bridgestone dueler h/t versus dunlop grandtrek

My dealer has several 4Rs and half have one while the other half have the other. I probably could get whichever 4R I want and have them swap the tires. I've read enough here to know that neither of these is particularly desirable, but between the two? I will be 80% roads, 20% dirt/gravel/rough roads, 0% just-for-the-fun-of-it off roading.

Or should I just take the tires off and run directly on the rims?

Thanks.

 

They should be equally the same. I would invest in a set of all terrain tires for looks and off-road performance.

 

Since gravel and bumps are the worst of it I think you’ll be fine either way. Maybe whichever tread pattern speaks to you?

Since I assume they’re factory fitment, they may not match 1:1 to what is available on the shelf if you go looking for reviews.

 

Mine came with the Bridgestones. They were OK as a good-weather highway tire. I didn't have them long enough to get a feel for how they behaved in heavy rain. I switched to AT tires at something like 1500 miles for off-road purposes.

 

I bought mine used and it came with a new set of Duelers. Honestly they were great as a street tire. Quiet, smooth, good in the rain, fine on dirt roads. On the other hand, they were absolutely terrible in the snow.

If I could be bothered to run two sets of wheels, I would totally keep a set of them for pavement.

If you have any aspirations of off-roading, I wouldn't keep either one of them. Or if you have snow also.

 

Are you saying your experience AT "behave" better than HT Brigestones in heavy rain? Are you slowing down in heavy rain, or just keep hwy speed limit, dry or wet hwy ?

 

Not quite. What I mean is that the Bridgestones were gone before they experienced a serious downpour, although they went through some lesser stuff, so I lack a basis of comparison. I've had the ATs through everything short of big snow and ice. I'm mindful of how heavy this truck is, so I take it easy on wet roads. That's one application where I miss a lighter, low-slung AWD vehicle.

 

Dueler HT s were the worst tire I've ever experienced. rain sleet snow traction is pathetic. Try the grandrek ones 1st.
When you can afford to buy some AT tires

 

The bridgestones made me want to commit unalive. Only lasted 30k mi and one of them popped at 10k miles

 

I have the Grandtreks and they are terrible IMO. But to be fair, I'm used to running KO2s on most vehicles. Any offroad condition and they will not perform at all. Just on a damp dirt road they couldn't even get my 4Runner up a small hill in 2WD. Zero traction.

They are nice and smooth on the highway though, if that is what your priority is.

 

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. After much soul searching (and binging) I'm 90% sure I am going to get some Toyo AT3s. But, the dealer is giving me 1000 miles to try the Dunlops, then I can return them and get $100 per tire in trade on the Toyos.

 

I held out for 36,000 miles before I dumped them. I ended up switching to Yokohama Geolanders with the mountain peak snow rating.

 

I currently have the Dunlops as that was the "factory" tire that the dealer said had to stay on due to it being a CPO. They were fine this winter due to it being very mild and Ill keep them on through the summer as they will be better for the long drive to Myrtle Beach than AT tires.

I havent been disappointed with them, but they definitely feel soft on the road. Hopefully when I upgrade I get a more sturdy feeling.

 

Nice. What didn't you like about the Dunlops? Were they tolerable for 36k or you were annoyed the whole time?

 

The duelers are fine for your use case… lol just get the truck and drive for a while..

Took mine through snow storms in the Rocky Mountains, didn’t feel they were inadequate. Driving through forest roads here in Colorado, tires are fine… planning on taking these stock duelers to Moab, in a bit.

early/eager optimization on tires, for a truck you don’t even have yet.. not worth it

 

Mine came with the Bridgestones. They lasted 40,000 miles. I probably could have gone 45,000, but I had a cross-country drive coming up. They were fine. The one negative I noticed was that they squealed a lot when cornering. Highway exits, quick turns, even going about 3 mph making a 180 degree turn to enter the car wash. I thought it was just the 4Runner until I replaced them with Michelin Defenders. I have not heard a single squeal since. The Defenders are great street tires.

I had considered buying a set of someone's factory take offs before going with the Michelins. While looking at reviews on tire sites, the Bridgestones got better reviews. The biggest complaints I remember on the Dunlops were rain/snow handling and shorter lifespan.

 

My 5th gen came with the Bridgestone Duellers, hated them the first time I drove through less than a half inch of water on the freeway…been running on MT Baja Boss’ ever since with very good handling characteristics in good to inclement weather…rain, snow, ice (driving conservatively that is)

In the past for my 3rd gen I went with the Michelin LTs series, a decent all weather that performed well on sandy/rocky terrain (not the best in snow/ice conditions but manageable), that tire will be a better option than the Duellers without going to a more ‘aggressive’ tree pattern while maintaining decent mpg results.