Will Duratracs give lower mpg's than stock Rugged Trails?

Assuming same tire width of 265, is the softer compound and more aggressive tread pattern of Durtracs enough that I will notice a measurable mpg drop?

Anyone have personal experience with making this switch?


p.s., I've seen a few isolated comments about this tire swap in other threads where people have cited a noticable drop in mpg, but I wanted a thread for more people to check in so we can create a broader pool of data.

 

I dropped!

 

Yes. Without a doubt.

 

Also, the tread is much more aggressive meaning you'll see less MPG's. Might not affect you too much, but there will be some loss.

 

More aggressive tread means more biting by the tire and more road resistance when driving. Your fuel efficiency WILL drop.

That said, who cares? Trucks ain't about mileage, and aggressive tires look sweet.

 

I hate this argument. I, and I'm sure others, bought the truck for it's mileage, rather than despite it.

 

But really it wont be that much and good gas mileage is still available.

 

EXACTLY. We've beat it to death, but you can get a full size for roughly the same money as we pay for our Tacomas.

 

I lost at least 1.5 mpg! Probably more like 2+ on average... But ask me how the do off the pavement! If your not going off road stay away from at or mud tires if you are worried about milage. Also the tires are much harder to balance and wheel shake is a definite possibility. I have had mine road force balanced and I still have a minor shake between 55-65 but I can live with it. There is a thread here about the wheel shake.
Bottom line my tires hook up real good of the road but there is a price to pay. I average about 16.5 mpg now, I use to get average around 18.5 according to my road trip app on my phone.

 

I wouldn't. Fullsizes aren't nearly as competent for wheeling.

But I get what you guys are saying though...Taco is definitely an option that offers 7/8ths full-size capability with 8/7ths full-size mileage, and I can see how that's appealing if it's DD.

 

Exactly! Excellently said.

 

i went up a size and got the duratracs. am still getting over 17 mpg with winter blend. the sticker on my window when i bought the truck said 16 so i am happy with the 17.

 

whoever has wheel shake with brand new tires...its stupid. Should be no excuses for perfectly balanced wheel/tires. Tell them to calibrate the machine and use the proper adapters.

 

I felt the same way,now after trying 4 shops it still has a little shake. All the shops said mud tires just shake on compact trucks. Yeah after being told it was a compact I left. American tire got it pretty close but it still shakes. I am thinking of trying hubcentric (sp) rings next. Just to be clear I had toyota try and they did not get rid of the shake at 55 either.

 

Mine dropped a couple. Doesn't really bother me though.

 

Thanks for the replies so far. I'm currently getting about 15.5-16 mpg with my Rugged Trails with winter mix fuel. SUCKS. That's the lowest I've seen in the 5 years that I've had the truck. If it drops to 13-14 with Duratracs, I will seriously shit.

As far as the chance for wheel shake, I can live with a little, as long at it's not ridiculous.

 

If you were local I would sell you my Duratracs!

 

I care. A drop in 2mpg over the lifetime of the tires (assuming 50K) translates into about $1200-1400 more spent on fuel, so it's like paying that much more for the set of tires on top of what they already cost.

 

if I was to have to do it over I might stick with bfg ats, as for the wheel shake after a few hours on the road it gets old. I am getting hub rings sometime next week.

 

Im getting 17mpg with Toyo M.Ts , just ordered a set of dura tracs, i hope i dont lose 2mpg on them, and if you guys are buying full size chevys for the same price as a Taco can you tell me where? When i bought my 2005 Taco for 23k the chevy i tested was 34k,now you know why i got a taco,and my friends chevy 4x4 gets 22mpg with a v8 compared to my v6 taco .