Nitto Ridge Grappler Review

I hear ya! Just glancing over the data it does appear not to make much sense. Why I said originally I wish I could afford to run a C and E and now an SL just to see for myself if I could tell That's why you have to read articles like this to fully understand how these designations are derived.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=55

Tire Rack basically explains in detail what I, and others were told by the Nitto rep but this is the jist of it:

Today's load range/ply ratings do not count the actual number of body ply layers used to make up the tire's internal structure, but indicate an equivalent strength compared to early bias ply tires. Most radial passenger tires have one or two body plies, and light truck tires, even those with heavy-duty ratings (10-, 12- or 14-ply rated), actually have only two or three fabric plies, or one steel body ply.

And this is all that means



The most important factor is the Load Range. We need to trust the manufacturer that they are actually constructing the tires to live up to these standards.

If you want a much more detailed explanation then this is great reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_code

The basic thing I took from this article was this statement:

The Tire and Rim Association, formerly known as The Tire and Rim Association of America, Inc., is an American trade organization which standardizes technical standards.[6] In the United States, the Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, a component of the Department of Transportation, is one of the agencies tasked to enforce the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS).

So once again, it comes down to trust. We have to trust that this agency is actually testing these tires to ensure they meet the specs the manufacturer say they have.

I do my E range 265/70s still have a lot of tread left. This will be the third winter with them. I have noticed a little more hum, but not a lot more than when they were new. Traction seems to be about the same. It's hard to determine as every situation is different. I do try to test them in the rain though so I don't find out the hard way like I did with those Duratracs on my 4Runner at the same mileage.

I just bought a set of steel wheels to be able to swap for off roading and for winter use to preserve my Ray 10s as long as I can. At first I thought I would move the RGs to them and throw some Terra Grapplers or the Pro Comp A/T Sport on the Rays to try to recoup a couple more mpgs with a more road friendly tire that could get me through the first unexpected snow storm here. I've been thinking though, maybe I should see if I can save a couple more bucks with this and maybe just get a more aggressive off road tire that can handle the Maryland winters like the RGs do. I have 30k on them now and I have to wonder how long they would last as dedicated offroad and winter tires. Off roading being the harsher of the two environments. Also, will they be as capable as a new tire would be off road. Since they are wearing fine, and I have been living with the mpgs on them this long, maybe just keep them where they are and use them in the summer only. On the highway at higher speeds it really is amazing how smooth they are. Whereas if I rotate everything then I have to pay to have them unmounted and remounted, on top of having new tires mounted back on the Rays. I am also probably going to add TPMS to the steelies so I have that cost too.

Decisions Decisions.

 

Installed today 285/70/17 SL
So far no rubbing anywhere
5100s with 887 springs and deaver aal

 

Did you do the CMC?

 

No cmc

 

Interesting. Update if you get some rubbing when off roading.

 

I’m about to pull the trigger on a set of 285/70/17 SL Ridge Grapplers to replace my less than two month old 285/70/17 C rated KO2s... this is the second set of KO2s I’ve owned and I’ve had enough of poor wet weather traction and the “never quite balanced properly feel” on the highway.

Looks like I’ll shed a few pounds per tire switching to the Ridge Grapplers and I’m hoping that going back to a SL tire will appease the over sensitive Tacoma and give me a smoother highway ride.

 

I am interested in hearing your impressions and comparisons of the tires. I am on the Falken AT3W in a 285 70r17 SL . Both of those tires you mentioned are up for consideration as a next set. Not that I haven't been happy with the Falkens, but i always find changing things up to be enjoyable. Please post your impressions in this thread if you dont mind

Chris

 

You’ll be very happy. Switched from ko2 to ridge graps and it’s a world of difference imo. Ko2s garbage after 30k miles, they get super slippery as they age. When new they’re great. Have 20k on my ridge graps now and they still ride like new

 

Don’t get me wrong, I loved my first set of KO2s. But yes, after 20k miles they were worthless in wet weather and they got progressively louder with age. This second, larger set, has less than 3000 miles on them and are already getting squirrelly in the rain and haven’t felt balanced since I first got them mounted. I don’t know if it’s the larger size or what, but I never had the bouncy ride feel on the first set. Both were C Load Range rated but the 285s have been too rough for me with as much highway driving as I do.

Really hoping by switching back to a lighter, standard load tire I’ll get back a bit more of that smooth highway feel. I know it’s a truck and that the Ridge Grapplers are still an “all-terrain” tire, but they have to ride better than these KO2s...

 

What's a good PSI to start out on? 285/70r17 C Load. Right now I'm at 40. No extra weight.

 

Are those the oem genuine trd pro sema wheels , 17x8?
I’m about to install the same lift as you and need a wheel that will keep me from rubbing, I will be installing the exact same tires also

 

The OEM TRD SEMA wheels are unfortunately, only 17x7. That’s why I didn’t buy a set. Can’t bring myself to run 285s on a 7” wide wheel when the tire manufacturers list 7.5” as the minimum width required.

 

The nitto grapplers SL show a minimum rim width of 7inches on discount tire but on nitto site it shows 7.5 , would it make them dangerous

 

Plenty of people do it so it’s really up to how comfortable you feel. And my new 285/70/17 SL Ridge Grapplers are going on today. Fingers crossed they ride smoother than these C rated KO2s...

 

It is worth mentioning that a few years ago, all manufacturers and Discount Tire were saying you need to put 285s on 8-10 inch rims. And now I see they changed their charts and they are going as narrow as 7-7.5 inches. At the Toyota Dealership, I looked at the 285 BFG KO2s on the TRD Pro Sema rim. And I did not like the bow it created on the tread of the tire. It just looks like the center of the tire is going to wear out prematurely and not have a good contact patch. The DT salesman acknowledged that the charts say it is okay but even he he thought the wheel was too narrow.

PS - you asked if it is dangerous? And based on our lawsuit culture I doubt that DT or reputable manufacturers would recommend a dangerous situation but I don't think it promotes long tread wear.

 

Yep, I looked at a bunch of different photos on here of 285s mounted on the SEMA wheels and I got the same impression. It just doesn’t look “safe” to me so I opted to stick with my 7.5” wide OEM Sport wheels even though they’re beat to crap...

 

285/70/17 SL Nitto Ridge Grapplers are on the truck. Haven’t taken them out on the highway yet but first impressions compared to the C Load Rated 285/70/17 KO2s they replaced are that they’re quieter and feel softer over bumps. The truck doesn’t seem to take the full impact of each bump in the road anymore. Which is a welcome change considering I felt like I was being beat to death driving on the KO2s given the crap roads we have around here. Will post another update after I get them up to highway speeds. I’ll be beyond thrilled if the truck feels smooth again... fingers crossed.

 

I found this on a 4Runner site and thought it was interesting.

It depends on how narrow and how stretched you want to go. If you're trying to fit a stiff sidewall 35x12.5X17 on a 7" inch wide rim that bead is not going to be seating well on that wheel. I doubt it will break the wheel as they are built fairly well, but airing down or just normal driving will cause issues. Some of those issues are abnormal tire wear, lateral stability, excessive tire wear, ect. Possibly bead blow out if you're airing low enough in some terrain. Now .5" difference in "recommended" wheel width is not something I'd be overly concerned about; it could fit well if it's say a 285, but then again the manufacturer has a reason for recommending you don't go much lower than that. I probably wouldn't run it, but others have with no significant issues.

I wouldn't say I'm "afraid" of it, but there's a reason why the manufacturers are saying to use that particular width range and it's not just so they can sell you more tires. As for those Stretched tires, I've seen plenty of them blow out from worn sidewalls, damaged rims, ect. But then again, that's what happens when you stretch a narrow tire on a wide wheel.

 

I have 30k miles on my E range and half my tread and at very high speeds they are still smooth and quieter than the Duratracs I had on my 4RT at that mileage.