Nitto Ridge Grapplers - anyone try yet?

Anything relating to Wheels, Tires, and Brake options and upgrades...

Moderator: volvite

albus415
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2016 2:44 pm

Nitto Ridge Grapplers - anyone try yet?

Postby albus415 » Sun Nov 13, 2016 12:13 am

Trying to figure out new tires for my recently acquired '07 LE and these seem like a great option if you have 17" or larger rims, come in a C weight, offroads well and is supposedly super quiet on the highway. Any real world experience would be awesome- not much direct comparison to other tires in the reviews I've finding don't directly compare to other popular AT tires like duratacs.


User avatar
underworld1001
Posts: 328
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2016 9:05 pm
Location: Austin, TX

Postby underworld1001 » Thu Jan 05, 2017 7:39 pm

I know this is a bit of a late response, and not sure if you've already decided on tires for the Pathy, but if you did, did you get the TG's? I know the go to is generally the BFGoodrich KO2's which I'll probably buy later on down the line. I beat the hell out of those tires on my previously owned Tacoma so I'm partial to that brand. Still, I'm open minded and curious about the TG's. Mostly interested in how many plys the sidewall is, but can't find that info anywhere.

Since there doesn't seem to be much movement on this here, you can check the Xterra or Frontier forums for comparisons. Those vehicles have a solid axle vs IRS, but it would be for an interesting read on vehicles similar to ours.

albus415
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2016 2:44 pm

Postby albus415 » Wed Jan 18, 2017 9:33 am

I ended up getting the Cooper AT3 in 265/70/r17- my local shop had them in stock and I had a winter road trip pop up unexpectedly. They are great so far, 95% as quiet as the worn out Yokohama Geolanders that were on there. Did just fine in the snow- we went through a lot of fresh snow in Montana and they did great. More than enough to get me through a season of skiing and winter road trips (they're not m+s rated, but not snowflake). I took a 1.5-2 mpg hit, but overall very happy having tougher tires on the Pathfinder. (this could be exacerbated by the bigger tire size and the computer)

I did a lot of research on the Trail Grappler, and they're still my favorite here's some infos:

Called Nitto - the customer service person was pretty adamant that between the TG and the G2, the Trail Grappler was quieter, and had similar mpg due to their new tread design. This is surprising because the G2 is "less aggressive" than the Trail Grappler.

The other big factor for me was that the 265/70/r17 only came in an E rating, and weighted 51lbs. The 285/70/17 comes in the lighter c rating at 54lbs. Feedback from my mechanic was that putting the smaller E rated tire was going to be too stiff on the Pathfinder. The 285/70/r17 Trail Grapplers are still my favorite looking AT tire, and if I had a lift I'd be running them. Also, per Nitto rep, the 285s would be fine on the stock width rims. YMMV double check with your tire dude.

Sidenote, on my 2007 LE's speedo is now dead-on up through 85mph as a result of going up in size to 265/70/r17 from 265/65/r17 (even though it's a slightly larger size than the factory recommendation).

User avatar
underworld1001
Posts: 328
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2016 9:05 pm
Location: Austin, TX

Postby underworld1001 » Wed Jan 18, 2017 7:40 pm

HA! That's funny as I actually have the AT3 on mine right now. My personal experience with them is the same as yours, except on sand. Took them to a beach (South Padre Island) when I visited my parents and went through some about 30-40 feet of 1ft-1.5ft deep sand without issue in 4wd. Was impressed how well they performed. The fact that they're quiet is a nice plus too since I picked up the Pathy for road trips.

You also answered a question that I was pondering myself with the sidenote. I noticed that the speedo is about 3mph fast so I'll go up a size. Had to do that with my Tacoma as well. Funny thing is I lost about 1mpg with the bigger tires due to them being heavier, but it was only in the city. On the highway my mileage pretty much stayed the same. I would assume that because of the inertia of having to turn the heavier tire in the city due to stop/go traffic vs constantly turning on a highway.

I'll probably wear the AT3's out before I look for new tires. With that said, I appreciate the info you provided.

Funny thing is that with all the internet research I've been doing it literally didn't cross my mind to call them and ask about the sidewall plys.

User avatar
disallow
Site Admin
Posts: 2820
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:02 am
Location: Winnipeg, Canada

Postby disallow » Thu Jan 19, 2017 9:32 am

I have Cooper ATWs on my pathfinder. Basically they are an AT3 with extra siping and a sawtooth pattern for better ice and snow handling.

They are awesome. That is all.


Return to “R51 Brakes, Tires, and Wheels”