GoodYear Wrangler DuraTrac vs Toyo Open Country M/T

It's time to replace my 33x12.5R15 GoodYear Wrangler MT/Rs. I need some help choosing between these 2 tires; I know they are in different categories and price ranges (DuraTracs <$700 shipped from TireRack; Toyos >$1100).

I barely ever go offroad, but I want to keep a very aggressive look. I'm mostly concerned with balancing, rain traction & road noise. My friend likes his DuraTracs, much better in rain & snow, but not much quieter than his previous muds and no balancing problems.

The Toyos are well known to be the best balanced muds. I blow through the IFS wheel bearings a lot, so I'm really into the balancing; but the DuraTracs are new, so not a lot of reliable reviews yet.

 

[MidnightRebel07]

I'm looking at the same tires and same size so if anyone has any info it would be awesome, thanks.

 

[BonesDT]

I went with the DuraTracs. Money was the biggest factor. Got 4 for $624 shipped from treadepot.com, beats Tire Rack. Not everyone carries Toyos and the few that do are either sold out of the MT 33x12.5 or your looking at well into 4 figures.

You wont find any comparos between these 2. The only con I read about the DTs is that they have a weak sidewall (I guess they are technically an All Terrain tire and nota MT, albeit the most aggressive AT or in its own class between AT & MT). A weak sidewall concerns the towing crowd - I tow a couple days a year - on a good year. The weak sidewall might mean better street performance though.

Who knows. Ill let you know how they compare to my GoodYear MTs which I've always had. I loved the GY MTs, never needed a spare, you couldnt puncture the sidewall with a gun. They did take a lot of weights to balance, but they were eventually balanceable.

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Thanks, I read the reviews and saw the sidewall reviews but htose were on fullsize trucks that are heavy and they should've gotten the higher load ranger DT's not the Class C's.

I'll be picking up a set of these in the next week or so.

 

[MidnightRebel07]

So I went to the site you suggested and saw they were chepaer then anywhere I've found so far, that is until I went to the local GoodYear dealer and told them the website's price so the guy said he'll give them to me for $146 a tire, WOO HOO !!!!

I'm going back tomorrow and ordering a set of 5 and 5 Cragar Soft 8's from Summit Racing. Gotta get my ball joints replaced and an alignment before I go and put these tires on.

Thanks again man!!

 

[BonesDT]

Damnit. I hate when someone gets a better price!

Gotta get my ball joints replaced and an alignment before I go and put these tires on.

You raise something interesting here. Why an alignment BEFORE new tires? Wouldnt the new tires affect the alignment a slight bit? I had to replace my wheel bearings, upper control arms with ball joints and tires. At first i figured i should replace everything then head straight to the alignment shop before i stress my new parts, but then i read somewhere about having your suspension "settle" before an alignment. My truck's been jacked up for a week now so I'm thinking i should drive around and get all the new parts broken in then get the alignment.

 

[MidnightRebel07]

I"m getting the wheels/tires installed before I do the alignment. I've heard the same thing about allowing the new parts to settle before getting an alignment.

When I told the guy the site's price he was amazed. I asked what their price was and figured he'd say around $200 but after looking on his computer he told me $146, then I was amazed.

 

[sport97]

I"m getting the wheels/tires installed before I do the alignment. I've heard the same thing about allowing the new parts to settle before getting an alignment.

When I told the guy the site's price he was amazed. I asked what their price was and figured he'd say around $200 but after looking on his computer he told me $146, then I was amazed.

What dealer did you go to? I am south of Pittsburgh, but am up in the area around the city often. And what size did you get for $146 a tire?

edit: scratch the size, i see you said same size as up top.

 

[BonesDT]

I forgot to mention I got my DuraTracs today. They got Mud Terrain sized lugs wrapping up the side walls. They are definitely lacking in the sidewalls though, you can push them in easily with a finger and when you pick it up them up by the seat, they get floppy. I miss the rock hard bulletproof sidewalls of my MTRs! I'm sure all this adds up to a lighter tire. The rubber is soft, melts in your hand like my track bike tires. Usually, that would be nice for street tires, but kind of weird when you have huge lugs.

These definitely aren't MT quality, but they have the aggressive look of MTs for a tighter budget and supposedly better road mannerisms.

I'm going to try to mount them myself with my jerry rig. Anyone know if car tires are easier or harder to mount than motorcycle tires? I thought I heard somewhere that they are easier because they aren't has stiff. Dismounting the MTs and mounting the DTs will allow me to get more intimate with the structure difference of these tires.

 

[MidnightRebel07]

I live on the northside so the closest one was the dealer in downtown which I thought wouldv'e been even more expensive.

I just saw the commercial for NTB's best price or they'll pay you $200, I think I might have to go out there tomorrow and see what they can do for me, LOL.

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Went to NTB and they qouted me $142 a tire, Yeah buddy!! I think I'm going with GoodYear though, their cheaper with all the mounting/ balancing, etc. overall.

 

[sport97]

Went to NTB and they qouted me $142 a tire, Yeah buddy!! I think I'm going with GoodYear though, their cheaper with all the mounting/ balancing, etc. overall.

Is that mounted and balanced too? That's a good price on 33's. I'm going with 265/75's, I hope I can snag a deal like that.

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Just for the tire price, mount and balance is gonna run $15 a tire. Sporty, Go on
http://www.treadepot.com/, http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/home.do? and http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...R5WDTOWL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes
to price shop and then go to local dealers and see if they can beat their prices, it's what I did.