As you can all see from all the replies you see here, you will never get everyone to agree on anything, and in all honesty that is because most people don't really have enough technical knowledge to understand why something is good or bad in a specific situation, and that generally leads to a misunderstanding of a products capabilities.
For example, you can have 3 guys, all with F150's and all who all use Duratracs. One guy though has tires a bit bigger with a LRE/10 ply rating because he wanted oversized. Another guy drives his truck like a sports car. Another guy has a standard load rating and uses his truck lightly but all kinds of conditions.
The guy with the 10 ply reports the tire is noisier and is terrible in severe winter conditions, but that is because it is a more rigid product and doesn't flex as much so traction in those conditions is reduced, and as stiffer tires transfer more road feedback, the noise travels through the cab.
The guy who drives it like he stole it complains the tires get noisy and wear fast, but that is because the larger blocks with lots of siping and more flexible compounding combine for heat generation from driving like that cause the tire to feather which makes them noisy and wear contributes to them wearing quicker.
The guy who drives pretty normal but is in all varying conditions says they wear well, provide good traction levels and are decently quiet because a tire like this endures well in those scenarios.
All three guys used the same product but had radically different experiences and results. Because of this they report that they either the tire was junk or that it was awesome or whatever, but the question is why is that? The fact is it is not the product that is bad or good as a rule, but more that the product was or was not matched properly to the user for what they do and expect.
That more often than not means the biggest issue was that the consumer did not get the product best associated to their specific needs and uses and that is either because the sales person did not listen to the client, ask the right questions and recommend the proper product, or the consumer blindly went with something based on the opinions of random people who don't really know how to break down and analyze everything correctly and didn't go with the experience of a reputable industry pro who had considered their best interests. Either way, it isn't because the tire was bad. It was just inappropriate for the scenario at hand.
Often what is best for one person is totally wrong for the next person. Ask the right questions of someone you trust to give you accurate and properly thought out feedback and you stand the very best chance of getting something suitable for your needs and something you well be happy with overall. Ask your neighbour who is a geologist (or any other myriad of professions) who has owned five trucks but uses them in a completely different manner from you, but you take his work as gold and you will often end up disappointed.
__________________
Bob Blakeborough
Urban Expressions Wheel & Tire Inc
Bay #6, 1303 44th ave NE
Calgary AB, T2E6L5
403.769.1771
[email protected]
www.urbanexp.ca
