Nitto Terra Grappler G2 LT265/70R17 – a review in real time

[2012sr5]

After a couple months of poring over tire threads, I finally pulled the trigger on a set of 10 ply Terra G2s. I was dead set on the Ridge Grappler after reading this thread, but it only comes in LT at the stock size, which weighs a whopping 54 lbs. That just seemed like too big a jump up from the Bridgestone Dueler when this is my daily driver during the week.

I did notice that the Terra Grappler G2 comes in an LT (E load) in stock size as well, and it's only 45 lbs. So, I decided to give these a go. I am hoping that they have the right balance of road manners and off-road durability that I'm looking for. I also strongly considered the Cooper AT3 and ATP, and honestly, if these don't hold up for 50k miles, I will probably go to one of those tires next. I will update this thread with my thoughts as I put more miles on these G2s.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS:
• They're quiet. Barely louder than the Duelers, if at all. I'm not sure if I am noticing it because it's actually louder or because I'm focusing on something that I wasn't focused on at all before.
• The truck feels more planted. I notice less body roll on turns (which was already greatly reduced when I upgraded the suspension).
• They balanced perfectly with no steering wheel vibration at any speed.
• They don't wander at any speed up to 80 mph. I was concerned about this actually, and I wonder if I'll have some wander as I put more miles on them.
• No apparent loss of power or acceleration from a standstill.

I should also mention that the majority of the negative reviews of the G2s that I found were of the non-LT (not E rated) tire that comes on newer 5th Gens from the factory. I even saw a thread where a guy drove 6k miles on the TransAmerica Trail and experienced 5 punctures. If you look at his YouTube review, you can see when he zooms in on the tire that it is a P tire, and I think his experience is what I would expect. I'm counting on these LTs that I got to be substantially safer and more durable off road.

 

[2012sr5]

I've put about 4k miles on these so far. I went ahead and rotated them so that I can line up rotations with oil changes, and I was due for an oil change. Added some thoughts below.

5 WEEKS IN:
• Still very quiet
• Wearing nice and evenly at 35 psi
• No vibration or shimmying at highway speeds like I had with the Duelers
• I averaged 20.2 mpg on my last tank of gas commuting 24 miles round trip in and out of Nashville for work.
• Off road, these are extremely grippy. Feels like they will handle anything I can throw at them and more.

Very happy with these results. Would buy again.

 

[ShooterF16]

Thanks for the review!

 

[4FL]

Damn, just when I was getting my mind set on those Cooper AT3's.

How are the G2 in the rain? Like a heavy rain. I live in Miami so I placed a little priority on rain traction, which after reviews (well, from people on this forum), had the AT3 win out over the BFG KO2.

 

[perf0rmance]

How did you decide on running 35psi?
I’m running the TRD Pro “factory” terra grappler setup and the door jamb still shows 32 psi cold. I wouldn’t mind better MPG with increased tire pressure though.

 

[arehman11]

I run mine at 36.5 psi all around when cold. The truck seems more stable at that PSI.

 

[2012sr5]

How did you decide on running 35psi?
I’m running the TRD Pro “factory” terra grappler setup and the door jamb still shows 32 psi cold. I wouldn’t mind better MPG with increased tire pressure though.

I started at 40psi and backed off until the entire width of the tread was in contact with the pavement.

If you have the factory Nittos, those will behave a little differently, as they're P-metric tires instead of LT.

 

[2012sr5]

Damn, just when I was getting my mind set on those Cooper AT3's.

How are the G2 in the rain? Like a heavy rain. I live in Miami so I placed a little priority on rain traction, which after reviews (well, from people on this forum), had the AT3 win out over the BFG KO2.

Yeah, the BFGs are downright terrifying in the rain according to a more than a few people I know. That's why I stayed away from them.

I've had these in some heavy rain, and they have performed really well. They're very grippy. I'm sure this will change with high miles...it just seems that's the nature of all terrains.

It took me forever to make a decision between these and the AT3s...their specs are so close. Scouring the internet for reviews of both, I found more issues with balancing the Coopers than I was comfortable with. And it seemed that most of the issues people had with the G2s were with the P-rated tires being used in situations they aren't rated for like this guy with his 4Runner on the TAT :crazy:

 

[sn_85]

How did you decide on running 35psi?
I’m running the TRD Pro “factory” terra grappler setup and the door jamb still shows 32 psi cold. I wouldn’t mind better MPG with increased tire pressure though.

He's running an LT E-rated tire. The ones that come on the TRD Pro are P-rated tires which are meant to be run at 32 psi.

Damn, just when I was getting my mind set on those Cooper AT3's.

How are the G2 in the rain? Like a heavy rain. I live in Miami so I placed a little priority on rain traction, which after reviews (well, from people on this forum), had the AT3 win out over the BFG KO2.

Just get the AT3's. I have never heard anyone say anything bad about their performance. I hear a lot more complaints about the Nitto TG2's.

 

[2012sr5]

He's running an LT E-rated tire. The ones that come on the TRD Pro are P-rated tires which are meant to be run at 32 psi.



Just get the AT3's. I have never heard anyone say anything bad about their performance. I hear a lot more complaints about the Nitto TG2's.

Again, most of the Nitto complaints I read when shopping were from people trying to do things with P-rated G2s that you really need an LT tire for. I decided against the Coopers because of the sheer amount of balancing issues I read about.

 

[2012sr5]

15K miles in, and they're as good as new

Rotated these yet again the other day.
Tread depth is still like new.
They're still quiet.
They still perform as well as when new on pavement, gravel, dirt, rocks, and combined terrain, as well as in mud and water.

Very happy with my purchase. The only issue that remains to be seen in how long they'll last.

If you're looking for an E-load LT tire in stock size that is pretty close to the stock Dueler in weight, these G2s are :thumb:.

 

[kls_4]

Great choice. Looks awesome.

I'm a big fan of the Terra Grapplers. Got over 60K on some I had on my F150.

Rubber is soft though and recommend rotating every 3k or so.

After I trade my 20s for 17" wheels, my next set will likely be what you got.

Enjoy

 

[Throwback]

Yeah, the BFGs are downright terrifying in the rain according to a more than a few people I know. That's why I stayed away from them.

Man I don't know where that comes from. I've been running stock size C load KO2s for 18 months now (35k+ miles) and I travel in my 4Runner for work. I've covered thousands of miles of torrential downpours at 80mph on interstates across Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, as well as winter snow and ice, all sorts of back roads, etc.

I actually hate the way they look (way too flashy) but the KO2s are the best tires I've ever run. They're hardly wearing at all so for better or worse they'll probably be a 75k mile tire.

 

[2012sr5]

Man I don't know where that comes from. I've been running stock size C load KO2s for 18 months now (35k+ miles) and I travel in my 4Runner for work. I've covered thousands of miles of torrential downpours at 80mph on interstates across Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, as well as winter snow and ice, all sorts of back roads, etc.

I actually hate the way they look (way too flashy) but the KO2s are the best tires I've ever run. They're hardly wearing at all so for better or worse they'll probably be a 75k mile tire.

The way it was explained to me, at some point in the KO2's life, the tread gets hard and slick and becomes...less than dependable in wet conditions. :shrug:

 

[Rightside Up]

The way it was explained to me, at some point in the KO2's life, the tread gets hard and slick and becomes...less than dependable in wet conditions. :shrug:

My experience as well. I'm done with them.

 

[Throwback]

At what mileage or what tread depth did your KO2s change behavior? Mine have around 35k miles on them and they look like they have tons of tread life left. I don't have a tread depth gauge on hand unfortunately.

 

[WVhillbilly]

The way it was explained to me, at some point in the KO2's life, the tread gets hard and slick and becomes...less than dependable in wet conditions. :shrug:

About half the tread depth.
They go from fine to oh shit.

No middle ground.
I've run them on my work truck.

They still look great, but after nearly spinning out at low speed on a couple off ramps I went to a different tire.

 

[Throwback]

Well I'll definitely report back if/when mine do that.

I wonder how this will play out now that Jeep is putting 285 KO2s on the new Wranglers from the factory.

 

[WVhillbilly]

I was getting 44K miles out of a set of BFG All Terrains on an F250.
Rotated every 5K.

When they changed to KO2s I never got 30K out of them.

All of the All Terrains I've had have done the exact same thing.
They are fine, and then they are not.

When the last set went I nearly wadded up my truck twice in 2 days.
On different off ramps, in the rain, at about 15 mph because I'd felt them get sketchy and was afraid to exit at the posted speed.

I won't buy them anymore because of this.
I will say that they are excellent on dirt/sand roads and when they break loose off road they do so very smoothly, easy to control and do some of the best long drifts of any tire I've had :biggrin2:

So I can see the race heritage in them.

 

[engineeer]

Man I don't know where that comes from. I've been running stock size C load KO2s for 18 months now (35k+ miles) and I travel in my 4Runner for work. I've covered thousands of miles of torrential downpours at 80mph on interstates across Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, as well as winter snow and ice, all sorts of back roads, etc.

I actually hate the way they look (way too flashy) but the KO2s are the best tires I've ever run. They're hardly wearing at all so for better or worse they'll probably be a 75k mile tire.

I also don't know where this "KO2s are terrible in the rain" comes from. I've had 265 Cs, 275 Es, and now I have 285 Cs and love them (18k miles of driving). Yes, if I take a corner fast in the rain in 2WD I can get the back to slip just a tiny bit. Hardly a "scary" thing as it'll happen even in a FWD car.

In addition to that, they're great off-road and even better in snow/sleet/icy conditions.