Got some new rubber for my 2012 WK

[kimbo]

So I’m more of a browser/lurker here than a regular poster, but thought I’d share this FYI.

2012 WK, Limited with 40K on the clock, and I’ve just had to replace the OEM 265/50R20 Kumho Solus tires that it came with – don’t know whether 40K is good or bad, but they were down to the wear bars, so….. I was looking for an AT – I do mostly sealed roads, but do venture off road every now and then so wanted something that was more capable and stronger than “normal” road tires.

And, as most here would attest to, finding AT rubber for 20” rims is not easy, very limited choice if you want to retain the standard 265/50 size, which I did. I’m a big BFG AT fan having had them on many previous 4WD’s, and would’ve gone that way again, but sadly not available in the size I wanted.

Hunted around on the old WWW - got a quote from my Jeep dealer - Maxxis AT700 $350 a corner, the local Kmart Tire and Auto Kuhmo KL61 $365 a corner, and plenty of “road variant” HT tires, which were all in the $250-280 kind of price range (maybe you can get them cheaper but I didn’t want HT’s anyway). However, the local Bob Jane’s here in Adelaide had a March special on Nitto Terra Grappler G2’s, in 265/50 - $355 a corner, but 4 for the price of 3, so $1065 for 4 fitted and balanced. Didn’t seem a bad deal, and probably the best price I could get for 4 AT’s, so went out and got them.

No experience of Nitto’s at all, I know their history, but no hands-on knowledge, and not sure what others may think, but the deal’s done now, so unless they prove totally disastrous, they’re on the rims for the next year or three.

First impressions:

Appearance: they look a lot more aggressive in the lower profile variant than the higher profile shown on their website, which I’m happy with.

Ride: I’d be hard pushed to notice much difference from the OEM road Kumho’s, slightly stiffer, as you’d expect, but really marginal.

Noise: yeah, obviously noisier than the originals, but in fairness (and very surprisingly) pretty damn good so far, around town more of a low “raaarrrrssssshhh” (that’s the best I could do to describe it) than a hum, whine or rumble – and in general, certainly much quieter than the BFGs I had on my old Patrol - not done any freeway trips yet, so can’t comment there.

Handling: well it’s still dry here in SA, and so I’ll need to wait see what happen in the wet, when it gets here, but so far, very good - more stable in straight lines over some of the lumpier/uneven roads that we have, and the “beast” turns into corners much better than before – yes the old tires could’ve “gone off”, but the handling was always felt a bit "suspect" to me, and just assumed it was a Jeep-thing, and getting used to something different after 12-yrs in a Patrol - but maybe not, maybe it was the tires all along ??

Anyhow I’ll try and remember to post some more info, once I’ve got a few more Ks on them.

Kimbo

[Galvo]

I've had these on my GC for 45kms now and they still look new (well almost), original Kuhmos I changed out at 45kms but they probably had a little left in them - not much though. I paid $410 each for the Nitto's and had to buy 4!! so you did very well. You won't hear them on the highway - all noise seems to disappear. They handle sand easy but I was a little disappointed in their efforts in the snow last season - maybe it was me. Love the look of them - makes the GC look a little tougher! They seem to have gone off a little in the wet but again that could be conditions - any car will slip a little in the wet if it hasn't rained for a while. You won't be disappointed - I'm not. cheers Brett

[kimbo]

Thanks Brett - that's good to hear - I'd picked up some whisperings (on various forums, rather than direct conversation), that they wear quickly, but then also others were stating that they'd had high mileage out of them, so it's difficult to know either way, and especially as I've not used the brand before. If they last as well as my old Patrol's BFG ATs, which was high 40's, I'll be as happy as a pig in... well, y'know, that smelly stuff.

Cheers ... Kimbo

[matt-chops]

Mate, I've had the 18" variant of the Nitto on mine for a few weeks now and I'm quite impressed, and that has included a day off-roading, a road trip from Wagga to Melbourne and back and now a 1200km road trip from Wagga to Brisbane. I must have put over 4k maybe 5k on them in those three weeks!

My observations so far are as follows—they're excellent offroad (from someone who is not really that experienced offroad and takes it easy and sensible), they are quiet on the highway making no additional noise over the OEM Michelins I had, and finally, as expected, they do add some unsprung weight to the Jeep and raise the fuel economy a little.

Our drive from Wagga to Brisbane was 4° at 4am when we left and 32° at 5pm as we passed Goondiwindi (we stopped at the zoo in Dubbo for the kids) and the pressure changed quite a bit over that temp range. The TPMS was reading 2.4 bar or 34psi at 4° (although I had inflated to 2.8 bar or 40psi the previous day) and my fuel economy was in the toilet for the first 400km or so. After the day warmed up it was back up to over 20° the pressure was up to 2.8 bar again and the fuel economy improved significantly. The difference was almost 3L/100km in similar highway conditions, and those are numbers from filling, not just the readout on the dash.

My advice from this—run them at 40psi and if you're fully loaded, maybe one or two psi more. I'm going to try 42psi on the trip back and check the real world results.

[kimbo]

Typically I'd fill to 38/2.6 (cold) all the time, with the OEM Kumhos, which would turn into around 40/2.8 or thereabouts (maybe a smidge over that) when hot - used to run at 42 with BFGs on my Patrol, may try the same thing with these.

Did a couple of local "short-cut between the blacktop" fire trails at the weekend, and found them to surprisingly far more comfortable than the Kumho's over the same trails - and they hadn't changed or been graded since I last used them (a week or so ago), so I knew it was a reasonable gut-feel comparison. Bodes well for the future.

[kimbo]

So, 18-months, and 15K, or thereabouts on since the Nitto's were installed, and a quick update...

Mainly road work, but been on sandy/dirt tracks a few times and they behaved as well as the BFG AT's I'd had on previous 4WDs, and actually much better over corrugations than the BFGs.

No major wear showing up, so far; road noise no different from when they were new, maybe a little more "growl" around town, but, get up to 80-100Kph and it disappears.

To be honest I couldn't be happier with them. Would I buy them again, yep, certainly would.

[Pipeliner]

Fitted 265/50R20 Terra Grapplers to my Limited at 40,740km. Currently at 95,000 and still look good for another 5-10k. Paid $1180 for the set of 4.

A good portion of the distance has been towing a 3500kg caravan - I have them swapped front to rear every service to even out the wear.


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