Goodyear have updated their DuraTrac tyre, calling it the RT which is a new-ish class of tyre meaning “Rugged Terrain”. RT tyres slot in between all-terrains and mud-terrains, which Goodyear say is 70/30 on/offroad.
As ever, lots of claims are made in the press release. Here they are, relative to the original DuraTracs:
- 10% improvement in wet handling
- 10% improvement in dry handling
- More robust construction
- Greater resistance to cuts and abrasion and protection.
I followed up with Goodyear to try and find some data on those claims or maybe the test results, but I have nothing further I can report. There are no claims about fuel efficiency or noise so assume those characteristics have not changed. I asked about weight, which has an effect on both fuel efficiency and payload, and Goodyear said “The new Wrangler DuraTrac RT’s comes with Light Truck construction and 3 ply sidewall, it has a more robust carcass overall, resulting in additional weight.” But we don’t know how much heavier it is.
Overall, the RT tyre looks like an improvement for grip, strength and reliability across all terrains, so I’d say that counts as a win.
Size ranges are here. OWL isn’t a wise bird, it’s Outlined White Letters. LT is Light Truck construction, as you want your 4×4 tyres to be. The “Service” column is misnamed, it’s actually the load and speed rating.
I have run the older DuraTec tyres on my Ranger, and was happy enough with them so despite the lack of detail on the claims made, I would expect the RT version to be even better and it is definitely a tyre I would consider if you’re in the rugged-terrain market.
