Nitto Trail Grappler "Iron Edition" long term review

[ihadmail]

I have been running 275/60r20 KO2 basically since I bought my LX. I don't wheel hard or in severe rocks normally.

At 3000 miles I had two tires damaged badly. One was completely missing two lugs of tread and slashed down to the banding in the sidewall. The second had lugs deeply cut and some light cutting on the sidewall.

The better became my spare and the worse was thrown away.

During HIH I received a puncture in the sidewall of another tire. This is one of the original tires so it has roughly 7000 miles on it. It's not down to the banding, but enough to move new tires way up on my list.

I won't be purchasing another BFGoodrich tire for my LX. I loved them and ran them religiously on my Subaru STI and on my Cadillac CTS-V. I had a set of the original KMs on a GMC Yukon that I owned for about 9 months, also with no issues. I've lost faith in their updated off-road/all terrain tires.

 

[CurbsEnthusiasm]

Your experience lines up with quite a few reviews of the ko2. Reasons such as that are why I ended up with the Trail Grapplers. Tougher sidewall just in case.

 

[TrekboxX]

Where were you guys when I was shopping for new tires?!! All I found were positive reviews... I think most folks have a hard time admitting that their purchase wasn't so fabulous... Time will tell, but my "seat of the pants" feel about them is in line with what you are saying- they seem much too soft compared to the Trails. We'll see. I do spend a fair amount of time in pretty nasty sharp rocks, so they won't last long if that's the case. I won't really be able to test them much until after I get an injury repaired. Right now I can't venture far from the roads, as even changing a tire would be a major ordeal. On the positive side, the wife likes them!

 

[ihadmail]

Where were you guys when I was shopping for new tires?!! All I found were positive reviews... I think most folks have a hard time admitting that their purchase wasn't so fabulous... Time will tell, but my "seat of the pants" feel about them is in line with what you are saying- they seem much too soft compared to the Trails. We'll see. I do spend a fair amount of time in pretty nasty sharp rocks, so they won't last long if that's the case. I won't really be able to test them much until after I get an injury repaired. Right now I can't venture far from the roads, as even changing a tire would be a major ordeal. On the positive side, the wife likes them!

They do ride very quiet and smooth on the asphalt.

I hope your experiences with them are better than mine were.

 

[abuck99]

Trek

I doubt folks are withholding bad experiences with KO2s maybe it's they're not wheeling them under the same conditions as some of the folks who experienced failures- here in the south east it's sand mud clay and river rock not as demanding as compared to sharp granite and shale out west.

If you've got buyers remorse and not too many miles yet, I bet your tire shop will trade you out with out much of a hit.

If there's a Discount tire or Americas tire near you it's a good place to buy tires: 1. Hazard warranty for about $25 a tire ensures you get a shredded tire replaced no questions asked. 2. They will usually trade out low mile tires if you want something different

I noticed Nitto has a new tire Ridge Grappler, looks interesting

 

[re_guderian]

I noticed Nitto has a new tire Ridge Grappler, looks interesting

the size selection blows for off road, focusing on the pimp rims first. Not sure they'll ever offer in a 16".

 

[TrekboxX]

Trek

I doubt folks are withholding bad experiences with KO2s maybe it's they're not wheeling them under the same conditions as some of the folks who experienced failures- here in the south east it's sand mud clay and river rock not as demanding as compared to sharp granite and shale out west.

If you've got buyers remorse and not too many miles yet, I bet your tire shop will trade you out with out much of a hit.

If there's a Discount tire or Americas tire near you it's a good place to buy tires: 1. Hazard warranty for about $25 a tire ensures you get a shredded tire replaced no questions asked. 2. They will usually trade out low mile tires if you want something different

I noticed Nitto has a new tire Ridge Grappler, looks interesting

Yeah, I've always used the local Big-O near me, and they've been very good and I'm sure would take care of me. But, I will give them a fair shake even though if I find they are not up to the task it will then be too late. I do love the quiet ride and especially the less unsprung weight- it's very noticeable. However, if they get shredded on the local granite they will be the last BFG AT's I ever buy. There's no reason an AT can't be as tough as a mud terrain, if that's what the designers are targeting (and marketing). IMO the previous BFG's were way overrated. I'll report back as I can!

 

[abuck99]

Will be interesting to know how the AT's hold up for you. Maybe apples & oranges comparison in the design/construction but the price difference between the AT K02 and the Nitto TG MT is significant (50% higher) enough to waive me off for occasional trail/overland use.

 

[TrekboxX]

So I have a little anecdotal comparison. There is a place I frequent down near a stream. There's a short but very steep hill to get down there, maybe 75' long. Every time I've left in the past (on the grapplers) I've just walked her right up the hill. This last time I went with the KO2's, I almost had to winch out. It took two runs at the hill and the ATRAC was screaming all the way up. To be fair, the hill had 3-4" of soft sand on the surface which is more than I can remember ever before. Still, I was unimpressed. Sometimes my center locker takes a bit longer to engage, so I think I may head back there at some point to play around some more.

For those who may find this thread when comparing these tires.

 

[SWUtah]

I have I think one of the last sets of BFG KO tire's sold before the KO'2s came out. Ran them on my old 80 series for close to 80k miles. Perfect for mall cruising in sunny Austin. I run 35 psi cold. Old guy, old style.

 

[abuck99]

@TrekboxX-

Any new updates on your K02's ? good or bad? Any wheeling lately to work em-out?

I've been curious on the Nitto, and recently looked up the price on the trail grappler MT- about $350 +/- before tax and mounting per tire (275-70-18) - is that about right? Dang- thats $160+/- per tire over the price of the K02's. Thats a "Huuuge" delta to justify.

 

[Bomar]

@TrekboxX-

Any new updates on your K02's ? good or bad? Any wheeling lately to work em-out?

I've been curious on the Nitto, and recently looked up the price on the trail grappler MT- about $350 +/- before tax and mounting per tire (275-70-18) - is that about right? Dang- thats $160+/- per tire over the price of the K02's. Thats a "Huuuge" delta to justify.

You are apples to oranges.

Compare Nitto Terra G2 to KO2.

Trail to KM2.

Best tire on market to me is Toyo Open Country AT2.

My personal and professional opinion is that the BFG casing material is not the same as before and not as strong. Michelin has changed a lot of compounds on some very well performing tires not to the good.

 

[TrekboxX]

@TrekboxX-

Any new updates on your K02's ? good or bad? Any wheeling lately to work em-out?

I've been curious on the Nitto, and recently looked up the price on the trail grappler MT- about $350 +/- before tax and mounting per tire (275-70-18) - is that about right? Dang- thats $160+/- per tire over the price of the K02's. Thats a "Huuuge" delta to justify.

I would shop around- that seems a bit high. But to answer your question I haven't gotten out lately. Been building a custom setup for SEMA. And honestly, until my surgery next month it's hard to even get out of the recliner! I have to say, overall I love the road manners, quietness, and very noticeable lighter weight of the KO2's. The small amount of sharp rocks they've seen haven't made them any worse for wear. But, they are not grapplers. They are definitely not as solid, and I think the off-road traction is less for the type of trails I see around here. As of this moment, I'll go back to the trail grapplers when these wear out. Maybe.... The wife likes the KO2's...

 

[PrimeFJ]

Man I'm so glad I went with these.. Wish I saw this post when I was researching tire options. (Like 2months) was close to getting a/t bfgs km2 or open country ATs. I am worried about wear so I will be rotating them often. Alignment too.

Here she is (06 lx470) on SCS F5s 285/75/16s Nitto trail grapplers
Sliders are in the works and needs a good suspension lift.

For those in the market for these tires. I got these off eBay a legit seller. They had a promo going on $60 off. I got all 4 tires shipped to my door for $875 (cheapest I found anywhere, keep in mind I downsized to 16" rim) I literally got them the next day they were purchased so was really surprised with that. I was able to have my local discount tire warranty them should I have a blowout or whatever ($162) for all 4 tires.

I have them at 40psi f&r for now and rides smooth. Like you said, pretty quiet for mt tires. My wife hates me cause she has to grab onto the bars to get in now.
But she digs the look.

Anyone have suggestions on disabling the TPS warning lights? It was not blinking after they were installed.. They just started blinking during a recent rd trip 140 miles. Checked all tires and still hold pressure.

I opted not to have sensors from oem rims (18s) installed onto these new rims since I still had good treads and discount tire free replacement warranty. Also I do have my oem spare underneath so I'm thinking the system isn't able to read all sensors?? I might have to do the black tape.

Next to do is a AHC flush and get my pressures right. She's at 162k with no leaks.

 

[El Cid]

Appreciate all the suggestions, it's natural for everyone to look at the choices as good/better/best, but I think it''s more of a good tire/bad tire with specific discussion points. When I'm' off road it's a dirt trail or something with hazards, rarely sharp rocks, so a highway tire that can take some abuse about 10% of the time. I think at a certain tire size, the manufacturers simply produce what they make the most money from, and that is heavy, good looking tires.