Hummer Guy Hummer News and Opinion from an experienced off-road instructor
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!
Sweet!
Though I like the black Tactical Edition rims better!
They’re different you don’t see them a lot.
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.
Gotta love that nice shiny Armorall.
Can you put 285/75/R16 on a stock 16 wheel that currently have stock 265/75/R16 tires?
Yep – that’s exactly what we did.
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
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
Got it! I think I’m just going to get the DuraTracs and keep it simple. Thanks for helping out the noob. 🙂
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.
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.
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
My h2 Hummer have factory tires zise LT 315/70/R17 what zise is recomended for the h2
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
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
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
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?
We took the tires off-road just last week – they handled well – complete review and pics coming soon!
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.
Good to hear, Scott! Not too much snow here in Austin…may need to go North just for the fun of it.
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?
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
DO THEY MAKE A 315/60/20??
Check out this link,near the bottom there is another link that opens the sizes. I did not see a 315/60/20.
Hey if I upgrade to the LT285/75/R16 Duratracs, from the P265/75/R16 stock tires on my H3, will I need to recalibrate my speedometer and odometer ?? Thanks
You shouldn’t have any problems – that is the size I used and it’s so close to factory size options (32-33″) that any difference would be minimal.
Okay thanks…Hey do you have an idea on where I can find any black tactical edition 16inch rims?? I have factory chrome wheels currently, and I don’t think it would be a good idea to powder coat those black!?
the black tactical edition rims are going to be hard to find since so few were made…if you really like the wide-rimmed style you can ask a local powder-coating pro if he can remove the chrome finish and refinish with black – it probably won’t be ideal, though. Lots of folks have take-off stock rims that you could buy and have powder-coated, and keep or sell the chrome rims at your discretion.
Super fast response, to bad I just checked back right now…I will probably end up doing that, but for now will keep the current rims…I plan on purchasing the 285/75/16 later on today, will they need to crank the t-bar , or anything like that ?
You won’t need to adjust the suspension at all w/ the 285s…lots of people do it even with the stock tires to “level” the truck, but I’m personally a fan of keeping it factory spec – better gas mileage and a smoother ride. Of the people making modifications to their trucks, I know I’m in the minority w/ that decision. It’s up to you.
I bought and had them mounted about three hours ago…wow what a huge improved difference it makes on the entire truck, just like you said. Awesome tires thanks for turning me on to them and for all your help.
Good to hear Jesse – when you get a moment, you should snap a few pictures and post them over at Clubhummeroffroad.com. Cheers!
Well, I didn’t end up replacing my tires until a month ago. I did go with the DuraTracs and I think they’re great! Thanks for the tip. Not much off-road yet. But they do look awesome.
Glad to hear it Alan – post some pics on the facebook page when you get a chance! facebook.com/hummernews
I just got a 2009 H3 Alpha Love it so far.
it came with the bigger stock tires, (I like the size) but was wondering if i should paint the rims black as you did in this project. I was also trying to level it. do you know anything about changing the suspension? or those Keys?
great website thanks for the information and the pics.
-Bud
I personally don’t like the level look – I like the slight rake of the truck – it also helps fuel economy and wind noise issues…but…that’s me. The truck in the pictures isn’t leveled a bit. There are many folks on forums (e.g. ClubHummerOffroad.com) that will have more experience and advice on leveling that I do.
Thanks for getting back to me.
Great site keep up the good work!
Great looking truck. The tires definetely make it look meaner. I have a 07 H3 TE with the factory 265 RT/S’ (bought it from Sewell) and am considering replacing them with the 285 DTs. Do they make those in blackwall or just with the white lettering? Thanks for your reply in advance.
You just put the reverse side out that doesn’t have the white lettering…
Nice h3, I have a black 2006 and I got some work done to it I think you will like. But I need new tires soon def going with the dura, but i don’t know if you can see my email, look me up on facebook, if not I will like it and my profile pic is a h3 logo
I just spoke to Goodyear and asked them why this tire doesn’t show up on their website as being compatible with the Hummer H3T and was told that it was because they require 80psi to support the 10-ply and that would likely crunch or crack the rims. What pressure are you running them at and was this a concern at all?
I’m pretty sure I’m running about 32-34 – I still have the tire pressure monitors in there that are set to the standards on the door jam of the driver’s door.
Thanks for the quick response. Threw a set on the stock rims Friday and inflated to 40. Went from the D-load BFGsto these E-loads but ride and noise are still just fine. Man these are great looking tires!