Nittos are Neato

[JamesWyatt]

It was time for the stock tires to go. Two weeks ago one of them took a nail in the tread close to the sidewall. No tire store would patch it, so I plugged it using an ARB repair kit until I could get to the tire store this weekend (note to self: pack locking pliers with ARB kit for pulling out nails). The stock Wrangler HPs on this thing are almost $300 each, so if I had replaced it with another HP, then later ruined another, then I might as well have bought a new set with road hazard warranty. The stock tires only had 7K miles on them but were worn to crap. Not much more than half the tread left, plus unevenly worn (rotated at 5K). :ack:

Got the Nitto TerraGrappler 285/60/18 tires at Discount Tire. They were nice enough to give me $105 "trade-in" on the three good factory tires, even though there aren't many vehicles that they will fit. They obviously have some markup on the tires to play with. They were listed at about $190 each. I bought four and will come back for a fifth when I get another 18-inch factory alloy. LR wants $750+ for one! I found factory ones "refinished" by Transwheel here for $182 and free shipping. Has anyone ever bought one of their replacement wheels? I figure they're just rims off wrecked vehicles that they polish and put up for sale.

The photos show the LR3 at off road height. At normal height there is zero rubbing on the steering in either direction. Road noise is minimal, but maybe a little higher-pitched than BFG ATs. I have to say it feels like driving a totally new vehicle. Better handling for sure. I like that it sits a tad higher now, too. I'm really digging the look of the TerraGrapplers - especially the fact that I don't have any white lettering to reverse.

So, I've taken it off road with the stock tires and seen their limits in sandy mud - not very impressive. I'm looking forward to taking it for a spin off road now. I doubt I'll ever wheel it on difficult trails, but at least now it should be a little more fun.

 

[Ol'Drippy]

"At normal height there is zero rubbing on the steering in either direction."

Glad to hear that, we've got 18k on ours and the tires are shot.. I just bought my second set of Nittos for my Nissan Titan, can't wait to put them on the LR3..

Any pics in standard ride height? Curious what it would look like..

 

[D Chapman]

Here is a pic at "normal" height.

 

[scottjal]

Neat.

I rather like mine too. They are a pretty soft rubber compound and a big factor for me is they are very quiet. They do good till you hit mud and really need a mud tire but hey. Downside is I hear they will only do perhaps 30-40k miles or so which is fine with me as I would prefer to keep fresh rubber on there anyway.

I got my 265/75 (DII) super cheap on ebay from discount tire direct, special sale or something I guess.

 

[nwoods]

Yeap, I have 35,000 on my Terra Grapplers now (or thereabouts) and about due for a change. I love the Nitto's, but I'm going to give the new Cooper's a try. Same size, similar tread.

Cooper Zeon LTZ

 

[fordbuilder98]

I had a set and they sucked in the sand

 

[AuburnRover]

I saw the coopers on tire rack or something, but couldn't find them locally. I ended up getting some Toyo Open Country AT's. So far I love them, almost the same tread design as the nittos. The tag said they were rated for 75k but I figure I will get 40-50 tops. I would have gotten the nittos, but I got a hell of a deal on these, and they are just for everyday driving anyways.

 

[nwoods]

I had a set and they sucked in the sand

Of the Nitto Terra Grapplers, Dune Grapplers, Cooper Zeon's?

My Nitto's did pretty good at Pismo, once I aired down to 15 psi. They wouldn't float with any higher pressure than that. Even 18 psi was way too much.

 

[D Chapman]

I love the Nitto's, but I'm going to give the new Cooper's a try. Same size, similar tread.

Cooper Zeon LTZ

So, you're going to a tire with a load rating of "D" (8-ply) vs the Nitto load rating of "E" (10-ply) and that has less thread depth on a heavy ass pig of a truck that see's off-road.......

Makes since to me:banghead:

Cooper tires suck. They're fine on a Ford Ranger that your grand dad uses to haul grass clipping to the back yard with. But for a heavy truck like a Rover that may encounter sharp edges off-road at low tire pressure, I would not trust them. That's not to mention climbing ledges and ripping lugs off. You'd be better off with the Firestone Destination MT's, if that tells you anything.

BFG is coming out with a new AT soon to follow the new MT. Oops, did I say that out loud

 

[gil stevens]

i think these trucks are to heavy even for the nittos.. i had nittos on my UZJ100 land cruiser and barely got 30K miles out of them. they wore horribly.. and with the tire wear issues the LR3 has, id steer clear of them. go BFG..

 

[nwoods]

The Nitto's I have are 3 ply sidewalls, as are the Cooper Zeons. I don't have the newer Nitto's with the 10-plies. Where did you find info on the tread depth and load rating? I haven't been able to find that data online.

Here are a few pictures of the tire I took at the National Rally last week. I talked to the rep for a while. The tire seems to have adequate tread depth just eyeballing it, good siping, nice side lugs, double jacket construction on the sidewalls, plus the plies of whatever it is plies are made of (polyester?)

The only info I can decipher from my photos is that it's treadwhere 540, traction A, and temperature B ratings. See the cropped photo posted below.

- http://www.nextstepdesigns.com/images/tires/cooper/IMG_6976-1024.jpg
- http://www.nextstepdesigns.com/images/tires/cooper/IMG_6976-crop.jpg
- http://www.nextstepdesigns.com/images/tires/cooper/IMG_6977-1024.jpg
- http://www.nextstepdesigns.com/images/tires/cooper/IMG_6978-1024.jpg

It was my intent to buy BFG AT's next, but I got a deal on the Coopers that I could not pass up. SO I will try them out. If I am unsatisfied, I will try the new AT's or the new MT's. The New MT's look great. I am also aware that the Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ's are coming out in this size soon. What do you think those as a brand?

 

[JamesWyatt]

Can't go wrong with BFG. My only complaint is their pricing on the 18" LR3 sized tires. My friend with a Chevy truck: his BFG ATs were $20 cheaper per tire than Nitto TGs. On the LR3, the BFG ATs are $60 more per tire than the Nittos. Probably worth it, but... sometimes money is an issue. What you gain for the $60 per tire: less noise and probably longer life. Depends on what your priorities are. The Nittos have a pretty good wrap on Chevy, Toyota, Jeep, etc. off roading forums.

One thing's for sure, either the BFG or the Nittos are a huge improvement over the Wrangler HP, which stands for Hideously Pricey and Heinously Pathetic.

 

[fordbuilder98]

cooper tire makes procomp and dick cpeek

 

[nwoods]

cooper tire makes procomp and dick cpeek

...and Mickey Thompson!

 

[nwoods]

One thing's for sure, either the BFG or the Nittos are a huge improvement over the Wrangler HP, which stands for Hideously Pricey and Heinously Pathetic.

and my favorite: GoodForOneYear.

So the Wrangler HP Goodyears are now:
"Heinously Pathetic GoodforOneyear" tires

 

[D Chapman]

The Nitto's I have are 3 ply sidewalls, as are the Cooper Zeons. I don't have the newer Nitto's with the 10-plies. Where did you find info on the tread depth and load rating? I haven't been able to find that data online.

No, the Nitto's you have are a load range "E". By being an "E" indicating the ply rating. Your tires have a ply rating of "10". Meaning, although your tires are "3-ply", they are equivalent to a Bias Ply tire with 10 plys. There is no industry standard for ply rating on radial tires.

Basically, what that means is your Nittos have two plys of rubber and a steel belt (or something similar). The rating, or load range, reflects the horizontal and sidewall strength. The lower you go in ABC order, the "less stiff" the tires are and the strength is reduced. What the equates to is your truck will handle more poorly on the road with the Coopers vs the Nittos because the sidewall will deflect or "roll" in the turns or when hauling a load. You'll experience increased tire wear, a truck that "walks" in the road, and you may as well forget about loading the truck down with gear.

Off-road the tires *may* get a little more traction on the rocks. This is because they are more plyable or "soft". They may grip a little better. But, the side wall strength is compromised with a heavy truck. The thread will "roll" under the rim and a pinched sidewall will be more common on a "D" rated tire vs a "E" rated tire on the same vehicle.

I'm not saying Cooper makes a bad tire, because they don't. I'm just saying the LR3 is a heavy vehicle and I don't think the Zeons are a wise choice for a truck that sees the trail. They'll probably be fine for your boy at Off-Rovering, but for a truck that might see anything remotely hard or on a vehicle your wife drives, you'll end up hating them.

 

[nwoods]

Hmmm...good to know. Thanks! I think I will wait until OffRovering Boy comes back from the Great Divide and see how he liked them before I mount mine. He will have about 3,000 miles on them by then.

 

[Boaz]

I was one of the people on the Off Roving trip to the Great Divide. There were two LR3's and two Range Rover Sports on the trip that had a new set of the Coopers on. I had about 7k miles on my Nittos prior to putting on the Coopers for the trip. I liked the Coopers very much. They seemed softer and quiter on road than the Nittos. As far as handling tough trails, we did Black Bear Pass, Pearl Pass, and Red Cone, all of which are well known for their difficulty. We did a lot of Rock Crawling and spent a lot of time in some very sharp rocks. Nobody had any problems with the Coopers. We were aired down to 22-28 psi during the most difficult areas as well. So I wouldn't worry about the capabilities of the Coopers, if I were you. I would rate them at least at good as the Nittos.

 

[D Chapman]

We were aired down to 22-28 psi during the most difficult areas as well. .

ROTFLMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :smilelol:

 

[nwoods]

ROTFLMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :smilelol:

D Chapman, 22-28pisi is totally reasonable pressure range to run on 18" rims and 32" tires. For example, here is a shot of my Nitto's at 24psi (the same size as the Coopers at 286/60/18).