Hello fellow JK'ers,

I just bought a set of 285/75r16 Duratracs from my local DT this past saturday - they look friggin' amazing.



...but, on my few trips out since then, I have noticed I am getting some rowdy shaking in my stick shift at about 62-64mph (read at my speedo, is likely off a few mph because of the bigger tires) and my Jeep is practically brand new with just over 2k on the odometer. Has anyone heard of anything happening like that with the Duratrac in that size? I knew it would feel much different due to larger size, but that intense shake of my stick has got me a little nervous. I had an 08 before with the same size tire (BFG AT KO, though) and that shake was never present unless I hit a bump (as usual).

What I'm also finding odd is the Jeep is feeling more 'flighty' now... I am constantly correcting with minor left and right movements on the highway(nothing to do with spots of the road, we do have some where it catches and tries to follow some grooves, but I'm aware of those) and I have no lift - no other modifications at this time except rock rails... something else I never experienced with my old BFGs. Is this common with the GY Duratracs or am I dealing with bunk balance? I noticed a hefty amount of stick on weights on my left rear wheel, haven't really paid attention to the others. I'd like to believe that my brand new 2011 JKU doesn't have a bent axle or otherwise... haven't had a chance to take it off-road yet.

Any help is much appreciated!

-MortuaR

 

Yeah, that is my plan of action tomorrow. I'm going to have them pull all 5 and recheck the balancing and rotate them. They left off the center cap on my spare too... by left off I mean left it on my bumper for it to nearly get ran over when I drove off. Had to speed back up to the shop to get it as they decided to not answer the phone after 5PM (they were closed but had several jobs still going, all I wanted them to do was acknowledge that they still had it and hold it for me).

Woah, sorry for that rant. If anyone else has any ideas keep em comin!

 

Cmon guys, i also have similar issues and would love to hear more opinions. As a matter of fact my steering stabilizer came loose today, don't know why. I have a 1.5 TF leveling kit and 295/75/17 trail grapplers.

 

Ensure the retaining clips were removed from the rotors. Past that, there's nothing unusual in your setups so just the usual balancing and ensuring the tires are round.

 

Well, as far as the flightyness, you may want to check your air pressure. They usually overfill them at shops.

 

Hell yea they do! I have the same size tires and the same wheels and rolled out of the shop at 55 psi. I agree on a re-check of balancing.

 

I had them check the balance and they said they were all "perfect" and needed no balancing, but they did them again anyway and all balanced "perfectly" again. They blamed the fact that they are a more aggressive tread for the wandering on the highway and said I should have no stick shift shake due to it. On the way home, same deal. It actually ended up wandering so bad I had to slow down and get in the far right hand lane as I was afraid I'd fly into another lane (high wind today).

I checked and my pressure is at about 37-38 on all of them. What should I be running for 285/75r16 tires? Is it bad to run with lower pressure? I assumed they'd be filling them to where they needed to be.

All I know is I'm feeling like I shouldn't have spent that money now. Never had this issue with my BFG ATs

 

X2
if they left them on then the wheels would not be sitting flush on the rotor, and they could be vibrating. Remove one wheel and check.

 

Try them between 30 and 28 psi. It'll improve your ride, ease flightiness and give you a more even treadwear pattern.

Search for "chalk test" to perfect your pressure.

 

I meant to comment on this earlier - I actually saw them remove the clips and asked what they were doing... so I know they're removed. Got concerned when I saw them tearing at my rotors with snips haha.