I think I am going to go with the rods and use them in the summer with the 18's and bigger tires then just put the stock rods back on in the winter with some blizzacks. I have used them on a lot of my other cars with really good success.

 

I've actually been going back and forth between the Duratracs and the BFG KO2s as my next tires. Recently, I've been leaning towards the KO2s because it sounds like they are less prone to problems. My LR3 is an on-road driver as well and I don't want to be driving on the freeway with chunked up treads (I hear the chunking and the sidewalls are both issues with Duratracs). Both tires are supposed to be great in the snow, but I have some Blizzaks on my 19s anyway for that.

A lot recommend the General Grabber AT2s for trail use and snow use. Mine were quite good at first, but as they wore, they became very noisy and the mud traction is almost non-existent now. Snow traction was never good, but in all fairness, I don't think my particular size were the M+S rated tires.

 

Not , that I want to discourage you from buying Duratracks , but like I said , in my case , they turned out to be a complete mistake.
I should probably start a separate thread on them but for now this will do. Long story short , I purchased the last set of five tires in 265/60/18 in the Country ,two weeks a go and after a thousand miles this happened. .

 

wow that crazy good thing you caught it, not many people would check new tires after two weeks

 

Yikes!

Unless something else comes on the market, my next tire will be the Cooper STT Pro, in 2018. I'm milking every last minute out of my Goodyear MT/Rs (non-Kevlar). They have been fantastic tires. 2018 will mark 10 years since their manufacture date. Still lots of tread.

 

Yep...
Traded my Nokian Rotiiva AT with 60 thread left for those Duratracs, and I had almost 60 000 miles driven already , tough as nails , thread life is 700 as oppose to usual 500 on other tires.I am NOT a happy camper now, just had Duratracs dismounted yesterday for a Goodyear disposal , now I have to wait for their decision and refund .
Basically I am left with no off road tires as of today , lucky for me , I also have a set of Nokian WRG3 for now...Honestly don't know what tire to pick for off road purposes, really wanted Duratracs, for their sort of hybrid design incorporating a AT and MT properties and looks , but the overall fiasco left me hanging ...They cracked and delaminated like some Chinese knock offs ,I guess Made in USA is no longer solid term ?
On the different note , my friend has a similar problem with Falken Fussions..

 

You could try the BFG KO2s...or the Cooper STT Pros like I'm looking at.

 

Smallest size I see in the 18" STT Pros are 275/70/18s (33.3"). Is that what you're planning on running?

 

I see 275 / 65 / 18 at Threaddepot .com which is roughly 32.25.
Like I said, did not wanted to run any lifts , so 265 60 18 Duratracks fitted my bill perfectly...until now .
The way I see BF Goodrich TA KO2 is , that they have not change a thing in the design aside from shoulder bump outs and they just don't fit my needs for off roading, they are more overlanding oriented tire so to speak, propably tough as nails , but just not my cup of tea.Even at the recent test conducted at Expedition Portal , they did not inspired confidence at all.

 

11 years later and it's the same struggle. Sure, there are more tire options overall, but in the sizes we need and for off-roading tires, still very few choices.

If Goodyear would make the Kevlar MT/Rs in Load Rating E for the 275/65R18 size, it'd be an easy choice.