Dilemna on tires…

[Stan H]

For such a well advertised brand it seems the Goodyear tire is not a favorite of the offroad community. Anyone got a feel for why this is? I've never run them so don't have an opinion.

Because they puncture easy and the rubber is soft.

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[Wheelin98TJ]

I had a set of the Goodyear UltraTerrain, rotated every 3000 miles and they lasted about 15k miles. They are a softer compound that liked to throw rocks and the gravel ate them up, started chunking and went downhill fast. Currently on the Toyo Open Country RT Trail for the last 12k miles, good tire on all terrain, quiet, not sure if I will get to the 45k miles warranty before having to change them out, maybe 30k if I am lucky.

I don't know how 15k miles is possible unless you put a load range C on a full size diesel.

I have a set of Ultraterrains on my Gladiator now that have 76k miles on them and they were rotated once or twice.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

For such a well advertised brand it seems the Goodyear tire is not a favorite of the offroad community. Anyone got a feel for why this is? I've never run them so don't have an opinion.

Because they puncture easy and the rubber is soft.

Goodyear MTR was the choice for rocks for quite awhile.

And it was because they didn't puncture easy.

 

[GWolgamott]

For such a well advertised brand it seems the Goodyear tire is not a favorite of the offroad community. Anyone got a feel for why this is? I've never run them so don't have an opinion.

I never liked them in slush, but they were also know for having soft sidewalls. For price point there are just better options. Not bad tires just if you can get BFG or Falken for close to same price is all (among others of course.).
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To stay on topic... if was forced to choose between those...

I'd probrably rank them as:
KO , Wildpeaks, and Ultraterrains.

But all three are decent enough tires depending your use, what you want out of them, if you're worrying about weight, looking for something specific etc... etc...

EDIT: ... Emphasis on were btw... their high end one are designed different these days.

 

[NC_Overland]

I know nothing about that particular Goodyear tire, but IMO it has two strikes against it. I’ve had terrible luck with discount tire exclusive tires of other brands and also bad luck with Goodyear tires that I’ve run. They’re great at first but they flat out suck as they wear. They’re have the nickname “good for a year” for a reason. It’s been well earned

 

[MPMB]

Can anyone really tell if a tire weighs 4 or 5 pounds more that something else if all other things were equal?

Just curious.

You mean while driving? If you do back-to-back comparisons, yes it is very possible.

Some people would be able to feel the difference immediately. Not all people have that sense of feel, and some people can feel it but not be able to articulate what it is (they'll say something feels different), and some will feel the steering is slightly slower/heavier, the acceleration is slower, the tires seem to bounce more when coming off an obstacle, etc.

Have you ever ran tires to the point of being bald, then put on a set of brand new tires? Did you not feel a difference?

 

[Trollboogie]

I get good life or if my KO2s. I would do the 37s since you are going to put a lift. I prefer the load range E over the C.

 

[MPMB]

For such a well advertised brand it seems the Goodyear tire is not a favorite of the offroad community. Anyone got a feel for why this is? I've never run them so don't have an opinion.

Could be Goodyear is so focused on getting to be the OEM supplier they neglect the aftermarket.

I'd love to know what % of vehicle owners put same replacements on their vehicles for tires vs. those that buy the cheapest vs. whatever they need.

Spoiler: Off topic GY story

I'm biased against Goodyear for their actions in the motorsports marketplace. I witnessed at least 5 cars that "knocked down" the wall at the "big track" all within a year. Never seen anything like it. None of the drivers or teams were idiots. In the picture below, the black #4 in the background would crash later that summer at the same track, same corner.

The only cause that made any sense was the tire's sidewall was so weak that it would roll off the bead - even if you had the kick ass wheels with a higher bead. GY tried to put it off on "too low of air pressure" but guys were running qualifying setups, doing long runs, or in the case of the blue car - only on beginning laps of a shake-down, not even going full out. Tires had no punctures, no rips, tears, holes.

So yeah, GY is on my s**t list.

 

[NC_Overland]

Could be Goodyear is so focused on getting to be the OEM supplier they neglect the aftermarket.

I'd love to know what % of vehicle owners put same replacements on their vehicles for tires vs. those that buy the cheapest vs. whatever they need.

Spoiler: Off topic GY story

I'm biased against Goodyear for their actions in the motorsports marketplace. I witnessed at least 5 cars that "knocked down" the wall at the "big track" all within a year. Never seen anything like it. None of the drivers or teams were idiots. In the picture below, the black #4 in the background would crash later that summer at the same track, same corner.

The only cause that made any sense was the tire's sidewall was so weak that it would roll off the bead - even if you had the kick ass wheels with a higher bead. GY tried to put it off on "too low of air pressure" but guys were running qualifying setups, doing long runs, or in the case of the blue car - only on beginning laps of a shake-down, not even going full out. Tires had no punctures, no rips, tears, holes.

So yeah, GY is on my s**t list.

I don’t know of anyone who replaced OEM Goodyear Silent Armors with the same tire. They were expensive and trash. Terrible on wet roads and they were bald at like 27k miles. I didn’t realize how great (for a truck) my Canyon All Terrain handled till I replaced them. I went with a Continental All Terrain, but any quality tire would have been the same result. I hope they don’t sell those trash tires anymore. Even when brand new, I had to use auto 4wd just to drive it in the rain or it would spin hopelessly. With the continentals I had to try to spin them.

 

[Blade1668]

Ya, I know. I like the looks of 37’s , Had them on my JLU……I was just looking for maybe an opinion/review I had thought about yet.

I've ran Goodyear (Walmart) Duratrac on my 05 Wrangler Unlimited almost exclusively except for original set and last set of tires I bought for it. No regrets on them or problems. Of course a smaller size 31's, I tried out Westlake tires in 32 size on one set due to I was running stupid road miles daily over 100 miles. In past BFG have not impressed me. I might have had to pull someone out in Chevy with them in snow and mud. That definitely hurt someone's ego, being pulled out with a 2wd.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

Could be Goodyear is so focused on getting to be the OEM supplier they neglect the aftermarket.

I'd love to know what % of vehicle owners put same replacements on their vehicles for tires vs. those that buy the cheapest vs. whatever they need.

Spoiler: Off topic GY story

I'm biased against Goodyear for their actions in the motorsports marketplace. I witnessed at least 5 cars that "knocked down" the wall at the "big track" all within a year. Never seen anything like it. None of the drivers or teams were idiots. In the picture below, the black #4 in the background would crash later that summer at the same track, same corner.

The only cause that made any sense was the tire's sidewall was so weak that it would roll off the bead - even if you had the kick ass wheels with a higher bead. GY tried to put it off on "too low of air pressure" but guys were running qualifying setups, doing long runs, or in the case of the blue car - only on beginning laps of a shake-down, not even going full out. Tires had no punctures, no rips, tears, holes.

So yeah, GY is on my s**t list.

Goodyear is the only brand I've repeat bought.

I bought MTRs back to back.

Also bought SRAs twice for an F150. Tried a set of Michelin LTX between the Goodyears and they were terrible for traction compared to the Goodyears.

 

[rharr]

You mean while driving? If you do back-to-back comparisons, yes it is very possible.

Some people would be able to feel the difference immediately. Not all people have that sense of feel, and some people can feel it but not be able to articulate what it is (they'll say something feels different), and some will feel the steering is slightly slower/heavier, the acceleration is slower, the tires seem to bounce more when coming off an obstacle, etc.

Have you ever ran tires to the point of being bald, then put on a set of brand new tires? Did you not feel a difference?

Yeap, the heavier the tire the more rotational mass (the boogeyman in the closet some seem to be very concerned about). The greater the mass the more work is needed to start and stop the tire rotation and control it up and down. The more mass the greater the gyroscopic forces, but gyroscopic forces can also be increased with a taller tire too.

Again, it depends on use case, if you are driving only highway all the time then having a heavy tire in theory will detract from your driving experience. But the JT is fat, heavy, slow, over built and archaic when it comes to suspension design so tire weight, acheem I mean rotation mass for the sensitive types is the least of your worries. Lots of people do regears and change brake pad compounds, replace the crappy OEM shocks and go from 33" to 35/37" which will have a greater impact on drivability then tire mass.

 

[Trollboogie]

I get good life or if my KO2s. I would do the 37s since you are going to put a lift. I prefer the load range E over the C.

Auto correct is tough! "I get good life out of my KO2s."

 

[Woosah]

No, after market rims. Ya, the 12.5 wide goes up about $100

Gotcha. I ask because of your use case that you mentioned. 11.5’s 35’s are usually designed to go back on stock width rims. If you go with an aftermarket rim, just make sure that you don’t go wider than an 11.5 is supposed to mount to, or you may have some performance issues, the very complaints that you read about. I’m somewhat skeptical of disaster stories that don’t mention what wheel the tire was mounted to, spacers, offset backspacing width, etc. I don’t think you’ll have buyers remorse if you do your due diligence and research. The KO2 and the wild peak are both well rated and reviewed. I’m currently running that exact KO2 that you’re looking at and I’m very pleased.

 

[NC_Overland]

I've ran Goodyear (Walmart) Duratrac on my 05 Wrangler Unlimited almost exclusively except for original set and last set of tires I bought for it. No regrets on them or problems. Of course a smaller size 31's, I tried out Westlake tires in 32 size on one set due to I was running stupid road miles daily over 100 miles. In past BFG have not impressed me. I might have had to pull someone out in Chevy with them in snow and mud. That definitely hurt someone's ego, being pulled out with a 2wd.

Duratracs aren’t a Walmart tire. They were originally a Goodyear commercial tire, but got super popular because they’re great in snow and hold up well off-road. I don’t know if they still make them or if they’re Walmart exclusive now, but they were super popular when I lived in CO. I ran them on my JKU Rubicon after I moved to CO. The OEM M/Ts were scary on winter roads. It was an instant transformation they were great all around for me.

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