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Tire Brands - the Good and the Bad

Gatorjon

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I would also rate tires based mainly by their on-road performance. Not just because that's where most of our Jeeps spend the most time, but a while back somebody tested several of the least and most expensive tires off road (can't remember who) and found that there was little to no difference in off-road performance unless it was specialized tire for a specific condition (ie. mud tires in the mud.) They found that matching the correct size tire to type of off roading conditions (terrain, etc.) was far more important.
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Pinky Tuscadero

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KO2's are actually really nice grippy and awesome in the winter and everywhere else with tread that go's forever
However, we are swapping out our KO2's this weekend on our JK for our Cooper AT3s we saved from our sold JK as they are easily a better looking tire and almost as good traction all around
Also, if your choosing make sure to do a reality check for the diameter you really want as KO2's are always 1/2" smaller than advertised and Coopers are about a 1/4" larger... just so you go up one if needed
These 2 are my favorites so far.... but I haven't tried the others
Also, always wait for a buy 3 get 1 free deal if you can :)
 

WXman

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I am not sure which Nitto that you are referring to. I have run the Nitto Ridge Grapplers, and my Son-in-Law runs the Nitto Terra Grapplers. They are both excellent tires.
We have the KO2's on our JLR. What I don't like about these is, they pick up a lot of stones and rocks from the road that we live on. We currently have the Falken Wildpeak AT3W's on our JKR. The Falkens are by far our favorite tire. They start with the most tread depth, are the quietest, very smooth riding, are excellent on wet pavement, don't seem to pick up the stones and rocks like the KO2's do, and are snow rated. These will continue to be our go to tire.
Those two are the worst.

The Terra Crappler had such horrible reviews on Shitto's own website that when they totally revamped the website a year or two ago all of those reviews magically disappeared. Crazy, huh? My roommate ran them on his Chevy pickup and they wore so poorly that he said never again!

The Ridge Crappler has a reputation for being absolutely horrendous in snow and rain. They last a long time because the compound is so hard. But that hard compound makes them dangerous in foul weather and not good in the rocks off road either.

Just terrible tires. And we're not even getting into the balancing issues, etc.

It's not just 4x4s. I bought a set of Shitto "Motivo" tires for my Mustang GT two years ago. The tire shop said the road force numbers were worse than most truck tires they see. One took a ton of weights to even be usable. Another was so bad it wasn't usable. Had to get them to send me a new tire and refund that one. Just awful....
 

Cutterone

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Toyo OC AT3, so far fantastic performance and they look the part, got my stock sahara through a jamboree last year where some modded rigs stuck
 

Gorilla57

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I'll throw in my vote to NEVER get a set of Yoko MT G003's. These chunked a little bit on me for the first year, so I thought I was fine when they stopped. Well, fast forward to May this year and they are chunking like mad. Huge chunks tearing out and flying off at highway speeds. I've never seen this before with a set of tires. I contacted Yoko and they pretty much said abused tires and they don't cover abuse. Right.....Jeep stays parked in a garage, so minimal UV exposure and the Jeep is not abused. It gets wheeled, but never abused. I'll never buy a set of Yoko's again. These pics were before my Memorial weekend run down gravel roads, they are worse now.
Jeep Wrangler JL Tire Brands - the Good and the Bad IMG_8882.JPG
Jeep Wrangler JL Tire Brands - the Good and the Bad IMG_8883.JPG
 

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13k miles on Toyo open country AT3 are working great for me. I'm running 315s in a D load range. My JLUR is driven daily in SoCal putting 20 miles a day on pavement, but they get on the dirt at least once a month. The tires have been on sandstone boulders in Sedona, sandy washes and rocky roads in the Anza Borrego desert, and fire roads at the local mountains. The increased road noise is barely noticeable compared to the BFG KO2s that came on the Jeep. Traction off-roading has been great and I have not noticed any chipping. I drove a JLU Sahara for 2 years with off brand MT tires and those were terrible. The tread chipped and cupped even when I stayed on top of alignment and rotations.
 

Punknhed

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I wouldn't touch a Nitto tire with a ten foot pole. Otherwise most brands are going to be great these days due to regulation in the tire industry and competition.
Curious as to why ? i just bought a set of ridge graps, they seem to be more planted on dry curvy roads then the KO2. and about equal off road
 

Old Dogger

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Curious as to why ? i just bought a set of ridge graps, they seem to be more planted on dry curvy roads then the KO2. and about equal off road
That is just somebodies opinion, which they are entitled to. I normally don't even respond to comments like that. I ran a set of Ridge Grapplers, for about four years. First off, they balanced in just great. They were very quiet, and smooth riding, with excellent handling characteristics. They have very tough sidewalls for rock climbing. The cons: They are not snow rated, and are reported as questionable in heavy rains. Where I live, we don't have snow, so I really can't comment on it. As for rains, I have traveled in heavy rains up in our mountain area's, and never had a problem of loosing traction. THE MANAGER OF OUR LOCAL DISCOUNT TIRE STORE, A 30 YEAR DISCOUNT TIRE EMPLOYEE, RUNS NITTO RIDGE GRAPPLERS ON HIS PICHUP TRUCK. So that kind of says it all..........
 

Punknhed

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That is just somebodies opinion, which they are entitled to. I normally don't even respond to comments like that. I ran a set of Ridge Grapplers, for about four years. First off, they balanced in just great. They were very quiet, and smooth riding, with excellent handling characteristics. They have very tough sidewalls for rock climbing. The cons: They are not snow rated, and are reported as questionable in heavy rains. Where I live, we don't have snow, so I really can't comment on it. As for rains, I have traveled in heavy rains up in our mountain area's, and never had a problem of loosing traction. THE MANAGER OF OUR LOCAL DISCOUNT TIRE STORE, A 30 YEAR DISCOUNT TIRE EMPLOYEE, RUNS NITTO RIDGE GRAPPLERS ON HIS PICHUP TRUCK. So that kind of says it all..........
i was just curious is all.
 

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Austin23

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I've been running a set of Nitto Trail Graps for a year and love em.
 

c20040215

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Those two are the worst.

The Terra Crappler had such horrible reviews on Shitto's own website that when they totally revamped the website a year or two ago all of those reviews magically disappeared. Crazy, huh? My roommate ran them on his Chevy pickup and they wore so poorly that he said never again!

The Ridge Crappler has a reputation for being absolutely horrendous in snow and rain. They last a long time because the compound is so hard. But that hard compound makes them dangerous in foul weather and not good in the rocks off road either.

Just terrible tires. And we're not even getting into the balancing issues, etc.

It's not just 4x4s. I bought a set of Shitto "Motivo" tires for my Mustang GT two years ago. The tire shop said the road force numbers were worse than most truck tires they see. One took a ton of weights to even be usable. Another was so bad it wasn't usable. Had to get them to send me a new tire and refund that one. Just awful....
Interesting. Looks like you had experiences with Nitto.

I am on my second set of Ridge grappler. First set was 34x11.5. Had about 30k miles in 2 years and sold them for about 40% of what I paid for. I am now running 37x12.5 for a little over 15 months with 17k miles. No balance issue, no performance issue, no wear issue. Quite and smooth. Been on a cross country trip, muddy Windrock trails, Michigan snow, Colorado mountain passes, and Moab redrocks, no complaints.

My next set will be 38x12.5 RG for sure.
My experience with Nitto has been great and I would recommend people put them on their shopping list.
 

graytrucks

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Swapped out factory K02s for Nitto Ridge Grapplers and couldn’t be happier. No picking up small stones and smoother ride. Installer didn’t even want to install larger K02s and said they suck to balance.
 

blnewt

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I like the look of the Nittos just not a fan of the weight. I ran UHP Nitto street tires on our Infiniti and they were the worst UHP tires I've ever ran. Nittos seem to have a lot of repeat buyers here so they must be doing better w/ their off road line. BFG street tires aren't that great but have a very strong off road line so there are some similarities between the two.
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