Goodyear Wrangler Authority, The Ranger's Review

in reference to my weird wear, i noticed the fronts on my company truck w/ Michelin commercial highway tires were doing the same.

guess i just need to rotate more. no harm-no foul

 

First off, thanks for all the input from everyone! Secondly, about 10k ago I got a set of BFG AT's off a xsp Taco with 3k on them (guy lifted his truck) for $600.

My truck ('09 TRDor) ~2in up in front and 1" in rear and frankly, they look small and I can't keep the damn things balanced... Same issue I had with 32x11.50's BFG at's on old '97 Taco. Swear my buddy and I balance them with 6-lug adapter and check them 2x at Toyota and they ride perfect for ~1k then start shaking at >65 mph on the hwy. I rotate them every 3k and balance. Thought it was suspension issue with last truck causing the problem, but no question that my current truck is dead on... Driving me nuts.

My question is if anyone thinks it is worth it to pull the bfg's and sell them (likely for what I paid) and get the Authorities (265/75r16)? Bfg's are good looking tire and all, but besides the size the balance issues is driving me insane and the farm is 2hrs from my current location.

P.S. URD tcai is amazing, installed 2 wks ago and love it!

 

I'm partially biased because I believe the BFG A/T is one of the worst all terrains currently on the market. That being said, side by side comparisons in as near identical conditions as I can create, the Wrangler Authority is world's beyond the BFG. It's even better in soft sand than the Wrangler Duratrac.

 

Thanks for the input! I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Wranglers Sat morning because a Wmart close by had four of them in stock. 265/75/r16

I'm currently stuck in Atlanta working on my doctorate and have to brave the concrete jungle for 2hrs to get get to 500acres where I grew up. Furthermore, my girlfriend's family lives in Texas and we drive the 12 hrs to visit them. Therefore, I am hoping the Wranglers have better on-road behavior and balance up well.

Will post again after I get the things mounted and offer my initial reviews. Probably won't get them off-road for 3 weeks, but looking forward to it.

 

How are the Authority's in wet road traction?

 

Mine seem to grab water. I prob wouldn't like them if I didn't have plate bumpers.

 

These are on sale right now. About 20 bucks off it looks, got the 31x10.5x15 for 138 each. They look nice and should give me the look I want with the new wheels I ordered. Sale ends tomorrow so I bought them tonight, if my wheels come in tomorrow as scheduled I should have them installed tomorrow, I'll post some pics. Cheapest nicest tires I have found searching the web and calling local tire shops.

 

my suggestion is to spend a few extra bucks and get a better quality tire. i had the canadian tire version of this walmart tire, while they were better than the stock crap they are not comparable to some toyo's or dick cepek's and so on. everybody has their opinion but i will stick to mine as cheaper almost never proves to be better.

 

I've seen pictures of the Canadian version and I'll agree that they don't look to be all that great.

However, as for the "cheaper not being better", I have to disagree. I'm running a set of more expensive Goodyear Duratracs on my work Tacoma so every day I get to feel the differences between the Authorities and the Duratracs. Overall performance, looks, on and off-road handling, and price...I still prefer the "cheaper" Authorities. I'm still a year or two away from having to replace the Wrangler Authority tires on my personal truck, but at this point, as long as Walmart still offers them, I'll be buying them again. That'll be a first for me to run the same tires twice, back to back.

 

I have to agree. My truck was squirly in wet weather on asphalt turns on stock tires. These can do the same but not as bad since adding armour. I needed to save some money and needed a tire that wouldn't spin out trying to get backed up to feeder. This tire suits my uses and Walmart is my only choice of tire store thats open here past 5 a d on Saturday.
I'll have them for a long time since I don't drive much.

 

I could have gotten the Walmart version or the Canadian tire version .... they are both low end tires created equal with the same lower quality rubber. The duratrac is know to be soft and caters to mall crawling. My point is I've tried these tires and then upgraded, everything was better with my dick cepeks and with my cooper's. Why buy an expensive truck that you think is awesome then cheap out with tires? If you actually tried some high end rubber on your rig you would have real world experience with the difference. While the price is attractive on the good years they don't compare in the performance department. Good luck with your low end tires..

 

For $40 more than the Authorities at Wal Mart I went to American Tire Depot and got my Duratracs with all the warranties, mounting and balancing, and nitrogen. They didn't have them in stock when I ordered them and less than 24 hours later they were on my truck. Good luck with your Wal-Mart specials.

 

Typical trashing.

 

Mine have been holding up very well.

 

X2

 

Mine held up really welll too. And I beat the fuck out of them. Lots of gouges and gashes, and never popped

 

hey if these tires are working for you guys enjoy them. from my personal experiences with them they do not ride as nice on road or provide the same traction as the higher end tires i've wheeled on the same truck. compared to stock tires these things are great.

 

Bump with 40,000 mile update.

 

I can't say enough good things about these tires. They really are one of the best tires when you can get when you take in account what they cost. I love them in the deep snow and great on ice. They do great in the mud for an at tire. Here are mine at 50k rotated 4 times. I know I should do more just I forget. Sorry for bad pic. Best I could at the moment.

 

Awesome! Just rolled over 10k with mine and couldn't be happier, still look new!! I swear by these Goodyear Wrangler Authorities... Performance off and on road is top notch... And they have my favorite tread pattern to date, Bonus! $707 out the door, incredible.

Two of my four road-force balanced better than the 4 brand new michelins that were balanced for a Prius before I got my tires on the machine. And the other two tires are well within spec... All 4 are exponentially better than the BFG AT's I've ran for 10+ years on two different trucks. Never could get a set of BFG's that weren't out of round... Always border-lined in-spec, learned that lesson!

The ONLY concern I have is that they may get louder with increased mileage. Louder than BFG's, but entirely tolerable and quieted down a touch after break in...

Wormer, any comments on road noise at 50k?