Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac 225/75R16 on 16" Alloys

[goser]

Well, my long hunt for new rubber is over, and boy am I tired!

Sorry that this post turned out to be wordy, but I figured I would recount the whole experience. It shouldn't take as long to read as it took to figure out the right tire and rim combo!

I wanted to go with the largest tire I could, with a nice aggressive all terrain tread. Money was a bit of an issue at first, but I knew I couldn't get through the winter with my worn stock SR/A's. I first tried a set of Motomaster Total Terrain A/T's as they were cheap and perform fairly well on the work truck, but the 245/65R17 wouldn't bolt on because it hit the rear strut mount on my RRO lifted FDII. Strike 1.

The next thought was to get a set of Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo's in a 235/65R17 as I have had them in the past and was very pleased with them. However, cash flow was still a problem, so I decided to stick with tires I could get at Canadian Tire as they are offering 12 months no payments on tires. The next best thing seemed to be a Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armour in a 235/70R17, but at 30" around I wasn't sure they would fit, and as they are not a stock tire I would incur a restocking fee if they didn't. Strike 2.

Still looking at the Silent Armour because of it's high rating on tirerack, I discovered that it was available in a 245/65R17 even though it wasn't listed on the Canadian Tire website. I started thinking about wheel spacers, but didn't really want to spend the extra money on them. I also started to think about whether a 245 treadwidth might be a bit much for the patriot in the snow. Then one day, as if by magic, I was browsing tirerack for any options I had overlooked, when I realized that I had been missing the "commercial traction" group of tires... Lo and behold the Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac ranked #1, and was available in a 225/75R16! Now I just needed to find some 16" alloy rims!

I spent some time searching the local classifieds, but most of the aftermarket rims available had too much backspacing to work on the 'Riot, and I certainly didn't want to have to buy new rims _and_ spacers. So I dug up a wheel spacer catalogue online and began searching through which other vehicles used a 5x114.3mm bolt pattern, and, for good measure, a 67.1mm centre bore. Hyundai Santa Fe and Hyundai Tuscon both came up as good options, but when I went to the local boneyard to look at them they just didn't appeal. That's night I was out driving when I saw the rims I wanted on a taxi that was waiting to turn left... they looked Moab-ish, and I recognized the vehicle as one from my list of acceptable rims! I ran home and checked the car-part website and there were some available just around the corner, and significantly less than the Hyundai rims. And at 16x6.5 with a +40 offset, I figured they would be perfect. 10 points to whoever recognizes what vehicle they come from!

So with rims in hand I ordered some Dorman tire pressure sensors from rockauto and my new tires from Canadian Tire, and as of Friday I've been riding high on my new Duratrac 225/75R16's!



Pros:
Great traction so far in the freezing snane
Moderately Priced
Look Awesome

Cons:
They are a little squeamish for steering but reviews say this dissapates in time
They do rub at the inside rear of the tire about 1/4 turn before full lock (I'll probably investigate spacers sometime in the future)
UPDATE: 25mm spacers cured rub http://www.jeeppatriot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=86525

Clearance to the spring perch. Lots of room left... gives me hope that the 235/70R17's probably would have fit, although the rub would be worse.



A Tread pic:


More Glamour Pics:


Closeup of the new tires/rims:

[BWheeler]

Looks perfect for driving on snow especially if it has great traction...
Just find a way to solve the rubbing so you can ride it with no worries...

[WV_Patriot]

Nice tires. Let me know what fixes your rub problem. Might steal the idea if it is works.

[Tyler-98-W68]

I have the GY Wrangler Territories, virtually the same tire, you will love them, be able to go through deep snow and ice no problem. A wee bit noisey but its a decent tradeoff considering their performance.

[goser]

I'm glad you're happy with the Territories; to be honest I had them on my last truck and it made me wary about getting wranglers again because I found their wet traction lacking. These ones seem a little better so far, but I'll need more hours with them to really compare. It makes me wonder though if the store-branded tires (Territory, Authority) use a different rubber compound than the rest.

[UA_who]

They look great Gosar.
And my guess for the rims would be from a Dodge vehicle... smaller size...
Maybe a Dodge Avenger? or a Caravan??

Did you get a 5th tire for the spare too? or are you sticking with the stock spare?

[goser]

Good guess on the rims, but they are not from a Chrysler vehicle! I had assumed at first that the donor vehicle would be something like an Avenger or Caliber, but with the trend towards larger wheels it was difficult to find alloys in a 16" size; all the 'premium' wheels now are 17" or 18"s and up!

I was hoping to do a 5 wheel rotation at first, but I decided against a 5th wheel for a number of reasons. Since I kept the TPMS, I don't think it would play nicely with a 5th sensor, so it would be a big investment for a tire and rim that are truly only a spare. Also there's no way these would fit in the spare tire well, and I don't have the ambition right now to design an external mount. A roof rack would be the other option, but I don't want to kill my MPG, and don't have the funds for one right now anyway.

[USMC-0311]

Are the wheels from a Nissan Xterra? Also.. do you think these would fit a FDII 4x4 without the lift?

[goser]

Well I guess I shouldn't keep you guys guessing any longer. They're from a (don't laugh)... 2007 Ford Fusion!

And yes, they would fit a non-lifted FDII... probably better than a lifted one.

[kojack]

thansk for the photos, I know what mine will look like now!

[MrJeepR44]

How are these tires holding up for you a year later? Any complaints?

[goser]

No complaints so far, they've been great. I think they even beat out my previous favorite, Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revos. This is a lighter vehicle than I had the Revo's on, but they seem to be wearing much better... still lots of tread left although it seems to be a fairly soft compound. The squeamishness of the deep lugs has gone away too. Fantastic in winter driving. I guess the only strike against them would be that they tend to attract gravel. I would be hard pressed to go with a different tire next time I think, for any of my trucks.

I just ordered some 1" spacers last week to finally cure the rub at 1-1/4 turns... I'll post again when they're installed.

[MrJeepR44]

Thanks for the update goser. If these things came in a 225/65R17 or a 225/70R17, I would buy a set tomorrow

[goser]

You're welcome, thanks for checking out my thread.

Yeah, pickings are pretty slim for a good 17" tire; that's why I went down to a 16". I had hoped that, with the trend towards larger wheels, companies would start making more 17" A/T tire sizes; unfortunately I haven't seen much progress there.

[MrJeepR44]

Originally Posted by goser

You're welcome, thanks for checking out my thread.

Yeah, pickings are pretty slim for a good 17" tire; that's why I went down to a 16". I had hoped that, with the trend towards larger wheels, companies would start making more 17" A/T tire sizes; unfortunately I haven't seen much progress there.

Yeah this is a good thread, so thank you for posting it. I like seeing pictures and hearing stories of what A/T tires are working and how they are rubbing, and the Duratracs looks like a fantastic all around tire.

I was hoping that A/T tires would be made for larger wheels as well, and it looks like they have been... they just skipped the smaller diameter tires. I have seen plenty of 17" wheels for 31 inch diameter and up... Heck, the new Jeep Wranglers have 18 inch wheels, and they have TONS of tire choices.

I guess the problem is for a 28-30" diameter tire, there's just not as much sidewall for tire companies to think it's worth it? I am not sure. When I do get some rubber, I think I will go for the Yokohama Geolander in a 225/70 R17, or maybe a 225/65 R17 to get a spare to fit. They seems like a decent enough tire in a close enough size, but I really would love something aggressive like a Duratrac... and I love my factory wheels. It's tire torture

Do you have any regrets about not having a matching spare?