New Goodyear Wrangler Pro-Grade All-Terrain tire is silent on-highway and full of traction off-road.
Each generation of the Wrangler enjoys the latest innovation Goodyear engineers can produce, but with each new machination of this tire there is a common thread.
That thread is the essential tread pattern and water-channeling making this all-terrain tire one of the quietest, wet-weather-safe, and sure-footed tire on any surface we trudged upon. In addition to Silent Armor Technology, these new Goodyear Wrangler tires are available in Pro-Grade for SUV, half-ton, and heavy-duty ¾-ton and one-ton trucks. Pro-Grade uses long-lasting tread compound for truck owners who tow and haul with their pickups.
For years, this tire has been a top choice for light-truck, SUV, and Jeep owners who want a tire they don’t have to listen to as it howls its way down the highway. Wrangler enjoys a tread pattern that is quite, yet proves every bit an off-road tire when you lock it in four-wheel drive. We ‘wheeled with these tires in the Colorado Rockies and out in the Sierra Nevada mountain range on the California/Nevada border. We’ve been mercilessly road-dogging these tires on daily 100-plus mile, shorter 30-mile commutes, and road trips. To date, we’ve put about 30,000 miles on a set of LT285/70R17 Goodyear Wrangler Pro-Grade tires since spring 2007.
At Goodyear, engineers test compounds, tire construction, and tread patterns. Every conceivable issue related to tire safety and performance is evaluated again and again, mile after mile. Wrangler Pro-Grade tires are designed and modeled with the help of computers and new uses for modern materials. Silent Armor is the combination of all the above design considerations and materials used in the new Wrangler Silent Armor Pro-Grade tires. This includes Kevlar. A layer of DuPont Kevlar covers two high-tensile steel belts across the width of each tire. Kevlar, in this application, is manufactured in its cord-like twisted state, so the inherent strength of the tire is increased, but it is not puncture proof.
Another construction feature is the use of Goodyear’s Durawall rubber compound, borrowed from the Goodyear severe-duty Wrangler MT/R, which shores up the sidewall of the tire and helps resist rock abrasions, cuts, and punctures. Durawall extends across the tread area, and heavier materials are used throughout the construction of the new Wrangler. Furthermore, each tire incorporates a Rim Guard that creates a rubber shoulder to protect expensive wheels.
In addition to enhanced tire strength, including Kevlar, each Wrangler Silent Armor Pro-Grade tire provides a media that soaks up road noise, and muffles the harsh road jars the suspension doesn’t respond to. Each tire bears the Silent Armor Technology Pro-Grade badge within the Goodyear wingfoot shield on the sidewall as well as the automotive industry mountain/snowflake symbol. The mountain/snowflake symbol means the Wrangler is certified for severe snow conditions and made with a tread rubber-compound using a new Goodyear Silica blend to maximize wet surface traction without giving up good tread wear.
Down between the tread blocks, are “traction ridges” that add paddle-like action in soft (mud/snow) traction conditions. On the surface of the tire tread are hundreds of computer generated sipes that, along with variable tread block sizes, team up to silence the Wranglers on the highway, and enhance traction on ice. The computer modeled tread pattern also resists the tendency to “chunk” or hold onto small stones. Small stone will still lodge between the traction blocks, but they tend to dislodge quickly.
To date, we have run this Goodyear Wrangler Pro-Grade with Silent Armor Technology pretty hard. On rain-slick roads in the spring the on-highway traction is assuring as the water channels out and away from the contact patch of the tire. In day-to-day commuting, the quiet ride and dry-road traction is smooth and stable. Off-road driving in a full-size four-wheel drive truck, the Wranglers offered solid traction in rocky, relatively steep terrain. We couldn’t ask anything more from an all-weather, all-terrain tire.
Sizes for the Goodyear Wrangler Pro-Grade are:
LT305/70R16; LT225/75R16; LT245/75R16; LT265/75R16; LT285/75R16; LT235/85R16; LT245/70R17; LT265/70R17; LT285/70R17; LT245/75R17; LT235/80R17; LT325/60R18; LT275/70R18; LT305/60R20
 Spring in the Colorado Rockies. We tested the Goodyear Wrangler in everyday conditions found in the high-country at street tire pressure. |  Trails stay soggy for a while after the snow melts. Trail conditions presented a combination of mud, various-sized rocks, loose and wet ground cover, and fallen trees. Wrangler Pro-grade offered all the traction high-range and low-range four-wheel drive conditions presented. |  Wrangler tread pattern is designed to reduce "chunking" or the tendency for small rocks to seat between tread blocks. Yes, some stones will get in there, but they throw out readily. |
 |  Water-pad testing shows how liquid channels out and away from Wrangler Pro-Grade tread pattern. |  In typical mountain terrain, the Goodyear Wrangler Pro-Grade tires sized to factory 8-inch rims performed well. |
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