For anyone who spends time on the weekend or vacations doing serious off-roading in their vehicle, you know that one of the most important factors in your off-road abilities are your tires. A good set of all terrain mud tires is a fairly significant investment in your off road vehicle and there are a number of considerations that you should take into account before you decide to make a purchase.
If you are a serious off-roader, and you have spent time researching the best set of off-road mud tires for your vehicle, you may have narrowed down your search to the Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac as being one of the best choices of tire you can make.
Of course, it makes sense to compare the Wrangler DuraTrac to another similarly priced and rated tire, so you may want to take a look at the Nitto Trail Grappler which is also an option in this category. Often, it’s best to line up both tires side by side and take a look at all the features and benefits of both – so that you can make the right decision – the Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac vs the Nitto Trail Grappler, which one should I choose?
History: The Wrangler DuraTrac vs the Nitto Trail Grappler
The Wrangler DuraTrac was introduced by Goodyear in 2009, and featured Goodyear’s TractiveGroove Technology. It was a highly recommended choice for off-roaders who also wanted a tire that they could use on their daily drive. A popular choice for many years, the Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac tire, was selected as the “Reader’s Choice” tire for five consecutive years by Off Road Magazine, where over 20,000 readers of the magazine voted on their favourite off-road tire. Over the years, this tire has had plenty of time to become and stay an off-roader’s favourite, with Goodyear doing regular improvements to ensure this tire stays at the top of the list of drivers favourite all season mud terrain tires.
The Nitto Trail Grappler is more of a newer all terrain tire, and was launched by Nitto in 2016. Again, this tire, sold by blackcircles.ca, has been designed to meet the needs of weekend off-roaders, while still being able to be used on your CUV, SUV or truck as a daily driver.
Durability
All-terrain mud tires have the reputation as not being that durable, meaning that they have the reputation that they wear out a lot faster than regular tires, due to the compound and the rugged tread. That is not so in all cases, as, based on a variety of customer reviews, the Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac has been rated as an extremely durable off road tire, with reviewers noting that they regularly get over 50,000 miles – that’s over 80,000 kms — or more on a set of these tires before noticeable wear. In addition, you have the backing of the Goodyear warranty – one of the best in the industry.
With the Nitto Trail Grappler, the results for the life and durability are somewhat less, and according to reviewers, these mud tires last approximately 10,000 miles or 16,000 kms, before the tread becomes more worn. However, with good care and regular rotation, the Trail Grapplers can last around 30,000 to 50,000 miles.
Tread and Wear
Goodyear DuraTrac
The Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac still comes with Goodyear’s TractiveGroove Technology which assists in providing high level traction in deep mud and snow, as well as the rim protector which helps protect the wheels from accidental curb or rock damage, depending on whether you are driving it in mud, over rocks, or on regular roads. In addition, the DuraTrac tire compound is made of a six-ply material, and its tread depth is 18 inches, similar to other performance tires. And, there is no need to worry that you won’t be able to find the right size of DuraTrac for your vehicle, as Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac sizes number 36 in total, so finding the right size is easy.
Nitto Trail Grappler
The Nitto Trail Grappler has a three ply sidewall (on almost all sizes except one), and has leading edge tread and side lug blocks that provide additional biting edges, as well as a two dual sidewall designs that allow drivers to choose a “special look” for their vehicle. In addition, you will likely not have an issue finding the right size of this mud tire, as the Nitto Trail Grappler sizes are fairly extensive, and can fit a variety of wheel sizes.
Driving and Handling
If you use your off-road vehicle as your daily driver as well, then you know it’s not always convenient for to put on and take off your mud tires when moving from weekend rock climbing and mudding to daily driving – meaning a lot of drivers in this category look for all terrain tires that can be used both on trails, roads and highways. A fairly major issue with using mud tires on regular roads and highways is the complaint of excessive road noise. If you are looking for the quietest tires when comparing the Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac vs the Nitto Trail Grappler, both rate fairly well in terms of customer reviews on tire noise.
Road Noise – The Wrangler DuraTrac vs the Nitto Trail Grappler
The Wrangler DuraTrac has been designed with highly angled center tread blocks that help enhance traction and lateral stability, and both of these design elements can help with the reduction of road noise. In terms of the Nitto tires, their engineering team has spent a lot of time in research in terms of making their mud tires more quiet, and with the Grappler, the company maintains it is one-third more quiet than other Nitto mud tires in this category.
So, if you are looking for the best all-round mud tires, and are currently comparing the Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac M/T to the Nitto Trail Grappler, then it’s important to look at factors such as tread wear, durability and warranty. Of course, if you need answers to more questions about which is the best all terrain mud tire for your vehicle, then feel free to reach out to a highly experienced team like the one online at blackcircles.ca either via chat, email or phone, and we will be happy to help you make your decision.
