Goodyear tire issue
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Senior User
Joined: Mar 2007
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From: Minnesota
Goodyear tire issue
I have new Goodyear Duratracs on my F350 and have noticed that my truck feels like I'm driving on "underinflated" tires. Truck is almost scary at 70 mph on the freeway and worse on curves. A lot of swaying and movement from side to side. I see a number of reviews that other people are having the same issue with diesal Fords. Any of you noticing this problem? I have had an alignment done, new tie rod and ball joints. Last tires were BF Goodrich and handled much better.
New User
Joined: Jul 2010
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From: Albuquerque,NM
i Sell tires for a living so i am pretty confident in posting this, but does your truck seem to "wander" a little bit? also did you put 4 tires on or just 2? Its been my experience that if you put new tires especially all terrains or mud terrains give them a few hundred miles to "break in" and the wishy washyness will go away. I put the new Falken Wild Peak A/T on my 05 and for the first 200 miles it felt that way but it went away and all is well.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,604
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From: Claremore, OK
Part of it is taller tread compared to what was replaced...assuming you ran the last set as far out as they could reasonable/safely. Also, you did get "E" rated tires? Not sure if the F350 have the same tire pressures as the F250...but I had to fuss with the tire shop to make sure they had 55 pi in my tires. When I put the Michelins on my 2WD it felt squirrely for a couple of days until I got used to the taller tread.
Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 8,180
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From: Scio, OR
I was traveling with Dad one time in his '96, carrying a 9" 6' camper, when Dad decided he needed new tires. We were getting ready to go over the pass and it was snowing, etc, etc.
So we went to Les Schwab Tires and got a new set of Toyo M55's. We took off and that thing drove like crap. Dad couldn't keep it on the road. I suggested that we check the tire pressure and for once Dad listened.
It turns out that one guy did the left and one guy did the right. They apparently don't use very good tire pressure gauges there. One side had 75 PSI front and rear. The other side had 90. We put them all to 75 and it drove great.
I run mine about 60 when empty and it rides pretty good.
So we went to Les Schwab Tires and got a new set of Toyo M55's. We took off and that thing drove like crap. Dad couldn't keep it on the road. I suggested that we check the tire pressure and for once Dad listened.
It turns out that one guy did the left and one guy did the right. They apparently don't use very good tire pressure gauges there. One side had 75 PSI front and rear. The other side had 90. We put them all to 75 and it drove great.
I run mine about 60 when empty and it rides pretty good.
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Senior User
Joined: Mar 2007
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From: Minnesota
The Duratracs have 5,500 miles on them and have been back to Discount Tire 2 times for rotation and balancing. I did replace all 4 tires and also asked the Manager about any complaints regarding this same problem. He was not aware of any but was also very quick to say I could switch to a different tire if I wanted. I did go online and found a number of unfavorable reviews on this tire for the same reasons I noted above. Don't get me wrong, I'm not out to badmouth Goodyear as these are very cool looking tires and excellent in poor conditions but there is something odd with the handling that is unnerving at best at 70mph. Just to be sure I wll go check the pressures right now.
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Joined: Jan 2010
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The Duratracs have 5,500 miles on them and have been back to Discount Tire 2 times for rotation and balancing. I did replace all 4 tires and also asked the Manager about any complaints regarding this same problem. He was not aware of any but was also very quick to say I could switch to a different tire if I wanted. I did go online and found a number of unfavorable reviews on this tire for the same reasons I noted above. Don't get me wrong, I'm not out to badmouth Goodyear as these are very cool looking tires and excellent in poor conditions but there is something odd with the handling that is unnerving at best at 70mph. Just to be sure I wll go check the pressures right now.
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Hotshot
Joined: Jul 2005
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From: Middle Tn.
The Duratracs have 5,500 miles on them and have been back to Discount Tire 2 times for rotation and balancing. I did replace all 4 tires and also asked the Manager about any complaints regarding this same problem. He was not aware of any but was also very quick to say I could switch to a different tire if I wanted. I did go online and found a number of unfavorable reviews on this tire for the same reasons I noted above. Don't get me wrong, I'm not out to badmouth Goodyear as these are very cool looking tires and excellent in poor conditions but there is something odd with the handling that is unnerving at best at 70mph. Just to be sure I wll go check the pressures right now.
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More Turbo
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 551
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we had the very same issue with goodyear tires on a dodge a couple of years ago, it seemed like you were driving on marbles, they were awful.
tire shop traded them out after 500 or so miles, michelin tires are awfully tough to beat for a truck.
tire shop traded them out after 500 or so miles, michelin tires are awfully tough to beat for a truck.
Tuned
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 294
Likes: 24
From: Double Oak, TX
I had the same situation when we bought new Michelin ATX's for my truck. The old standard BRG's were quite stable except in the wet and then all of a sudden after purchasing new tires, I'm wandering all over the road with the 5th wheel in tow. I had the truck aligned and that seemed to help. What really helped was when I replaced the steering stabilizer. The new stabilizer eliminated the vague feeling in the steering and the wandering all over the road. Take a look and see if your steering stabilizer is shot. And of course, check your tire pressure and bring to the Ford spec.
Postmaster
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,202
Likes: 1
From: Illinois
What you're saying makes sense, however that wasn't the case on my truck. I put on BFG's to replace the crappy Continental's at 40k and never had any feeling thats being described. I went to a 305 as well
Fleet Owner
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 27,924
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My OEM Goodyear Wranglers are rated lower than the DuraTrac's in "handling" and I think that their performance is acceptable. I now have over 72k miles on them - will easily get 75k, and maybe even 80k. Load rated E, inflated to 70-75 psig.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 6,757
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From: Corvallis, OR
305 is about as wide as I would go, and those were probably E rated so that helps, along with proper tire pressure. It also depends on what stock wheels you have, some are 8" wide and would be okay, some are 7" wide.