Goodyear DuraTrac on 2011 FX4?
10-13-2011, 03:30 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Goodyear DuraTrac on 2011 FX4?
I love my FX4 EcoBoost Screw, but we are already getting snow in the mountains and I need outstanding snow performance for frequent trips into the Colorado High country...
What I want:
I picked up a set of new take-off Raptor 17" wheels and TPMS sensors, so I'm thinking of mounting up 285/70-17's on the Raptor wheels and keeping the OEM tires/wheels intact as-is. That will give me about .6" increase in diameter (less than 2% impact to speedo/odo) and .4" increase in width.
I just ordered some DuraTrac's locally, but before I fully commit and have them mounted up, I'd like to hear from some folks who have direct experience with the DuraTrac. The thought of spending over a grand on tires and hating them once installed is freaking me out a bit. Reading reviews online is a bit ridiculous. Virtually every tire I check out has a handful of folks who believe the tire is the devil's spawn, with another large bunch claiming the tire has near magical properties.
On the DuraTrac, the best reviews claim:
The detractors claim:
I guess I'm curious to here from some members here who might have direct experience with these tires on a F150. Love it? Hate it? Great handling? Terrible handling? Super in Snow?
Of course I welcome any other opinions on alternatives, but I think many of the most common tires discussed here (Terra Grapplers, BFG AT/KO's, etc) do not have very good packed snow performance and therefore are out of consideration. I've also considered going with a dedicated snow tire, like the Bridgestone DM-V1, but I think I will tear them up very quickly with all the dry weather higher speed mountain driving.
What I want:
- Excellent traction on snow-packed paved roads.
- Excellent handling on dry mountain roads.
- Cosmetic improvements, stock 175/65-18's look kind of silly on the FX4.
- Reasonable impact to fuel economy.
I picked up a set of new take-off Raptor 17" wheels and TPMS sensors, so I'm thinking of mounting up 285/70-17's on the Raptor wheels and keeping the OEM tires/wheels intact as-is. That will give me about .6" increase in diameter (less than 2% impact to speedo/odo) and .4" increase in width.
I just ordered some DuraTrac's locally, but before I fully commit and have them mounted up, I'd like to hear from some folks who have direct experience with the DuraTrac. The thought of spending over a grand on tires and hating them once installed is freaking me out a bit. Reading reviews online is a bit ridiculous. Virtually every tire I check out has a handful of folks who believe the tire is the devil's spawn, with another large bunch claiming the tire has near magical properties.
On the DuraTrac, the best reviews claim:
- Fantastic snow performance.
- Excellent handling.
- Great tread life.
- Great looks.
The detractors claim:
- Soft sidewalls.
- Frequent punctures
- "Squirmy" handling, especially when new.
I guess I'm curious to here from some members here who might have direct experience with these tires on a F150. Love it? Hate it? Great handling? Terrible handling? Super in Snow?
Of course I welcome any other opinions on alternatives, but I think many of the most common tires discussed here (Terra Grapplers, BFG AT/KO's, etc) do not have very good packed snow performance and therefore are out of consideration. I've also considered going with a dedicated snow tire, like the Bridgestone DM-V1, but I think I will tear them up very quickly with all the dry weather higher speed mountain driving.
Last edited by pfbz; 10-13-2011 at 05:39 PM.
10-13-2011, 04:43 PM
#4
Senior Member
You mentioned the BFG had a poor packed snow rating sparked my response. In my own personal experience My BFG KO's have been great for all conditions.....I have driven on hard packed snow and ice before, I thought they performed very nicely, in fact this tire is my only preference when it comes to safety and performance in an all season all terrain tire. Good luck with your decision, it's kind of like buying brakes, it's one of those important safety investments we all make. 
FYI, I do own BFG's so I'm a little bias.....
Matt
FYI, I do own BFG's so I'm a little bias.....Matt
10-13-2011, 10:11 PM
#5
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I can't speak to the duratracs but have had BFG AT KO's and thought they did pretty well in snow and all around traction. I also had BFG mud terrains and they were terrible in snow. Both those tires were GMC trucks. I have a 2012 ecoboost on order and like the looks of the duratracs but like you am looking for input on them or I will go with the BFG At's.
10-13-2011, 10:15 PM
#6
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Another decent winter tire from Goodyear is their Wrangler Silent Armor tires. I had some on an '08 Super Duty for over three years (three winters), and the tread held up well and provided excellent traction on icy roads.
10-13-2011, 10:49 PM
#7
No winter experience on my 295 65 18 duratracs yet but they really do well in everything else. do your research, they are the new winter tire for offroading. thats why I purchased them.
In every question that you asked I LOVE THEM except the snow because I put them on in august
In every question that you asked I LOVE THEM except the snow because I put them on in august
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10-13-2011, 11:05 PM
#8
Canuck with a truck
I'm also running the duratracs 295/65r18 and I'm very pleased with the tires. They are quit, good in the rain, good in the dry, and for the 8,000 km that I've put on them they've worn well, they don't have much side to side movement (probably because there E rated). I have not ran these tires in the winter nor do I plan to, I'm going to buy dedicated snow tire mainly because these tires are so wide they will toboggan.
10-13-2011, 11:42 PM
#9
Senior Member
Thread Starter
I'm glad to hear you guys love them... Like I said, I've heard a ton of very positive reviews, but some of the comments I culled from TireRack reviews had me questioning my decision just a bit, and these aren't even the worst of the wild rants.
As a reminder, there are incredibly negative rants on virtually every tire.
"I have to agree with the reviewers who say that these tires were flexy, mushy, makes the vehicle drive like a boat... These tires on a heavy diesel truck make vehicle feel unsafe, squirrelly whatever you want to call it."
"Traction in most driving conditions was excellent. However, The deep tread design created tread squirm (floating) on pavement. Result is very unsure handling and cornering, particularly under loads and when trailering."
"I got on the Freeway and at 65 MPH changed lanes and the truck was all over the road. For a E range LT tire they are by far the worst floating tire ever."
"these tires are absolutely horrible, at least for my truck. as speed increases, so does instability. there seems to be alot of sidewall flex/roll even while driving straight, and these tires "wander" to the point of unsafe."
"When new, these tires drifted all over the road when driving at freeway speeds. This problem went away after around 10,000 miles. "
" Corner stability is poor. The truck wants to heel in the oposite direction of the turn at higher speeds. Feels like rolling on basketballs. "
Just to balance things out, here are some of the positive comments!
"I have put about 1000 miles of these tire. they are one of the best tires I have had on my truck. one thing I love about them, is when it rains and I have to stop at a light, when I take off I do not sit there and spin then take off. I love the way the feel on the truck like how they handle like everything about them."
"Have not put very many miles on these tires but am very impressed with how they handle and how quit they are on the highway/interstate."
"I bought these tires about 6 months ago and since then have been through many snow and ice storms. These tires were absolutely the best tires I have ever put on my truck. I had no problem on ice or VERY deep snow. They also are very quiet on dry pavement."
"We've had these tires on our 2008 F250 FX4 for about a month now, and absolutely love them. I'm a sports car kind of guy, I like handling, reading reviews that this tires was too soft almost caused me to not purchase them. Fortunately I listened the positive reviews."
"Approx 5000km on these tires already, and all I can say is awesome... coming from ProComp Mud tires to these, the road manners are amazing, and still perform extremely well off road."
" Two seasons of driving between Texas summers and Colorado high mountain winters have impressed me. This is the best tire I've ever had on the truck when it comes to ice and snow."
At any rate, there are about 10 absolutely glowing reviews for every 1 highly negative review, and most of the negative reviews seem to come from folks with 1-ton class diesel pickups, significantly heavier (though some of the positive reviews came from heavy trucks as well), so I'm going forward.
As a reminder, there are incredibly negative rants on virtually every tire.
"I have to agree with the reviewers who say that these tires were flexy, mushy, makes the vehicle drive like a boat... These tires on a heavy diesel truck make vehicle feel unsafe, squirrelly whatever you want to call it."
"Traction in most driving conditions was excellent. However, The deep tread design created tread squirm (floating) on pavement. Result is very unsure handling and cornering, particularly under loads and when trailering."
"I got on the Freeway and at 65 MPH changed lanes and the truck was all over the road. For a E range LT tire they are by far the worst floating tire ever."
"these tires are absolutely horrible, at least for my truck. as speed increases, so does instability. there seems to be alot of sidewall flex/roll even while driving straight, and these tires "wander" to the point of unsafe."
"When new, these tires drifted all over the road when driving at freeway speeds. This problem went away after around 10,000 miles. "
" Corner stability is poor. The truck wants to heel in the oposite direction of the turn at higher speeds. Feels like rolling on basketballs. "
"I have put about 1000 miles of these tire. they are one of the best tires I have had on my truck. one thing I love about them, is when it rains and I have to stop at a light, when I take off I do not sit there and spin then take off. I love the way the feel on the truck like how they handle like everything about them."
"Have not put very many miles on these tires but am very impressed with how they handle and how quit they are on the highway/interstate."
"I bought these tires about 6 months ago and since then have been through many snow and ice storms. These tires were absolutely the best tires I have ever put on my truck. I had no problem on ice or VERY deep snow. They also are very quiet on dry pavement."
"We've had these tires on our 2008 F250 FX4 for about a month now, and absolutely love them. I'm a sports car kind of guy, I like handling, reading reviews that this tires was too soft almost caused me to not purchase them. Fortunately I listened the positive reviews."
"Approx 5000km on these tires already, and all I can say is awesome... coming from ProComp Mud tires to these, the road manners are amazing, and still perform extremely well off road."
" Two seasons of driving between Texas summers and Colorado high mountain winters have impressed me. This is the best tire I've ever had on the truck when it comes to ice and snow."
10-13-2011, 11:43 PM
#10
Senior Member
Originally Posted by f150skidoo
I'm also running the duratracs 295/65r18 and I'm very pleased with the tires. They are quit, good in the rain, good in the dry, and for the 8,000 km that I've put on them they've worn well, they don't have much side to side movement (probably because there E rated). I have not ran these tires in the winter nor do I plan to, I'm going to buy dedicated snow tire mainly because these tires are so wide they will toboggan.