 ply tire.

[macro]

IIRC the ply rating is total ply including sidewall. So I think E rated are 6 ply on the tread and 4 on the sidewall, totalling 10. I think. I could be completely wrong however.

[Triumph73]

The Ply number is in refference to how they used to build bias ply tires. The attached article has an excellent description.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/ ... ?techid=55

The load range/ply rating branded on a tire's sidewall identifies how much load the tire is designed to carry at its industry specified pressure. Passenger tires feature named load ranges while light truck tires use load ranges that ascend in alphabetical order (letters further along in the alphabet identify stronger tires that can withstand higher inflation pressures and carry heavier loads). Before load ranges were adopted, ply ratings and/or the actual number of casing plies were used to identify the relative strength with higher numeric ratings or plies identifying tires featuring stronger, heavier duty constructions.

Today's load range/ply ratings do not count the actual number of body ply layers used to make up the tire's internal structure, but indicate an equivalent strength compared to early bias ply tires. Most radial passenger tires have one or two body plies, and light truck tires, even those with heavy-duty ratings (10-, 12- or 14-ply rated), actually have only two or three fabric plies, or one steel body ply.

[punkrawker]

Thank you triumph73 for the post, tire rack is one of the better places to educate yourself on tires, they just have a mediocre selection of tires actually out there would be my ONLY complaint about tirerack.com

[stever1000]

Where would be the cheapest place to buy these? I think Canada may be better so I can get free flat repairs. Has anyone purchased these recently?

[punkrawker]

i bought mine off of kijiji and they were practically new, i paid 400 cash mounted, balanced and installed out the door. it might take sometime but call around tire shops and ask around, also something you can do is post an ad at your local 4x4 shop (national 4wd, modern motors etc) and call around to various tire shops and ask for quotes....you would be surprised sometimes the difference in all in out the door price from shop to shop, pays to do your home work!!!

[stever1000]

Thanks, that is a screaming deal you got! I'll keep my eyes peeled and do more research!