I ordered a 2015 JKU sport that will be a DD first then an expedition base camp on wheels second. I'm not planning on any lift for the initial build. Maybe a leveling kit and some heavy duty springs down the line but that won't be for awhile. I had a 95 YJ with 31" MT/R's that I wheeled way harder and went through way more stuff than I plan to take this through for the time being. The current JK's are already bigger than my lifted YJ. For my current build I ordered a Sport with a 6 speed manual, 3.73 gears (max tow package) and the Anti-Spin Rear Diff. From the FAQ the largest tire size I can go and still have OD etc is a 32" tire. My original plan was the Goodyear DuraTrac in a 265/75/16 on my stock wheels. I wanted all black tires so I would have to get the E load range as the C load range has white lettering. I assume this tire/wheel set up should work with no rubbing issues at all. After looking around a bit I've seen a few bad things written about these tires. I know it happens about every tire but wanted a little more input. I'm planning on DD first but I don't mind road noise. I drive in lots of snow though and need a solid snow/ice tire. Off road will be mainly fire roads and trails through the woods with some occasional beach driving at Assateugue Island. What other tires should I be giving a second look at?

Thanks!!!

 

go with 285/75-16 I ran them on my stock 2013 jku with no issues. I first put 265/75-16 on and they were too small looking. The 285/75-17 looked much better. I did run a 3/4" spacer up front to level it but nothing else needed with 16x8 rims with 4.5" backspacing.

 

^yep, what he said.

 

Welcome to the forum.

A big wall of text can be hard to read and hard to decipher what the actual question is.

You want more reviews on the DuraTrac than what is in the other several hundred threads on that tire, correct?

You are choosing a stiff 'E' rating (made for larger/heavier trucks), over a 'C' rating (better ride for a Daily driver JK), because of some white lettering,? I know when I have encountered that in the past, I had them mount the tires with the white lettering on the inside instead of facing out.

With a 3.6 manual, your research has indicated that 6th will be useless if you go over a 32" tire, correct? You might do some more research on the 3.6 you have in your 2012+ JK. There are about a bajillion gearing threads to read through for more comments, but your assumption may be incorrect.

 

Yeah, as said... The darn letters are only on one side of the tires. Get them mounted black side out, that's all!!! And if you are as anal as I am, you will spray paint the inside white letters so they don't show at all.

 

i sharpied the last set of tires had with white letters. Pirelli Scorpions, about 17 years ago.

 

I was looking for other recommendations for a tire given the uses I mentioned not another duraTrac review.

In the FAQ on this forum it says that anything larger than a 32" tire with my transmission/gears will not have full time use of OD. I did not see the need to go through the bajillion other gearing threads as I thought the chart was accurate and up to date. I assume now my assumption was incorrect.


Never thought about painting or markering the white letters and flipping the tires. Great idea. Thanks!!!

 

How about buying some stock Rubicon or Willys takeoffs? Get 32" tires on nice wheels and likely cheaper than buying 5 Duratracs. Just a thought.

 

I thought about that. I believe the Rubicon's have BF Goodrich Mud Terrain's which from the reviews and speaking with a sales rep at tire rack are terrible in the snow and ice. For the price I don't think I can pass up a set of General Grabber A/T 2's. Mostly very positive reviews and the price is really nice.

 

The chart is only looking at the actual driveline numbers, and is by no means a one-size-fits-all answer for every person in every situation. Some people over the last few years have even said it is wrong for the 3.6 engine. There are a lot of other variables to take in to account, so the charts should be used as just one of the resources in your gearing decision.

The 3.6 engine gives a decent amount more power than the older 3.8's, and many people with the 3.6 and 3.73 gears say they are fine with 35's and are in no hurry to regear. Those with 3.21's are much more likely to want new gears.

Anyway, that is where all of the other threads come in. Shouldn't be too hard to find someone with your setup (2door/4door/auto/manual/lift/no lift/gear ratio/tire size/etc), in a similar location (sea level with flat roads/at elevation with mountainous terrain), with a similar driving style (conservative/aggressive, all in-town/mostly 80+ on the freeway/significant time in the rocks/etc/etc).