33" Duratracs - Any Input?

Winter gas ^

 

I have had duratracs on my truck for over a year and have put on around 25000 miles on them. I have no complaints. I lived in San Antonio and it rains all the time and they performed very well. When I do get new tires it will be duratracs for sure.

 

Definitely. My local gas station suddenly (the last week) has a sticker on the pump saying "Up to 10% Ethanol". They used to be Ethanol free which is why I gassed up there!

Drove 45 minutes on the interstate at 80mph (mostly up hill) to meet a 4x4 group this morning. I averaged 13.1 MPG. Freaking nuts.

 

The new KO2 is much better than the old version wear wise. I had it on my work Ram that saw the field alot. It's not great in the mud though IMHO.

 

So I'm seeing that the 285/75/16 Cooper ST Maxx is 61lbs!

My current Michelin 265/70/16 is like 38lbs. That's quite a difference.

 

Yup. It takes stuff to stay tough. Honestly it does fine on mileage. The rubber is pliable and the weight only effects the tire from a stop. So if you drive city most of the time it hurts. On the highway it doesn't. I usually pull around 15 mpg overall. Just FYI good luck finding a decent e rated tire under 50 pounds. Again, it takes more cord and rubber to get the high psi and weight rating. That pays off when youre off-road. Plus some companies have been known to underestimate weights sadly.

 

Yeah I get the whole idea that a better built tire will weigh more. With my mileage sucking lately I'm just more sensitive to it. LOL

Plus the cab mount chop doesn't thrill me. But the idea of the 33" improving ground clearance and appearance seem nice.

 

No cutting required on a 33 inch Cooper skinny. 255/85/r16. I run basically the same tire but on a 17 inch rim. I had to ditch the front air deflector flap and mud flap but then it was fine. I has some slight uca rubbing too but it wasn't bad and a very small spacer fixed it fine. Lots of other people didn't have the rubbing issues so I think it was just my weird alignment due to bent alignment tabs.

 

I've had duratracs for a while on my truck with no complaints. I've beaten the S#&t out of those tires. I got rate E though, they're heavy tires. But the side wall is the best I've ran.

 

So I'm actively looking at the Cooper S/T Maxx now. Being victim of a cut sidewall that's an important area for me. Haha

TreadDepot.com has them for $210! I can get five with freight for like $1,220. Can then add road hazard for $25/tire.

Local tire shop wants $287/each installed with road hazard.

 

You can get five for less than I bought 4

 

Just my experience

I've got 265/75/16 Duratracs C load range with 25k on them. I can say that traction is not as good now in snow as they were new, mud is still pretty good, rocks good, road manners pretty good.

The sidewalls are not so great... 3 have pretty good tears, still holding air, but will need replacing before I go on a long distance trip.

Tread on 2 have large chunks.

I'm disappointed they weren't a little tougher, but they've been abused.

I'm thinking about switching to Cooper STT Pro, same size as current.

 

Thanks for sharing this! I've been seeing this in a few reviews. Superb snow traction when new but once folks hit half tread that goes away.

 

No prob, honestly my biggest issue is the sidewall tears, traction has decreased some, but is still pretty darn good.

 

The Coopers get rid of those issues for nearly the same price though... which is why I originally suggested them. They are a bit louder and heavier though so they are better for someone who does a fair amount of offroading over someone who just needs the looks of an aggressive A/T.

Don't get me wrong, the Duratrac is very popular and I can see why. Out of the box the traction is very good and the tire is fairly light for it's weight rating. It's also cheap and every tire dealer plus their dog sells them so you can usually find a set in a pinch within an afternoon. However, over time, it loses it's luster and that's why you'll find plenty of forums talking about post Duratrac purchase disappointment from people who run trails a lot...

 

Talked to another local shop. 285/75/16 Cooper S/T Maxx for $264 each installed.

 

Okay so I'm doing some more reading. Pondering the difference between doing a 255/85/16 or a 285/75/16 to accomplish the 33" size I want for off-roading.

The 285 would be better to 'float' over deep snow or sand. But it's heavier, provides more rolling resistance, etc.

The 255 would provide better traction in pretty much all other situations due to higher weight loads per square inch of contact patch. Less rolling resistance, lighter weight, and less trimming/modding of the truck.

 

I would also say that 255's give you better traction in road and trail snow and slush. The tire "cuts" the slush better and that gains road contact which means better handling. The ground freezes here and I would think it does in your area too. If the snow is less than a foot deep, you are going to like the 255 because it's going to have less resistance to get ground contact. Especially if there's piles of the fluffy stuff!

BTW that reminds me we should wheel sometime when I go to the states...

Also, since those Coopers are relatively tough, you can air them down all the way to 12-15 PSI with no issues. At those PSI's you are going to find that the contact patch difference between a 255 and 285 is not directly proportional. Since it's a factor of weight, arc, and width there isn't the giant difference between 255's and 285's that some people expect. The weight on the tire brings the two contact patches too within a few percent of each other. That's still relevant, but not as relevant as some would think. Now, compare 255's to 305's and you are talking about a significant difference but that's a whole different argument.

Remember, one of the stock Tacoma tire sizes is actually 245's... so you aren't even running a skinny tire for the Tacoma. It just looks skinny because of how tall it is in relation to it's sidewall.

I'm biased because I run 255/80/r17's, which are the same dimensions as 255/85/r16's but on a 17" rim, and I love them. I've never felt like I dug down too deep in the mud because of the tire. In fact, I've gone anywhere someone on a stock width or 285 has been able to go and further sometimes if they are running a less aggressive tire like the KO2. That's a big advantage of the ST Maxx. It cleans out well and those huge side lugs give lots of pull in the mud and snow. Lot's more than a lot of popular light duty A/T tires.

 

I'd love to have the 255/85/16s myself after everything I've read on them, but I don't believe I have the clearance for them (I'm only running Billstien 5100's at 1.75), but my next tire will most likely be coopers based on my research. Sterdog pretty much summed up everything you need to know about 255's in one post.

This thread has a lot of info on that size https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/255-85-r16-owners-experience.155849/

 

Don't have time to read all those pages of bickering. LoL I read the ExeditionsWest article before though. That's what lead me to consider 255's to begin with!


90% of my driving is to and from work. So running 285's all the time would look fantastic but if only benefit a handful of times on a wheeling trip. And I've only been out twice since buying the truck 11 months ago.

The 255's would allow me better summer traction for wheeling, weigh less, and I can avoid the CMC and have the added bonus of mounting a full size spare under the truck if I want.

I ran 265's aired down to like 6 psi in snow deeper than my frame. Granted they are highway tires! Wasn't that great traction wise. I'd imagine even the 255's in a taller more aggressive tire would be a vast improvement. Though I would not float like all the Jeeps with their wide 35's!