Well right before I ordered tires I learned that one of my Toyota buddies had got some new rubber. I went to his house the other night and saw his Good Year DuraTrac's. They are really awesome looking and the road noise isn't bad at all. I don't know anything about their their offroad use yet - but they have the looks.

I thought for sure that I was getting BFG MT's in 255/85/R16 (33.1 in) but now I am not so sure and I thought I should start a post here to figure it out.

The DuraTrac's come in 285/75/16 (32.8) with Kevlar and this could work.

I searched the posts on here but didn't really find what I was looking for, first.



Basically I am looking for something pretty aggressive for offroad use but that is at least bearable on the highway and that could last 40,000 miles (if possible). I would like to be at about 33in tall and close to 255 wide which is what I have on stock (a little wider is fine but not goofy). The wheels i have coming are 16x8in but the back spacing is a little different and they will stick out about 1/3 of an inch past stock. And I will have a 3in OME lift over stock.

So what do you guys think? What kind of tires should I get and how tall and wide would you go with my setup?

 

And I would like to stay as close to 5 tires mounted for $1,000 as possible.



Thanks guys-

 

I really like the Cooper Discoverer S/T, they are GREAT off road and in snow, very little road noise and they wear like iron.
AK Rover had the Dura Tracs on his truck before he sold it and he liked them.
Luv2Disco just bought a set.
They look great, but you can get a set of the Coopers for alot less than the GoodYears or the BFG's.
And they come in a ton of sizes.

 

Response to Discoverer ST:

I guess I never even looked at those. The difference is that they are "D" rated and both the other options are "E" rated for weight. I have to say they don't look as aggressive as the other options and they don't really have much sidewall traction either. I don't think their tread depth is as great as the MT's. I think they would only save me about $150 overall as well. One thing I really like is their snow/ice ability because we get lots of snow here, so that's a major plus in my book.

What about the S/T/C or STT - does anyone run these?

What about size? Do you guys think I should go with 255/85/16 or 285/75/16? They both are about the same height (33in) but obviously there will be almost 2in difference in the width of the tread? I guess I am looking for that clean look, not to wide like guys do with a Wrangler, and not too narrow like guys do with an old series1 or FJ40. Or is their a better size for 3in lift, 16x8in steel, on a '03 D2???



Thanks for all the input so far Spike555.

 

My cooper st's do better in dirt/mud than they look, but are pretty quiet on road. The diff between the st and the st-c is the st's are an R(radial) and the stc are an LT(light truck), where's the st-c gets you 2/32 deeper tread over the st's. But they have the exact same tread pattern. Cant say how they last, I only got 10-11k miles on them. But they do seem to be wearing pretty good.

I paid just shy of $600 for 4 of them in a 245/75.

The stt are a totally different, straight up mud tire.

 

So how many miles would you be able to get out of a set of the STT, you think? Or should I just stick with my original plan and go with the BFG MT's?

And my most important questions:

What about size? Do you guys think I should go with 255/85/16 or 285/75/16? They both are about the same height (33in) but obviously there will be almost 2in difference in the width of the tread? I guess I am looking for that clean look, not to wide like guys do with a Wrangler, and not too narrow like guys do with an old series1 or FJ40. Or is their a better size for 3in lift, 16x8in steel, on a '03 D2???

 

Personal opinion: I think the 285's would look wide, especially if your new wheels will stick out further than stock. My brother had 265/75 on his disco with 3" lift and stock wheels. I personally wouldnt go any wider than that. It looked pretty good.

But like I said, just an opinion.

Something else to think of, if you drive on snow. I've heard too wide a tire gets real squirrely in snow

 

In light snow where you can actually dig thru to the ground below yes. But in snow deep enough that you will be riding completely on snow you want to go as wide as possible, like the LR's in Iceland. Look up "Iceland rover" or Icelandic rovers" - these guys take it to the extreme.

As far as size I think you are right about the 265 width, but I would need 265/80 or 265/85 to get the height I want and I don't that is a size they make. Ideally I would really like to be at about 33in tall and 8in of tread width. I guess I will have to go with the 255/85/16 which is the stock width (7.2 tread width) and 31.2 height.


Unless you guys can think of another option to get me to about 33in tall and 8in of tread width.

Thanks-

 

Just got back from a hike and noticed a guy had Goodyear MT/Rs on his Toyota. They looked awesome. Asked him how they were on the highway and said they were surprisingly quiet. He also said he's pulled screws out that were 1" inch into the tire and had no problems. I assume that had something to do with the Durawall.

http://www.goodyeartires.com/goodyea...=Light%20Truck

http://www.goodyeartires.com/goodyea...=Light%20Truck

 

The Cooper S/T's come in a "E" rating, thats what I prefer to run on my work van.
As far as how long they last...longer than the BFG A/T.

It is hard for me to say how long a tire lasts, on my Disco I have the S/T's and only have ~5,000 miles on them.
But on my FedEx van I eat tiers for lunch.
6-8 tires a year, I go through tires so fast that I run winter and summer tires and I wear out each set before switching, so its not really fair to say that they only last ~20,000 miles.
The BFG A/T's only last maybe 15k.
Hankook H/T's last pretty long but suck in snow.
BFG Commercial T/A's also last a long time but again suck in snow.

A mud tire is made from a harder rubber compound to take the abuse of rocks, but remember that rubber gets hard when it gets cold, so start with a hard tire and when it gets cold it gets harder and then your traction will actually suffer because the tire cant contour to the terrain.

I am not saying you have to get the S/T, I just recommend it because I know it is a good tire.

"Traction" on the side wall is useless in my opinion.

Let us know whatever you get and how they work out for you.


EDIT:a mud tire wont last long, most wear out inside of 20k. $1,000 is alot of money to throw out every 1 and a half years.