Cooper ST vs. General Grabber for a discovery III?

[xSep]

G'day all just needing some feedback on this...
I have a 2007 V6 TD Disco with 18" factory RIMS. Looking at getting some rubber to get me were the wranglers cannot!

I've had Copper ST's in the past on a Navara and they were GR8 :D Very Happy however to get them on the disco, I need to change the rims:(. I was just about to go through with this but I have just stummbled across the General Grabber...

Can anyone please prvide feeback on the GC's comapred to the Cooper ST's. A review I read gave thumbs up (except in the mud) to the GC's but I was hoping to find out whether they are an equal or not to the Cooper's???

Thanks in advance people! ;)

[stevo68]

Hey mate,

Cant give you a comparo...but there is a fair bit of info on this thread:

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-zone/52140-d3-18-off-road-tyres.html

Regards

Stevo

[paulos00]

Hi xSep

Your not the first to complain about the GY wranglers, these are actually a good tyre but they are just not suited for the D3. I have raised this with GY head office in the past and been told that tests were conducted but proved inconclusive due to a number of factors, inflation, towing, driving type etc etc etc

We have found this with other tyre types in the past as well, for example the NCT 5's go for ever on the ford, but put them on the holden and for what ever reason some cars wear quickly :confused: I think it comes down to tread pattern and drive train.

The Cooper size 265 60/18 in the HT+ or XST are both fine for the LR D3 (but you must have this tyre across all 4 wheels) so as you pointed out the ST's are out, I cannot really comment on GC's as we have only just started selling them, but they are the same spec's as the GY Silent Armour and we have had good feed back on these tyres, both on / off road and longevity / even wear.

Best of luck with it

Paul

[PCH]

I had Cooper ST's (245/70/17) on the D3 and Cooper replaced them under prorata warranty with STT's in the same size after abour 15,000km. Tread blocks tore off and split even with lowered tyre pressures in rocky terrain

ST compound is too hard IMHO for off roading with the D3. If they had the antichip compund in the right size then maybe this might be a solution to the problem.

The STT's faired much better but now need repalcement due to uneven tread block wear.

I can't help on the GG's

My 2 cents.

Chris

[WhiteD3]

I have just stummbled across the General Grabber...

Can't comment as I'm waiting for my Wranglers to wear out before asking the same question. You could pm DjHampson as he has a D3 in the family with Grabbers fitted.

[stuart]

Goodyear MTR's? have them in 19's on mine...

Stu


Can't comment as I'm waiting for my Wranglers to wear out before asking the same question. You could pm DjHampson as he has a D3 in the family with Grabbers fitted.

[djhampson]

My ears are burning :D

Dad has had the grabbers fitted since January and so far no problems. Definitely a much better tyre than the Wranglers. They might be fractionally louder than the Wranglers but not annoyingly so. The D3 is pretty quite anyway.

I don't think they've been used off-road that much but we haven't noticed any glaring problems.

On road they feel sticker than the Wranglers especially in the wet.

I'll probably get the Grabbers fitted on my Freelander when its Wranglers have worn out.

[CaverD3]

Wranglers are very poor tyres especially for Oz, they pucture easily on gravel, they wear vey quickly and have thin side walls.
There are limited tyres for the 18 inch wheels, GG ATs, Yoko Gealandars and cooper HT+ are some, there may be others. There have been good reports about the GGs, I had to put Cooper HT+ 's on mine as the GGs had not arrived in Oz when I had to replace the Wranglers. They have been great on tar gravel and sand but not so good off road (but better than the Wranglers)But they are as tough a nails I have pulled a few nails and srews out of them without them being punctured. Had one pucture from a nail on the edge of the tread the day after fitting and that is it.
HT+ is very slightly oversize but is negigable.

[xSep]

Good Morning AULRO!

Cheers for the ffedback on all accounts. Stevo great link and really helped me firm up my decision to go with the GG's. They should be instock this week then I'm going to head out to Toolangi and see how they track.

As they're not a flatout MT I will keep that in mind - but teh general consensus between this and other forums I have read is that the GG is an improvement all round on teh Wranglers.

Without having the sapre $$ to throw at a new set of 17" rims the choice has been rather limited though fingercrossed on the new rubber. Will post back on this thread in teh next fortnight with my feedback.

Cheers people - gr8 work!

PS anyone interested in a D3 convoy next weekend in VIC, message me!

Over and out.

[xSep]

Just a quick update on this one folks, Grabbers went on today!:D:D

All good so far - only a 10km test run back home from the workshop but happy with them so far.

+No increase in noise level
+Felt smooth and no impact on steering...if anything the rover feels smoother to drive; however this could be due to the wheel alignment!!

More to come as I head out this weekend...

Cheers

[WhiteD3]

Managed to tear a 50c size hole in the side wall of a Wrangler on the WE. My 2nd one in 6 months:(

[bigmac]

I have had GG's on my D3 for 12 Months now done near
60ks still have just below half tread left. they have got a
bit noiser as they have worn but not all that bad.
In that they have done about 10k off road.
They don't like the mud to much as I found out on one
club trip.

[300+]

60K in 12 months???

You either need to get a better map, or you have a really good map :-)

Steve

[xSep]

G'day people,

Alright so the grabbers are on the Disco and I've had it out in the wet stuff, the rocky stuff and on some long stretches of tar - official THUMBS up!!!

These tyres have really impresses me - I didn't think that I would actually get an improvement ALL round. Yep that's what I said.

As previously stated the GG's are an improvement on the road - feel of the car is smoother, grip is fantastic and noise increase is nil. Off road and into the muddy terrain was were I noticed the biggest improvements however... On Saturday I bolted up the dirtbike trailer, took the brother and strapped the Yam250WR onto the back and off we went to Big River Forest.

The rains had comedown nicely out there and presented plenty of slush pits as well as a rather hairy river crossing. Cautiously I put the disco into one mud hole after another and graciously the grabbers lead the heavy beast to safety. I'm talking about the kind of slosh that would have had the wranglers spinning for mercy.

I then moved to a river crossing that was recommend by a local deer hunter in his Telstra 4WD. Needless to say, and without my left sidestep now... the combination of the grabbers and the Disco's DSC were no match for it. She pulled through perfectly - a few of the lads on their bikes were impressed to say the least - and the rally like run back to the campsite - made possible only by the grabbers traction on the dirtroads - was a topic of conversation for the camp fire.

All in all, I'm sure these tyres have their limits though yet I have not found them. They have performed beyond all my expectations and I'm 100% happy with my upgrade. For future reference I had mine fitted by Brett at TyrePower in Bulleen and the lads down there did a great job of balancing and fitting.

Thanks to all who have posted on the thread!
Big up and enjoy....

Over and out. Very Happy

[WhiteD3]

xSep,

What did they cost, if you don't mind me asking?

[xSep]

No Probs. Just over 2K all up + balance

[djhampson]

:eek: - Yikes! I thought the Grabbers were around the 300 per tyre?? Which ones did you get?

[xSep]

That was for 5 - went with the GG AT2's - cost per tyre was between $380 and $390... cannot remember exact sorry.

Most other dealerships quoting up to $420/tyre:eek:...

[WhiteD3]

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Mind you, better than Wranglers at $450 a pop:dbcry::dbcry::dbcry:

[300+]

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Mind you, better than Wranglers at $450 a pop:dbcry::dbcry::dbcry:

"a pop" There are bad puns and baaaaaaaad puns. You should be barred for a week for that one.

Steve

[djhampson]

I think poor Mark has popped enough of his Wranglers for him to be allowed to make all the bad puns he likes.... but gees Mark that one was a bad one.

[CaverD3]

Pop is when it comes to the Wranglers. I ripped the sidewall on a kerb on one and had five punctures on my first set in 27,000 km which is all I managed to squeeze out of them.

[stevo68]

Hmm will have to check my receipts, but when I got my GG AT2's with new rims as well, for 4 it was under $1500, from memory the tyres were around $300....fitted and balanced.....mind you we all use the same guy who does great deals for us here on the coast (Keep that in mind Mark). I will look up over weekend and let you know.

The GG's are great for mild off road and a huge improvement over the Wranglers. It is when you get into the really gnarly stuff that they show there short comings in that on the 18inch rim they are still a relatively low profile tyre and over rocks and rock ledges, there isnt a lot of sidewall to play with. If you look in this pic ( not best quality, look at rear passenger tyre and the amount of sidewall)
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/04/1198.jpg

I did 2 sidewalls on the GG's, one was just unfortunate, could have happened to anyone, the other was on rocks where others on bigger muddys crawled over and the D3 with the Grabbers struggled in the loose shaly stuff. In all the spinning, a tear occured..........though didnt find out till on way back doing 110kms an hr :eek:....long story after that to do with ****ty crappy jack supplied with D3 and a long afternoon/ evening :).

So whilst I rate the GG's over the HP's, having used them for 12 mths and if I had kept the D3...was on the hunt for a larger diameter tyre as the rims copped a hammering,

Regards

Stevo

[WhiteD3]

Thanks Steve.

Is that a pic of your TV or a pic of a pic on the wall?

I want to ring every k out of the Wranglers so either I break another, or 2 (34ks) of the 4 originals will wear out this side of Xmas.

At this point, I'm thinking Coopers S/T.

I would have dropped the Wranglers 2 weeks ago but I had a brand new spare sitting in the garage;)

Is it coincidence that the two I've broken were on the back LHS?

[Leo]

Stevo68 - surely you should have bought 255/60/18?

AFAIK, that's the right size (as in from the factory)......and would give you a bit more sidewall as well. Would the smaller size explain price difference?

In fact, you can go slightly bigger without any problems. Some guys use the 265/65/18 BFGs with only minor rubbing. Others use 285/60/18 Cooper LTZ (not sure you can get these in your parts yet) and report no rubbing, but they need to be deflated to fit in the spare-wheel area.

[bigmac]

Hi White D3,
Try Dog Tyred at Kallangur I got 5 GG AT2 225/60R18 for $1490 fitted and balanced
12 Months ago thats $298. each.

[Leo]

Bigmac, isn't that size too small? unless you meant 255?

[bigmac]

Ye sorry hit the wrong button fingers are to big

[stevo68]

Thanks Steve.

Is that a pic of your TV or a pic of a pic on the wall?

I want to ring every k out of the Wranglers so either I break another, or 2 (34ks) of the 4 originals will wear out this side of Xmas.

At this point, I'm thinking Coopers S/T.

I would have dropped the Wranglers 2 weeks ago but I had a brand new spare sitting in the garage;)

Is it coincidence that the two I've broken were on the back LHS? Its a pic of a video of me at Coffs from the puter. In terms of HP's from memory I did 3:mad:. First time out at Ormeau was Front Passenger, 2nd was Driver Training...going over some logs and shafted on the corner of a star picket in the ground....hmm that was same place again. Third one was rear passenger.


Stevo68 - surely you should have bought 255/60/18?

AFAIK, that's the right size (as in from the factory)......and would give you a bit more sidewall as well. Would the smaller size explain price difference?

In fact, you can go slightly bigger without any problems. Some guys use the 265/65/18 BFGs with only minor rubbing. Others use 285/60/18 Cooper LTZ (not sure you can get these in your parts yet) and report no rubbing, but they need to be deflated to fit in the spare-wheel area. Surely should have but didnt.............because my 19's were 255/55...I automatically got the same in the 18's. As stated, the "60" would give more sidewall and may explain a small price difference, but as someone else has mentioned they paid similiar for the "60"'s.

Regards

Stevo

[Tote]

I'd like to add my support for the Grabbers. I had a set fitted this afternoon and on the drive home the highway handling was much improved. No noisier than the Wranglers and the sidewalls feel much stiffer so when you corner a lot of the wallowing that I had put down to the air suspension has gone. $2000 for 5 tyres fitted.
I've got a new Wrangler and 4 second hand ones with maybe 5000Km left in them listed in the Markets if anyone needs a replacement for one with a torn sidewall.
Regards,
Tote

[PCH]

Interesting reading about the GG2's.

I've still not decided if I should replace my Wranglers with a set of highway tyres (Cooper HT plus) or ATs (Yokohama ATS2 or GG2).

I have a set of 17" STT's which need 4 tyres to be replaced and realistically to keep 2 sets for road and off roading is costing heaps because I need effectively to buy 8 tyres to have my 2 sets useable again.

Anyone know where to get a good price for GG2's in Melbourne (SE suburbs)? I know of Cooper and Yokohama dealers that I've used before but not General dealers.

Thanks,

Chris

[JohnF]

Wranglers are very poor tyres especially for Oz, they pucture easily on gravel, they wear vey quickly and have thin side walls.
There are limited tyres for the 18 inch wheels, GG ATs, Yoko Gealandars and cooper HT+ are some, there may be others. There have been good reports about the GGs, I had to put Cooper HT+ 's on mine as the GGs had not arrived in Oz when I had to replace the Wranglers. They have been great on tar gravel and sand but not so good off road (but better than the Wranglers)But they are as tough a nails I have pulled a few nails and srews out of them without them being punctured. Had one pucture from a nail on the edge of the tread the day after fitting and that is it.
HT+ is very slightly oversize but is negigable.

Many moons ago on my VW kombi I wore out my brand new Wrangers in an extremely short period of time, and have never purchased Wranglers since.

[JohnF]

"a pop" There are bad puns and baaaaaaaad puns. You should be barred for a week for that one.

Steve

Considering that the last time a tyre went pop my son wrote off our RRC and took a couple of chips of bone out of his T3 & T4 vetebrae, we will not be buying tyres that may go pop.

[300+]

Anyone know where to get a good price for GG2's in Melbourne (SE suburbs)? I know of Cooper and Yokohama dealers that I've used before but not General dealers.

Thanks,

Chris

Seems to be a problem. I'm trying to buy a set in Brisbane at the moment. I've been quoted $399 fitted by dog tyred. Stevos recomendation on the Gold Coast told me they were discontinued by the importer so I'll be lucky to find any in stock:o

Everybody else I've called doesn't stock general grabber. Beaurepairs had never heard of the brand.

I've mailed the importer to see what they say.

Cheers, Steve

[Tote]

Their web site is, shall we say sub optimal :)
Click on the dealwer locator link here (http://www.simex4x4.com/html/s12_content/index.asp)

Regards,
Tote

[Timj]

300+ - after reading your post I rang the distributors down in Melbourne and got a couple of dealers names here on the south side of Brisbane. Rang Tyreworks in Moss St, Slacks Creek and they will fit them for $390 each so I am getting some fitted tomorrow afternoon. The price I got from Fourbys was $420 and you got the $399 from Dog Tyred so I think $390 is an acceptable price. I don't think supply is a problem as the distributors said this is their most popular size and they have a warehouse in Brisbane.

Timj

[300+]

Thanks for the info Tim. I rang a few more places today and got a couple of places saying they had also never heard of general grabber as a brand of tyres. Also got a price of $425 fitted from a place in Red Hill. Looks like I'm heading down to Slacks Creek as it is a bit closer than Kallangur and I need to pick something else up from down that way.

Cheers, Steve

[Timj]

Got four Grabbers fitted this afternoon. The fifth one is on back order and should be here Monday so I was obviously wrong about stock not being any problem at all :angel:. So far they seem quiet, they are balanced properly and they handle at least as well or better than the Goodyears but until I try something a little bit rougher than the Southeast Freeway I can't say much more than that. They look so much better than the standard tyres, makes it look more like it lives up to the bull bar and all that stuff now.

Will report more once I take it off the bitumen.

Tim.

[300+]

Mmmmm, I'm booked in on Friday for a set, so I hope they find some before Monday!

Steve

[Timj]

Well actually that may be the reason they didn't have all five for me. Have you ordered four or five?

Tim.

[300+]

Perhaps - I booked in this morning. :angel: I'm only going for 4 as I'm cheap and I hope they are the same rolling diameter, so I could use the spare for a day if I had a flat. I'd have to swap it for a GG spare if I was going to be anywhere remote for a while, but a day trip tends to be the longest I do at the moment.

Cheers, Steve

[def90]

Tim, I am thinking of going down the same route....

Do have any pics of your D3 with the GG's?

[stevo68]

Tim, I am thinking of going down the same route....

Do have any pics of your D3 with the GG's? Heres some of my old one, though made a error as these are 255/55/18's....should have been 60's:

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/04/558.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/05/972.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/294.jpg

Regards

Stevo