When it comes to off-road adventures and daily commuting, having the right tire can make all the difference. The General Grabber ATX and Nitto Terra Grappler G2 are both excellent options for SUVs and pickup trucks looking to maximize their performance in a variety of conditions. But which one is the better fit for your needs? Well, lets find that out.
As a tire engineer, I consider the General Grabber A/TX to have more wet gripping efficiency, winter traction capability, and longevity of tread, the tire is also great off road in almost all tests. Nitto Terra Grappler on the other side, gives you superior dry performance and a silent ride, and in other areas it’s not that far off, well except for wet traction, the tire needs that badly.
Tire Sizes
General Grabber ATx provides 60 total sizes with 14 to 20 inches.
- Speed ratings available: Q, R, S and T.
- Load range available: SL, XL, C, D and E.
- Mostly sizes have 16/32″ of tread depth, though some also have 14/32″.
- Weight range: 28 lbs to 75 lbs.
- 50k miles warranty for all sizes.
On the other side, the Nitto Terra Grappler comes in 17 to 24 inches.
- Speed ratings of R, S, T and H.
- Load ratings of SL, XL, D, E, and F.
- Weight range of 30 to 80 pounds.
- Tread depth range of 12 to 17/32 inches.
- LT sizes have 50k miles warranty, while non LT have 65k.
On both tires, all sizes come with almost equal durability as both of them have 2 ply polyester casing with 2 steel belts and 2 cap plies of nylon, though still Nitto Terra Grappler weighs a little more still.
Tread Features
Both tires offer a very different design, let’s start with middle part of their tread.
The General Grabber ATX has a three-rib design in the center with small traction notches and a siping pattern that is consistent across all lugs.
These lugs form a web of grooves that interconnect in all directions.
(And it really reminds you of the tread of BFG KO2).
The central (most) rib offers directional grip, whereas the surrounding wrapped ribs provide superior steering response.
These lugs are also stud-able just like the shoulder lugs and it further enhances the tires snow traction, though it’s already pretty great.
The outer ribs (shoulders) are bigger in comparison. And they carry slightly different siping, it’s very rectilinear here, and notches towards it’s inner edges.
And towards outer edges, they makes staggered shoulders, and thick sidewall lugs joined with heat diffusers (which helps with wear during towing).
On the other side, the Nitto Terra Grappler G2 comes with an updated design (over its predecessor) and now has more efficient siping design which allows it to have 3pmsf rating (for snow traction).
The structure of the tire features 5 rib design where the inner most contain slightly wider blocks containing sharp edges and notches.
(This middle most rib is actually made wider, for directional traction).
The surrounding ribs have blocks with notches facing the similar biters on shoulder lugs, and all of them are connected with each other with stone ejectors.
All lugs are equipped with “4” shaped siping pattern which although provides great traction on snow, they are not very well optimized for wet performance.
Moving towards shoulder, the lugs are staggered and have foundational supports.
Actually all lugs here sit on a secondary rubber layer running underneath, so you can say all lugs are connected with each other.
This resists the extra block movement and allows it to have better lateral stability during cornering.
Dry Traction
To properly evaluate the dry performance of any all-terrain tire, you have to consider traction, steering, and cornering ability. Let’s examine each of these factors one by one.
Dry Grip
All-terrain tires are generally good in dry conditions thanks to their squared-off design and tread notches. So both of these tires have a very marginal difference in their performance values.
Still, the Nitto Terra Grappler is capable of shorter dry braking distances because of it’s stiffer rubber and wider central running rib. With this the tire basically improves its ability to make better contact on the road when moving on a straight path.
On the other side, Grabber A/T-X makes less surface footprint form the center of it’s tread, as it’s middle most rib is surrounded with wider gaps. Though, in real life you aren’t going to feel too much of a difference, its only precise testing that tells that this tire lacks by less than a feet.
Sideways Grip
When it comes to handling, the sides of a tire play a very significant role. The better the tire is able to maintain contact with the road there, the better its handling will be.
That’s why Nitto Terra Grappler is doing better here (again) with it’s more compact lugs, forming a better consistent communication with the road while turning.
The General Grabber ATX lacks comparatively due to it’s unsupported shoulder lugs, unlike the other tire, you don’t see any reinforced foundations here.
So these lugs get to flex more which also reduces the overall steering response times.
Wet Traction
On wet, you need fast water removal, otherwise a tire won’t be able to grip, or offer any kind of hydroplaning resistance, the two areas to consider the most.
Let’s talk both.
Wet Grip
The size of the tire’s contact patch is not the main factor here as some folks think, rather, its the ability of the sipes to clear water from the tire’s surface.
Sipes are cuts in the tire’s tread that allow water to be stored and then expelled, and they need to be flexible to do this effectively.
The Nitto Terra Grappler is lacking in both of these key areas, it’s tread is not flexible enough and it’s siping is not optimized for ample water soaking abilities.
The General Grabber ATX on the other side, offers better slits of these sipes which can soak up more volume of water without any hurdles as it’s tread is also pretty softer in comparison.
Aquaplaning
Aquaplaning, also known as hydroplaning, is when a tire floats on top of water instead of gripping the road, causing a loss of traction.
And Nitto Terra Grappler lacks here while on curves. That’s because the tire has compacted shoulder lugs which don’t allow proper sideways water removal capability.
The Grabber ATX doesn’t face this issue, as it’s shoulder lugs don’t sit on a continuous running rib underneath. So it shows better water evacuation abilities.
It’s whole pattern is much more effective at it as it offers a web of grooves with running channels in all directions.
Fuel Efficiency
The fuel usage of a tire is influenced by its rolling resistance, which is affected by factors such as the tire’s weight and tread composition.
Tires that are harder to roll or stickier, tend to have higher rolling resistance and so use more fuel, its pretty straight forward.
General Grabber A/TX is therefore better here, as it keeps its weight in check, its composition is not sticky in any way (I contact General on this, and they won’t tell me the exact compounds they used, though I have a theory on that).
Nitto Terra Grappler G2 on the other side, takes up a lot more fuel, which is odd, as it’s composition tells you otherwise (at first).
But digging deep it makes sense, as besides the tire weighing more, it’s asymmetric design is more resistant to move, and its wider section width (on average, sticks on roads with more force), resulting in larger rolling friction and fuel consumption.
Tread Life
The durability of a tire’s tread (to wear) is influenced by its tread depth, rubber compound, and rolling resistance, as well as its weight and tread structure.
And I have already discussed, why some of these factors are better on Grabber A/Tx, but whats surprising to note that despite not having a good enough tread depth (as I first thought), the tire actually offers one of the longest lasting tread in the all-terrain tires.
Nitto Terra on the other side, is also not too bad though, but the problem with this tire is it’s uniform wearing (in comparison), though on paper, you do get better mileage warranty, (that actually don’t mean anything BTW).
For Your Info: If ranked Grabber ATX for best tread life in my list of all terrain tires, check it out here: https://tiredriver.com/best-all-terrain-tires/
Ride Quality
The quality of the ride that a tire provides is important for comfort, and can be evaluated by considering the tire’s noise level and its ability to absorb road bumps.
Noise
The noise produced by a tire is caused by the movement of air within its tread, which is influenced by its design and the volume of air that passes through it.
General Grabber A/TX is slightly louder, as it’s grooves create louder resonance, and allow easier air passing (though sides mostly, where most of the air comes in through).
Nitto Terra Grappler G2 on the other side, as seen, has packed up lugs towards edges, and on top of that offers more variations of pitches as air strikes on lugs (variable pitch technology).
Comfort
The ride quality of a tire is largely dependent on its ability to absorb road imperfections and reduce noise.
Nitto Terra Grappler G2 being stiffer is not able to dampen the vibrations on the road.
The Grabber A/TX on the other side, has better ability to flex when its tread meets with the rougher tracks.
Although the tire has less tread depth, providing less room for bumps to get dissolved, its full depth sipes, allow lugs to move in a better way and on top, it’s silica rich composition makes it overall softer in comparison.
Winter Traction
The key elements of winter traction include the tire’s ability to maintain forward momentum, cornering capability, and braking response on a variety of snowy surfaces.
Although both of these tires have 3 peak mountain snowflake ratings, the Grabber ATx offers better performance, where it’s snow handling leads the category, outperforming nearly all (snow performing) A/T tires.
Nitto Terra Grappler G2 is also not too bad here as well, as it’s sipes are very much optimized for it, though it’s compound could have used some flexibility.
As it’s composition further gets stiffer with freezing temperatures of deep snow. And so it’s not able to perform so great on ice.
Grabber ATX is not so good on ice as well, but it offers an option to add studs, which make things a lot better.
Off Road Performance
Some off-road terrains, like mud, can be particularly challenging and may require specialized tires, while others, like gravel and dirt roads, can be navigated with more general-purpose tires.
Muddy Lands
Balder tires with a highly voided design and numerous channels for mud to escape through, are the best choice for driving on muddy terrains.
Out of these tires, the Nitto Terra is less voided, as it only offers longitudinal paths throughout its tread, so this way, the mud cant clean out laterally.
General Grabber A/TX on the other side, has a map of channels on it’s tread,allowing mud to leave out in multiple directions.
Moreover, it also yields bigger traction scoops on it’s staggered shoulders, and its chunkier sidewall lugs (in comparison), gives the tire forward momentum by pushing the thick mud backwards.
On Rocks
To navigate rough off-road surfaces, a tire must have strong cleaning abilities and a durable construction.
Although I don’t like the lateral traction component of Grabber ATX, it’s traction on rocks is still better in comparison.
With less lateral traction during climbing the tire basically is more susceptible to sideways slippage, and trust me speaking from experience, you don’t want that at all.
Though you can always improve this (on this tire especially) by lowering the air pressure, as you get the support form it’s sidewall lugs.
Nitto Terra G2 on the other side, although offers dual sidewall design on each side, it’s lugs are thinner and don’t cover a lot of bead area, so you don’t get to have as much gripping.
Moreover, it’s central section is also not that biting in comparison, as the General A/TX has full depth siping diving the lugs all the way, and allowing them to give smaller scale chewing on rocks.
Soft Sand
Nitto Terra Grappler is okay with lighter sandy terrains, but on deeper ones, it does not perform too good, and that especially goes for climbing sandy hills.
The tire’s weight combined with less overall footprint, with lowered pressure don’t produce as much grip.
Grabber ATX on the other side, offers better efficacy,
It also offers stronger rim locks so you can lower the pressure further if stuck without worrying.
Summary
Out of both tires the General Grabber A/TX generates better results with tread wear and snow traction. In fact in these two areas, it outperforms nearly all the tires coming in the all-terrain category.
Though compared to other, it’s fuel economy, mud and rocky terrain traction and wet traction is also superior.
Nitto Terra Grappler G2 on the other side, offers better dry traction, noise dampening. And yes, it’s snow traction is also not too bad after all.
Review more in all-terrain tires.
