GY Duratracs: 35x12.5x17 -vs- 295/70R18

[AustinL911]

Trying to pick out some tires for the future JTR and have narrowed it down to these two. Wheels will be Black Rhino Armory in 9.5" width. I don't intend to do a ton of offroading, but would like some capability when I do. The truck will mostly be a daily driver in Central Ohio (50/50 country roads/highway) and for general work duty around the house with a couple hunting trips per year out West where it will most likely see some pretty rough forest roads; rocks, mud, etc. I do see some Pros and Cons for both and am just getting a feel for what you all would go with and why.

35x12.5x17 (121QE):
-Pros > More sidewall, better/more comfortable ride for Ohio's potholes, more footprint when airing down.
-Cons > I tend to prefer a bit narrower tire. I don't want rocks flung all down the body and these are wide. They're heavy (68lb). Max load = 3200lb (Not sure if this ultimately matters that much).

295/70R18 (129QE):
-Pros > A bit narrower. Much lighter (59lb) = probably better fuel economy. Higher Max Load = 4100lb (again, not sure if this really matters). Arguably, they might look better with 18s.
-Cons > Less sidewall. Possibly a slightly rougher ride. If given the choice, I would still prefer a 17" wheel. I wish they made a 295/75/17.


What would JGF do? I'm leaning towards the 295 but am open to thoughts on one vs the other.

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[jbehrn]

I ran the 295/70R18 GY Duratracs on my ‘16 F150 and was generally pleased with them. They rode well, were relatively quite and had minimal thread wear after 16k miles. I didn’t find that they threw rocks a lot either. The only issue that I had was that the rear tires had a tendency to lose traction on wet asphalt (I’m sure some of this was the light unloaded bed weight of the F150). This is consistent with what others have reported on tirerack, discount tire, etc.

 

[Buzzlb]

Here is what GY DT’s look like on The Overcon 35x12.5 18 Helo 909’s

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