Wrangler DuraTrac is the worst tire I've ever driven on in rain

[JerryBsizzle]

I’ve reviewed a lot of tires on my YouTube channel and I’ve used dozens of other tires that I haven’t publicly reviewed. HTs, ATs, and MTs. Every brand imaginable. And honestly, most modern tires are pretty good. Almost all of them do an equal job or close to it on these pickup trucks when on the road. But I have to say, I recently put a set of wheels and tires on my truck from the Rebel Night Edition package and these Good-for-a-year Wrangler DuraTrac tires are absolutely horrendous. If the roadway gets the least little bit wet, the truck slips and slides like kids at a water park. It’s ridiculous. There are times it’s literally hard to take off from a traffic light. Curves throw the rear end out. Traction control is constantly trying to take over the throttle. I’ve never seen anything like it. The set I bought was used, but they were worn very evenly and they have a lot of tread depth left. I’m shocked at how dangerous these things are. I typically drive at the speed limit for fuel economy reasons, but I’ve had to shave my speed down even more when it’s raining. If it’s this bad in 40 degree rain, what’s winter going to be like?

Have you guys with the OE DuraTracs noticed this too? Or did I just get a really odd set?

Hey man I am a follower on your YouTube channel. Good stuff. I'm glad you are back in a Ram, hopefully you stay in one for a while.
I had a 20 Rebel and had no issues with the tires up to 13k miles when I got another truck.

I've ran lots of tires in the last 4 years. KO2, KM3, Toyo RT, Duratracs, Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT, Goodyear Territory AT, and now Falken Wildpeak ATs. If you want to not end up miserable or disappointed, just go with the Falkens. Didnt really know if I would like them but holy smokes I'm sold.

 

[70runner]

OE duratracs now at 11K mi. Don't get much rain in these parts, though last week we had a pretty good drenching for a couple days. Happened to be on the freeway, going through intermittent squals (SOCAL variety). Didn't notice any issues with the duratracs. There's a 25deg incline up a private road to my property. They slid at bit on that, but even Michelin LTX A/T2 on previous truck slid on that incline when wet and they were excellent rain tires.

 

[TheWaterman83]

The Goodyear Duratrac's that came on my 19' Rebel were great, got 67,000 miles out of them. Just bought another set with new Fuel rims and have 4,000 on them already. Having no problems with them. I've had great traction in rain and snow with them.

I'm not doubting you but they must have used different compounds or series of tires on that year. Mine were getting really squirrely at like 35k. 40k they were done.

 

[WXman]

Hey man I am a follower on your YouTube channel. Good stuff. I'm glad you are back in a Ram, hopefully you stay in one for a while.
I had a 20 Rebel and had no issues with the tires up to 13k miles when I got another truck.

I've ran lots of tires in the last 4 years. KO2, KM3, Toyo RT, Duratracs, Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT, Goodyear Territory AT, and now Falken Wildpeak ATs. If you want to not end up miserable or disappointed, just go with the Falkens. Didnt really know if I would like them but holy smokes I'm sold.

Thank you sir.

Yes, the Falken A/T3W came out in late winter 2016 and it was one of the first tires I reviewed on my channel. At 25,000 miles they were still wearing perfectly and the traction was amazing. They also look fantastic. Only complaint I had was they pick up gravel really bad, but to be fair a lot of A/T tires do. To date, the Falken is my favorite all-around tire. I always keep them on the list when looking for tires, but I'm also a guy who likes to try new things. We'll see...

 

[skh]

I have Duratracs on my 19 with 39k on them. The worst tire I think I've ever had on wet roads. I have surprisingly a lot of tread left. I don't think I will keep them much longer. Like them in dry weather, hate them on anything with the slightest amount of water.

 

[MO Rebel]

I’ve never had any issues with DuraTracs. Ran a 295 on my modded F150 Ecoboost for 65K. That thing was pushing 500 lb/ft to the tires. No problems in rain or deep snow. I’ve only got 5K on the DuraTracs on my Rebel. No snow yet, but haven’t noticed any real traction issues in the rain at all. I typically run them at 42 lb in front and 36 lb in rear unless pulling a heavy trailer where I’ll air them up more. You may just have them over inflated. They don’t like a lot of air.

 

[TheWaterman83]

I’ve never had any issues with DuraTracs. Ran a 295 on my modded F150 Ecoboost for 65K. That thing was pushing 500 lb/ft to the tires. No problems in rain or deep snow. I’ve only got 5K on the DuraTracs on my Rebel. No snow yet, but haven’t noticed any real traction issues in the rain at all. I typically run them at 42 lb in front and 36 lb in rear unless pulling a heavy trailer where I’ll air them up more. You may just have them over inflated. They don’t like a lot of air.

Did you AlfaODB the TP warning? I know on my 2019, anything below 50 psi on the fronts throws the warning and anything below 40 on the rear.

 

[MO Rebel]

Did you AlfaODB the TP warning? I know on my 2019, anything below 50 psi on the fronts throws the warning and anything below 40 on the rear.

I haven’t had a TPMS warning at those pressures.

 

[AlaskaGT]

really curious about these Nokians. I didnt know they make an AT tire. I really want to find the tire that is best for icy roads but also can be used year round and off road. Nokians in my experience makes some of the best winter tires in the world. has anyone run these?

 

[carmcanc]

My 19 has about 31k on it and I agree the Duratracs are probably the worst I’ve ever had in light rain but they are monsters in the snow. The only stock tires that were worse were the Eagle GT’s that came on my 87 GN, they started slipping when it was supposed to rain.

 

[Idahoktm]

I just bought a set of Duratracs on Night Edition Rebel wheels that I'm going to use for my winter setup. I've never had Duratracs, so I'm looking forward to seeing how they perform compared to my Ridge Grapplers. I have zero complaints with my Ridge Grapplers in rain or snow, but I got a good deal on these and now I don't have to worry about ruining my aftermarket wheels with all of the road salt.

 

[TheWaterman83]

I haven’t had a TPMS warning at those pressures.

Interesting. I'm wondering if they changed the thresholds for 2022's.

 

[Snekpete]

My 2021 Rebel has Wranglers stock. Last winter they were fine, this winter with 12,000 on them they behave exactly the way the Op describes. I am going to try to take the pressure down to 45 and 40 to see if that helps in the cold with no weight in the truck.

 

[MO Rebel]

Interesting. I'm wondering if they changed the thresholds for 2022's.

I played around with the pressures a little today. My door jam says 55 front, 45 rear. I had to air the front down to 40 to get a TPMS warning and the rear to 32 to get a TPMS warning. That’s in the ballpark of about 75% of recommended pressures. I think 55/45 would jar your teeth loose empty. When the warning comes on though, it says to inflate to 55 front and 45 rear.

 

[Rebel2022]

I actually like the duratracs, never noticed any issues in rain and i’m super impressed a tire like this would be as good as it is in snow. I actually think they are better in snow than in mud. 20000km so far.

 

[H2OMAN]

I've had two sets. One I bought on recommendation from a jeep club. Of course they suck on wet pavement. They're an off road tire. The second set came on my Rebel. They were just way too small. On my 4th set of Ridge Grapplers now. They are fantastic for here in the southwest. They are also slick from dead start in the rain on pavement. Otherwise I've not found anything close to better.

 

[Mattiusmaximus1216]

Duratracs are probably one of the best tires I’ve ran in a long time. I’ve tried pretty much everything from KO2 (couple of sets) pro comp, wildpeaks (favorite) and Generals.

I actually got rid of the oem duratracs and got 35 duratracs

Ko2 are horrible. They never last, they cup and are a pain to balance.

Maybe you have a bad set or not airing up/down relative to the terrain your in

 

[Idahoktm]

I got a chance to try the DuraTracs in the snow. Overall they work pretty well. They might be a little better than the Ridge Grapplers but it's hard to tell when you're not comparing them back to back. At this point, I wouldn't pick one over the other based on snow performance. It's going to be a while before I can test them on wet roads.

 

[Leolo]

I'm assuming those are factory installed tires?

Hard to believe they're worse than the Goodyear SRA's installed from the factory in previous years.(maybe that was just 4th Gen's) Those tires were dangerous in any condition especially rain. Exactly like you describe. In general any tire from the factory sucks. They really cheap out on them and that's ridiculous for what we spend on these trucks.

I had those SRAs on my 1500 and they were horrible in the rain. Had to put it in 4WD to pull away from a stop in the rain to avoid wheel spin. And that was when they had maybe 20,000 miles on them. Switched them with BFG T/A K02 and they were the best tires I ever had. Traded the truck in for my new Rebel and the tires had 70,000 miles on them and still had decent tread on them.

 

[Owsley]

Totally agree, the DTs that came with my truck would spin in the rain at the slightest touch of throttle. I have the 3.0, so more torque, but still.

Replaced with Bridgestone A/T 3's and night and day difference. Smooth like butter and they grip. Very littel road noise. A good compromise for offroad and street manners. They are not 3mpsf, but I have a set of dedicated Blizzaks for Upper Peninsula driving.