I was going to get the 325/65/18 Nitto Terra Graplers for $990.00 shipped. Now i think i might want to go with the Nitto Mud Graplers for $1270.00 shipped.

I know the AT's will last longer and offer a smoother ride, i also know they perform pretty well in the snow.

My questions are:

1) how much shorter of a lifespan do the MT's have?

2) how well do the MT's perform in the snow and ice?

3) How rough of a ride do the MT's have?

4) are they worth spending the extra $280.00?

 

imo no they arent worth it. they look good and perform about as well as any other MT, but their treadlife leaves a lot to be desired. they are made with a soft rubber compound, making them wear very quickly compared to the terra grappler, i want to say they will get 15 to 35k miles, and that 35k almost bald. they dont ride any rougher than other MTs, but they are LOUD.

for the money, if ur wanting a MT, id go with Toyo MTs

 

I agree with Dirty-Truck that the MTs aren't worth it. My 2002 FX4 has 184,000 miles on it. Here is the tire run-down:

Stockers: 40K and they sucked.

LT265/70R17 MTRs (10K used tires): 45K; long lasting for a Mud and they performed surprising well in the snow, especially well in Axle Deep snow.

P265/70R17 Nitto Terra Grapplers (new): 50K with and good 10-15K of life left; I loved these tires except the P sidewall made the truck roll alot more in the turns. They performed better in typical snow conditions, but they weren't near as good as the MTRs in deep snow. Sand and Muddy dirt roads they seemed just as good if not better than the MTRs.

LT285/70R17 MTRs (15K used Tires): 45K; long lasting again, but the larger size was impossible to get to wear evenly. I had to rotate these quite often. They ruled in the deep snow and mud, but a bit too much tire for typical SE Michigan Snows and daily driving with stock gears.

Now I just switched to the best tire I have run on the Truck for what I use the truck for. Nokian Vatiiva ATs in a LT275/70R17. These things rule. I am curious to see how they wear, and I haven't had them in much Mud yet, but they outperform all of the above tires in the wet-paved, wet-dirt, in the typical snow, slush and ice, and in Deep Snow. Plus I got them for a couple hundred cheaper than I could get the Nittos (LT285).

 

I don't think they are worth it either. I have run two sets of MTRs, one set of Nitto ATs and my newest set are Nokian Vatiiva ATs.

My family has had good luck running MTRs (GoodYear) to 50 and even 60K, but they wear real funny at the end. My last set I had to rotate very often to help keep them smooth.

In Deep Snow you should be fine with MTs (The MTRs worked great in Deep Snow), but if you're in typical snow, and ice they will not perform as well as the AT.

In that large of a size the MT will ride rougher than an AT for sure, but I don't think you'll notice the ride as much as the noise.

I would go with the Terra Grapplers, and if you're in the snow a lot I would get Nokian Vatiiva ATs...they destroy Terra Grapplers in the snow and ice. However, only a Vatiiva MT gets close to the size you are looking at...

 

I agree.

 

I got the Terra grapplers and love them, now there are a few of the mud grapplers in my town and you can hear them blocks away at only 35mph. Also heard they are pretty much worn out after only one year on them

 

Just picked up a set of Mastercraft Courser C/T's nice blend between an AT and an MT, worth the lookie into, I believe Goodyear just came out with a similar tire as well..AT/MT hybrid...the Goodyear's just came out and for a set of LT265/70/17's they ran $250 per tire installed. The C/T's are suppose to have better mud performance over an average AT tire plus better performance on ice/packed snow and heavy snow vs and MT tire.

just my 2c