Goodyear Duratrac review - Lengthy, but worth it.
 

Preface:

Just like Levi jeans, I think there are some things that are assumed to be "Good" just because of market saturation... With that said - I think "Acceptable" is a better term for products that we see having extreme market saturation, ie: Tide, Crest, Dockers, Nike, etc.


Situation:

I had the brand new Goodyear DuraTrac tires installed on my Blazer after the BFG AT KO's I had bought a year and a half ago were found to be out of round. This was the first set sold in TN, I've been told, and they came straight from goodyear. Funny thing is, I work right next to and even have my car serviced at a Goodyear retailer and HE hasn't even got his stock of these tires in yet... and they have been ordered since January, Lance says. I told him he could walk out and show my Blazer with them on it if he needs to.

The tires were installed on 6-10-2009 at 186500 miles and I now have, as of 7-7-2009 189725 miles... That's 3225 miles this month. Enough to realize and know the following.





Summary:

Best on/off road tire I've ever used.


Cons:

They Sound Different - Just a touch noisier that the BFG AT KOs I had on before. (touch = slight... example: if the windows are down, you can maybe hear a difference/windows up, you can't)

They get a little "roarish" on clover leaf style exit ramps at speed.(whoop-dee-freakin'-doo!)

That's it for Cons! If you can call it that!?!


Pros: Wholy Snikies - where do I begin..?

Ride/Comfort - Smooth but not sloppy... These tires hit speed bumps and the occasional pot hole with out you having to go see a dentist afterwords!

Rain - Are they glued to the asphalt??? These tires STICK on acceleration and braking in the rain. I have panic stopped(voluntary) in the rain and can not break them loose! Not even the first click of the Anti-lock system!

Dry Pavement - Hard braking on dry pavement can produce a very cool, low sounding howl instead of any kind of high pitched squeel you have always heard from a car or truck.

Mud and soft terrain - Pulls like a tractor. Kind of takes the fun out of the trail you are used to. I barely had to use 4X4 last time out.


Overall experience:

With the BFG AT KOs comparing to the Duratracs with familiar situations and trails I noticed the following as well...

On gravel jeep roads, my blazer always felt skiddish and like it was ontop ot the gravel and not really biting down. This is not the case at all with the Duratrac tires. I could even swerve on the gravel at 20mph and the rear end in no way felt like it was ever loose. I was 5000 feet up on the side of a mountain and was about to swerve at more than 20mph!

Past experinces in the rain, I wouldn't even have tried to panic stop for a red light. Three times of blowing through a yellow/red light with the anti-lock brakes clicking told me just don't even try - and that was the first two months or so I had the BFG AT KOs.

My wife even noticed how much smoother the Blazer rides... That's worth IT ALL right there! If your chick can notice a positive difference out of what you have deemed as a "play thing" or "toy" then YOU WIN at that game! Way to go wifey!


Final Note and Conclusion:

Good stuff, and exceptional product. Enough said.

Now thats what i call a review,i think a trip to my local Goodyear dealer is in order.
redeye202

what are the details on your wheels and tires? are you lifted? I ask because I am putting new wheels and tires on by 01 4d 4wd and am planning on 30x9.5 bfg's I love the look of thoses tires, and the review was great but they don't make them in a 30" I assume you have a 2" lift and 31" tires but would like to know for sure. Thanks

Thanks It's a Z85 suspension package, leveled, not lifted. Those are the factory size tires - LT235/75/R15.

The rims came from Discount Tire - 15x7 and -6 offset/4" backspacing.

I hope that helps you out!

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Anyone put these on an LS 4 door yet? I'd love to see a pic! I'm considering them.

Would love to see an update on these tires. I know a couple of folks that have these and so far they like them but they haven't had them very long and I'd like to know how they wear compared to the KO's.

I know they are pretty good in the snow and should be just as good as the KO's in all other aspects, just curious on the wear. KO's seem to last forever!

nice to see that these are offered in the factory size-and in the "LT" trim too! :)

i was just wonder the same thing as both of you guys.

the one problem with tires that seem to last forever Bert, is that they're hard as nails, and crap for traction (usually) in the rain or snow.

Ok well they're coming Monday so once I get them mounted I'll post pics if you'd like

Mounted
 

I ended up getting the Duratracs. A little pricey. My initial impressions:

They look great
They're noisier than BFG A/T's but quieter than a mud terrain
They have great rain traction (so far)
They're pricey

remember the old saying, "you get what you pay for". what did you pay for them?

personally, i think the Michelin LTX M/S are pricey-but worth every last cent!

i've bought tires & tried to save $100 on the cost, settling on another brand (by no means a cheap knock-off), but was greatly dsappointed by the performance, and this was a street tire. i couldn't imagine paying for a tire that sucked off-road as well.