A Curious Guy

I'm trying to decide between a set of Duratracs in a 265/70/R17 and
a set of Silent Armors in the 255/75R17 size.

The Duratracs are a known entity and have a huge following on here. i really like the look and have heard great things about their performance. The price is quite a bit more though, than what I can get into a set of Silent Armors for. Especially when I can use a stock tire for a spare.

I need a year-round tire that handles well on snow and ice - looking good would be a great bonus. I'd like more input on the Silent Armors.

Are you running Silent Armors in stock, or nearly stock size? And if your are, how do you like them?

How about posting some pics of your rig with Silent Armors (especially 2-doors)?

All comments and pics gratefully accepted !

Turbo

This answers the question you asked. These are 255/75/r17 silent armors on a short wheelbase. Please feel free to click on my profile and go down to my album. You will see many photo's of my jeep in various conditions. I have run them for over a year. They run and wear beautifully. They were very good on the snowy roads last winter and we had a lot of it. They have done a great job offroad too although I'm sure a more aggressive tread would have benefits on certain terrains. I hope this helps.

BlazinDayz

How much off-roading do you plan on doing?

I've had Silent Armors before. They were average in just about every catergory> Wet, Snow, Ice, Offroad, Hwy. A step up from the stock SR-A's for sure.

The Duratracs however will be superior in the catergories that the jk is built for.

Maybe compromise and get the Wrangler Territorys from Canadian Tire. Same tire as the duratracs just missing the sidewall lugs, and cheaper.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows....jsp?locale=en

A Curious Guy

I will however, be running in snow and ice (a lot of snow last winter). I did look at the Territorys. On Canadian Tire's website, a few of the reviews on the first page said that they didn't do so well on ice. I've just read all the reviews and have found others that say the ice performance is pretty good. Have you run these before or know someone who has. How did it perform on ice? I may give them a second look . . . .

A Curious Guy

I went through your album and was impressed. Mine is a two-door silver 2011. How did the tires handle ice?

We had a lot of snow last year too, but didn't get any of the usual thaws, so didn't get as much ice as we usually do.

Turbo

I have never had a problem at all on packed snow and ice. But then again I have been driving in it my whole life so I take it easy. I'm not on the highways much or on freeways at all in the Jeep in the winter so I can't really attest to much more. The nearest freeway is 90 miles away.
I think that steep hills and loose dirt off road would be easier with a more aggressive tire though. I agree the Duratracks look good to me too. But they are $100.00 per tire more expensive and I have heard they are not good on ice.

BlazinDayz

If you're worried about snow and ice then definately go with the SA.

A friend is running territorys on his WJ and he's satisfied but not impressed with the winter performance. Mind you this is Winnipeg with our 6 month winters. Another friend just put them on his TJ and so far he likes them.

I'm shopping for tires too right now and may end up with the Kelly TSR. Just another option to confuse things

A Curious Guy

I'd like to thank everyone who has replied to my post. It has really helped me narrow down my possibilities.

I phoned around today to a couple of local tire shops and was quoted as much as 325.00 per tire for the Duratrac 265/70R17s !

Between the quotes for the Duratracs and the Silent Armors in the stock or near-stock size, (both the C load rating) I found that the prices were around 50.00 to 75.00 more per tire than what I can buy the same tires for at the local Canadian Tire store.

Seems that whatever I decide to get, I'll be getting it at Canadian Tire!

Aside from the higher prices (about $50.00 more than the Silent Armors), the problem with the Duratracs and the Territorys is that their measurements aren't the same as the original SR-As that I"m now riding on. This means I've got to buy 5 tires to have a spare the same size as the other 4.

With the Silent Armors I can get by with only buying 4 tires now and one later on when I rotate them or just rotate the 4 tires and leave the SR-A spare where it is. Ball park, I'm likely to save over $450.00 before taxes if I just run with 4 Silent Armors rather than either the Duratracs or Territorys in the 265/70R17 size.

Nothing is cheap!

A Curious Guy

I can't seem to be anything BUT confused

There are always too many good choices (and not enough cash)!

Right now, if I had the money (won't for a few weeks yet) I'd be buying the Silent Armors. They seem to be the "best bang for the buck". Being able to get them in stock size doesn't hurt either. According to what I've read, they come stock on the Rubicons in Europe and some other countries.

You've just got to take a look at Turbo's ride to see that they certainly look good too and can go more places than I'm likely to be visiting any time soon!

Gypsy

I'm going through this same process. Were you able to find Duratracs at CT? I've heard the Duratracs are awesome in snow and ice but not the SAs. So it is frustrating because you get such varying advice. I think- regardless of what I get - I'm going to leave my spare as is and limp to a dealership to buy a new tire if and when it is necessary.

They sure aren't cheap. $250 is the best I've found (installed and balanced) for Duratracs so far...