Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor

[ZVestal]

silent armors on yet?

Hey Bouma -wondering how those Goodyears are treating you. I'm compulsively researching wheels and tires as well. I kind of want to go with 20" wheels (I've found most of the posts) and the Goodyear appears to be available in the 305/60 R20 size which is what I would be looking for. Thanks

 

[Grumpytrkr]

I am looking at installing a set of 285/70/17 Silent Armors. I was wondering if anyone has these? Good, Bad? I got a price of $753 OTD!!!!!

I bought the Goodyear Silent Armor tires for my 04. 5 4X4. I don't know the size, however, they are the "stock" size tire. I got the load range E, for about what your price is. I like them. They improved the ride, and they are quiet. No problems with traction in the snow, or loose dirt. They were the only tire I could find with an E rating, and a warrenty, that could be dealt with on the local level. Every 5,000 miles, the Goodyear dealer rotates and balances the tires for free, so I no longer get the jack and air impact out.

 

[RKohn]

You shoulda gave Hudie a call, but you probably already bought them when we saw you on the highway a few weeks back. I've got the 265's on mine and they're doing ok, but I'll probably go with some Nittos next month. Just never been a Badyear fan ever since I almost went over the 69/94 interchange with one that blew. Good thing the truck had dark seats.









BTW - It's a big Bday for him tomorrow.



Rick

 

[Bouma]

6,000 Miles on them now

Just figured I would give an update on these. The wet traction is the best I have ever hadOo. BUT, they seam to have more sidewall flex then my Michelins did#@$%! I pulled a 20' trailer about 500 miles had maybe 1200-1500 pounds of tongue weight, not fun:{ The truck felt like it wandered more or the tires flexed more. I aired them to 80psi, they are better but don't know if I would go this way again. I am thinking I should have put the Firestone Transforce AT's on instead. I will see how they do in the snow

 

[TimothyLong]

Just figured I would give an update on these. The wet traction is the best I have ever hadOo. BUT, they seam to have more sidewall flex then my Michelins did#@$%! I pulled a 20' trailer about 500 miles had maybe 1200-1500 pounds of tongue weight, not fun:{ The truck felt like it wandered more or the tires flexed more. I aired them to 80psi, they are better but don't know if I would go this way again. I am thinking I should have put the Firestone Transforce AT's on instead. I will see how they do in the snow

Bouma, thanks for sharing your experiences with the Silent Armors! I've been watching this thread and it seems like the consensus is that the Silent Armors don't get it if you're towing or hauling heavy due to weakness in the sidewalls. This isn't the first forum I've seen this complaint on either. If they are that squashy, I'd be real worried about a blow out for these heavy applications. This is good information that you don't get on websites like tirerack.com. I still haven't gotten around to replacing my BFG's yet. Got about 55K on them now and they're still doing okay. Sort of like trading in a good horse, if ya know what I mean. Since I don't haul or tow heavy (at least on a regular basis), I'm still going to go with a set of Silent Armors myself. Anyway, I hope someone from Goodyear is monitoring this thread. They've got some fixin' to do on some of their NASCAR race tires, so while they're at it...

 

[CBrabec]

The guy who I buy tires from talked me into the Goodyear silent armor tires. He has been in the business for over 37 years and highly recommended these tires to me over the BFG A/T's and Cooper STT's. He said they will out last the other 2 I was looking at. I have a set of of Cooper S/T on my stock rims, but the goodyears are going on my new 18" rims. The size I went with was 325 x 60 x 18. They are an "E" rating with a max load of 3525. I'll take his word, he hasn't ever put me into a tire I havn't been happy with.

 

[RRees]

I recently submitted a question to Goodyear via their contact form

asking about the possibility of a 285/75 Load Range E in a 17 inch rims size.



I'll update when I hear back.



Thanks.

 

[RRees]

Here's the response from GoodYear



"That size may not be a popular seller and may be the reason it's not being manufactured at this time. We don't know until promotional information is given to us showing what new brands and sizes will be available.



Jenn Chapman - Consumer Relations Rep"



Later,

 

[Matt400]

Sorry, I don't buy that. Goodyear was making the SA in 18 & 20" sizes before there were any rims you could buy to fit a 3rd gen. How popular could those have been at that time?

Unless I missed a size, it looks like they make2 sizes in the recommended E range to fit our trucks, one that is the oem 265 and the other is same size just more narrow. Unless of course you want a smaller than oem size.

 

[TimothyLong]

Yeah, I have to agree with Matt400 on that. Besides, the tire size wasn't the issue. They already make that size. The load rating is what's at issue. It seems that getting decent customer service at a lot of places these days is the exception and not the norm! #@$%!

 

[Bouma]

I am starting to like them better

My neighbor and I we both in th woods today and we got in the slop. Just for the record he has the same truck as me only a 2005. He put on a set of Cooper Discover ATR's about 2 months ago. We were cutting wood and when it came time to get our trucks back in the woods and load up(we have a 2 track that is very open) I drove back and moved abound in 2wd unloaded. My neighbor had to used 4wd:-laf We loaded up and I took off no problem. My neighbor still needed 4wd:-laf I guess these Goodyears are pretty good offroadOo. I am not a offroader nor do I like to offroad but I was impressed.

 

[DocDetonancour]

Just went to the toyo 285's and like the upgrade a lot.

 

[RRees]

Bouma,



Are you running the stock size 265/70 or the 285/70 size?



Thanks.

 

[Bouma]

I am running the stock 265/70/17. I was going to do the 285/70/17 and just couldn't bring my self to install load range D tires. The 265 look good, I don't regret staying with the stock size. I will post some pic soon.

 

[Blu-meanie]

Any dually types tried these tires? I have been looking at them for some time now, just waiting for the original General Ameritrac's to get a little thinner. These General's are pretty useless in loose sand. I always have to use FWD to get out.

 

[JZellers]

I've had them on 3 trucks so far - My '92 W250 that I recently sold. Winter traction was excellent as I was able to get through some snow that other 4x4's couldn't. I currently have them on my '02 Excursion and my '03 Ram 3500. I haven't tried the dually in snow since I just got the tires this summer, but I tow a heavy boat (12K) and always had to use 4WD to get up the steep boat ramps, dry or wet. With the Silent Armors, I don't have to, so I'd say there's an improvement over the original Goodyear GSA's that came on it.



The only complaint is that in the stock size Goodyear doesn't make a blackwall version, so whether you prefer the white lettering or blackwall facing out, your tire rotation sequence is limited.



The most miles I have so far on a set is 9K on the Excursion and I don't see any wear issues. Even with Michelins I was only getting 36K miles out of a set on any of the CTD's I've owned. So far, on the Excursion at least, I should get more than 50K out of them so I'm pretty happy with the investment.

 

[WhiteSheep]

Mtr

Thank you all for the information on the Silent Armour Goodyear tires. I continually debate going back to ATs from the MTs I currently run. I am on my second set of Goodyear MTR mud tires. They tow great as they have a stiff 3 ply sidewall. They are fantastic in gravel, which is what I see off pavement here in Arizona. I haven't had them in snow, but I hear they are OK. I would probably sipe them if I planned on a lot of snow.



The only drawback? Not much for mileage. If I were willing to run them to the bars, I could m a y b e get 30k out of them. Since I need tread where I go, I am getting 20k. Good thing it is no longer my commuter truck.



What about the standard Goodyear ATs. How do they compare to the SAs? Maybe they haven't compromised as much tow and haul for silent and soft?

 

[Blu-meanie]

JZellers:

Thanks for the reply, do you find any wiggle while towing?

 

[RRees]

Bouma,



Have you tried your new Silent Armor tires in the snow yet?



I'm still debating the stock size (265/70) over the 285/70 tire size.

 

[Bouma]

RRees,



I haven't had a chance yet, but might get it this weekend by the weather forcastOo. I am looking forward to it. If it does snow I will post my opinion of how they do.



Regards



Bouma