The warm winter and early spring has taken me by surprise. My winter tires are no longer needed.

Last summer I did the V/B upgrade and in the fall I put on dedicated winter tires 285/75 R16s which are shown on the picture below on some rims I found on Craigslist. They are about 7% taller than stock and wider. Now that Spring has arrived I realize I need to replace the summer tires.

I use the truck mainly for getting back and forth from my office job and daily driving. I live in MN and we get out camping during the summer and hunting in the fall. I also tow a 32 foot travel trailer several thousand miles per summer.

Question - What tire and size should I go with? I have been thinking of a set of Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs in 305/70 R16s or Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor in 285/75 R16 Pro. I am keeping the stock rims.

I have heard the Silent Armor's are good for towing. Duratracks seem like a good all around tire.

 

If you'll be towing, go with the smaller 285 E's.

 

Anyone have any experience towing with the Duratrac's? They are also E rated.

 

I have a set of Silent Armors in 265/75R16E that I have used for 6k miles of towing our 9-10k lb ToyHauler camper as well as 15k miles solo, love em! No road noise, great wearing, decent in snow and solid performance with our high tongue weight. I'll soon be mounting a set of 35" Nittos on my 18"s but will be keeping the 16" Goodyears for winter use.

 

i'm really interested in the dura-trac's but since i'm a big cooper tire fan the new AT3 and zeon LTZ are great tires also!

 

I wouldnt get the duratracs. I had them on my F350, 3 outta the four tires wore so unevenly that they werent safe to drive with. Only got 15k outta them. I went with Kelly Safari TSRs, they are alot better winter tire, last longer and wore perfect. I got 25k on them now and they are only worn half way down.

 

I ended up going with the 285/75 R16 Silent Armors PROs. They will be better for towing. They are supposed to be put on a 7.5 - 9 inch wheel. Since the stock rims are only 7 inches wide it is a little narrow. The negative would be when inflating to higher pressures it may have the potential for uneven wearing. The dealer told me not to worry about it if I am only pumping them up for towing in the summer. These are good for 3750 lbs on each corner so I should be fine with a heavy trailer even if not maxed pressure.

Since I have the V/B upgrade I think the 285s fill up the wheel well a little more and seem more appropriate for the X. The negative is that the gear ratio will technically be lowered from 3.83 to 3.55. I don't expect this to be too much of a problem with the 6.0. I have thought about changing the gear ratio to 4.10. Anyone done this? What did it cost. This is probably not worth the cost or the brain damage to get it done...

I have noticed the Mileage has taken a slight hit and the final negative is that it just will not quite fit in the garage now. The good news is that with the 7% larger diameter tires the speedometer is finally exactly on.

 

You are going to love the Silent Armours. I have the exact same tire on my X (285 Silent Armour Pro Grade on stock wheels). I currently have over 75000 miles on them. The key to tradwear is proper inflation and keep them balanced and rotated. I rotate mine every other oil change (6000 miles).

 

I have read many good reviews of the silent armors, both personal and professional, and I will definitely be considering them for my next tire. I have read mixed reviews of the duratrac, but the one consistent thing is that they are noisy, so I'm not considering them. I just don't do enough muddy stuff to justify the shorter life and noisier road ride.

 

Another vote for the Silent Armour. I had them in a 265/70/17 on my AWD Durango with 5.7 Hemi.

Quiet and great traction. Before I put them on, the Durango could do 4wheel burnouts when I goosed the throttle.

Offroad, the Silent Armour holds it own for a A/T tire.

 

Anyone have an idea for a Low Rolling Resistance tire in a 285/70/17?

I want to get a new set of 17's and the tire selection in a E load range is pretty slim...

I'm looking at the ATX Artillery:


Here's TireRacks rendition of what they would look like on my black Ex.

 

My vote goes for the Silent Armour Pro's.

 

my Ex had goodyear wrangler silent armor on it when i bought it. impressed with the ride and bite in winter, though they wore very uneven, mainly due to ball joints. wow, they were expensive.

went with hankook atm's. better tire all the way around.

 

I would get Michelin LTXs or BFGoodrich ATs. I tow with my Michelins and love them. These are probably the only two tires I will ever put on any of my trucks. Unless its a trail rig and they get Super Swampers. I do have a set of the new BFG Rugged Terrains on my wifes Land Cruiser, that I like. I have never liked Goodyear.

 

I would get some Michelins. Are you aware of the whole Goodyear recall?