I just bought a brand new Sahara and am about to do a 2.5” lift with 17” wheels and 35” tires. The shop where I’m doing the work is recommending the MT Bajas. But I’m also seeing a lot of good info about the Nitto Grapplers (and I think they look great!)

I’m looking for feedback/recommendations between these 2. The Jeep will be 95% driven on road, with periodic weekend jaunts doing some light off-road...nothing too crazy. So pavement comfort and road noise is a huge consideration in the decision.

Thank you

IMO any MT is a poor choice when your primary concern is comfort and road noise. Those of us that run MTs accept the noise because of the benefit in traction off road. Some MTs are louder than others, but they're all louder than a road tire or an AT.

Priorities in a tire for me are tread design and load rating followed by brand. Steer away from E rated tires, IMO shoot for C or lower. My Cs get better grip than my Ds or Es.

Lastly is weight, IMO the lighter the better. You're already adding size which will wear out parts faster, the more weight you add will increase the speed of parts wearing out.

Welcome to the forum, glad to have you here!

 

IMO any MT is a poor choice when your primary concern is comfort and road noise. Those of us that run MTs accept the noise because of the benefit in traction off road. Some MTs are louder than others, but they're all louder than a road tire or an AT.

Priorities in a tire for me are tread design and load rating followed by brand. Steer away from E rated tires, IMO shoot for C or lower. My Cs get better grip than my Ds or Es.

Lastly is weight, IMO the lighter the better. You're already adding size which will wear out parts faster, the more weight you add will increase the speed of parts wearing out.

Welcome to the forum, glad to have you here!

Thank you for that info! Definitely helps.

 

I’ve never had either brand but hear good about both. As said, a M/T tire may get tiresome for you in the road all the time. I have Goodyear MT/R’s with Kevlar on mine and they are noisy but I’m willing to live with the trade off.

Nitro makes a few different Grappler models. Did they recommend the Trail Grappler (M/T) or Ridge Grappler (hybrid). We’re looking at tires for my wife’s Rubicon and I’m steering her towards the Ridge Grappler - great look, hybrid design, excellent performance for people I know with it.

 

I’ve never had either brand but hear good about both. As said, a M/T tire may get tiresome for you in the road all the time. I have Goodyear MT/R’s with Kevlar on mine and they are noisy but I’m willing to live with the trade off.

Nitro makes a few different Grappler models. Did they recommend the Trail Grappler (M/T) or Ridge Grappler (hybrid). We’re looking at tires for my wife’s Rubicon and I’m steering her towards the Ridge Grappler - great look, hybrid design, excellent performance for people I know with it.

Yes I should’ve specified - the ones I read about and were considering are the Ridge Grappler. From reading these posts I think I’m moving more in that direction. Thanks for the input.

 

I've had both of these tires and also a set of Baja ATZ's. The Baja M/T's looked killer but were brutal on anything other than dirt. The Baja ATZ's were what I had before the MT's and I liked them for what they were.

The Nitto Ridge Grapplers I have now are, without a shadow of a doubt, the best thing I've put on the Jeep. They ride better, quieter, and look fantastic. I expect them to last just as long as a set of ATZ's as well. I would strongly suggest these over the MT's imo.

 

I've had both of these tires and also a set of Baja ATZ's. The Baja M/T's looked killer but were brutal on anything other than dirt. The Baja ATZ's were what I had before the MT's and I liked them for what they were.

The Nitto Ridge Grapplers I have now are, without a shadow of a doubt, the best thing I've put on the Jeep. They ride better, quieter, and look fantastic. I expect them to last just as long as a set of ATZ's as well. I would strongly suggest these over the MT's imo.

Sounds like quite the glowing recommendation for the Nittos. Thanks for your input. Sounds like 3 for 3 on responses pushing me towards those, so I'll go in that direction. Thanks again.

 

Gotcha - I still like my Nitto's more but the difference between the two is less so than if you were going with the Mud Terrains. One point to take into account is that the Nitto's took almost no weight to balance where as the Mickey Thomson ATZ and MT's took a few ounces per wheel.

 

Got it. Thanks again.

 

We have the Nitto Ridge Grapplers. They aren't bad, but they are not as good on road as a high end A/T like the BFG KO2. They do well off road, being a hybrid between a mud tire and an A/T. But they lack the road manners of a more normal A/T tire. And they are louder than a normal A/T tire. I think they are a decent tire, but there are better tires out there. I would look at the KO2, the Falken A/T3W, and the various Cooper tires, of which the Mickey Thompson ATZ is a member of.

 

Very helpful. Thanks for that info.

 

I've haven't run either of those so no experience to offer, sorry.
I ran the Nitto's cousin, the Toyo MT for a little over 70k miles. They were long lasting but heavy and not very good grip on the rocks.

 

I have never tried to run a set of Mickey Thompson tires on my Jeep but I do see a lot of good reviews about it. Correct me if I'm wrong but Nitto Ridge Grappler is used for an intense off-road adventure?

 

The ridge grap is a hybrid between an all terrain and a mud terrain...read...not the best on road and not the best off road... somewhere in the middle....the trail or mud grap are the "intense" tire selection....

OP I gotta be honest...I think the terra grap g2 is probably the best bet for you...

 

I have a set of Nitto Ridge Grapplers on my JKU and I am very pleased with the performance on and off road.. I have 30k on them now and are still at 15/32. I rotate at 5k. They are heavy, they are stiff. Air them at 26 psi for the street and 8 on tge trail. (Per Nitto) very good road manners.....

I have experience with BFG TAKO, and Mickey Thompson MTZ on my crawling TJ. I am running Milestar Patagonia on it now, only because the Ridge Grapplers were not available in a 15 inch wheel. I am also happy with the Patagonias...... not a fan of the MTZ!

 

Bingo..100% agree. I have about 26,000 miles on my Nitto Ridge Grapplers, and have found them to be excellent both on highway, and off road. I have no experience with them in snow. Why, because I’m in Arizona.

 

My experience with the RGs is their weakness is rain on pavement. They are stiff, and they are heavy. But aired down off road they are pretty good, better than the typical A/T tire. And on road they are better than the typical M/T. But the trade off is their on road performance is not as good as the typical A/T. If off road performance is the priority, but you don’t need a M/T, they are a great choice. But don’t expect great on road performance, especially in the rain.

 

I just bought a brand new Sahara and am about to do a 2.5” lift with 17” wheels and 35” tires. The shop where I’m doing the work is recommending the MT Bajas. But I’m also seeing a lot of good info about the Nitto Grapplers (and I think they look great!)

I’m looking for feedback/recommendations between these 2. The Jeep will be 95% driven on road, with periodic weekend jaunts doing some light off-road...nothing too crazy. So pavement comfort and road noise is a huge consideration in the decision.

Thank you

Cant speak to the bajas, but I recently posted my review of the RGs on the forum and was not a fan. My current mickey thompson MTZs perform far better on the road then my nittos ever did.