Goodyear Duratrac's on Frontier?

[4x4sporty]

I would like to hear from frontier owners running Duratrac's .
I mainly want to know about road noise,wet traction and cupping/dipping.
I went to buy a set and the salesman talked me out of them. He said they would cup/dip and develop terrible road noise due to the aggressive tread and the weight of the truck..
I have had a few sets of mud tires cup/dip on smaller vehicles but they were much more aggressive than the Duratrac's
Thanks for your thoughts in advance

 

[Explorerinil]

I would like to hear from frontier owners running Duratrac's .
I mainly want to know about road noise,wet traction and cupping/dipping.
I went to buy a set and the salesman talked me out of them. He said they would cup/dip and develop terrible road noise due to the aggressive tread and the weight of the truck..
I have had a few sets of mud tires cup/dip on smaller vehicles but they were much more aggressive than the Duratrac's
Thanks for your thoughts in advance

I ran a set on a ram cummins truck for years with no problem. they were not loud at all.

 

[dixie1865]

Not a Fronty, but I have 2 Xterras (08 &11), both with Duratracs. There is a slight amount of road noise, but not objectionable. I have not had any problems with cuppping or increased noise, but I rotate them religiously and I think that helps. The tires on my 08 have abut a year left on them. I think I have about 35k on them and I off road with them throughout the year. The tires on my 11 are my DD and I only have about 10k on them, but they show minimal wear.

When the set on my 08 wear out, I may get something more aggressive (thinking BFG KM3) , but that's only because it's primarily an off road rig now. I have been really impressed with the grip and the flex of the sidewall off road. I will keep putting them on my 11 because of the wet and especially snow traction.

 

[shade]

I ran a set on my double cab Tacoma. No complaints for 40,000 miles. I changed to the Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx for durability concerns, but that was because I started taking routes that were more likely to eat tyres. Otherwise, I may have stayed with the DuraTrac.

I'd suggest using Load range C, unless you have a reason to use a heavier tyre.

 

[Airmapper]

I'm on my 3rd set on the Xterra, the sibling of the Frontier. Absolutely love the tire in all conditions but the guy was not lying, they will make noise with wear, and I've had some instances of the alternating tread blocks wearing uneven. Ample rotation is key, they don't tolerate neglect well.

I look at them as a compromise between a AT and MT. You will be hard pressed to find a tire as aggressive off road that won't annoy you on pavement, but as a jack of all trades it will be master of none.

Also I've noticed tire pressure to make a slightly noticeable difference in how they feel. Once you find a sweet spot it seems to help. I like mine at 35-40psi, on load E.

I don't have solid numbers handy but I'm pretty sure I got around 50-60k out of my last set. Very durable for me.

I think it matters most what is important to you in a tire. If you want a tire up for whatever, it's your tire, and you'll have to forgive it's negatives. If you want more comfort, I wouldn't blame you for looking elsewhere.

Also of note, I do have the opportunity to drive a Frontier often so I'm familiar with it's handling independent of the Xterra, but haven't driven that tire on a Frontier. I can't see that it would make a large difference though.

 

[dahspeers]

They make noise once you get them down to their half-life, but with that tread pattern it's to be expected. I only have two complaints about them, they're getting up in cost and they're fairly soft in the sidewall. I went with Falken Wildpeaks this latest time around and have zero regrets.

 

[roving1]

They make noise once you get them down to their half-life, but with that tread pattern it's to be expected. I only have two complaints about them, they're getting up in cost and they're fairly soft in the sidewall. I went with Falken Wildpeaks this latest time around and have zero regrets.

For me I would only run these as a good almost snow tire substitute. Those sidewalls suck. I have run into 4 of these on the trail with flats due to a pinched sidewall. Then a whole bunch more on trail videos and word of mouth. All flat the exact same way. Some 18" ones just from hitting potholes.

 

[Blaise]

^ lol, like this. I run 18" duratracs that aren't E-rated and I run them HARD. I've been 100+ miles from any civilization and never had any issue ever. 75k miles of experience including hundreds and hundreds of off-road miles in alaska, 5 trips to moab, two to SW Colorado... I have no idea how people are ruining their Duratracs.

(original post):

I ran Duratracs on my Xterra for 50k miles before I sold it here on ExPo. They made it to 75k before being replaced by the next owner. They are great tires and I have since purchased a 2nd set for my new truck.

Don't get an E-rated tire. I know i'll get flamed to death for it but you're not in an F-350. I run an SL tire on a far heavier vehicle now (LR3) and the ride quality is well worth it. And yes, I do all the rocky trails and never have had a flat. Yes, I've been to Moab. Yes, I air down. Yes, really. The whole 'non-LT tires get a flat if you even look at gravel' is simply not true.

 

[Buliwyf]

Every single truck I've ever driven cupped, or feathered tires. Rotate them every 5000, try to scrub less when turning. Heavy understeer vehicles do this.

DT's may be wiggly at first.

I'd run the E's. DT's are a bit soft.

 

[moderndaynorseman]

I run Duratracs on my '07 Frontier, no issues whatsoever with noise on the road and they perform really well off road. I had Duratracs on my last truck as well, so it's safe to say that I like them a fair bit. My only complaints with them are that they do get ever so slightly noisier as they wear and I noticed their performance on ice degrades as the tires wear too, but that's kind of to be expected of any tire that's not a dedicated winter/studded tire.

 

[Triplesnake]

We have Duratracs on the my wife's pathfinder, and they have become quite noisy on the road. We have kept up with the rotation and pressures. I may try upping the pressure based on the comment above. We really like them for offroad stuff, and while the road noise is noticable, it isn't bad enough for my wife to want to swap them out. She does mention that they will slip in the rain, but she isn't the "smoothest" driver, LOL.

 

[Todd780]

I've got about 60,000 miles on mine. No issues so far. Running them on an F150. They are getting loud though. Probably will last another few months driving 60 miles per day. I may replace them with another set. Either that or Falken Wildpeak AT3W's.

 

[Mo4130]

Just FYI. Good year markets the duratrac as a commercial snow tire.


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[Pangaea1]

Just FYI. Good year markets the duratrac as a commercial snow tire.


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I ran Duratracs on my '14 Frontier the entire time I had it. Excellent tires, good wear (always sold them at 50% or so and got good money for them), quiet, thousands of kms on gravel and dirt and no flats. I had them because they're winter rated, which is required up here for most mountain passes, and they are awesome in the snow. Got them again for my Tundra when I moved up.

 

[skrypj]

Ive had 4 sets, 2 on a Jeep Liberty CRD(265/70R16 and LT265/75R16 c range) and 2 in an F150(275/60R20)

Overall a great tire. Pretty quiet and fantastic in the snow. Just make sure you rotate them every 4k or less. I let the first set on my jeep go a little to long and the fronts got a little wonky.