Best tire choice??

[travelguy2500]

How about LT245/70R-17 Goodyear Wrangler SilentArmor Pro-Grade E? Tirerack recommending as a good all weather tire with E rating with good on road performance (low noise good mileage), solid winter performance and decent enough for the occasional off-road need (I use my SMB to pull a trailer so off-road means pulling across a wet/muddy field and/or dirt roads - nothing even remotely extreme. Decided to stay with the same size tire that quigley used so I didn't add any more height/width to my rig which is already tall enough with the a/c and sat receiver on the roof

[seasmith]

travelguy,

Thanks for the kickback. Was kinda hoping for an option avoiding a ~$1000 17" wheel upgrade, but it may be inevitable ...
That model shows available only up to a 265/70R16, which is a lot smaller than the tire on there now.
Know anything about the Goodyear Wrangler Duratrak /? It comes in 315/75R16.
Or the Goodyear Fierce Attitude M/T ?


s

[JoeH]

I just put 35" Duratracs on 16x8" ATX Mojave rims on my rig. They are pretty much the only E-rated tire in that size that is not an MT. The ride quality is appreciably nicer than the 285/75/16 BFGs that I had on the same rims previously. Both have 3 ply sidewalls.

I think there is room for discussion on the linkage between width/height of a 35" vs 33" tire on a 16" rim and wobble/vibration. The difference isn't really all that great and I suspect drivetrain wear and suspension setup (springs and shocks) are probably more important factors than tire sidewall height. Intuitively I would think it would improve the ride and be more supple but maybe that's not the case with a 2-ply sidewall on a D-rated tire.

Anyhow, I just drove to Durango and back from Flagstaff. All on the highway and at speeds up to 80 mph but averaging 65. The return leg was against a stiff oblique to straight on headwind (20 to 30 sustained wind with gusts to 55 mph) and the van was stable at speed and still tracked nicely. No wander or drift. My gas mileage went from 16mpg to 11 The tires are just a tad louder than the BFGs with a barely audible low hum. I really only notice it at low speeds. So far so good, and a shout out to Duckskin who talked me into going with the duratracs

Edit to add: The duratracs are also cheaper than BFGs or just about any MT tire at $240 ea. and Goodyear has a $60 rebate going right now on a purchase of 4.

[seasmith]

JoeH,

Thanks for the info. Just read the reviews on Tirerack, and the only beef seemed to be with the wear, except for one dude with a little Tacoma who filled them with nitrogen and was rolling past 55k miles. Don't know how that would prevent wear on the outside ??
Anyway, sounds like a decent choice.
btw, with your mileage drop, is that taking in to account that you're actually going further than the odometer reads ?

Note on the 315x75R Procomps- Just had a rotation and balance today and the wobble stopped and the racket went right to the rear of the van. Didn't realize, or remember that those knobbies need rotatotating about twice as often as the BFG KO's i had on the Pathfinder

Happy trails...

[JoeH]

Originally Posted by seasmith

JoeH,

Thanks for the info. Just read the reviews on Tirerack, and the only beef seemed to be with the wear, except for one dude with a little Tacoma who filled them with nitrogen and was rolling past 55k miles. Don't know how that would prevent wear on the outside ??
Anyway, sounds like a decent choice.
btw, with your mileage drop, is that taking in to account that you're actually going further than the odometer reads ?

Note on the 315x75R Procomps- Just had a rotation and balance today and the wobble stopped and the racket went right to the rear of the van. Didn't realize, or remember that those knobbies need rotatotating about twice as often as the BFG KO's i had on the Pathfinder

Happy trails...

My scanguage is adjusted for the different sized tires so the reduction in fuel economy was strictly because of the wind and the brick-like aerodynamic nature of our vans.

[BroncoHauler]

Some new Nitto's out. More of an all terrain tread, but promising. Be sure to look at the HD version.

http://www.nittocrosstek.com/default.aspx


Herb

[Ford_6L_E350]

Herb,

That's an interesting tire.

I'm close to replacing my Michelin LTX AT's and that Nitto is a possibility. Thanks for the heads up.

Mike

[Gnarvan]

I'm not impressed with the tread pattern. To much of a street tread IMHO. I would never run mudders but I want something a little more open so it has a chance of self cleaning off road.

[BIGVANS]

Originally Posted by Gnarvan

I'm not impressed with the tread pattern. To much of a street tread IMHO. I would never run mudders but I want something a little more open so it has a chance of self cleaning off road.

X2!

[BroncoHauler]

Someone else posted a link, but in case you missed it, Nitto has a much more aggressive tire as well, the Trailer Grappler. One of the Grappler series of tires.

http://www.nittotire.com/Tire/trailgrappler#tech


Herb