OP
A Story of Indecision and Frivolous Spending
- Thread starter Chris
- Start date
gg1
TJ Enthusiast
Thanks. I might be going overboard on all of this. Can't wait to get it close to what I want.
Now I am up to date; freaking clean, very nice TJ you got there. Khaki with the khaki top looks good!
@Chris - couple questions on your tires...I know you are a big fan of the Duratracs. Were those on the Rubicon when you bought it, or did you have those put on? I am thinking of getting a decent set of tires (which I should have gotten when I got the TJR) and the pickings for load range C tires in a 16" wheel size is almost non-existent. I know the Duratrac tire is one. I've never run those, and like the looks, but am wondering about the road noise, both new and when they wear...any input on that?
gg1
TJ Enthusiast
Looking forward to you dropping to the OME 2.5. This sure is great for me since I am doing almost the same thing, but I have a 5.5" lift on mine. WAY too high for me, but some of my friends like it. lol Nice pictures though. Very nice Rubi!
BendLarry
TJ Addict
OP
These Duratracs came on the vehicle, but that works out perfectly for me, because I had the exact same tires on my previous Rubicon for several years and absolutely love them. Not loud on the road at all, excellent in the packed snow, rain, and off-road too! They aren't going to do everything a true mud terrain tire will, but they come very close, and for the overland type of exploring we do, they are an excellent tire. I can't recommend the Duratrac tires enough, and I don't think I'm alone on that one either. These tires are truly excellent and you won't be disappointed in the slightest.
As for the wear, I think you can get 30-40k miles out of them depending on how you drive and what you do. I paid $15 extra per tire when I got them for the warranty, which means that even if I damage one while off-roading, I get a new one for free, no questions asked!
OP
Fortunately I won't have much to deal with! The previous owner put a transfer case drop in here, and it's got the stock driveshaft. That being said, all I have to do is put the OME lift on, remove the transfer case drop, and that's it! Nothing to mess with in regards to the drive line at all. My previous Rubicon had the OME lift (which I installed) and didn't need a double cardan driveshaft or a transfer case drop, it was just fine at 2.5" with no vibrations at all.
Thanks for the input. If I get a set of 5, it turns out to be a $1250 expense with mounting, balancing, and warranty with tax, so it takes some thinking about...
OP
Yeah, we don't have sales tax up here in Oregon, so it's a little cheaper, plus I've got a brand new matching spare (which also came with it), so when I do need to replace them, I'll only need 4 tires, which is about $850 or so last time I looked. That's not including mounting, balancing, and the extra insurance per tire (which they will negotiate on I've found).
Amazing tires though, I'm not surprised they get such rave reviews. This is as close to a true "all around" tire as you can get, while still looking like a mud terrain. And I like that they are quiet on-road, unlike true M/T tires I've owned in the past, which whine at high speeds and are horribly loud.
Jay P
TJ Enthusiast
A co worker of mine runs the BFG KM2s. They are very worn with 18,000 miles on them per his word. I really wanted them until I learned this last week so at the moment I’m on the Duratrac bandwagon
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OP
One thing you've got to pay attention is rotating them at least every 10k miles, otherwise they'll wear much faster than they would otherwise. I'm not sure what the average life expectancy of Duratracs is, but mine also isn't my daily driver, so I'm not as concerned.
I'm 24K miles on mine. They are 60% gone, and loud, and typical mud terrains that see too much street time.
Jay P
TJ Enthusiast
Ahh good to know. I love the look of them for sure. I guess you can’t expect 60,000 miles out of tires anyways. So you don’t recommend?
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In my experiences, if you can get 40k out of a set of MT's you are doing good.
Same here. I had a set on a previous JKR, but didn't keep the JK long enough to tell about tire wear. I figure the next set of tires I get for this TJR will most likely be the last set I buy. I don't put enough miles (3k/yr maybe) to wear them out anytime soon...so looks like I will have to give the Goodyear Duratracs a go this time. Load range C, and they cost less than BFG. There's a guy at work that has them on his JK, and they have some miles on them, I'll get his take on what he thinks of the wear and/or road noise, maybe even take a drive in his JK to see.
OP
Wow, I'm actually getting close to finishing it!
I nixxed the Rokmen transfer case skid @StG58, because I can't think of an actual need for that, other than I'd like a mostly flush underside. But, since I don't play in the rocks or drag my frame on them, what's the need? There really isn't one!
It does actually need a re-gear, even on these 31.7" tires. Hard to believe, but go drive a 42RLE and you'll understand what I mean. The Zj steering isn't necessary, but it's so cheap that I figure why not?
The OME lift is all here and waiting to be installed, I just have to find some time to do it.
As a bonus, I'll bet someone locally will buy the 4" FabTech lift from me for a few hundred maybe.
I nixxed the Rokmen transfer case skid @StG58, because I can't think of an actual need for that, other than I'd like a mostly flush underside. But, since I don't play in the rocks or drag my frame on them, what's the need? There really isn't one!
It does actually need a re-gear, even on these 31.7" tires. Hard to believe, but go drive a 42RLE and you'll understand what I mean. The Zj steering isn't necessary, but it's so cheap that I figure why not?
The OME lift is all here and waiting to be installed, I just have to find some time to do it.
As a bonus, I'll bet someone locally will buy the 4" FabTech lift from me for a few hundred maybe.
OP