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

[WXman]

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?

 

[moparleo51]

ive ran the rebel durtracs for 2 fall/ winter seasons and they have been pretty good for me, the miles i have on these tires are about 7000 . so if yours are more worn then maybe thats the diference.

 

[CalvinC]

Just a note that the OE DuraTracs do not have the 3pmsf rating that can be hd on aftermarket DuraTracs, like I had. This likely suggests rubber compound is different on the Rebel takeoffs.

That said, even when I had the 3pmsf DTs they indeed got very slippery when the road was wet or on the cusp of becoming snowy. Although I thought their hydroplaning resistance was much better than expected.
My current Bridgestone Revo3’s do not seem to have this issue, although the winter is very young, as are the tires.

 

[Dewey]

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.

 

[scottmoyer]

I have 19k miles on my factory set and they get zero traction when raining and starting from a stop. I will not be replacing these with the same as I'm not a fan of Good Year anyway. They are a horrible wet road tire and can be dangerous if you get caught off guard. I'm just glad Florida is flat as I'd hate to drive with these in the mountains of Tennessee or Virginia.

 

[LaxDfns15]

39k miles and 3 years on my Duratracs. No worse than the Nitto Terra Graps I had on my Titan once they started getting old. I don't stomp on the gas when starting from a stop, and they've started to slip a bit now that they're getting worn. Under 30k I never felt unease driving with them. I drive my truck like a 6000 pound truck and not a 3500 pound mid engine car though.

 

[WXman]

These start off new at 18/32" of tread right? Mine are at about 14/32" based on my depth gauge. So, they are only lightly used.

I guess I'll try to get through winter with them. Will probably use the 4-Auto setting a lot more than I'm used to! Maybe next year I can upgrade. Wouldn't mind a taller tire anyway.

 

[JBV]

WXman, what is your youtube channel?

 

[JBV]

if you get the chance, a new tire to consider reviewing would be the Nokian Outpost AT. 3peak rated, huge variety of sizes. unfortunately for Nokian, they chose to build them in Russia, and have now closed that plant, and are building a new one in the US (Tennessee i think) and another in Romania. the tire is out there in distribution, but no longer in production at present until they can bring it back online. big set back for Nokian.

 

[WXman]

WXman, what is your youtube channel?

if you get the chance, a new tire to consider reviewing would be the Nokian Outpost AT. 3peak rated, huge variety of sizes. unfortunately for Nokian, they chose to build them in Russia, and have now closed that plant, and are building a new one in the US (Tennessee i think) and another in Romania. the tire is out there in distribution, but no longer in production at present until they can bring it back online. big set back for Nokian.

OFFRD is the name of the channel. It pales in comparison to other guys who do it full time. I just love things with tires on them so...

Thanks for the tip. Had never heard of the Outpost tire. There are actually several new tires coming within the next 12 months or recently released that I'd love to try. Milestar Patagonia A/T Pro, Hankook Dynapro AT2 Xtreme, Hankook Dynapro XT, and Kumho Road Venture A/T 52 to name some. Tough decision! Especially at $1,400 per set now days.

 

[LaxDfns15]

These start off new at 18/32" of tread right? Mine are at about 14/32" based on my depth gauge. So, they are only lightly used.

I guess I'll try to get through winter with them. Will probably use the 4-Auto setting a lot more than I'm used to! Maybe next year I can upgrade. Wouldn't mind a taller tire anyway.

Age plays a part too. Tires from new vehicles are typically different, cheaper compounds, and they tend to age faster than a regular tire. If those tires are from an older truck they may already be hardening up even though they have plenty of tread.

 

[kapinallinen2]

On my second set of Dura-tracks after getting 60K out of the originals.
These are awesome as far as handling hydro-planing and the snow, traction in the back is marginal on the wet but improves a lot when I have my RTT and gear loaded.

 

[Sascwatch]

I have the ecodiesel and a light foot so maybe things are different, but I have been pretty impressed with the duratracs that came on my 2020 and 2022 rebel.

 

[SD Rebel]

I only experienced that when the tires were new and shiny. When they were so sticky I could hear all the little pebbles constantly hitting my inner wheel wells. They were kinda squirrely in the wet, absolutely.

However, after some miles and they wore in, they gripped just fine in the wet.

 

[WXman]

Age plays a part too. Tires from new vehicles are typically different, cheaper compounds, and they tend to age faster than a regular tire. If those tires are from an older truck they may already be hardening up even though they have plenty of tread.

Per the date stamps on them, they were produced in August 2020. So they likely ended up on the truck and at a dealership for sale sometime later in fall of 2020, almost exactly two years ago now.

I measured them again last night and they indeed are still at 14/32" of tread.

The tread compound does feel hard to me. Over the years, I have heard of a lot of guys getting insane miles out of DuraTrac tires. 60k, 80k, even saw a guy with a Jeep get 90k out of a set. Just crazy for an aggressive tire. So if we think to ourselves, how would Goodyear do that? How would they get so many miles out of an aggressive tire? Well, the answer is by using a hard compound. Same thing Nitto does on the Ridge Grappler (which reportedly is also dangerous in the rain). Very hard compounds wear slowly and the tire lasts a long time. But, typically they also SUCK in foul weather. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense why these tires are so horrible in the rain.

 

[Chris3058]

30k miles (49 k kms) and I like my Duratracs for 3 season use / Light off roading to the hunt camp etc. No issues at all,- but like Sascwatch, I have a relatively light foot with the cost of diesel right now.....and I run dedicated Blizzak LT's in the winter.

 

[Jake103]

Per the date stamps on them, they were produced in August 2020. So they likely ended up on the truck and at a dealership for sale sometime later in fall of 2020, almost exactly two years ago now.

I measured them again last night and they indeed are still at 14/32" of tread.

The tread compound does feel hard to me. Over the years, I have heard of a lot of guys getting insane miles out of DuraTrac tires. 60k, 80k, even saw a guy with a Jeep get 90k out of a set. Just crazy for an aggressive tire. So if we think to ourselves, how would Goodyear do that? How would they get so many miles out of an aggressive tire? Well, the answer is by using a hard compound. Same thing Nitto does on the Ridge Grappler (which reportedly is also dangerous in the rain). Very hard compounds wear slowly and the tire lasts a long time. But, typically they also SUCK in foul weather. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense why these tires are so horrible in the rain.

I agree with the statement on ridge grapplers and hard compunds, one of the most dangerous tires I ever ran. In snow/slush/ compact snow 4wd all the time, or good luck going anywhere. Had them on an old truck 2 years back. Got about 55k out of them. In rain they break traction often. In winter they are just a dangerous scary tire. Never would I buy again. The factory duratracs on the ram are different then the regular duratracs. I have heard anyways. When I was looking at tires goodyear makes a duratrac specifically for the ram. I don't remember where I seen it but I think the load range is different and I don't think the factory ones are 3 peak. I know regular ones are 3 peak though. Had a buddy who ran them loved them and got about 60k out of them.

 

[TheWaterman83]

Yup. They were terrible for me as well. No rain traction, loud, and didn't really last that long which is contrary to what people tend to see. Mine were done at 36k. Probably could have squeezed another 5k out of them but I had enough with their performance as it was. Mind you, I don't drive the truck like a race car either. I went to BFG KO2's. Night and day difference. Better rain traction, snow, ice, quieter, and turn in much better. The only give-back is they are slightly harsher over bumps and rough spots due to the stiffer sidewall.

 

[WXman]

I agree with the statement on ridge grapplers and hard compunds, one of the most dangerous tires I ever ran. In snow/slush/ compact snow 4wd all the time, or good luck going anywhere. Had them on an old truck 2 years back. Got about 55k out of them. In rain they break traction often. In winter they are just a dangerous scary tire. Never would I buy again. The factory duratracs on the ram are different then the regular duratracs. I have heard anyways. When I was looking at tires goodyear makes a duratrac specifically for the ram. I don't remember where I seen it but I think the load range is different and I don't think the factory ones are 3 peak. I know regular ones are 3 peak though. Had a buddy who ran them loved them and got about 60k out of them.

Yes, the OE DuraTrac is different. The standard version is pinned for studs, so that guys who live up north can use them in snow/ice season. The OE version isn't pinned for studs, and instead has some additional siping in those outer tread blocks, and there is also a shallower outer tread for more stability. I've run both versions (had the standard version on a Jeep back in 2012) and the differences are immediately noticeable if you put the two side by side. One thing the two have in common though is that both are horrendous in rain. I remember my Jeep hating rain with those tires too, but at the time I chalked it up to a fat 12.50 tire on a lightweight Jeep being the issue. Now with these OE versions on a full size truck doing the same thing I know it's just the tire design.

 

[IndianaRam]

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.