Duratracs or A/T Adventure

[xBiffx]

I'm in the market for new shoes for my F-150. The stock 275/55/20 Scorpion Pirelli POS's aren't going to make it the winter I don't think. They have 25K miles on them and are dangerous even when a deer pisses on the road.

I am going to step up to a 275/65/20 size and in LT instead of P like the stock tires. My only question is, do I go with Duratracs or the new A/T Adventurer. The Adventure has a 60K mile tread warranty while the Duratracs have no warranty. Both are rated for severe snow which is a must this go around. The only thing I think I miss out on with the Adventures is the look.

Anyone have any experience with either of these?

 

[rommelrommel]

I have LT duratrac's on my GX470, and if you have need for as aggressive of a tire as the Duratrac is, the Adventure isn't gonna cut it. It looks like a borderline A/T to me, glorified street tire really. Overland Journal compared it to the cooper Discoverer A/T and BFG A/T All-terran KO among others and it came in dead last off road.

By all accounts duratracs will last 50-60k miles too. Mine are about 15k in and could fool you for being new without a depth gauge.

I guess the question is do you actually need the duratracs? As a note... they do throw the occasional stone, which I really can't see the Adventurer's doing.

 

[herm0016]

i also subscribe to overland journal.

I have the cooper at3 on my summer wheels and love them. they won the tire shootout by a good margin and were cheaper than nearly every other tire tested. the duratracks are a pretty aggressive AT. the coopers performed better and have a less aggressive design.

full disclosure: i run blizzaks on my truck in the winter. i am a believer is snow tires for winter.

 

[xBiffx]

Thanks for pointing me towards that Overland Journal piece. After doing some research, all I can say about that piece is WTF? I realize that OJ is a prestigious name in the biz but what in the fark were they thinking? Based on their testing I don't understand why people subscribe. I mean, none of the tires they tested are meant for rock crawling or doing a dirt oval at 75MPH, good God! Their conclusions are very one sided. They took the Adventure, a tire that is made for 80/20 on-road/off-road and pinned it against tires that are designed for a majority of off-road and then decided it was the worst? Even after the road tests showed it was one of the best for that application, the application that it so happens it was designed for the majority of the time. One huge giveaway that the test was flawed was their failure to include the Duratracs in the lineup. It would have been a very informative and interesting test if they had done that. As it is, to me as someone who doesn't subscribe so has no idea of their history, it appears that they were looking for a particular winner so they setup tests and selected tires to accommodate that. There is no snow/mud testing whatsoever which is mostly what I am looking at buying a tire for. I don't need to climb even small rocks in my F-150 nor would I with any of these tires. I also don't need to be running dirt ovals at 75MPH for shit's sake.

I don't need the Duratracs, that's for sure. They are mostly about look as they perform about the same as many other tires when it comes to snow, ice, and occasional dirt/mud. I need a tire that stays on the tarmac most days but can venture onto a trail or occasional true off-road on some weekends for camping, hiking, shooting type occasions. I might hit 45MPH going down a straight section of dirt road but that's about it.

I may just strike the Duratracs from the list as they likely won't be the best performer for the main use for me, on-road driving which sometimes encounters snow or rain.

 

[xBiffx]

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the info and recommendation to that Overland Journal article. I just don't agree with their conclusions in it. Also, Cooper tires have never done me well. They perform great out of the gate but their performance over time and longevity have always left me wanting more.

I guess you get what you pay for.

 

[slag]

I have 18 inch cooper discovery ATPs on my 2008 tundra and they are a pretty decent tire. Little louder than I would like, but they ride well and have plenty of wet road traction. I haven't driven them in the snow yet. I tow my boat with my truck and they have plenty of traction at the ramp and just about anywhere I go.

 

[rommelrommel]

The duratracs are not nearly as good on ice as a real winter tire, but really nothing is. If you deal with a lot of ice might want to consider 2 sets of tires. If the most off roading you want to be ready for is the odd service road I think a more street oriented tire would suit you well, you probably do want a street tire that can handle some off road relative to a off road tire that is streetable like the duratrac.

 

[xBiffx]

The duratracs are not nearly as good on ice as a real winter tire, but really nothing is. If you deal with a lot of ice might want to consider 2 sets of tires. If the most off roading you want to be ready for is the odd service road I think a more street oriented tire would suit you well, you probably do want a street tire that can handle some off road relative to a off road tire that is streetable like the duratrac.

I try hard, like the next guy, to not be dealing with ice. Actually I would say I saw more ice living in St. Louis than I've seen here so ice really isn't a huge concern. I just stay home.

Yeah I would say your description is accurate. I'm looking for an off-roadable street tire not a streetable off-road tire. I thought the Adventure fit this pretty well. I've got my work cut out and need to keep looking. I was hoping to get through this winter and deal with this next year. That may still be a possibility depending on the weather up here but I am just keeping my options open and making sure I stay current on tire trends for now in case the weather goes south quick.

Thanks again for the info.

 

[CombatChuk]

I had the Duratracs on my Jeep Wrangler (315/70/R17, big f'ing tires) and they were great. They wore really well and great in the snow, and terrific in the mud and rock crawling.

 

[thomsbrain]

You gonna correct your speedometer? You'll be reading nearly 5% too low and that's enough to go from no-ticket to ticket territory.

 

[xBiffx]

You gonna correct your speedometer? You'll be reading nearly 5% too low and that's enough to go from no-ticket to ticket territory.

Yeah, already have a tuner partially for this reason. The other reason, well, I don't need to say here in ATG...

I think it might be more than 5% though too. Was looking like I would be going 64 when speedo read 60 with the tire size I want.