Nitto Terra Grappler tyres on D2a

**bidds** · 27th August 2010, 07:41 PM

Hi there,

I've got a D2a Td5 that's mostly used for the wife & kids around town but will also be doing Stockton, the Snowies and anywhere else the mood takes on occasion. As the existing road-only tyres were nearly dead I looked around for a more AT style tyre in the 255/55R18 size. I wasn't too fussed on the General Grabber ATs and decided on these after nearly going with the Michelin Latitude Cross.

Found a retailer in the USA and received them, delivered to my door for AUD$1500 for five tyres. Shipping took five days. Fitting, disposal and alignment came to another $200, so I was about $600 ahead

. Here's a few snaps of how they look on the car. A couple of weeks ago I met a guy with them on his Hilux and they looked the same after (a claimed) 30k km.

cheers,

bidds

**bidds** · 22nd September 2010, 09:53 AM

Hi there,

I've driven the Nitto's on/off road for a little while now and all told they are proving to be very good. Quiet on the road, good grip in the corners and in heavy rain (plenty of that in Canberra of late).

More recently, I've taken it into the Brindabella's and found them to work really well on sharp rocky roads (no obvious chunking), dry dirt and deep'ish mud with a clay base. They seem to clear themselves pretty well in the mud and keep the truck moving along. Not as good in the mud as the KM2's on my RRC but I'm very happy with their all-round performance.

There's little apparent wear, the little molding things have only just worn off the treads, so they're not stupidly soft.

cheers,
bidds

schnitzel · 29th October 2012, 08:09 PM

Hey Bidds,

How did those Nitto Tyres end up performing over time (noting that it's about 2 years ago). Would you buy them again?

Looking at tyres myself for the same set of rims as yours...

Would appreciate your thoughts.

Adam

**bidds** · 30th October 2012, 03:02 PM

Hi Adam,

They've been really good, not worn out yet; done 40k km and have about another 10-15k then I'll change them out - still well over the wear indicators (3-4mm at this point). Over the last two years they've been in all sorts of terrain and yep, I'd probably buy them again. If I don't it'll only out of curiosity.

They've just completed a 3-4k trip to Innamincka and back - lots of really harsh gravel/rock at high speed/high load/high pressure and they've done well. The only flat I got was a 4" nail in the tread when in Broken Hill - can't blame that on the tyre. Until that trip I've really not thought about them at all - just keep an eye on the pressures.

The only other tyre that I might consider is the Grabber AT2. My brother has them on an identical truck and they're a bit more aggressive and I think move the truck through deep sand (Stockton) a bit better than mine but not by much. He's not really fussed on them after getting a couple of rock punctures on the Innamincka trip but those tyres were pretty old.

For either tyre, I'm seriously thinking of going to the 60 series instead of the 55 for a bit more cushion. I'm told the 60 series are significantly cheaper than the 55's in the Grabber too. Not exactly 36" ers but I'm not interested in straying from the original design and associated legal issues.

cheers,

bidds

schnitzel · 30th October 2012, 09:26 PM

Really appreciate your advice and feedback Bidds. I've been trying for ages to get some decent gyres for those 18" rims, as like you, I don't want to change them for anything else. I've got a bit of wear left in the current shoes, then in a few months I'll post up how the new rubber goes for me. Again, thanks, I owe you one!

Adam

**Mudguard** · 6th May 2014, 07:51 PM

Hey Lads,

what did you end up doing schnitzel. Which tyres did you go with?

Bids, did you go with the Nittos again.

**twr7cx** · 6th May 2014, 08:59 PM

Originally Posted by bidds

Fitting, disposal and alignment came to another $200

WOW! That's so expensive compared to down here. I think I paid $115.00 last time at the local try shop.

**bidds** · 6th May 2014, 09:31 PM

Originally Posted by Mudguard

Bids, did you go with the Nittos again.

Went with General Grabber AT2 in 255/55R18. Had them since early last year and really like them.

Grabber AT2 v Nitto (IMO)
Grabber is grippier off road in sand and slippery stuff - more aggressive.
Grabber is a bit more secure feeling on gravel roads.
Grabber doesn't seem to round the shoulders of the tread blocks like the Nittos (I watch the pressures, with TPMS, and it's not low pressure causing it - just the way they move during cornering).
Grabber might last a bit longer. Nitto went a bit over 50k IIRC. I suspect the Grabbers will go 70k.

Nitto is quieter on asphalt road.
Nitto grips much better on wet asphalt road.
Nitto grips better on dry asphalt road.

The Nitto is more road oriented but works off road; the Grabber is the oppposite. In 'my' size neither are LT construction but between myself and my brother, have never found them 'weak' or puncture prone and have done a trip to Innamincka, fully loaded and travelling at high (legal) speed everywhere + lots of local offroading over all terrain.

My next set of tyres will be 16" BFG AT, 255/70R16 LT; perhaps KM2 in same size (I have them on my RRC and they're a great all rounder IMO). I'm keen to see just how much difference 16" makes from 18"; But the Grapplers are wearing well and I don't think it'll be for a couple of years yet, unless I just get impatient.

cheers,

bidds

**Mudguard** · 7th May 2014, 05:45 AM

Thanks for the info Bidds, I'm about to shell out for a new set and I'm leaning towards swapping to 16's so I can get a taller side walled tyre. Just spent 4 days up on Fraser over the Anzac weekend and saw how the extra wall height makes a difference on sand. Will keep the 18's for a bit just in case. I'm looking at going down the sunraysia road for the 16's though (Not a big fan of the factory 16's out there). So will be rims and tyres. Looking at the Maxxis AT-980 which look pretty aggressive. Bit of a copy of the BFG AT's

Again thanks for the info.

Craig

**bidds** · 8th May 2014, 07:29 AM

Hi Mudguard,
I think the 16's are the go and thought I'd pass a long something I learned about wheels and sand:

* 18's with 55 profile tyres aren't a limitation on sand: I've been able to drive everywhere, easily, on Stockton (which many say is some of the most difficult sand around) with my 18's. Trick is to air down significantly - I usually run about 12psi in the front and 16psi in the rear and have never had to be recovered despite driving up all the tallest, softest dunes and bowls (back when we were allowed too

) Having said that, 16's should give you a longer contact patch when aired right down and be better again. Airing right down won't have any adverse effect provided you keep the speed in check (I don't go over 40km/hr except on a run up a really big dune, where I'll touch about 60km/hr momentarily) and don't do circle work on hard sand.

* The tread pattern makes a difference: I found my truck worked harder in the sand with road pattern tyres than it did with the Nitto Terra Grapplers and they didn't grip quite as well as the Grabber AT2's. All the 'gnarly tyres dig down into sand' opinion is, in my opinion, from folks who don't air down enough and use too much throttle in a ham-fisted/footed way. My RRC has KM2's in the 225/75R16 and, running 12psi on stocko, will tractor up soft, steep dunes no worries at all - the tread on the KM2's really paddles the sand effectively in the supersoft, wind blown, sand - I use gentle throttle pressures and the smooth power delivery of the v8 no doubt makes that easier but the tyres are outstanding.

* Land Rover alloys have a 'special' bead on the outside edge that's really wide. Makes it much more difficult to change the tyres but, and here's the relevance to wheels and sand, it makes the tyres *much* less prone to burping air or slipping on the wheel when aired way down. Like you, I'm not a big fan of the LR 16" alloys but I'm going that way because of the bead. The P38a 16's or the D2 'Mirage' wheels, seem, to my eye, to be the best of the bunch. I've found once source of new Mirage wheels for only about $150 ea (+shipping) but the P38a 16's will have to be 2nd hand.

I'm not supposing this is gospel, just what I've experienced and my thoughts behind it. Hope this help with your deliberations

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Nitto Terra Grappler tyres on D2a

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