I was wrong....10 ply vs 6ply. The whole truth...but the plot thickens on page 5....

This has turned into a good discussion. I hope it continues so tire buyers can make a better decision based on their use.

Again, I want to be clear, I am not your typical driver. I run fast and hard on lots of unimproved roads. These are not your typical maintained gravel road. Lots of miles on those roads and if I ever got three flats I would be stranded.

 

Double ply FTW!

 

Especially if you have thick plots.

 

I was at America's Tire yesterday and got a pretty good quote for some 265/75/16 E rated Duratracs and almost had them installed then and there. Decided to wait and now I just read this whole thread and man, IDK what to think now lol. I was considering the Falken Wildpeaks, but are those only in C?? Honestly, it seems like a crapshoot. Some people seem to love their Duratracs and some hate them? Seems to be the case with anything around here though. Obviously you're going to have different opinions on tires based on your experiences, but for the most part, if you're not trying to spend $200+ for a tire, are the Duratracs worth it in a E, or are you all saying they suck in C/E regardless???

 

The Es in Duratracs do not have any more plies in the sidewall. Some other brands do.

 

Goodyear MTR with Kevlar?
I've never tried them to say so but that's part of Goodyears advertisement

 

Unless someone is using tires like @nevadabugle I don't think many people need an E rated tire on a Tacoma.

Getting that many flats in one trip needs some serious tire.

I've done hundreds of off road miles at good speed and have never had an issue with C/D rated tires.

Unfortunately it's an expensive experiment.

 

Number of plies was/is a way of rating bias ply tires...
Number of plies in a radial isn't worth much unless you know which and how many are; working, transition, and/or protective plies.

 

I've only heard good things from them. Buddy had 35's of them on for a wheeling trip and they were great.

 

I would agree. If I was doing a trip a month. Mainly on maintained gravel roads. Some light off trail, etc, Cs are probably fine. I use and abuse my trucks and am remote enough that being stranded is not an option.

 

My concern is how they do in rain without siping

 

My own opinion, just my own, is they suck regardless.

Take a look at the tire. C rated, E rated, doesn't matter. Play with the sidewall with the tire off the rim. You will be shocked how soft and thin the Duratrac sidewalls are.

I've seen Bridgestone HT's Firestone AT's and an off brand AT that were both E rated, and they were the same.

I don't know a great deal about tire construction and there are certainly others here that know far more, but (lesson learned) if the sidewall feels like I could push a pencil through it by hand, and not having to put down my beer or break a sweat in the process, it's not an off road tire, and WILL fail you at some point. After all, I DID get a WET stick through the sidewall of one of my Duracraps (so blown away over that one...that was just ridiculous). Only then (after I had the tire off and getting a new one put on) did I feel the sidewall thickness. Wowza. Not sure I'd run that damn tire on a Subaru on a dirt track let alone a serious off road rig.

The Bridgestone MT's, Firestone MT's, Goodyear MTR's I've run....I would have a tough time getting a tent stake through the sidewall with a hammer. And they've all taken some serious abuse without complaint. I can't comment too much on the ST Maxx yet, as I've only got 3k miles on them (they're great on the street), and will be hitting the dirt and rocks next week for two weeks, but I can tell you they've got some seriously beefy sidewalls. And I don't think I've found a single complaint about them regarding being weak tires.

Do they ride rougher? Sure. But it's a truck, and I use it hard. And I can't afford to have shit fail miles from nowhere.

Google and read up on other forums. Expedition Portal. IH8Mud. Jeep forums. The Duratrac probably has the most failures, short of the crappy highway terrain or street "all terrains" that come OEM on suv's and trucks. Yeah, we've seen all tires fail at some point. But Duratrac stands out as a supposed "off road tire" that consistently loses out to sidewall failures.

And yes...there will be people here defending them. "I've run them for hundreds or thousands of miles in the rocks, and they are awesome". That's fine. I did too. Until three failed me on one remote trip. I'm not the only one by far. And I don't hear of these complaints about other off road tire types.

Now, if you are going to run on the street, with occasional use on dirt track not far from civilization, and run in snow and ice a lot....the Duratrac could be a damn near perfect tire for you. For a serious off road rig? Or in a situation where you are further out than you'd like to or be able to walk when two or three tires fail you? Take my advice and pass. You may get lucky, or you may get unlucky. Why play the odds? Their sidewalls look aggressive. Well.....they're NOT. Street and all season tire posing as an off road tire.

If you're not worried about being stranded and like their snow and ice performance, go for it if you like them. But make sure to also get the America's Tire certificates for replacement so you don't wind up pissing away over $1k in tires if you do get unlucky.

 

@sagexp Thank you for your thoughtful reply, honestly, that was very informative and why I love forums!

This is pretty much what I am planning...As has been said before here, it pretty much comes down to what you plan on doing with your truck. That's the beautiful thing about the choices we have as Taco owners. I've decided to give the Duratracs a chance. I just couldn't pass up the deal I got, since they gave me a decent trade in value on my stock tires with approx. 2k miles on them. I'll have to report back in a couple months after I've had some time on them. I definitely got the certificates of replacement so I have the peace of mind as well.

 

Heck duratrac doesn't even come in Early for the common larger sizes. 285/70/17 is D only, as I believe is 35x12.5.

 

You and I chose the right tires

I chose the ST Maxx for it's large lug design and E rating for my towing needs. I tow a small toy hauler to most of my destinations and then wheel the truck or ride dirt bikes. I can't have a tire failure out there when I need to tow my family home. The ST Maxx seemed like the best all around tire for me

https://youtu.be/9Kz8mmLkeks

 

so - now that you've had the ST Maxx for 2 months. Any updated impressions? I am hearing conflicting reports. Some saying mpg and performance takes a serious dive, others saying not much difference because "skinny" thanks!

 

Still love the tires.

Not sure what impact it has had on MPG, as I don't pay attention to MPG's. I bought the truck (and tires) I wanted, MPG's don't concern me. My daily commute is 9 miles round trip, so MPG's are not a big consideration for me.

I did run them on a 10 day hunt in late October in Northern AZ. South of the canyon, North of I-40. Tons of AZ's famously sharp and numerous rocks and a lot of miles traveled. Same area I lost those 3 duratracs to. Not a single issue. Aired down to about 16 psi on the trip. Tires did well, gripped well, and I have no chunking in the tread (I usually see some significant chunking on tires past in this area). All types of terrain, running fast, running slow and crawling over heavy rock areas. Took some good rock hits that made me cringe, and they shrugged the hits off. No complaints.

No mud or snow this trip, so can't report on performance there.

Now have about 6k miles on them. Just had them rotated. They are still quiet. Hopefully the continue to be so as the miles continue to rack up.

I won't be completely sold on them until I get some mud and snow time on them, and a few more trips, but so far so good.

Example of terrain I was in.

 

Thanks for the update! - They look super solid off road. - I'm in Colorado and take trips to Utah desert and have heard good things about them in the Rocky Mountains and in snow too. I commute much more than 9 miles on road so just trying to see how easy they are to live with during the week.

 

First thanks for the informative posts.
I've been running Hankook Dynapro ATM s in LT24575 R 16 E load rating with good results towing and hauling loads on bad roads in Baja, AZ, and in Colorado with plenty of snow.
How would you compare the ST Maxx to this Hankook? Any experience with the Hankook?
Thanks

 

He's ghosting this site cursing daily for the fact he can't reply to anyone