I figured now would be a good time for an update on the Goodyear Wrangler Radials I bought last summer because I had to rotate them.
I got these tires against the advice of many BITOGers, who were right about many things, but for $390 installed after tax, I still have a hard time complaining too much about them.
The tires started cupping recently in the front, which I kind of figured would happen with a chunky older style tread pattern on my truck. Wrangler RT/S tires that were factory installed on many Rangers tend to do the same thing in about as many miles. The rears were wearing evenly, so it's nothing regular rotations won't take care of. I rotate tires as needed. Still, if you have a bouncy truck suspension as most vehicles that run 235/75R15s do, expect some abnormal wear.
The cupping made the tires loud, but the rotation took care of that. These are surprisingly quiet tires when they are wearing evenly. Any abnormalities and they sound like mud tires.
Wet traction on smooth asphalt is pretty terrible with these, but they did okay in light snow/slush. They are also fairly good on loose dirt and gravel, but I haven't tried them in any deep mud. On dry pavement, they ride fairly soft probably due to the sidewalls, but also make the handling kind of mushy compared to the Destination A/Ts I had before.
There are already UV/dry rot cracks at the outer edge of the tread. I'm not worried about it, but this is the earliest I have seen any tire develop cracks like this.
The tires seem to have a good, even bead as they do not leak any air. Pressure only changes with temp.
At the rate they are wearing, I expect at least 30K miles which is decent for this truck. It has gone through some tires as quickly as 20K (Continentals).
Overall, they are a cheap tire that performs good enough in most aspects and only somewhat bad in a couple. A $600-700 set of tires will perform much better in every way, but for $390 installed I don't have buyer's remorse. I went in with low expectations and the tires have exceeded those. They are a good value for an older truck, especially one with an appetite for tires, that can run the only size which is 235/75R15.
These are made in the USA by the way, they are not China tires.
I got these tires against the advice of many BITOGers, who were right about many things, but for $390 installed after tax, I still have a hard time complaining too much about them.
The tires started cupping recently in the front, which I kind of figured would happen with a chunky older style tread pattern on my truck. Wrangler RT/S tires that were factory installed on many Rangers tend to do the same thing in about as many miles. The rears were wearing evenly, so it's nothing regular rotations won't take care of. I rotate tires as needed. Still, if you have a bouncy truck suspension as most vehicles that run 235/75R15s do, expect some abnormal wear.
The cupping made the tires loud, but the rotation took care of that. These are surprisingly quiet tires when they are wearing evenly. Any abnormalities and they sound like mud tires.
Wet traction on smooth asphalt is pretty terrible with these, but they did okay in light snow/slush. They are also fairly good on loose dirt and gravel, but I haven't tried them in any deep mud. On dry pavement, they ride fairly soft probably due to the sidewalls, but also make the handling kind of mushy compared to the Destination A/Ts I had before.
There are already UV/dry rot cracks at the outer edge of the tread. I'm not worried about it, but this is the earliest I have seen any tire develop cracks like this.
The tires seem to have a good, even bead as they do not leak any air. Pressure only changes with temp.
At the rate they are wearing, I expect at least 30K miles which is decent for this truck. It has gone through some tires as quickly as 20K (Continentals).
Overall, they are a cheap tire that performs good enough in most aspects and only somewhat bad in a couple. A $600-700 set of tires will perform much better in every way, but for $390 installed I don't have buyer's remorse. I went in with low expectations and the tires have exceeded those. They are a good value for an older truck, especially one with an appetite for tires, that can run the only size which is 235/75R15.
These are made in the USA by the way, they are not China tires.
