35x12.50r20 Nitto Ridge Grappler 8 month review

So I love these tires. They wear very even, ride smooth, almost no noise, do amazing off road. Pretty much the perfect tire (minus the price). Other than the price, the only other thing I have grown to dislike is their weight. It has dramatically slowed down my 5.7L Tundra. My gas mileage is about 10.8 mpg consistently average. This is probably 60% city and 40% freeway. I don't drive over 75 mph. Not pulling anything, and no load in the bed. I got about 17 mpg avg before my lift and tires.

So, Ive been doing some research. If I had to do it again, I would still get the Nitto Ridge Grapplers, but I would get them in 285/65r20 (34.8" x 11.5") that weigh in at 64 lbs (about 10 lbs per tire lighter than 35x12.50). Once these tires are worn out, I intend to swap to that size. Other than them being slightly more narrow (which again rolling resistance will be decreased so that should help MPG as well) there is almost no difference. From the side they will look exactly the same.

 

Been seriously debating getting RG's. How do they do in rain? I have KO2's with 60% tread left and I slide around on turns and peel out a bunch when the roads are wet. My tires may as well be bald when it rains.

 

I alway leave my traction control on in the rain and I try not to drive aggressive around corners while it is wet, but the ONLY time I have ever fish tailed was when I took the traction control off, it was wet, and I was messing with a guy who was trying to cut me off and I got on the throttle a little too much coming out of a turn. It just fished tailed a little, but it was my fault, I was on the throttle pretty good, especially for the wet road conditions. Now with traction control on, I have slammed on my brakes in the rain due to traffic stopping abruptly and they stopped my truck so fast that the car behind me wasn't able to stop as quick and smashed their headlight on my back pipe bumper (no damage to me).

 

That's great to know. My decision was going to be between Nittos and Coopers. Looks like RG's it is.

 

I've got about 15k on my RG's, however I'm running the smaller 275/70/18. I've been very pleased with the tires so far, although I can tell if I hit the gas in the rain, they will certainly break traction. Could be that the tires are still easy to spin being a smaller 33 vs a heavier 35. Next time I was thinking of going to a 285/70/18 as those are virtually the same weight as mine now, but I haven't gotten over the price difference at over $60 per tire.

 

I have the Ridge Grapplers obviously on my 2014 Tundra, but I have Cooper Discover AT3 on my 2005 Tundra (4.7L v8 4x4), and I love both tires.

The Cooper AT3 is probably the longest wearing all terrain I have ever had. Super smooth (almost like a touring or highway tire), no noise, but yet still does very good offroad surprisingly considering it doesn't look as aggressive as the ridge Grappler. I have never got stuck with the cooper AT3s and I have taken it through some mud half way up the wheels before. If I owned like a luxury SUV 4x4, the cooper AT3 is what I would put on it because it just rides so nice... like your factory tires felt before you upgraded.

The ridge Grappler is more of a sporty feel. Still rides nice, but not quite as soft. The reason I chose the cooper AT3 for my 05 Tundra was price, low weight for a A/T tire (4.7L doesn't have the ponies of the 5.7L to move the heavier Ridge Grapplers), and 4x4 expeditions did a review on a ton of tires. It was pretty ingenious in my opinion. They chose a section of semi loose dirt and made a wide slight turn while accelerating full throttle. It tested the tires grip both forward and slightly to the side. They used the same vehicle for every set of tires and the same section. They used a "G" meter to see which tire allowed them to pull the most "G's" before breaking loose which translates to traction. The Cooper AT3 beat every tire in the test. Now a disclaimer, the Nitto Ridge Grappler was not around yet during that test.

Anyways, both tires are amazing in my opinion. I have owned multiple sets of Cooper AT3s. Will be interesting to see how I feel about the Ridge Grapplers after I have burned through a full set of them. So far I like them though. Just wish they made a "D" rated tire that was lighter for them in 35x12.50R20.