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Nitto Ridge Grapplers in Snow?

spurly

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I still can't decide if I should go with these tires or not. Literally the only thing holding me back is the very limited feedback I've seen for winter driving. You'll find tons of people swearing up and down that these tires got them through XX inches of snow without any issues. What you don't see is the review from someone who has 40k+ miles on these tires providing feedback on packed/plowed roads. I love the look of Ridge Grapplers and I know how they perform on dry pavement, offroad, and their wear life so I know they're a solid tire for most of the year. I absolutely love driving in snow and snow storms, but I also like to keep my vehicle under control.

Eastern Nebraska doesn't see the same amount of snow as Minnesota or Montana. So with that in mind, I'm only driving on snow packed roads for maybe 20 days in an entire year but it would still be nice to know how they truly handle after loosing 50% of their tread. With those 20 days so few and far between, is it appropriate to weight those 20 days the same as the other 345 days in the year?

Right now I'm torn between Wildpeak At3w, KO2s, and Ridge Grapplers.
 

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The Ridge Grappler is very over-rated I think. If you look at a Falken Wildpeak A/T3W, Goodforayear DuraTrac, Cooper Discoverer ATW, etc. you will see a LOT more siping and a more circumferential tread design. Much better for rain and snow.

The Ridge Grappler looks like a tire that would work great on packed dirt or sand. But they wouldn't be my choice for a daily driver because they're heavy and they aren't the best for foul weather.
To follow up on this, my brother actually started running a set of Ridge Crapplers on his F-150 and has about 25,000 miles of use on them now, maybe a tad more. He told me last night that the wet weather traction is "dangerous". He said "the reviews will tell you otherwise, but trust me...these things are awful in the rain."

I can assume that a tire with poor wet traction would also not do well in snow, but I could be wrong. All I know is that Nitto hasn't been good to me on my car and their truck tires are the only ones I've ever seen significant numbers of negative reviews about.
 

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I still can't decide if I should go with these tires or not. Literally the only thing holding me back is the very limited feedback I've seen for winter driving. You'll find tons of people swearing up and down that these tires got them through XX inches of snow without any issues. What you don't see is the review from someone who has 40k+ miles on these tires providing feedback on packed/plowed roads. I love the look of Ridge Grapplers and I know how they perform on dry pavement, offroad, and their wear life so I know they're a solid tire for most of the year. I absolutely love driving in snow and snow storms, but I also like to keep my vehicle under control.

Eastern Nebraska doesn't see the same amount of snow as Minnesota or Montana. So with that in mind, I'm only driving on snow packed roads for maybe 20 days in an entire year but it would still be nice to know how they truly handle after loosing 50% of their tread. With those 20 days so few and far between, is it appropriate to weight those 20 days the same as the other 345 days in the year?

Right now I'm torn between Wildpeak At3w, KO2s, and Ridge Grapplers.
I'm running Ridge Grapplers and I'm not thrilled with them. They look badass and they're pretty quiet for being so knobby but I don't like them in wet conditions. There's too much sliding around for my taste. If it is really wet or snowing, I'm in 4H and really taking it easy. I don't have experience with other brands on a set-up like my JLUR has so I really don't know if there's a better option or if it is more a 'Jeep thing'
 

spurly

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To follow up on this, my brother actually started running a set of Ridge Crapplers on his F-150 and has about 25,000 miles of use on them now, maybe a tad more. He told me last night that the wet weather traction is "dangerous". He said "the reviews will tell you otherwise, but trust me...these things are awful in the rain."

I can assume that a tire with poor wet traction would also not do well in snow, but I could be wrong. All I know is that Nitto hasn't been good to me on my car and their truck tires are the only ones I've ever seen significant numbers of negative reviews about.
I'm running Ridge Grapplers and I'm not thrilled with them. They look badass and they're pretty quiet for being so knobby but I don't like them in wet conditions. There's too much sliding around for my taste. If it is really wet or snowing, I'm in 4H and really taking it easy. I don't have experience with other brands on a set-up like my JLUR has so I really don't know if there's a better option or if it is more a 'Jeep thing'
When you read reviews of the Ridge Grapplers, everyone says they're the best tire they've ever ran in snow. But then there are a few people like yourself who come forward and say these tires are dangerous or terrible in snow and wet conditions. And I'm more inclined to believe your feedback than the 90% who say they're the best. Most people are claiming Ridge Grapplers got me through 8 inches of snow but no one ever says how they really handle on snow packed roads. Am I over analyzing this, probably. But I'm not about to drop $1600 on tires that may or may not try to kill me.
 

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When you read reviews of the Ridge Grapplers, everyone says they're the best tire they've ever ran in snow. But then there are a few people like yourself who come forward and say these tires are dangerous or terrible in snow and wet conditions. And I'm more inclined to believe your feedback than the 90% who say they're the best. Most people are claiming Ridge Grapplers got me through 8 inches of snow but no one ever says how they really handle on snow packed roads. Am I over analyzing this, probably. But I'm not about to drop $1600 on tires that may or may not try to kill me.
I'm not saying they're dangerous or 'trying to kill' us, just that I'm not impressed by them in wet conditions. That said, I have no idea if another tire would do any better or if it is something else
 

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When you read reviews of the Ridge Grapplers, everyone says they're the best tire they've ever ran in snow. But then there are a few people like yourself who come forward and say these tires are dangerous or terrible in snow and wet conditions. And I'm more inclined to believe your feedback than the 90% who say they're the best. Most people are claiming Ridge Grapplers got me through 8 inches of snow but no one ever says how they really handle on snow packed roads. Am I over analyzing this, probably. But I'm not about to drop $1600 on tires that may or may not try to kill me.
It seems like its easier for tire to perform well in the deep stuff and more challenging for tires to perform well on the hard packed stuff, where you'd think it would be the opposite. Maybe that explains why everyone sings praises about their Ridge Grappler (or insert any other tire here - like MTs) because they take it out once and romp around through 10" of snow where any tire that is tall enough with enough voids would do fine.
 

spurly

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I'm not saying they're dangerous or 'trying to kill' us, just that I'm not impressed by them in wet conditions. That said, I have no idea if another tire would do any better or if it is something else
I was a little over dramatic in my response, but it seems very few people are honest about how they really handle in wet and packed snow. I think if it had more siping it would perform better all around.

It seems like its easier for tire to perform well in the deep stuff and more challenging for tires to perform well on the hard packed stuff, where you'd think it would be the opposite. Maybe that explains why everyone sings praises about their Ridge Grappler (or insert any other tire here - like MTs) because they take it out once and romp around through 10" of snow where any tire that is tall enough with enough voids would do fine.
I think that's exactly why everyone praises the Ridge Grappler. They make it through a big snow storm with deep snow and then say it handles fine in snow.
 

Ehmsea

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Another opinion without direct experience...

Living in Northern Ohio, I too was really concerned with driving in the snow and rain. I ended up sticking with the KO2s when I upgraded to 37s for 2 reasons. The snow rating and the siping.

The Mud tires i believe will do great in fresh snow on roads or on the trails. Their large, deep tread blocks push deep into the base and give you some contact with the road which gives you traction and also allows you to really move some material that is between your tire and the road when you are spinning or playing around.

But, packed snow or plowed snow/ice is a different monster. you need those little tread blocks separated by the siping in the tread to give you traction and move water out of the way so the tread can contact the surface.

The other point of the snow rating is the rubber compound. Snow rated tires should stay softer in sub zero temperatures which means their traction is less affected as the temp drops. I don't believe that is a consideration in the Mud tires. They are looking for tough, durable tread blocks that will hold up to spinning on rocks and throwing gravel.

Also, messing up your little survey here is the fact that most people really like what they went with whether that's tires, lift, or trim level. We all tend to want to "sell" what we have bought...so I would def recommend you stick with snow rated for Minnesota.

Maybe you'll get some more feedback from our friends to the North, as soon as the Hockey season is over... :)
 

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When you read reviews of the Ridge Grapplers, everyone says they're the best tire they've ever ran in snow. But then there are a few people like yourself who come forward and say these tires are dangerous or terrible in snow and wet conditions. And I'm more inclined to believe your feedback than the 90% who say they're the best. Most people are claiming Ridge Grapplers got me through 8 inches of snow but no one ever says how they really handle on snow packed roads. Am I over analyzing this, probably. But I'm not about to drop $1600 on tires that may or may not try to kill me.
So I asked my brother if he feels that they are just getting dangerous due to the mileage and wear level they're at now and his response was, "No, they've been like that since day one. You'd think for $1,500 you'd get better results."

Like you said, tires are outrageous these days. There are some brands that actually offer a 30 day satisfaction guarantee on their tires. Yokohama's new lineup comes to mind, but there are also others. I'd go with something trusted.

I'm currently testing a set of Cooper STT Pros on my JT and they are amazing in foul weather. But, they're noisy on the highway so I'll likely go back to the Yokohama X-AT from now on.
 

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I have run the Falkens and now the KO2s and both are great tires in snow. I have not had the ridgegrapplers but that is because they are not snowflake rated like the others. The RGs look cool but I think that is why so many people go for them and swear by them and may be a bit blind to some of the deficiencies. Also, of the 3 you listed, the RGs are the only ones not offered as OEM by ANY manufacturer. I am sure the RGs are great for certain conditions but I think the facts show they are not the best at all conditions
 

spurly

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So I asked my brother if he feels that they are just getting dangerous due to the mileage and wear level they're at now and his response was, "No, they've been like that since day one. You'd think for $1,500 you'd get better results."

Like you said, tires are outrageous these days. There are some brands that actually offer a 30 day satisfaction guarantee on their tires. Yokohama's new lineup comes to mind, but there are also others. I'd go with something trusted.

I'm currently testing a set of Cooper STT Pros on my JT and they are amazing in foul weather. But, they're noisy on the highway so I'll likely go back to the Yokohama X-AT from now on.
That's good feedback. A friend bought a used set of 35 in Ridge Grapplers and said the same thing. In all honesty, I'll probably end up deciding on Ridge Grapplers anyway.
 

InvertedLogic

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That's good feedback. A friend bought a used set of 35 in Ridge Grapplers and said the same thing. In all honesty, I'll probably end up deciding on Ridge Grapplers anyway.
You're going to get the Ridge Grapplers dispite a bunch of people saying that they suck in the wet/snow?
 

spurly

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You're going to get the Ridge Grapplers dispite a bunch of people saying that they suck in the wet/snow?
Well not when you call me out like that!

I really don't know which why to go. I've made my own spec comparison list and included what I consider to be pros and cons of all 3 tires. (Ridge Grapplers, AT3W, and KO2s) as of right now, no one tire stands out from the rest. Am I weighing their winter performance more than I should? Maybe. Analysis Paralysis.
 

InvertedLogic

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Well not when you call me out like that!
:CWL:

I really don't know which why to go. I've made my own spec comparison list and included what I consider to be pros and cons of all 3 tires. (Ridge Grapplers, AT3W, and KO2s) as of right now, no one tire stands out from the rest. Am I weighing their winter performance more than I should? Maybe. Analysis Paralysis.
More anecdotal experience incoming....
I heavily weight winter performance because I don't like not being able to go somewhere, and because things can go south pretty quickly on mountain passes with bad tires.

I can't justify putting dedicated snows on the Rubicon because it is not cold enough and doesn't snow enough in Denver to need it. However, I have had great experiences with 3PMSF tires. They're not as confidence inspiring as the dedicated snows I had on my Subaru, but they're not too far off.

For ATs on Jeeps, I have ran: Firestone Destination ATs (came on my TJ when I bought it), Duratracs (3PMSF), Cooper ST Maxx (just M+S), and KO2s (3PMSF). I noticed a huge difference between the 3PMSF rated tires and the ones that were not. The ST Maxxs and the Firestones were very nervous on hard pack and not at all confidence inspiring like the Duratracs.

On the wife's Crosstrek I just put on a set of Falken Wildpeak ATs that are 3PMSF rated and they are equally as confidence inspiring when ripping around and testing hard braking.

I'm definitely a believer in 3PMSF tires in places where it snows - but not enough to justify dedicated snows :)
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