GY Duratrac issues

[78Bronco]

We run 45 psi in our expedition with LT265/70R17 load range E bridgestones. It tracks fantastic.

I doubt the compound is all that soft due to them being designed for heavy applications...heavy truck and soft compound rubber doesn't mix and I think GY has their act together in these regards.

What is the tire size and rim dimensions? Perhaps you need wider wheels or narrower wheels. Maybe the truck itself has some loose linkage and it is being magnified by the new tires.

 

[huntsonora]

We run 45 psi in our expedition with LT265/70R17 load range E bridgestones. It tracks fantastic.

I doubt the compound is all that soft due to them being designed for heavy applications...heavy truck and soft compound rubber doesn't mix and I think GY has their act together in these regards.

What is the tire size and rim dimensions? Perhaps you need wider wheels or narrower wheels. Maybe the truck itself has some loose linkage and it is being magnified by the new tires.

I'm running 265/70/17 which is stock size for my 2011 4Runner Trail Edition. Nothing is loose, I am positive it's the tires. After reading a pile of reviews it is not an uncommon problem with the Duratracs. They are awesome on the ranch and they are great in the rain and like I mentioned earlier I didn't take a hit on mileage so I'm bummed they aren't working out

 

[Buliwyf]

It's a snowflake rated rubber in a hybrid mud/at. It's going to take 3000 miles for you to get enough heat cycles into the tires to firm them up. All the newest high-end types of rubber are doing this. They should feel a little wishy washy until the super soft rubber drys up a little. It'll go away.
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Relax, they'll be fine. My snowflake GY Silent Armors did the exact same thing. Lucky for me, I visit the factory from time to time. When these rubber types come out of the mold they're extremely soft. To get softer rubber, you're mostly just adding oil. Side effect of the new compound is an overly soft feel until they're "broken in" or heat cycled enough. The fancy rubber and the fancy Kevlar belt is why these tires cost a Kidney more than their sister tires, the Kelly Safari TSR.

 

[F350]

I'm running 265/75-16 C's on my 05 explorer. They seemed squishy to me too but at first. That was 8K miles and 8 months ago. I've found I like 40lbs+ of air in them as that stiffen's the ride up a bit and I'm getting better mpgs. My Explorer is 4800lbs with minimal load so more air is better. The contact area looks pretty even as well. The extra air also helped quiet them down a tad too.

 

[CUMMINSDIESELPWR]

running 315/75-16 @50psi on my ram 2500 diesel and wear is good handling is good zero issues

 

[huntsonora]

It's a snowflake rated rubber in a hybrid mud/at. It's going to take 3000 miles for you to get enough heat cycles into the tires to firm them up. All the newest high-end types of rubber are doing this. They should feel a little wishy washy until the super soft rubber drys up a little. It'll go away.
-
Relax, they'll be fine. My snowflake GY Silent Armors did the exact same thing. Lucky for me, I visit the factory from time to time. When these rubber types come out of the mold they're extremely soft. To get softer rubber, you're mostly just adding oil. Side effect of the new compound is an overly soft feel until they're "broken in" or heat cycled enough. The fancy rubber and the fancy Kevlar belt is why these tires cost a Kidney more than their sister tires, the Kelly Safari TSR.

Excellent info! Thank you!

 

[A.J.M]

I have 255/55/19 ones on my Disco3, have covered just over 7,000 miles in them.

Mine didn't seem funny when fitted but then I had pretty much worn out road tyres on before them so if anything they were an improvement.

No issues in dry or wet weather.
Snow and ice doesn't seem to brother them as long as I drive sensibly as 2.7 tons sliding doesn't stop easily.
Good in gravel and rocks.
Good in muddy conditions and we get plenty of that in Scotland.

The sidewalks though do seem to be a weak point. There is 1 tyre in my garage with a 1/2 inch hole in the sidewall due to a rock. £208 tyre is now fit only for the bin.

I do run mine at 42psi, has knocked 2-3 mpg from the usual economy and are slightly noisier than a normal tyre but my last car was a freelander hardback and the disco is far quieter than that even with the tyres.

 

[stioc]

I just traded in my Duratracs with less than 1k miles on them for a set of BFG ATs. While the looks and traction were very good (my previous set was also Duratracs) there were two main issues with them that I decided I couldn't accept anymore. After using them in the rocky terrain (lots of sharp rocks, boulders, ledges etc) I found out that they gouge and cut very easily especially the sidewalls. Two, the on-road handling was vague- that's the best way I can describe the feeling and felt they wandered all over. For a replacement I considered the Coopers, Falkens, Toyos etc but in the end decided I would go with the tried and true BFGs (the ones I thought were a 20 yo design and I could do much better than that with so many options available today but I couldn't). I'm very pleased with the BFGs so far, no more wump-wump going down the road, good confident handling. Honestly, the only thing I miss about the Duratracs so far is the burly look they gave my truck.

 

[charlieaarons]

I got load range E tires because I am off road quite a bit and want a tire that has more to it. 10 ply vs a 6 ply was cheap insurance. There are times when I am 3-4 hours from a paved road and I like having a stouter tire. I am worried about the sidewalls of the Duratracs though

What you should have looked for is an all steel casing. Michelin XPS (traction or rib), some GY, some Japanese mfgs. Most likely in 235/85R16, 7.50R16, 8.25R16 (34") or 9.00R16 (or 255/100R16) (36"). Any polyester casing no matter how many plies is weak compared to a single steel wire sidewall ply. There's a reason why ALL heavy truck radials are ALL steel. My 18 ply rated 395/85R20 XZLs (12300 lb@120psi) have a single steel sidewall ply, also very thick rubber sidewall.
http://www.vrakking-tires.com/stock/5-truck-tires
All steel tires are meant for commercial use, they do not have fancy white lettering or sexy sidewall molding - usually just double or triple anti-abrasion bands on the outer sidewall.

Charlie

 

[Buliwyf]

Oh yeah, they're going to feel very weird for the first 5000m. Just put a new set on my work van last weekend. Not too bad though. If I toss it back and forth quickly they'll start to wiggle like the van is about to rotate properly (vans have heavy oversteer). My Silent Armors did the same thing at first.
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For regular contractor construction sites, messy gravel roads, farm wells, cell towers, and dirt roads they're perfect. Rockcrawling on sharp sidewall eating rocks, I heard the Cooper STT or ST Maxx was a better choice. No way am I going back to a BFG or Silent Armor AT's again. I like how these self clean and fling mud out really well at only 20mph wheel speed.

 

[Inyo_man]

265/75/16's (E load) with over 55k, they are down to 6/32 with even wear on all four.
At this stage of the game they are looking very tired and the tread is chunked with many slices, however, they have never left me stranded. I have no complaints.

 

[Kssting]

I run load E Duratracs at 29-30 pounds on road and on my jeep they chalk out perfect. They have a little over 15k on them. I have pulled our heavy camping trailer several times and the tires feels the same with or without it back there. I haven't had any issues with the sidewalls and we have plenty of rocky trails out here in Utah.

 

[teotwaki]

I run load E Duratracs at 29-30 pounds on road and on my jeep they chalk out perfect. They have a little over 15k on them. I have pulled our heavy camping trailer several times and the tires feels the same with or without it back there. I haven't had any issues with the sidewalls and we have plenty of rocky trails out here in Utah.

I've run my Duratracs in a bunch of Utah's great offroad areas including the Maze and they were great!

 

[Heloflyboy]

I just bought a set of these for my E350 and they feel great. Had Michelin LTX before these and liked them also. I ran duratrac's on my Samurai and they worked great. I did gash the sidewall pretty well on the Rubicon trail but it did not let me down and it was to be expected.

 

[teotwaki]

Duratracs in action :sombrero:

from my Maze trip report in my blog