Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs vs Wrangler UltraTerrain

I’m gonna replace the Dueler HTs from my ORP with either Duratracs or Ultraterrians. I have used Duratracs on my previous Tacoma TRDOR and they were great for me, especially in wet mud, wet logging roads. Has anyone used the Wrangler UltraTerrains? They are both 3 Mountain Peak rated. Both have 16/32” tread. Is it a toss up? The UltraTerrains look a little more squared off like the Goodrich KO2s.

 

Personally, I'd go with duratacs given a choice between the two for the following reasons:
1. 3PMS probably doesn't mean a whole lot for you (I grew up in the upstate SC) unless you travel frequently to snowy areas
2. If you offroad and get into mud (which it sounds like you do), I feel like duratracs would be better based on tread pattern (I have no experience with either)
3. The ultraterrains look good - they were on my short list for a while. However, another forum member pointed out, they are exclusive to discount tire so if you ever need a replacement you can only go to them. I knew that but never really thought about it until pointed out - if you stop at any tire shop because of a puncture and find out it can't be patched or plugged, you will have to find a local discount tire (they aren't everywhere) or wait for one to be shipped to get a matching replacement

 

I didn’t know the UltraTerrains were unique to Discount Tire. And I know the Duratracs are great. So I’ll probably go with them. Yes, we don’t have a lot of snow in SC. I figured the 3 PMS rating was a way to grade the traction of the tire in any situation of low traction? I hadn’t really thought about it much. Thinking about it now, seems that IF a tire is good in snow, it is likely good in mud too. I’m not sure. It all comes down to the tread getting loaded with debris (mud or snow) and then ejecting it? The Duratracs have goood tread down the sidewalls and in mud trenches it grips well in my experience. The UltraTerrians look similar in that regard but not as aggressive on sidewall.

 

Someone who knows more than me needs to chime in but from what I understand from reading the forum over the years is that the 3PMS only gets its rating due to better acceleration in snowy/icy conditions. It doesn't provide any better traction in any other use case (stopping, lateral sliding, etc).

The snow/ice traction is usually due more to more siping, tighter tread blocks, and is usually the opposite of "clearing" material. This is why (to my knowledge) there is no 3PMS rated mud-terrain tire on the market. The big gaps between tread blocks and lack of siping (less surface area for sipes) prevent them from having better traction on snow/ice but make them great at clearing tread blocks for mud.

 

Good explanation. I have not studied what makes a good snow tire. I know the Duratracs are good in mud. And they have the 3 PMS rating also. I have not driven in a whole lot of snow but some snow with Duratracs. They did great. And they are good in mud for sure. I like the looks of the Ultraterrains somewhat better. I’m gonna look at them in person.

 

Out of the 2, I'd go with the ultra terrain. Duratracs are known to be good in snow and mud (which is impressive), but I believe they're getting a bit dated.

@MountainMan has a thread about the ultra terrain:

https://www.4runners.com/threads/goodyear-wrangler-ultra-terrain-pre-review-review.23762/

I'm sure he'd be happy to share his experience with them.

 

I had bad wet pavement traction with Duratracs in my Tacoma and they made a lot of noise as they wore. I wouldn’t get them again.

 

Thatbassguy, thanks for the link. Review is impressive.

 

https://youtu.be/lcJXj-jAebo

 

Thanks for the link

 

For my needs, the Ultra Terrain is the best tire, hands down, I have ever run.

I have ran the DuraTracs, and on my 2005 Yukon, they were great in the dirt, wore fine, but were a bit noisy, and I wasn't that happy with them in snow. Weird, I know, since they look like they'd be great and lots of people love them in snow.

It's tough to do a direct comparison since I had them on different SUVs, but the UltraTerrains feel every bit as solid in the dirt and rocks as the DuraTracs.

I have a cousin that works for Goodyear, so I can get 50% off any Goodyear/Cooper/Falken/Kelly tire.

It was the wear factor as well as how they grip on snow and ice that sealed it for me.

This is what they look like after 25k miles...

 

Dated??? So are 4Runners. I love my Wranglers here in eastern WA State.

 

Check out the UltraTerrains at Discount Tire. The one on Sprague in Spokane installed mine.

I don't know what sorcery Goodyear did, but the rubber compound is amazing! They are pliable and grippy on snow and ice, yet don't tear or chunk on rocks, and wear like iron.

The UltraTerrain has a wear rating of 500 and DuraTrac says 320-500, which is odd.

I've got two winters on mine and they still look and perform like new.

 

I run Duratracs due to the off road mud and snow traction I need. But the Ultra Terrain look like a really good alternative that may have better road manors.

Duratracs have been a really good tire in the snow for me (NE). I have about 35k on mine and they are barley worn.

 

Per discount tire person Ultra Terrain is the newer version of Duratracs. Not sure if he was lying or not. I went with known Duratracs.

 

Yes, dated. They're an old design that was one of the best All terrains available for awhile. They're still good tires. There are just better options now.

 

Well they definitely look like a "newer" version of the Duratracs, but they definitely don't look like a replacement.

Info on the ultraterrain:

https://tirehungry.com/goodyear-wrangler--at-vs-goodyear-duratrac/