Long term review: Nitto Terra Grappler

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HoosierJeeper

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As I bid farewell to my Terra Grapplers, I figured I should write a review as I've had 4 sets of them since 2011 (2 on the KJ, 2 on the LR3).

Got my first set in 2011, 245/70/17. Got about 40,000 miles out of them. Got another set and right now they have 40,000 miles on them and they have about 6/32" left. On the LR3, I got about 30k from the first set and then got about 35k on the set now, which ought to replaced anytime now, but it's a 6000lb beast with finicky alignment from the air suspension. I'll admit, I probably wasn't the most pedantic about air pressure or rotating them. I aimed to do them around 5000 or 7000 miles and usually got that. Probably should've done 4000-5000.

I'll break this down into categories:

Quietness: Pretty quiet overall. Once you hit the 30k mark, there's a slight hum but even turning the blower to 3 or 4 cancels it out. They are slightly louder than the Cooper Discoverer HTs on my XJ. Not much however.

Ride: Good overall, although once you hit the 30-40k mark I noticed (especially on the LR3) they seem to "slap" the pavement. I ran around 33 psi in the KJ.

Wet performance: Great, no complaints. Could only break the KJ free if I really layed into it.

Snow/Ice: Great. Without airing down, the KJ could plow through about a foot of crunchy icy snow. Would've done better if I had aired down, but when it's -10000F that ain't happening.

Mud: They do real good in more watery mud. In the gumbo they'll clog up but I wheeled with them in the Florida mud bogs while I lived there and had no issues if I didn't go full stupid.

Sand: Great, especially aired down to about 18psi, but sand really isn't a challenge.

Rocks: Very good and never had any punctures or torn side walls from rocks. Did get a few scrapes but nothing really detrimental. Aired down from about 15-18PSI. Can't really ever recall there being a traction issue in rocks, usually when I got stuck it was a pilot error.

Miscellaneous: On the KJ, I did manage to damage one by pinching it on a curb, no idea how it happened and it's a guess as to if that's what killed it. Must have a really strange situation as I never had any issues off road. On the LR3, the sidewalls have kind of become gray and don't take tire shine well anymore. The KJ tires were Japan made and the LR3 tires were USA made. I did wish the sidewalls looked more aggressive.

Overall, I would highly recommend these tires to anyone looking for a great dual purpose on/offroad tire. I assume the new G2 version is even better. The only reason I am leaving them is they don't come in 16" sizes for the KJ and for the LR3, the G2 doesn't come in its size.

I never really took pics of them old or new, but here's a couple.
First set when they were new.
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Some of the wheeling I put them through (yeah, at one point I wasn't a keyboard warrior :gr_grin:)
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kejobe

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I had a set on the '01 Ram I had. Didn't do bad on road and got decent mileage out of them. I had them with a plow and did good.

Now, in my opinion, they absolutely SUCK in mud. Had a trailer for sale (6x12 tandem, didn't weigh much) and went to pull it out of the front yard to be picked up. Ground was soft, but not terrible. Went in in 4wd to be safe, didn't matter. STUCK. As you said, they clogged and were slicks. Buried about 6 inches deep and wouldn't go anywhere. Had to have the wife pull me out.

Was a few weeks later, had to go into the back yard for something and had a stick roughly 1/2 inch diameter puncture the sidewall on the rear.

Mind you I had load "E" to help with the weight of the plow. Should have held a bit better in my opinion.

For strictly on road, I don't think they're that bad. Anything else, I don't care for them.

But then I have met several people who like them for mild offroad. 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of the other. To each their own. Glad they worked for you. :D
 
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M38 Bob

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Love selling them. Overall customer satisfaction as good as anything out there.
 

HoosierJeeper

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Do you have any dealer insights as to if they're discontinuing the originals? I figured they would, but it's been a year or two since the G2 came out and they haven't.
 

HoosierJeeper

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That's what I expected, but Nitto still lists them on their site.
 

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