All terrain Tires - What to look for

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Originally Posted By: ccap41
No offence, But the new rims look 100X better to me. I'm just not a fan of the chrome lip on black wheels, but I LOVE solid black wheels. They will look really good on your truck, man! The matte finish will go with the matte fender flares, door handles, and mirrors..


Those wheels and tires on the truck currently is what was on it when I bought it 3 years ago. Those chrome lips are a separate piece and rattle when driving, hence being replaced.
 
Originally Posted By: Brigadier
If I do go with the LTX A/T2's again, I WILL get them siped. They do not have much siping to start with.


I suggest not going with LTX A/T2's again.

I loved my LTX A/T's (predecessor tire), even if it was more highway than off-road, it was a great set of tires. They were discontinued when worn out and the tirerack reviews of the new version were not kind. My tire guy confirmed that, the A/T2 is one of the few Michelin tires he never recommends. He said the snow plow pickups has better traction with the MS/2 than the A/T2.

Better to get the MS/2 or go all the way for a real off-road tire.
 
Originally Posted By: HangFire
go all the way for a real off-road tire.


Hence the DuraTracs.
 
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So far, I am very happy with the combination. Especially the wheels. Gone is the rattle and squeak of the chrome beauty ring from the old 17" wheels. I can now drive down the road with the windows down and not be annoyed by that noise.

These tires have more of the truck tire highway whine than the Michelins did, but I actually like it. So does my youngest son.

GPS confirms that the speedometer is about 1 MPH high, which it has always been. DT tire size comparator says that these are the same diameter/width, etc. as the stock 265/75-15's were.

Now to find some mud and pray for snow this winter....
 
The DuraTracs are probably the best all-around tire for a truck there is. The only real downside to them is a super flimsy sidewall.

They do EXCELLENT in ice and hard packed snow.

Can't really see what size you got from the picture.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
The DuraTracs are probably the best all-around tire for a truck there is. The only real downside to them is a super flimsy sidewall.

They do EXCELLENT in ice and hard packed snow.

Can't really see what size you got from the picture.


I got 265/70-16. Down from 245/70-17.
 
I originally wanted white lettering out, but this size is black wall only, both sides. And these are not LT sized, so they are not studdable in case anyone is wondering.
 
Originally Posted By: Brigadier
I originally wanted white lettering out, but this size is black wall only, both sides. And these are not LT sized, so they are not studdable in case anyone is wondering.


On a red truck I think the blackwall looks best anyway. Ahhh I don't think you'll need them studded at all. That sounds like something you'd need if you were daily driving on ice.
 
Originally Posted By: Brigadier
I originally wanted white lettering out, but this size is black wall only, both sides. And these are not LT sized, so they are not studdable in case anyone is wondering.


Do they still have the Severe Weather rating (mountain snowflate symbol)?
 
Originally Posted By: buck91
Originally Posted By: Brigadier
I originally wanted white lettering out, but this size is black wall only, both sides. And these are not LT sized, so they are not studdable in case anyone is wondering.


Do they still have the Severe Weather rating (mountain snowflate symbol)?


Yes they do.
 
Bumped the cold pressure up to 40 psi from DT's 30 psi[door sticker]. Max is 51 psi. Truck seems less squishy on the road now.
 
I run Duratrac 235/85-16's on the old rodeo, which is similar in weight/size to the colorado. This is an oversize tire in this application but actually skinnier than stock.

I like the duratrac's and I like them skinny. Great winter traction. Usually run around on icy snow-packed roads in RWD on the duratrac's with no problems, in fact, out-accelerating almost any FWD passenger cars on ice/snow. Soft side-walls are likely a positive in this regard. For 1/4 ton applications like this I think these are probably some of the best all-around tires for poor traction conditions that can be used year round. I probably would not want to run these on a heavy loaded work truck unless it was an off-highway vehicle.

Expect a hit on fuel economy on any of these more aggressive all terrain and/or commercial traction type tires. Good rule of thumb is that if it has aggressive sidewall "lugs" it will eat at east 1-2MPG+.


If the old zu lasts to another set of tires I might give BF's Commercial T/A tires a try, similar sort of premise going on there.

Before these duratrac's I was running BF AT T/A KO 285/75-16's, which are even a bit taller but much wider. Hard to compare because of the significant difference in size, but the skinny duratrac's would run circles around the wider KO's on ice and snow. I can't say which characteristic is most influential here (tread, rubber, or size ?), but I've definitely found something I like in the skinny duratrac's.
 
OK, thought I would update everyone on these tires.

9k miles on them and I really like them. I haven't had a chance to go off road or thru snow with these, but in the heavy NW rains they are great. The other day I had to slam on the brakes during a downpour and I was waiting for the antilock to kick in, but it never did and the truck stopped like it grabbed an arrester wire. Hydroplaning is a thing of the past even on I-5's water filled ruts.

I run them at 40 psi otherwise the sidewall is a bit squishy and the truck doesn't feel as stable as I like.

Noise is fine. Wife didn't even notice any difference. And wear seems to be slow and even.

I would definitely put these on your list to look at if you are looking for truck tires.

YMMV
 
Only real downside to these tires is the flimsy sidewall. They work excellent in mud - nearly as good as a dedicated mud tire - and are superb in the snow and ice! If they do not have the mountain / snowflake symbol, they should have!

With that said, saw another one go down with a ripped sidewall.

I am not one to buy road hazard warranties, but this is a tire I definitely would.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Only real downside to these tires is the flimsy sidewall. They work excellent in mud - nearly as good as a dedicated mud tire - and are superb in the snow and ice! If they do not have the mountain / snowflake symbol, they should have!

With that said, saw another one go down with a ripped sidewall.

I am not one to buy road hazard warranties, but this is a tire I definitely would.


They do have the mountain snow symbol. and I run them at 40 psi due to the sidewall.
 
Well, the last two days Seattle area had 12" of wet snow, and then this AM icy snow.

Two thumbs up for the Duratracs. There were places where I thought I would NEED 4WD, but didn't if I took it easy on the gas pedal. And on ice, they stop very well all things considered.
 
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