285s; Would you do it again?

Nice FX Pros!

 

In a heartbeat........

Didn't like the look or sidewall of the 70 series, so went 285/75/17s.

Love the look and didn't need a ton of trimming or bashing to get hardly any rub.

5.29s and an OTT rounded things out perfectly.

 

I run 285 winters and 295 summers. There's days I think about going back but nah it functions great and looks even better.

 

Thanks I love them!

 

How are you liking the Ridge Grapplers?

It seems like half of reviews say they’re great in the rain and the other half say they’re downright dangerous in the rain. They’re on my list but I can’t seem to get a straight answer about their wet on-road performance.

 

no issues on wet roads for me. Felt like my ko2 were worse honestly.

 

Cool, thanks man. How many miles you have on them? That’s the last question lol

 

about 10k

 

Thanks brother.

 

Just got some ridge grapplers myself, 275/70R17. Not bad looking tires.

 

They’re definitely near the top of my list for when my Grabbers wear down.

I’m very drawn to all the positive off road reviews and claims of quiet on-road ride, but the poor wet weather and snow reviews are making me hesitate

 

My take on the Ridge Grapplers. I had em on my 2019 MT in 265/70 R17, load range C. Soon after I bought them in 2019 Nitto ended the load range C in that size so that was a check against them. Then I saw various reviews claiming they were outright dangerous in snowy conditions and they did not have the 3 Peaks M&S rating that many other popular brands have.

In dry rocky conditions Ridge Grapplers excelled, and aired down nicely. In 2020 I ran them hard in snowy and wet conditions, both off road and on. I would say they performed satisfactory but did notice some sliding sideways but not too bad, however the tires were almost new.



Fast forward to early 2023, with about 25k on the Ridge Grapplers I had to travel about 30miles down a windy paved but wet and slushy mtn road one night, some snow about 6"-12". Other vehicles had grooved paths. All the claims about Ridge Grappler's poor performance in snow became almost a nightmare. I had to slow down to about 5mph and constantly fight the steering wheel to hold my truck on the road, it kept drifting, sliding and fishtailing. The anti skid warning on my Tacoma was lighting up constantly during the whole ordeal. In fact I turned around and went back to the main highway which had little snow.


Finally last summer I picked up a nail in the sidewall which was the nail in the coffin for my Ridge Grapplers since sidewall damage should not be repaired. To tell you the truth I was actually glad this happened since it forced me to purchase new tires and America's Tire gave me some credit on the remaining 3 Nittos.


Currently running a set of Goodyear Duratracs with which I am very pleased (ran a set on my 02 Tacoma).


Another highly rated A/T tire for wet and snowy conditions are Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/Ts. This tire was introduced in 2021 and has great reviews. I'm actually having a new set of these put on my wife's Tacoma later today.

 

That’s some great info backed by real world experiences. Thanks for taking the time to write all that! Sounds like the ridge grapplers are a bad idea for anyone who lives in an area that sees snow.

 

My ridge graps are sketchy in the rain.

 

Still love the look of 285’s. Between the two, I’d stick with that. I find drives much better in snow where I live due to more surface area

 

No problem in serious upstate NY snow. Some spots were 7-8” unplowed.

 

I wondered about that myself. I was reluctant too but after the videos I watched and articles, doesn’t seem they’re too different than other all terrains. While they might not be as good in wet weather, sounds like they’ll still do fine and are good in other areas. Just depends what you’ll use them for most I guess

 

Yeah I agree. I really need something that has reliable snow and wet weather performance so I feel like I can’t chance it on a tire that has a lot of bad snow reviews. Even though it seems to also have an equal amount of really good snow reviews lol

 

Looks good!