Comparison Pictures wanted!!!

Black2011 · July 2, 2012

Im trying to decide on my next tire. My key points are Milage, Offroad and winter performance, Looks, and lastly noise, in that order. Im considering a 4 ply Goodyear duratrac, in either a 265/70R17, or a 285/70R17.

I KNOW my truck will look sexy with the 285, But with a 4.8L and 3.42's I fear I'll be chugging fuel and shifting often. (Had 10 ply m/t's and they were tooo heavy)

However, I feel like a 265/70R17 may be too small, and look silly.

Anyone running 265/70R17 M/T's? (any brand) Pictures of levelled gmt-900's welcome with stock 17's preferred!

Black2011 · July 2, 2012

Stocks vs 285's

see SIG

dirtfan21 · July 2, 2012

Look into a 275/70/17. I know Cooper, Mastercraft, and BFG make that size, it may be the perfect medium for you.

KMGZ400 · July 3, 2012

maybe you could try what i did and not get a 10ply 285. 10 plys are really heavy. i have a 4.8 too and i went to 285/70/17 firestone destination AT's and barley noticed the difference from 265's/

sab316 · July 3, 2012

I'm about to have to go back to street tires, since my commute is going from literally nothing to about 40 miles one way... Makes me sad to take off the Nitto's

That being said... I don't think a beefy 265/70/17 Mud tire would look bad on a leveled truck

Black2011 · July 5, 2012

maybe you could try what i did and not get a 10ply 285. 10 plys are really heavy. i have a 4.8 too and i went to 285/70/17 firestone destination AT's and barley noticed the difference from 265's/

I did look into 275's however I didn't find any tire models I liked. I am pretty set on Duratracs, for the price and my prior experience with them was very good. I can get 285's in a 4 ply, however i noticed your 2003 has 3.73 gears. For power wise, a set of taller gears would have made a world of difference.

I think what i may end up doing is buying a programmer, either a superchips or an autocal BB tune, and getting 285 duratracs next year. I really would like to see what a levelled gmt-900 with 265 Mud terrains looks like!

Black2011 · July 5, 2012

I'm about to have to go back to street tires, since my commute is going from literally nothing to about 40 miles one way... Makes me sad to take off the Nitto's

That being said... I don't think a beefy 265/70/17 Mud tire would look bad on a leveled truck

The difference between my stock 265's and my M/T 285's was 15 pounds... per tire.

that extra weight really hinder milage and power. I think going to a lighter 4 ply 285 is the best option.

dirtfan21 · July 5, 2012

I'm about to have to go back to street tires, since my commute is going from literally nothing to about 40 miles one way... Makes me sad to take off the Nitto's

That being said... I don't think a beefy 265/70/17 Mud tire would look bad on a leveled truck

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! So sorry to hear that because that thing looks awesome...

patrick_tardif · July 6, 2012

there would also be the Kumho KL78... its a nice agressive a/t and very affordable... I notice you are from sask! where abouts. I sell Tires for a living and i would be willing to help you out... Im in saskatoon

patrick_tardif · July 12, 2012

here is the price on those Kumho KL78 tires i was telling you about... for the 8 ply rating tires in the 285/70r17 we are looking at 1215.28 tax in(installed, balanced, new stems, everything in) and for the 4 ply rating tires we are looking at 973.28 tax in... the 8 ply tires are rated at 2910lbs per tire and the 4 ply tires are rated at 2833lbs per tire. So not much of a difference between the two. let me know what you think...

dirtfan21 · July 12, 2012

Have you looked at the Mastercraft Courser CT in a 275/70/17? http://www.mastercrafttires.com/html/products/tires_lighttruck.aspx?page=mastercraft_tires_light_truck_courser_CT Cooper makes the tire and it is probably going to be on my truck in the next month or so. I want to do a 285/70/17 also but I don't want an E rated tire, I want a more aggressive tread, and I'm very OCD about never rubbing in any circumstace. That's why my choice will prob be this size.

patrick_tardif · July 12, 2012

I am very unsure about Cooper tires, I have sold them in the past and have had lots of issues with them. i have been in the business for 11 years and have never seen any real issues with the kumho product. Sure Copper makes the tire but, they will not invest much testing and development to make a "C" grade tire for a third party dealer that buy in large quantities to bastardizes the tire industry with a cheap tire. my vote goes against buying any cooper product. I am not saying that Kumho is the best in the industry but, it is a very solid and realible tire that happens to be very available in my area and is very affordable product.

Roscopcoletrain · July 13, 2012

Patman, do you only do local or does your business ship?

Thats disappointing to hear about the Coopers. Im really considering the AT3's in the next few months.

Black2011 · July 13, 2012

Have you looked at the Mastercraft Courser CT in a 275/70/17? http://www.mastercra...ruck_courser_CT Cooper makes the tire and it is probably going to be on my truck in the next month or so. I want to do a 285/70/17 also but I don't want an E rated tire, I want a more aggressive tread, and I'm very OCD about never rubbing in any circumstace. That's why my choice will prob be this size.

Those tires look pretty good actually. I wasn't much a fan of the looks of the kumho's. Any Idea on a price on those mastercrafts?

dirtfan21 · July 16, 2012

My buddy got them last year from a local dealer for just under $900 installed. I am in the process of getting tire quotes from the same guys so I'll post up the numbers when I get them.

As for the quality of Coopers, that is the first time I have EVER heard anyone give bad feedback of the brand. My uncle went through 3 sets of ATR's and loved them, many of the farmers around here run Coopers of Michelins, beat the piss out of them, and never have any issues and me and my buddy ran Mastercraft Courser MT's in a 33x12.5 for over 40,000 back when we were younger with no issues.

I'm not saying you haven't recieved complaints on Coopers because you obviously have, I just wonder if you are recieving tires from a different area of manufacturing that causes deteriorated quality in their tires.