So we had been planning on getting new tires on the excursion for a little while, current tires were Toyo all-terrains 275/65r16 load range E. A couple weeks ago the wife picked up a screw in the right front tire so we bit the bullet and got some new ones sooner than planned. After looking around for about a week we settled on Goodyear Wrangler duratracs in 285/75r16 load E from discount tire for $223/each. I like the tread pattern and how the tire fills up the wheel well. I have noticed that the steering is a little sloppier with the new tires but I'm not sure what to attribute that to. It might be the slightly larger tire or more aggressive tread patter or both. Another note to mention is that the road noise isn't very bad. Either way I'm fairly happy with them so far. I'll try to put some pictures up later.

 

We have the Duratracs on my wifes Escape, they are actually an improvement over the OE Michelins. For the Excursion I'm looking at going with the Wrangler A/T Adventure with Kevlar, seems to be the replacement for the Silent Armor's that I had on my old F150. As to the slop, what pressures are you running?

 

I haven't personally checked the pressure, right now they are riding at whatever the shop put them at.

 

Easiest place to start is to play with the air pressure.

I just recently put Nitto Tera Grapplers on my EX, 305/70/17 E, when I first put them on the truck I put in the pressure that I was originally running in my Firestones, the Nittos handled terribly, drifted all over the highway with brand new ball joints, so I dropped them from 42 psi down to 35 psi, handles great now, just need to see if the wear is acceptable.

 

I deleted your other duplicate thread, but figured you'd like this one to stay.

As to your original question, can you describe "sloppy" a little better? Does it feel like you're back end is coming around on an aggressive lane change, almost like a lot of body roll or the beginning of a fishtail event?

Stewart

 

I actually changed the thread subject because the app said it was a duplicate post twice. So I think if we use the "new tires for the ex" thread it'd work out better since there are more replies in that one.

As to your question the "sloppy" feeling is more of a side to side feeling I think. It is more of a struggle to keep it going straight.

 

Yeah, believe it or not, the search function glitched on me when I searched for all of the tire threads you created. Only two came up, so I deleted the first one.

I've moved the two posts (mine and your response) from the second dup thread to this thread.

Sounds like tread squirm/tread float.

Adjust your pressure down as was suggested above. Do it in 5lb increments and see if it helps.

Stewart

 

I leave to go to California for a month late tonight so I'll try that when I get home. Thanks for fixing my duplicates.

 

If adjusting the tire pressure down helps, think about doing the chalk line test to check the tire for even wear.

Draw a nice, even, thick, one inch line of chalk straight across the tread of the tires and drive forward on a flat, level roadway surface for a few feet and check the chalk for even wear.

Stewart

 

I read a ton of reviews on the Dura tracs as I was picking between those and Silent Armours (which I currently had and loved). Many reviews stated tread squirm on heavier trucks.....leading me back to the Silent Armours. I may get them for the wifes Jeep!

 

It will take some time (miles) for the tires to heat cycle. I just bought a set of General Grabber HTS's in the stock size. They are a low rolling resistance tire. I'm going to have to get used to the smaller tire and hwy tread! But it will be better for towing. The info. from tire rack even tells you all about heat cycling the tires.