My opinion & review of G.Y. Duratrac vs Silent Armor
 

When I bought my 1997 F350 4x4, it had Eagle 8" aluminum rims and 265/75r16 Cooper S/T E-rated tires with very good tread left (my truck has very low miles). The tires handled well, performed well when loaded, and looked good, but were uncommonly loud for the tread style, and were awful in PACKED snow driving (roads, etc). I don't drive my truck a lot, but when I do, it pulls an enclosed toy or car trailer, 26' boat, or an enclosed snowmobile trailer during the winter.

I wanted to replace the tires with a set that would maintain an aggressive appearance, ride quieter, and have better general snow traction. I have driven on BFG mud terrains, Super Swampers, Firestone Destination M/T's, Dunlop mud rovers, GoodYear MTR's, and others in the AT/MT category in large and small sizes.

Based on a lot of research on my part and input from others, I chose the GoodYear Duratrac E-Rated tire in a 305/70r16 size. The tires balanced fine and my alignment checked out perfectly. Right away, I noticed that the tires rode noticeably quieter, rolled smoother, and got great traction in the snow compared to the Cooper S/T's they replaced.

What I noticed over time was that even when they were inflated to their 65psi max rating, that the DuraTracs were EXTREMELY mushy in the handling department- loaded or unloaded. Minor inputs of the steering wheel resulted in very little change of the truck's direction. I noticed I was making constant corrections on the highway; especially in higher wind conditions...and I don't drive the truck fast or aggressively. I was hoping this was just due to the tires "breaking in," because I really wanted to like them. At one point recently, I had a 20' enclosed car trailer loaded up helping a friend move, driving down the Ohio Turnpike during some gusty winds, and couldn't hold over 60mph without the trailer pushing the tail of my truck all over. And by "all over," I mean soil-your-pants, take up 2 lanes of traffic sway. The Duratracs are E-rated, have as much or more of a load rating than the ORIGINAL Steeltex AT's, although they run a 65psi max instead of an 80psi max.

After much debate, I decided to approach GoodYear about my situation. I explained every detail in a long email dialogue with their customer service department, shared a few phone calls, and they agreed to help me out with a replacement set of tires. To tell you the truth, if they hadn't bellied up, the next set of tires wouldn't have been GoodYear's. I had Super Swamper Thornbirds that didn't scare me as bad as the Duratracs did...and those tires were awful.

They gave me the choice between another set of DuraTracs OR the Silent Armor Pro Grade, but in 285/75r16 tire size; E-rated of course. I really like the DuraTracs for a lot of reasons, but I was very gun-shy...and being completely realistic- if they are not safe and I don't have 100% confidence in them, they're probably not worth my time.

So...I decided to have the 305 Duratracs replaced with 285 SilentArmors by a local Sears auto center. Right away, I noticed even smoother driving, and so far, a LOT better steering input and response. I don't seem to have to constantly babysit the steering wheel nearly as much. I can't speak for handling under a load yet as they don't have many miles yet, but I'll keep everyone updated.

They definitely don't LOOK as aggressive; I will say that, but they do have more of a heavy duty all terrain, "I'm here to work" look.

Pics of my 305/75r16 E-Rated Duratracs
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...n/baf814bb.jpg
Pics of my 285/75r16 E-Rated Silent Armor's
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...entArmorON.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...ntArmorOFF.jpg

Funny I was contemplating the same thing when I buy my next set of tires I have 265/75/16 Michelin LTX M/S E-Rated on my 1995 right now. Going to subscribe to your thread I want to know how the Silent Armor's are.

I don't doubt your positive experience at all. My cousin has the same exact size as you on a Cummins Ram and works his truck hard on a daily basis doing farm duty. I know he has aftermarket rims. His input was part of the reason I bought mine. Perhaps it was because I had mine on 8" wide rims, but my experience with them was less than stellar...and believe me- I wanted to like 'em!

Just a quick update since I haven't been on here in a while.

I have put a few thousand miles on the Silent Armor tires and so far, they have performed a LOT better on road than the Duratracs did. Most of those miles have been locally towing my 25' boat and trailer combo, which is around 7-8,000lbs. Heavy rain, sudden stops, lane changes, all better. Not. Huge difference in road noise; the Duratracs were actually very quiet for how aggressive they were.

I probably wouldn't have bought the Silent Armor's if I hadn't gotten them as free replacements in exchange for the Duratracs, but so far they're doing just fine.

Any updates? just bought an 04 with stock tires of 265/75r16 E, i like the aggressiveness of the duratracs but trying to find a great all-terrien tire and maybe a little taller on stock wheel?

Well I don't do much off roading with my truck; I'm sure te Duratrac would be slightly better at that. I have maybe 3-4000mi on my 285 Silent Armors and are pleased with them. They have broken in nicely. They don't squirm nearly as bad when braking with a load, changing lanes feels much safer, pulling my 8,000lb boat up a slippery ramp with one wheel peel is no big challenge, wet tractiom is great, road noise and comfort is very acceptable. I probably wouldn't have gotten these tires by choice but am happy GY comped me with them coming from the Duratracs. I don't drive my truck a lot, so I can't comment on long term tread wear, but I do believe they have a good warranty. I don't have any snow experience with them YET, but my buddy has 265's e-rated on his 1500 Silverado, coming off of the MT/R's, and raves about them. I think he has around 45k on them...looking good with more to go.

Well i'm looking for an aggressive tire off-road and still maintain traction on the road. Its a daily driver, but I use it on the farm.

I bought the silent armour, actually before the deal was completed and ater 15K miles, I have had 8 of them including the spare. I would not buy this tire again, never, no-way NADA. I even mounted the tires and did an on vehicle balance. At 65 mph, forget keeping your fillings in if you have any. Goodyear and the dealership are at a loss, new wheels, alignment, unlevel (truck was level) and still the problems. I won't be going back to goodyear. I have the armour tires on three vehicke,

See; the Silent Armor cleared up the issue on my truck, but I understand where you're coming from. Saying all that, had GY not comped my Duratrac purchase with these, I wouldn't have bought them, or any other GY tire. No particular reason; I think opinions on tires are like opinions on trucks, oil, etc to a certain extent. The Silent Armors seem to ride smooth and handle weight well, but I already see some tread scalloping on them with VERY LITTLE mileage.

Well I have roughly 3k miles on my duratracs. And I love them. I likd the agresive tread az well as the sidewalls. I dont have any vibs nor scalping, that I can see... so im happy with my purchase