Wow! We’re always amazed at what a good set of wheels and tires can do for the overall look of a truck – not to mention the functionality. For our showcase vehicle, we chose to go with Goodyear’s new Wrangler DuraTrac tire. Since we already had the rubber off the wheels, we decided to have the wheels powder-coated black at the same time.
Since our goal is to keep our rig both off-road capable and comfortable as a daily driver, Goodyear’s DuraTrac tires are a perfect fit. They’re the same size (285/75R16) as the available 33inch factory tires, and as you can see below, the size and ruggedness is quite different between the standard 32inch factory Goodyear Wrangler RT/S tires.
While the stock RT/S tires are a long-lasting, comfortable riding tough tire, the DuraTracs take that capability to the next level. You can see by the comparison from Goodyear.com that the only sacrifice is 1 point on the “quiet ride” scale. From our testing so far, these are the quietest riding aggressive tires we’ve ever experienced. We had the radio off and the truck with speeds between 30 and 80 listening specifically for the tires, and in the H3, the inevitable wind noise was significantly louder than any noise we could discern from the tires. They’re so quiet that they even earned the right to carry the European Commission Noise Symbol for passing stringent European standards for pass-by noise.
We still need to make a couple other adjustments to the rig before we test the tires off-road, but stay tuned for part two of our Wrangler DuraTrac coverage.
The look of the HUMMER H3’s wheel is a design aspect we wanted to keep, but we needed a new finish for them. We took the truck to Sewell HUMMER of Dallas who was able to powder-coat the wheels black. Some powder-coating can look uneven or have ripples/bubbling areas, but we were very impressed with the quality of our application.
To keep costs down on the wheels and tires, one option would be to just snag a tire cover and cover up the spare, and thus cutting your costs by a fifth. While we see that most often with the larger wheel/tire combos, it can be used by anyone trying to save a little dough.
We’ll keep you posted on the long-term durability of the powder-coating, but we expect the finish to take whatever we throw at it. In addition to the tough finish, the Goodyear DuraTracs also have built-in rim protectors to help guard wheels from accidental curb damage.
Coming Soon: Part II – Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac Off-Road Test!
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- HUMMER H3T Commercial to Showcase Surfers, Kite Surfing
- World’s Fastest Power Wheels HUMMER
- HUMMER to showcase new HX Concept at Detroit Auto Show
- Hummer H3 rides on two wheels – Wow!
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June 25th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Sweet!
Though I like the black Tactical Edition rims better!
They’re different you don’t see them a lot.
June 29th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Its getting close to time to change the tires on my black H3, these tires will look pretty agressive on that chrome i have. I seen a set at wally world yesterday and they seem to have listed for $170.00 a tire. I just hope they dont melt as fast as my Cooper STT’s did on my jeep wrangler.
June 30th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Gotta love that nice shiny Armorall.
October 4th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Can you put 285/75/R16 on a stock 16 wheel that currently have stock 265/75/R16 tires?
October 4th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Yep – that’s exactly what we did.
October 11th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
do you think a leveling suspension kit would be a good way to go with these new tires ? I would like to do the same to my h3
October 11th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Personally, I prefer not to mess with a leveling kit. But it’s all personal taste, and it could go well w/ this tire combo.
October 12th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Did you test the difference in mpg between the two different tires? I have the stock good years on my h3 (265 75 r16). However, I really really like the Dura Tracs, and I’m debating whether to bump up to the 285 or not.
October 12th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Increasing the tire size to anything larger will affect the fuel economy. But for only 1-2 mpg difference, I think it’s worth it.
October 18th, 2009 at 9:27 am
you changed the spare tire to the larger goodyear.is that for good looks or will running the smaller spare tire damage the drivetrain if you used it for a flat?
October 18th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
A few reasons. The place most likely to get a flat would be out on the trail – and having a full size, capable spare is best. Driving a 32 w/ all other 33s for a short period shouldn’t damage anything. And, it looks good.
October 21st, 2009 at 3:48 pm
This is my first SUV and I’m thinking about going with an 18 inch wheel for my H3. Will I need to lift if I go with a 285 tire?
October 21st, 2009 at 3:54 pm
285 is the overall size of the tire, and doesn’t have anything to do with the size of the rim within. So yes, you could get a 285 tire for 18inch rims, but it will be a much lower profile tire.
October 21st, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Got it! I think I’m just going to get the DuraTracs and keep it simple. Thanks for helping out the noob.
October 28th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Now that you’ve had the DuraTracs on for a while, how do you like them? I’m likely to replace my stock tires in the next month or so.
October 28th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Really liking them – after about 1000 miles they’re still nearly silent – incredible for a tire with aggressive tread like the DuraTracs. We’re still looking for some good off-road testing areas (proving to be hard after the move to Austin) – but we did try them out in some rocky inclines and they performed great.
November 8th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
I have an h2 can I use the same duratrack tire on my stock rim and doest it lifts my truck by using 285 tire and by how much since I’m use to park in under ground parking buildings that ar 7 feet high
November 8th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
My h2 Hummer have factory tires zise LT 315/70/R17 what zise is recomended for the h2
November 19th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
can I run dick cepec fc-11 35/12.50/20 on my 09 h-2 hummer they seem to be the same height as the 305/60/20 goodyears i wish BFG made a TA KO IN 35/12.50/20 .I TALKED TO A COUPLE PEOPLE WHO RAN 325/60/20 TA KOS BUT HAD TO CHANGE RIMS AND LIFT THE FRONT WITH TORISON BAR KIT
November 20th, 2009 at 10:28 am
when you guys going to make a 35/12.50/20 for the H-2 ALSO WOULD WORK ON F-250 FORD AND SOME DODGES.YOU GOT A NICE LOOKING TIRE NOW WHY NOT MARKET IT O8-09 H-2 NEEDS AGGRESSIVE TIRES
November 22nd, 2009 at 12:25 am
come on guys i want a set of these new 35/12.50/20 for my 09 h-2 and our 08 sut or do need to order the fc-11 dick cepecs they make 35/12.50/20 tires when are you going to make them
December 15th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
brian i know we’ve talked about these tires via hummerforums.com…how do they handle offroad? do you feel they have enough traction to compensate for not having lockers?
December 15th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
We took the tires off-road just last week – they handled well – complete review and pics coming soon!
December 29th, 2009 at 9:46 am
I put these tires on my H3 and my wife’s pickup. They look great. Her pickup now looks tough. After last week’s blizzard I was amazed at the traction driving through snow. I am glad I found this site.
December 29th, 2009 at 10:00 am
Good to hear, Scott! Not too much snow here in Austin…may need to go North just for the fun of it.
December 30th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
yea we rarely get snow here but 2 weeks ago we got like 15 inches dumped on us. im also looking at the silent armors do you know anything about them?
January 3rd, 2010 at 10:35 pm
DOES ANYBODY MAKE ANYTHINE LIKE 35/12.50/20 FOR THE 08-09 H-2 THEY COME WITH 305/60/20 STREET TIRES TA KO MAKE A 325/60/20 BUT IT MUST GO ON WIDER RIMS LIKE 10 INCH WIDE AND THEN THEY ARE 13.50 WIDE AND SOME PEOPLE SAY YOU MIGHT GET SOME RUB WHEN FULL TURNS
January 3rd, 2010 at 10:36 pm
DO THEY MAKE A 315/60/20??
January 3rd, 2010 at 11:09 pm
Check out this link,near the bottom there is another link that opens the sizes. I did not see a 315/60/20.