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Fortune Creek Trail: Tire Testing in the Great Northwest

  • Story By
    Evan Griffey
Offroad_Tire_Review_Street_Legal_feature We dropped a set of Nitto 40-inch Trail Grapplers on Carl Jantz and his friend Joe Smalley for use in a tech article (see How Jantz Engineering Drops Big Gears in Small Hosuings). These guys are trail hounds and were soon off on an adventure...the Grapplers impressed from the get-go. “We put them on for a short highway run and they really don't even need to be balanced compared to everything else I have run,” quips Carl. “Already we are totally impressed with the smoothness of the tires. I've been jiggled and shimmied by off-road tires since 1974, and these are the smoothest running I have ever used.” The guys motored a 190-mile, four-hour road trip from Poulsbo, Washington into the mountains of the Cascade Range to a favorite haunt; Gallagher Head Lake and the Fortune Creek Trail. Offroad_Tire_Review_Street_Legal_Nitto_Grapplers_40_Review_24 “These tires did amazingly well on the trail, we were mostly on dry dirt and loose rocky inclines,” says Carl. “I would love to get these in the mud and snow to see just how they perform. This was more of a sightseeing tour, but there was a hill to climb at the end of one trail which several other rigs were unable to climb and that I had to go near wide open throttle to climb in my Isuzu Rodeo with 36-inch tires aired down to 8 psi. The hill was no match for Joe and the Grapplers, he was able to just drive up without spinning a tire.” Offroad_Tire_Review_Street_Legal_Nitto_Grapplers_40_Review_26 Joe was also impressed with the on-road compliance and off-road tenacity of the Grapplers. “These are the roundest tires I have had on my Jeep. No low speed out of round issues at all,” says Joe. “The Grapplers did not vibrate or hop…even at high speeds. I keep putting off getting them balanced because they do not seem to need it. The last set of big off-road-spec tires I had were a disaster, vibrating the steering box off the frame and pulling the press nuts through their holes.” “My 2.5-liter jeep always had trouble going faster than 65 mph with radials or over 55 mph with bias ply tires installed. I cruised nearly a full tank of fuel at 65 to 75 mph and got 20-percent better mileage on the Trail Grapplers, this without compensating for the five percent tire circumference increase over the predecessors.” Offroad_Tire_Review_Street_Legal_Nitto_Grapplers_40_Review_23 “At Gallagher Head Lake we ran through rock fields, dust trails, mud, gravel back roads, mine tailings, pavement and concrete. I have never used such comfortable and confident tires. And the amazing thing was I never expected a 40-inch-tall tire to ride this nice.” Offroad_Tire_Review_Street_Legal_Nitto_Grapplers_40_Review_28 The definition of a ‘streetable’ tire has been reestablished as the Nitto Trail Grappler proves you can run 40s from home to the trail, air them down and go crazy, then refill them and go back into commuter mode for the ride home. -Evan Griffey Offroad_Tire_Review_Street_Legal_Nitto_Grapplers_40_Review_25
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