BFG TA KO or GoodYear Wranger Duratrac

Well 38/36 is high. I run 32/30 in my truck, I have run these for a couple of years now on my setup and their just fine. My tires are E rated .
Put done some chalk or water and drive over it if your contact patch is the width of the tire your fine.

Brett

 

^I think I'm going to give the duratracs a try as well. One thing I heard is that you have to run a really high psi to keep them from feeling "squishy". I'm hearing numbers around 40psi. I guess, if I got this route, I'll have to figure that out myself...

 

Having had both the BFG TA KO and the GY Duratrac on my truck and only having to choose between the two.... I would pick the BFG, heres why...

I had the BFG's for approx 18,000 miles before I sold the set of wheels they were on. Great tire. Not really any complaints aside from they are a heavy tire which results in decreased MPG's (265/70/17 E-rated)

I had the Duratrac's for approx 3,000 miles before I had enough of them. (265/75/16 D-rated) I really wanted to like them and keep them but I couldn't stand that my steering wheel had a shake/vibration. I had them rebalanced twice at Discount Tire without success. Apparently that is a common trait with them (steering while vibration)
The Discount salesman stated it was how they are manufactured. When looking at them on the tire balance machine, they didn't even turn smooth, they had a little wobble to them.

With that being said... I would go with the BFG unless GY has improved their tire making process. If they did, I would love to try the Duratrac's again.

 

I just got some duratracs on Friday. They balanced out really well... the took almost no weight. Did well on the pavement and on the trail. They're still new, though. So far, I really like them, though.

 

duratracs you wont regret it for a second.

 

I really wish they made the duratracs in a tall skinny. I don't know if I want to go to a 285 just yet :/

 

That might be TOO skinny lol.

 

I wish the duratrac's came in more "in between sizes" 275/75/16, 275/70/17, 265/75/17... Nobody makes those sizes except for the 275/70

 

I have a set of 32" Duratracs, that I've put right at 42000 miles on. This is going to be kind of long so bear with me. Let me address a few of the questions I have seen on a couple of the pages I went through. This is my DD that's also my trail beater on those lucky weekends I get to go. I'd say 85% driving on pavement and daily commute is 30-35 miles round rip.

The tire pressure question:
They do not require higher pressure than normal tires, though they can run it if you really want to. I think tire says max is 55 or 65 psi, but I would never run them that high where I live. This is basically a commercial work tire that regular consumers have come to know and love. Just like any tire, the more pressure you put in it, the "harder" it will be. I run my at 30-32 on the street and the mid 20s on the trails.

The thin sidewall topic:
Anybody talking about a "thin sidewall" is helping spread negative & erroneous information and most likely has never owned a set of Duratracs. Yes there are thicker sidewalls and yes there are thinner. I have run Duratracs for the last 4 years in all conditions except snow. I have come down hard off of rocks, run over and brushed up against cacti out in Big Bend and not once have I had a sidewall. I have brushed up against and hit curbs without a single sidewall issue. This tire is truly tough as nails.

Balancing Act:
These tires new had no balancing issues whatsoever new. I religiously rotate my tires every 3-4K miles. As the miles started racking up I started noticing the weights accumulating too. At my current mileage, about 42k, 3 of my tires have at least 3 weights on them and one of them has 4. I'm guessing its getting harder to balance them or maybe just rookies at discount tire.

How's the Tread Wear?
I'm actually really impressed with the tread wear of these tires. When I bought them I was told they were a 50,000 mile tire and I didn't believe. At 42k and still easily 1/3 of my tread left I am still confident hitting the trail without getting stuck. I did hydroplane for the first time on these tires at about 40k miles, but it was a small and mainly my fault, I shouldn't have tried to take a turn going 20mph while it was raining. I haven't done it since and these tires love getting wet. Also I wanted to note that I have not had any chunking, just nice even wear.

How is the road noise?
This tire is surprisingly quiet, I really mean that. I don't have to run the radio and my wife doesn't even notice any road noise. I'm at 42k miles and I'm just now starting to hear a small whine, I partially blame the balance job on the tires. It's not even really noticeable unless you're looking for it. For the aggressive pattern and capabilities of this tire I'd seriously compare the noise to a regular street tire.

Wobbly or shaking steering wheel?
Not until I read the previous posts on this thread about people having a mild shake in their steering wheel did I realize I had one... at 65 mph. Anything before 65 and after 70 is smooth sailin'. With tires nearing the end of their life I cant possibly blame it on the manufacturing process or quality of this tire.

I've heard DuraTracs love collecting gravel.
This one I can't deny. Compared to the previous tires I've owned I can say the spacing between lugs does like to hang onto loose gravel. With that said though, and beg gap between lugs will pick up rocks. I normally don't notice it until I get going about 30 or 40 and all of a sudden it sounds like gunshots. I also notice it when I'm cruising with my windows down and hear the rocks making that all too familiar "clack clack" sound. A set of keys or a screwdriver usually sets them straight fairly quickly.

What's duratracs most often overlooked feature?
Duratracs come with a wheel protector built inside the tire! Its a really good design and keeps the rim tucked away and safe. 4 years and no rim damage. Look at them on someone's wheel next time you spot a pair and you will see what I'm talking about. look at the edge of the rim and the base of the tire, then look at another set of tires. It does a really good job protecting and don't quote me on this and I have no way to verify it, but I personally think it helps with running lower pressures in your tires.

Overview:
The DuraTrac is a beast of a tire that can take whatever beating you can throw at it and last a long time. It handles great in Dry, Wet, Muddy, Sandy, Rocky, Cactus-y, and any other condition I can't think of off the top of my head. I cannot speak for snow, but look it up on YouTube, its impressive. You will not waste your money buying a set, they will do nothing but impress you. I know its listed as an aggressive all terrain, but this tires daddy was definitely a mud terrain because it does REALLY well in the mud and that's not common amongst most ATs (don't crucify me for that comment).

If you have any other questions about them lemme know and I'll try to throw in my 2 cents.

 

I see more duratracs coming in with punctures than BFGs where I work but I haven't seen any blown out sidewalls yet(have gotten a slashed duratrac tho). And they are harder to balance but that happens with blocky tread and they're also a bit heavier than the BFGs. I still can't decide which tire I want though.

 

I'm going to go with the GY's

Enough research already! I'm at the point where there is no point anymore! Hahah

I'll chime in with my reviews after a bit. Next few weeks!

 

I had a set of Duratracs put on my truck about a week ago. They're 265/70/17's OWL Load C.

I love the look of them but I too have a bit of steering wheel shake around 65mph. The tires are surprisingly quiet given the tread pattern - you can hear them in the cab with the radio off, but nothing annoying.

Overall very happy with them.

 

Hard to decide. The Bfgs will last forever, a hell of a lot longer than the duratracs, but the duratracs do better off road imo (plus they look freaking sweet!). They're a little louder than the Bfgs, but you gotta think about priorities I guess.

 

I've had both.

BFG have a LOOOOOONG tread life, however they SUCK in mud. Great for city/highway driving.

Duratracs (though I've only had them for 1k miles) are fairly quiet for being more aggressive (another +) and they do well in mud so far

 

Might I add that was one hell of a 1st post!! Lots of good information, I concur!

 

^X2. Make my decision to buy those easier. I think I'll have them siped even more though for the winter. I noticed the siping doesn't really go very deep.

 

The guy at Discount Tire had strong negative words to say about siping the Duratracs. I don't remember exactly why, but I do remember he talked me out of that when I mentioned it

 

Interesting...May be due to the soft compound and the risk of chunking offroad. I'll read up on that and maybe hold off on siping until they're worn down a bit.

 

Research is always best...
ask me how I know haha

 

Pretty sure they're already siped to begin with....