Goodyear Duratrac's

[jessef]

I've gone through a lot of different tires ranging from mud boggers to hybrid's to AT's to ice tires.

I don't think I'll be buying another tire down the road.

I've been using these in whistler snow, ice, slush, deep powder, crusty snow, mud, thick mud, slick rock, moss and plain old Canadian dirt.

These are the best all-around tire I've ever used. They are great on everything. I don't mean 'okay'. They are really good.

I don't believe there is another tire that touches this one for versatility.

I got mine dirty yesterday up to the hubs.

The faster they spin, the more mud they sling.

It's a really good tread design.

I won't be buying a different tyre unless they quite making them.

Middle packs in as easy as BFG AT's but the channel towards the outter lugs just launches the mud outwards.

And they kickass in the snow and rain.






A good example of how well they clean mud just as good as a true mud tire :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At6VrH4QwwI



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrQD4y0dyC0



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKo3FlAWymE



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SmPz3rs7p0



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvwTaBIxFtw

[mararmeisto]

What's the price comparison?

[delicat]

Still trying to figure what's special on the 3rd video with the 1/2" of snow...

They have a nice design, I wonder how well they'll do in the long run. They seem to be a softer compound?
But options are nice aren't they!

[after oil]

how are they on the highway?

[jessef]

Cheaper than BFG AT's

Great on the highway/city.

They are less noisy than the bfg's.

[patty]

have you had a chance to use em on real ice (not lower mainland ice). i need new tires for year round driving that'll work especially good on the prince george ice. just to give people an idea of the ice, i had my dead delica in park with the E brake on, on a slight angle slide out into the middle of the street over night. i really dont want to spend the money on two sets of tires. so im looking for something thats aggressive but will still work on the ice with out needing studs.

[jessef]

Patty, they are okay on ice but not what I would put on.

There's guys in Alaska running Duratrac's on diesels and love them but I think the majority have them studded.

There is no such thing as an all-terrain or mud tire that provides good traction on ice.

You will need a dedicated snow/ice tire like the blizzac's or something like those.

The thing that's good about the Duratrac's in the winter is that the rubber compound stays soft = grip compared to a lot of tires that go rock hard in the winter.

[ShaneA]

Thanks for the update Jesse, these will definitely be my next "Summer" tire.

Patty, I've got the Yokohama Geolander IT as dedicated Winter tires. I was running them up in Whistler over the holidays and they were fantastic. Hard pack snow and ice at -15 and I never lost traction at all in AWD. I know the initial cost of 2 sets of tires is pretty steep, but then it'll be longer before you have to replace either set.

Shane

[jwfchase]

Sorry- bunny trail here, aka thread jack...

Patty:

After two winters (though this year hardly counts)

The Nokian Hakkapelliitta LT's (the LT is the important part, since Nokian makes Hakks for everything, I can even get studded ones for my bicycle!) have been AWESOME on ice (with no studs at all) and are even pretty good on loose/muddy roads when the snow is melted.

By having them for the winter, my new Duratrac's that I get in the spring will last that much longer! (there, now it's not a thread jack anymore )

[coaxial]

I've driven a grand total of about 10 times on my new set of duratracs and I really like them so far. Most importantly they are much much much better off-road than my nexen AT were. I was expecting an improvement but they've exceeded my expecations a bit off-road. Steep technical dirt/rock trails I am managing in 2wd what I could barely do in 4wd before. In the mud they plow through what would get me hopelessly mired before, although they do have their limits in the really deep mud



They are quiet on pavement (ie. I can't hear them over my engine), and handle OK for city driving. A little more vague on pavement when I make sudden braking or turning but I was expecting that with going to a more agressive tire.

I was debating the BFG AT vs BFG MT vs Duratrac. I settled on duatrac as they are more agressive than AT and I suspect safer than MT. Really I wanted MT but for driving in the rain and for winter trips I wanted siping, etc, for wet/frozen tarmac.

Sadly they don't come in 30x9.5x15 (only 31x9.5x15) so I got the 235x75x15 which is about 29".

My one issue is I can see some wear on the sides of the lugs already (odd chunking, edges of lugs wearing a bit) after only a 200km or so. My suspicions are PSI and Alignment. I have them at 40PSI right now but have no clue if this is too low/high. I do notice surface contact on the rears doesn't go right to the edges (by 1" on each edge) so I suspect those should be lower.

I suspect I desperately need an alignment and would love a suggestion of where to get a good/cheap/quick alignment in town. I've done some forum searches but there are a lot of threads to wade through.

I'm seeing Butch on saturday morning for a number of fixes and checks but I've heard his alignment machine isn't ready yet.

[fexlboi]

I suspect I desperately need an alignment and would love a suggestion of where to get a good/cheap/quick alignment in town. I've done some forum searches but there are a lot of threads to wade through.

http://www.dalesalignment.com That's where I go on next Saturday :) They have done quite a few Delicas already and so far the recommendations are pretty promising.

[jessef]

Not knocking CVI at all (I have high respect for both men ) but an alignment shop such as Dale's with the 4-wheel computerized system is the one to have the most accurate alignment done with.

More so for L300's as the amount of weight ridding on the front wheels.

I had the same issue as you and had to have it done 3 times (twice at an average alignment shop and then one last time at a high quality shop - Dale's).

Also for the rear's as well as the front (this goes for everyone), do the chalk test.

Take a stick of chalk and drawn from edge to edge on the tire.

Drive a few rotations and stop and check to see if there is any chalk on the edges. If there is, air down and re-do the test until the chalk vs tire is completely flat.

40psi is too much unless you have load range 'E' tires.

you should be running those around 32-35 max on the road.

I'm running mine at 32 and it's perfect.

[jwfchase]

Lift done.... 31" Duratracs on rims in the back of the van...

Cutting and bashing tonight...

EXCITED!!!

[delicat]

Be careful, grinders are known to be very addictive! Have fun!

[patty]

i just had 2 tire blow outs with in 4 days of one another, and it looks like the other ones are on the way out as well soooooooooooo....

any one know if any of the small tire retailers in squamish that sell goodyear duratracs? kal and OK tire dont sell good year.