Are Goodyear Duratrac tires any good in the snow?
- Thread starter up on the mountain.
- Start date
James9100
TJ Enthusiast
06TJ35's
TJ Addict
Last week I happened to meet the guy who designed Nitto’s mud grappler. He was saying that Yokohama is very popular in Japan and that Yokohama’s geolander xmt tire is supposedly very quite.
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Nothing beats a winter snow tire in the snow.... period.
I saw snow rolling in front, stopped, took the picture and continued on.... note the knarly tread..... traction in snow is about a fine tread filling with snow and sticking to snow on the ground.... like a snowball.... once packed it sticks. Point 2 is never spin the tires which defeats the purpose of traction.
These tires are Yokohama Geolanders. Fabulous no question warranty. I drove 24K miles a year, half in the winter towing a trailer thru the mountains. I'd say any "winter tire" will beat the panties off any AT, MT, All Season tire.
DTs are no better or worse than any other all season.... now called 3 season tire. Winter tires use a softer compound which will wear incredibly fast in the summer and they have a very fine tread. All seasons, 3 seasons like DTs, KOs, use a harder compound to wear better thru summer and a more open tread for summer off roading.
I saw snow rolling in front, stopped, took the picture and continued on.... note the knarly tread..... traction in snow is about a fine tread filling with snow and sticking to snow on the ground.... like a snowball.... once packed it sticks. Point 2 is never spin the tires which defeats the purpose of traction.
These tires are Yokohama Geolanders. Fabulous no question warranty. I drove 24K miles a year, half in the winter towing a trailer thru the mountains. I'd say any "winter tire" will beat the panties off any AT, MT, All Season tire.
DTs are no better or worse than any other all season.... now called 3 season tire. Winter tires use a softer compound which will wear incredibly fast in the summer and they have a very fine tread. All seasons, 3 seasons like DTs, KOs, use a harder compound to wear better thru summer and a more open tread for summer off roading.
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I've run Duratracs on my TJ, LJ & XJ year round for the last 10 years (almost) and have had no issues or complaints. I bought a new set for my LJ just 2 days ago. We get wet heavy snow here and they handle it well. As with any kind of conditions a lot has to do with adjusting your driving style to suit.
Whatever you end up getting, I'm happy to hear you drive your TJ in the snow!
I look forward to it every year. I have 31x10.50x15 Duratracs on my XJ. They are marked Made in Canada
. The Duratracs I have on my TJ (recently sold) & LJ were Made in Mexico 
. If you get them, I'm "assuming" they'll be Made in the USA 
... but who knows these days.
I love snow and ice driving with my Jeeps. My job requires it with no exceptions. That's why I originally bought my first Jeep.
When I took this, only the MJ wasn't on Duratracs. It's a little light in the rear end and it's only a 2WD so it sees limited winter use. That plus I'm more concerned that someone will hit me than that I will run into anything.
I've always wanted a rust free MJ. My neighbor and his wife had one since it was new. Mint condition, 4x4 short bed and garage kept with under 60,000 miles on it. I told them I would buy it anytime they wanted to sell it. They were in their 80s then. Needless to say, I didn't get it and their kids gave it to friends when they died.
Apologies to the OP for getting a bit off topic. My MJ doesn't even have Duratracs! It's a 1988 Eliminator with a short bed (6' vs. the long beds at 7' ... although never for an Eliminator). This thing is a blast to drive. Initially I thought of converting it to 4WD but I'm glad I didn't. It's light and surprisingly quick, in Jeep terms. I've driven it all over the Province and haven't hesitated to drive it all day long when I get the chance. It's totally rust free underneath which is a bit surprising as I'm the 7th owner. At about 180,000 km (114,000 mi.) I don't think it was the primary vehicle for any of the previous owners.
James9100
TJ Enthusiast
Man with y’all sayin how much of a difference dedicated winters make even compared to a 3PMSF AT I might have to pull the trigger one of these winters…
We got blasted with full-on middle of winter Saskatchewan weather in a matter of a few days last week, cold, ice, snow, and all.
Rubber is just so darn expensive these days.
We got blasted with full-on middle of winter Saskatchewan weather in a matter of a few days last week, cold, ice, snow, and all.
Rubber is just so darn expensive these days.
James9100
TJ Enthusiast
Those were the Geolanders you were using in that pic? Just googled it and the Geolanders are Yokohomas AT tire, not a dedicated winter.
That's a gem! Want to sell it and drive it across the border? I hear you don't even need ID now.
TN has nasty winters too. I hear temps can drop to 32 degrees.
@NashvilleTJ told me so. He moved there for the snow.