Both Kenda Klever AT2 and the Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac are very different tires. As here, the Klever is coming in all-terrain category, while the Duratrac with it’s more aggressive tread design lies in rugged terrain. That’s why the tire is also called a hybrid. But do you even need such an aggressive tire? Let’s find out.
As a tire engineer, my testing show that the Kenda Klever A/T2 shows better efficacy on dry and wet roads, in terms of traction, fuel consumption and tread life. Whereas the Goodyear Duratrac stays undefeated off-road, on rocks, sand and muddy terrains.
Table of Contents
Tire Sizes
Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac has following specs:
- Rim sizes: 15 to 22 inches
- Weight range: 35 to 68 lbs
- Speed rating: Q, S, P, and T
- Load ratings: SL to F
- Tread depth seen on most sizes: 16/32″, where maximum seen is 18/32″
- Winter ratings: 3PMSF and M+S
- Warranty: 50k miles on P metric sizes
Detailed Review of Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac: https://tiredriver.com/goodyear-wrangler-duratrac-review/
The Kenda Klever AT2 provides you with following:
- Rim sizes: 15 to 20 inches
- Speed ratings: R, S, T and H
- Load ratings: SL, XL, C and E
- Weight range: 35 to 60 lbs
- Tread depth: 14/32″ or 15/32″
- Ratings: 3PMSF and M+S rated
- Warranty: 50k (LT), and 60k for P metric sizes
Review this tire in detail: https://tiredriver.com/kenda-klever-at2-review/
Note: All sizes on both tires have similar internal construction of 2 ply polyester casing + 2 steel belts + 2 ply nylon cap plies.
Outer Construction
Let me divide this portion in to two parts, the middle section and the shoulders. They are easier to consider on Goodyear Duratrac, with such wider grooves, so lets start with that tire.
Middle Section:
- Lugs are smaller here (in comparison).
- They have a more “wave-like” siping, along with sharp edges.
- They are all joined up with reinforced foundations as well, think of it as the lugs sitting on a secondary rubber layer.
- They create interlinked grooves connecting the wider outer longitudinal channels.
- These outer grooves have mini tread pattern of their own, which Goodyear calls, tractive technology.
And considering the shoulders.
- Lugs are chunkier here, and they also have secondary foundations, just like the middle lugs.
- Siping pattern is more interlocking here, in comparison.
- They get to offer slightly more aggressive siping pattern.
- Although the image above does not show the LT sizes, those sizes have stud-able shoulder lugs for winter traction.
- On the outskirts, the blocks get to be serrated, and they create thick enough sidewall lugs (see by scrolling all the way to the top).
On the other side, the Kenda Kelver AT2 may seem open, it’s lugs are still pretty closed up in comparison.
In the middle:
- Lugs are smaller in comparison here.
- They make rectilinear sipes which are full depth.
- They have off-set edges and sharp sides, which act as biters off-road.
- On pavements, they get to provide ample reliability, as lugs are closed up and joined with each other with ridges (in between).
- These ridges besides acting as shoulder connectors, also have stone ejecting properties, off-road.
On shoulders:
- Lugs are bigger in size, so they get to cover most of the tread’s real estate.
- They make wider circumferential outer rings, compacting the central lugs within, though not as much as seen on its competitor.
- They have interlocking sipes, which are more efficient.
- Their outer margins are serrated having traction scoops in them.
- You also get squared off sidewall lugs on the bead area.
Wet Traction
To avoid slippage on wet roads, tires use sipes. These are tiny slits on the tread basically soak up the water particles. And so their structure, and tread flexibility play a significant role here.
The Kenda Klever AT2 with dual siping structure, renders a very nice responsive ride. It’s central lugs have sipes designed to enhance wet braking and acceleration (basically directional grip), while the interlocking pattern seen on shoulders, help the tire to corner better, relatively.
On the other side, the Goodyear Duratrac is although lacking here, mostly due to its wider tread voids, it still does a great job, considering it lies in rugged-terrain category (also called hybrid).
It’s wider grooves account for ample hydroplaning resistance, and its interlocking sipes everywhere provides good enough results in terms of braking, handling and steering response.
Highway Performance
A technical analysis of an all-terrain tire’s traction, steering, and cornering abilities is necessary for determining its dry performance with precision. So let me discuss these critical elements in more detail, separately.
Directional Traction
The assessment of directional grip evaluates the traction performance of a tire on straight roads in dry weather, determined through measurements of braking distances and acceleration times (for the most part).
And so while rolling straight, as the central portion of the tire’s tread bear the most weight concentration on itself, it forms a solid connection with the road. So how well it joins up with the ground is crucial.
That’s why both tires with closed up arrangement of lugs, in the middle, show up with similar stopping capabilities. But if you really have to pick one here, the Kenda Klever A/T2 is tiny bit better, one might say. It renders superior friction values with its enhanced footprint offering.
That’s why the tire also features better speed ratings.
Lateral Grip
On turns, the weight of the tire (and the vehicle) gets transferred on to the shoulders and sidewalls, and so they are mostly considered here.
And looking at them, along with the tire’s structure/composition, it can be explained why Kenda Klever AT2 shows up with superior handling efficacy.
It comes with closed up lugs, having reinforced foundations, offering greater rubber to road contact form outer edges, and supplying cornering stability.
The Goodyear Duratrac on the other side, with larger lug gaps can’t support its tread in such a way. And they bend a lot more (in comparison) as the tire turns. This causes under-steering at first, followed by over-steering resulting in slower feedback and handling times.
Winter Grip
The success of a tire in snowy conditions, relies on its ability to maintain forward momentum, handle corners, and respond to braking on various surfaces. And after testing these tires with all of these performance metrics, it all comes down to the following.
The Kenda Klever AT2 is better tire to have if we’re talking hard packed snow, while its counterpart does a great job with slightly deeper terrains.
Klever A/T2 basically does great with it’s mixture of interlocking structure in the middle, and squiggly sipes on shoulders. The central area of the tread trap in the snow particles effectively, thanks to its haphazardly placed lugs, and deliver ample snow to snow contact.
Where aiding to that are it’s interlocking sipes towards edges. So basically you get a mixture of both, lateral and directional traction.
Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac on the other side, with its spacious structure is worthier on deeper tracks with its tractive grooves (I’ll explain it further in the mud section below).
Though the tire could also get better on ice, as it offers studable lugs (but keep in mind they are only available on LT sizes).
Fuel Economy
Fuel usage depends on a lot of factors, including weight, and tread structure, being the two most important ones. And considering them both, it can be seen why Kenda Klever is higher-ranking.
Its lighter, and has closed up tread voids, further distributing weight down, so each of its lugs get to bear smaller overall pressure on itself.
Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac on the other side, with it’s such aggressive tread voids, push it’s blocks more against the ground, and they bend/flex generating greater rolling friction, and fuel consumption.
For Your Info: In A/T category, the most fuel efficient tire is Firestone Destination AT2 (review).
Ride Quality
Factors such as noise level, comfort, and impact absorption capability, play a huge role in determining a tire’s ride quality. I explained them further, below.
Comfort
A tire’s ability to provide comfort on the road depends on several factors, including its internal and external structure.
For example, a tire with a softer internal construction and flexible top rubber with malleable lugs is better able to absorb and dampen the impact of bumps and vibrations.
That’s why both tires do great, subjectively speaking.
Nonetheless with greater on-road stability, its safe to say, Kenda Klever AT2 is a better choice if you are staying on smooth pavements, mostly.
And for rugged terrains such as gravely and dirt filled roads, you’d see a better performance on Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac, with its superior bumps settling abilities.
I talked about this in more detail here: Handling of vibrations in all-terrain tires.
Tread Noise
The amount of groove resonance is determined by the tire’s tread voids, composition, and the weight.
And these factors determine, how much air the tire allows (while rolling) to flow in/out of the grooves, mostly shoulder voids, and hit the walls (this impact is what generates noise).
In simpler words, balder the tire gets, louder it becomes. And so Kenda Klever AT2 with such a crowded block pattern, gets to be quieter on roads as it’s tread is not that breathable.
Whereas the Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac is one of the loudest, in the all-terrain category, at least. And it’s spacious design really shows.
Gravel Performance
The Goodyear Duratrac although has wild voids, they are missing with conventional stone ejectors, though the tire still performs better as it’s in-groove biters, which don’t allow a lot of dirt particles to settle in.
The Kenda Klever AT2 on the other hand, with its crowded blocks design, is more prone to inviting sharp stones and debris.
They not only (negatively) impact overall traction, but also damages the tread, even though it has cut resistant properties just like the Duratrac.
Rock Climbing
On rocks, you need powerful sidewalls, and a ton of biters to girp (as climbing rocks require both longitudinal and lateral grip).
Both of our boys here although don’t have ample durability, and don’t offer what you call a “confidence inspiring” ride, the Goodyear Duratrac is still better off the two.
The tire at-least offers bigger biting mouth, with it’s broader tread voids, and since its blocks come with squishier compound, they can easily flex to chew on the rocky surface with better efficacy.
Kenda Klever AT2 on the other side, does okay but only with lowered air pressure.
It basically only offers grip from the middle, and its less aggressive sidewalls/shoulders don’t do much for the traction overall, comparatively.
Mud Grip
On this terrain, a tire’s ability to clear mud from its tread is just significant as it’s capability to paddle.
And considering both it’s not a surprise to see Goodyear Duratrac taking the lead. In fact the tire shows up with the best performance in the all-terrain category. That’s why it got placed in my list of all-times best A/T tires. Here’s the link: https://tiredriver.com/best-all-terrain-tires/
Besides providing faster mud escaping, it also features Tractive Grooves Technology. It’s just a fancy name for its placement of biters on to the base of the grooves. They cut/break down the mud particles further, allowing to pass out of the tread with more ease.
On the other side, the Kenda Klever AT2 gets packed much quickly, due to it’s crowded lug design. It can’t handle faster mud escaping, and with smaller groove mouth it’s not great with scooping out the thick clay either.
Desert Performance
With just 60 lbs in weight (on its heaviest size), the Kenda Klever AT2 features a very nice traction on soft sand. It’s lighter weight combined with smoother outer edges don’t compel its lugs to dig in, so the tire is easier to maneuver.
Moreover, it’s sidewall lugs are pasted on a larger surface area, and its already equipped with wider section width (on average), both of these features provide a superior contact patch to connect with the sand, allowing for enhanced floating abilities.
Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac on the flip side, lacks (slightly) mostly, because of it’s heavier structural weight and sharper outer edges, making it more susceptible to sinking.
To Sum Up
Let me summarize all of the things I’ve discussed above.
So out of both tires, the Kenda Klever AT2 shows up with a better traction on both wet and dry environments. And the tire brings superior comfort, fuel efficiency and tread life with it as well.
On the other side, the Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac comes out on top, on rugged terrains, where it shines the most on muddy tracks.
Also both tires are pretty great when it comes to winter traction.
