Goodyear Duratrac Problems

Ransom Proctor · April 11, 2017

I have a 2016 Chevy 2500HD Z71 that has 3000 miles on it. When I bought it (brand new) the truck had a set of black aluminum wheels off a midnight edition with Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs. They're LT 275 65 R18. Load range E.

After 3000 miles I can't stand these tires. I've never owned a brand new truck that drives so poorly. On smooth, wide flat roads the tires do fine. But on state highways that are unevenly surfaced with an uneven crown the truck handles poor. Add wind and its even worse. At first I thought it was the digital assist power steering but thats not it, the steering is tight. The truck sways badly and to drive it straight is harder than any pickup I've ever owned. I traded a 2011 GMC 2500HD that had Cooper AT3's on it and while it road very stiff the truck handled great and had great lateral stability.

Here's my thoughts...... I think the soft sidewalls and with the addition of the digital assist power steering it magnifies the handling woes. I'm running the tire pressure at 60 psi front and 70 psi rear. So the tires are inflated properly.

I took it to the dealer and they drove it. they want to make it right but basically said these are offroad tires and they're not going to handle like street tires. I even test drove a 2017 2500HD, and while it had different tires, and I could tell a difference. So at this point the dealer is offering to sell me new tires of my choice at cost less a 30% discount. I honestly don't think thats a bad deal. They've also encouraged me to drive it to 5000 miles to see if they will get stiffer over time.

Anyone had these problems with duratracs feeling squishy and what tires would you get to replace them?

I'm thinking another set of Cooper Discoverer AT-3 or Michelin Defender LTX A/T 2.

Here's a picture of the truck.

michigan2500hd · April 11, 2017

I had a 2011 1500 that I bought new Duratracs for and had a similar experience with. Hard to keep in a straight line, changing lanes was actually scary because as you would start to steer to the other lane it was like the truck wouldn't respond. Then all of a sudden you were having to correct the steering and it would squirm around. They were awesome looking tires but that was it. I returned them two days later for some Cooper ATP's that were much much better.

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arkenzo · April 11, 2017

Don't have a 2500 but did have a 2014 Silverado 1500 w/ duratracs, didn't like them, now I have a 2016 Silverado w/ 275/70/17 BFG KO2's and they kicked so much butt, that I even got them in 35x12.50r20 when I installed my Zone 6.5 lift. BFG's are awesome tires.

Ransom Proctor · April 12, 2017

I tow a toy hauler that weighs roughly 9500-10000 pounds fully loaded so in replacing these things I want a tire that when I tow it will be stable plus be a good all around all terrain tire.

michigan2500hd · April 12, 2017

So far I have nothing but praise for the Falken Wildpeak AT3. It's considered a hybrid tire. A cross between a mud and all terrain but I would say they're just a aggressive A/T. They handle as good as or better then any tire I've used on a truck besides having a great looking sidewall. I can't speak for wear yet though.. But I think it's a 55, 000 mile tire.

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johnnyg123 · April 15, 2017

had the ltx at2s on my 2013 2500. best road tire ive had. not good off the pavement or snow. took them off with 43,000 and while plenty of tread left they were starting to lose the wet traction. just put on nitto exo grapplers and so far im very happy with them. no wandering at all and quieter than i thought they were gonna be. i would give the duratracs some more time and let them break in a little to see if the wandering stops. i had 2 sets of tires do the same thing you are describing and once i got some miles on them they were fine

Orlando8 · April 24, 2017

I have them on my 1500 .just got back from a 700 mile hghway trip and didn't have any of those issues. Truck tracked perfectly

Thornton · May 5, 2017

i have 10,000 miles on my Duratracs and I love them! no issues at all!

AgDoctor · May 5, 2017

I had several sets on a 2014 Duramax and loved them. I had no issues.

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Spurshot · May 9, 2017

I have a 2016 Chevy 2500HD Z71 that has 3000 miles on it. When I bought it (brand new) the truck had a set of black aluminum wheels off a midnight edition with Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs. They're LT 275 65 R18. Load range E.

After 3000 miles I can't stand these tires. I've never owned a brand new truck that drives so poorly. On smooth, wide flat roads the tires do fine. But on state highways that are unevenly surfaced with an uneven crown the truck handles poor. Add wind and its even worse. At first I thought it was the digital assist power steering but thats not it, the steering is tight. The truck sways badly and to drive it straight is harder than any pickup I've ever owned. I traded a 2011 GMC 2500HD that had Cooper AT3's on it and while it road very stiff the truck handled great and had great lateral stability.

Here's my thoughts...... I think the soft sidewalls and with the addition of the digital assist power steering it magnifies the handling woes. I'm running the tire pressure at 60 psi front and 70 psi rear. So the tires are inflated properly.

I took it to the dealer and they drove it. they want to make it right but basically said these are offroad tires and they're not going to handle like street tires. I even test drove a 2017 2500HD, and while it had different tires, and I could tell a difference. So at this point the dealer is offering to sell me new tires of my choice at cost less a 30% discount. I honestly don't think thats a bad deal. They've also encouraged me to drive it to 5000 miles to see if they will get stiffer over time.

Anyone had these problems with duratracs feeling squishy and what tires would you get to replace them?

I'm thinking another set of Cooper Discoverer AT-3 or Michelin Defender LTX A/T 2.

Here's a picture of the truck.

Years ago I bought some kumho AT tires for my 2500. They were LR E but the sidewalls were really flexible. It was downright dangerous at highway speed. It was like driving a boat. There was so little tread stability that the truck had a delayed steering response. I returned them asap. Scariest thing I drove in a long time. I don't believe this is an issue that gets better. You may get use to it. But it's still there.

My current tires are cooper st Maxx LR E. They are stable at high speed even for a large sidewall off road tire. I've also had good experience with Toyo Open Country AT tires.

As for noise you won't really know how noisy a tire will be until you get to the second half of tread life. My experience is that mud tires get really noisy when they get in their latter part of wear. I think noise is the cost for aggressive tires.

Edited May 9, 2017 by spurshot

BigBadSierra · May 9, 2017

I had no issues with the Durtrac's I had on my old truck they do just get louder as the age.

quise2024 · May 22, 2017

Almost 7k in on my duratracs, no issues at all besides me driving over a screw looking for a new house. Handles just fine for me. I have '15 1500

Compared to the SR-A its louder but i honestly dont even notice, only hear that at highway speed with no radio on. Hardly ride without radio unless my wife rides n wants to chat.

KARNUT · May 23, 2017

I used KOs on my trucks over the years had no problems, I like them for the quiet ride. Knew people who used duratracs they had no complaints, not as quiet. I think some problems people have could be oversized tires for the rims. My trucks and the people I knew trucks were loaded with tool boxes, fuel tanks, air compressors, never heard of swaying or tracking problems. We realized we weren't driving sport cars and wind and bad road surfaces effected trucks different than cars.

Ransom Proctor · May 23, 2017

I'm not sure what the deal is with these duratracs. I towed my 10,000 lb camper a couple of weeks ago and it made the swaying and lateral stability worse. If these were over sized tires and wheels I would have to agree that you get negative attributes for a cool look, but these aren't. I've owned more trucks than cars and realize these trucks don't handle the same as a car, but my 2011 GMC 2500HD with Cooper AT-3's handled night a day better than this new truck with duratracs. Kind of a shame.

Ransom Proctor · June 7, 2017

UPDATE

The dealer warrantied the duratracs and I had them swap them out for a set of grabber at2's. Their is night and day difference between the 2. No more spongy feel and poor lateral stability. The general grabbers weren't my first choice but the dealer couldn't get cooper tires.....or at least thats what they told me. Either way I like these tires in the short term far more than the duratracs.