Stiff Harsh Ride - DuraTracs 265/75/ R16 - TRD PRO

I just bought Goodyear UltraTerrians, a knockoff of the Duratracs sold by Discount Tire. Went with 265/70/17, a plus 1 over stock, P metric load. I like them so far, not many miles on them yet. I can feel the difference over the stock Dunlop’s. A little more cushion, a little more weighty in feel. I’m running 34-35 psi on 4, so far so good. A little shimmy at 70 mph, only have 50 miles on them. I try never to buy tires this time of year, tire shops are swamped. Black Friday sale sucked me in. My mechanic has real nice tire equipment, it’s worth it to to have him balance them vs DT.

 

I decided to try the Falken Wildpeak a/t3w after doing some extensive searching and talking to a few people. Not as aggressive in the look of the tire but overall not a bad looking tire which will fit my needs. I'm getting them installed Saturday so I'll report back. This would have been my third set of duratracs, I've also had BFG AT and BFG MT in the past I guess. I'm getting old and the road noise and stiffness is getting to me. The rear end of the truck is just making too much noise for me and I know they get louder with time which I'm not willing to deal with. My commute to and from work is all highway approx 20 miles one way. When I had muds on previously my commute was 7 miles both ways.

 

I’ve had the Duratrac’s for a few weeks now on my 3rd gen. I got the stock size 265 65 17. So far; they are good. A huge difference in traction over my stock/worn tires on wet ground. I can hear them on the highway but it isn’t “loud”. The handing and feel on bumps is better in my option. MPG has reduced from a solid 19.8 to 18 but as long as I can go a full week w/out having to refuel, I’m happy. I will compare MPG to this time last year when I have a min. I’m running 31.5 ish psi, which I think might be a little low on the rear. I tried the chalk method and the back tires looked like the center made more contact than the outer edges. It’s a little subjective. I can say that there is a 10% change in pressure when comparing cold to hot, but I’m basing it off the trucks built in gauge, and I have no idea how accurate it is. If it’s true, that supposedly means I need more air. I’m new to all of this. I had KO’s a few trucks ago and never once checked the pressure. In fact, as embarrassing as it is now, I likely filled them to the max cold temp, not knowing any better!

 

I had 265/70 C rated Duratracs on my Tacoma. Completely opposite experience. Mine were too soft. Felt like I had marshmallows for tires.

 

Getting Falken wildpeaks installed now will update after my ride home.

 

Yeah I haven’t been happy with my duratracs either. Should have just went with KO2s. My 35” STT Pros on my Jeep have a better ride.

 

The KO2 is heavier tire. I just looked at all of the top tires for this truck and I always thought I could not get better than the duratracs. I was always a BF Goodrich enthusiast until I went to the DT buy now a few years later I reading that the Falkins might be a better fit. We will see.

 

Yeah I know but I had them on my Ram and they rode great.

 

I've had two sets of STT Pros and I loved them but the problem I had was the tread pattern. The tread direction is A-symmetrical and I found it lead to the truck skidding sideways over washboard, and cornering on gravel at speed. Now I run duratracs, but skinnies. C-load. 14 lbs lighter, quieter, same height. Tread is symmetrical, and it doesn't skid anymore. I have yet to test them in the snow but I think they'll be fine.

@frankybones , what was the last vehicle you had the duratracs on? I hear the 265's run better on bigger trucks. More weight to soften the bounces.

I found my STT Pros to degrade quality of ride as well, as they were much heavier than stock, and ran a higher pressure. I ended up selling them because the ride was deplorable.

 

I had the duratracs on my 05 Tacoma sport. I had a lift and camper shell on it so that makes sense.

 

Just put the Falkins on and right off the bat it feels much more like the factory ride tires. I went with 265/75 R16. Still some road noise much like a snow tire or a KO but I'm ok with that the ride quality is more important to me than the actual sound. No longer feel of the stiff ride like a dump truck. Will report back after I hit the diet and snow

 

Sweet looks good man

 

I’ve had the Duratrac’s for a few weeks now on my 3rd gen. I got the stock size 265 65 17. So far; they are good. A huge difference in reaction over my stock/worn tires on wet ground. I can hear them on the highway but it isn’t “loud”. My MPG has reduced from a solid 19.8 to 18 but as long as I can go a full week w/out having to refuel, I’m happy. I’m running 31.5 ish psi, which I think might be a little low on the rear. I tried the chalk method and the backs looked

 

Sorry to hear, as I absolutely love my 265/75/16 Duratracs. Really happy that they are a C load tire with the 3 peak snow designation. Excessive road noise isn't an issue with my tires.

P.S. I put in 32 psi

 

Glad you like them. I was very happy with them on my last truck but they were not the right tire for my current application. I had the Falkens installed on Saturday and so far I am happy with them. I am hoping they are as good as the DT's in the snow and ice and i was refunded over $300 so I ended up saving some dough as well which is always a plus.

 

Duratrac Road Noise:

I had 265/75/16 Duratracs instaled on my 19 ORDC last week. Truck has approx 5800 miles and with the stock tires the ride and road noise were great but in NH we get a lot of snow and ice so I wanted what appeared to be a more snow rated tire.

I don't mind the ride of the Duratracs at all, but the noise is just too much coming from the rear of the tuck. I can hear/feel the tires over the radio at half volume. I brought it back to have them rebalanced and still lots of noise. The shop said they will replace them to see if that helps. I offered to have the rears put in the front to see if the noise followed, but they insisted on replacing them if balancing did not help. I'm suspecting since they offered to replace so quickly that this might be a common issue?

Has anyone else experienced this?

 

Yes this was the original issue I posted. Horrible road noise. I went with the Falken Wildpeaks and they are much less harsh. Not as good in the snow and ice but I compromised and spent much less cash as well. I was happy with the duratrac on my 05 Tacoma but my 3rd gen didn't like them. It was reccorecomm not to out the duratrac back on.