New General Grabber

Reviewed in this month's



New DOT-Approved General Grabber
General's Tough New Off-Road Tire

From the July, 2010 issue of 4Wheel & Off-Road

By Kevin McNulty Photography by Kevin McNulty

We always seem to find ourselves a little delirious when a new off-road tire is released. We can barely stand the wait to get our mitts on them for some hardcore testing. General Tire introduced the Grabber Competition tire about two years ago, and it has proven its toughness and dependability through numerous of off-road events like CORR races, the Baja 1000 and 500, the San Felipe 250, and Vegas to Reno races. General now offers a DOT-approved version of the Grabber for regular folks like us.

Given our location near the high deserts and mountains of Southern California, we rarely have difficulty finding tough testing grounds. Through our grueling testing we found the Grabber extremely capable off road, providing excellent traction in mud, rocks, snow, and sand. What really impressed us was that the Grabber was not only able to provide good all-around traction in a number of environments, but was also highway-friendly without the drone so commonly found in mud tires. We have to rate the Grabber a great to-and-from-the-trail tire, perfect for the weekend warrior desert racers!

Since it has some of the toughest trails in the country and is extremely hard on tires, the first place we usually head with a new set of tires is the Hammer Trails in Johnson Valley, California. After running sections of Jack and Sledge we found that the Grabbers provided unexpectedly good traction while crawling around the boulders. We were impressed by how the Grabbers provided more traction than brands of tires with more aggressive tread patterns.



The Grabber is constructed with seven-ply tread: three polyester, two steel, and two polyamide belts. The sidewall features three polyester belts. After running the rocky trails of Hammer we didn't notice any chunking, tearing, or gouges in the sidewall.



We tested the tires in a slick mud bog 200 yards long, with depths of a foot or two in some areas. The test runs started with slow stops and starts then progressed to high-speed mud running and erratic turning. The Grabbers provided excellent traction and allowed the vehicle to track straight without losing control.



The wide voids of the Grabber allowed it to self-clean in the mud. The tire features Acoustic Modulation Technology, a wave-suppression technology that provides an exceptionally quiet street ride. They also feature General's patented Strake & Chamfer tread design, a design of diagonal grooves and chamfered lug corners that gives the tire its traction capabilities.



We just received a fresh batch of snow, which allowed us to test the Grabbers in icy conditions. As with our mud testing, we stopped and started in the snowy stuff and blasted through the snow with high-speed passes. Again the Grabbers impressed us with their ability to hold traction.



The 35x12.5R17 Grabbers allowed us to blast through sand dunes without digging in and burying ourselves. With the tires set at 32 psi we were still able to climb steep dunes and float across flat sections of the softest sand. The tires are available in 33- to 35-inch sizes for 15- to 20-inch wheels.



General Tire
1800 Continental Drive
Charlotte
NC 28288
800-847-3349
www.generaltire.com

Source:
http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/techar...7_new_dot_approved_general_grabber/index.html

I haven't seen these tires in person but they look good in the pictures and they sound like they'd be a very good tire for Raptor owners.

This was a tire review with no testing or comparison. I wonder how they'll compare. Hopefully we'll find out.

They look good and look forward to more reviews.

Not bad definatly a tire to keep an eye on

I have seen them on quite a few off-road race vehicles. Glad to see them hitting the streets.

They're great tires from what I understand. When they first came out, they weren't street legal and considered racing application only.

anyone want some slightly used Nitto Trail Grappler MTs??? Gotta get me some Generals!!!


BTW I just found these @ 4 wheel parts for $197...that's a deal!! Same place the stock BFGs run $250+

bstoner59 said:

anyone want some slightly used Nitto Trail Grappler MTs??? Gotta get me some Generals!!!


BTW I just found these @ 4 wheel parts for $197...that's a deal!! Same place the stock BFGs run $250+

Click to expand...

So NOW you're gonna offer your used tires to me err us?!

The Generals look good don't they?!

How wide are your Nittos? These shown in the pics are 12.50" wide

bstoner59 said:

anyone want some slightly used Nitto Trail Grappler MTs??? Gotta get me some Generals!!!


BTW I just found these @ 4 wheel parts for $197...that's a deal!! Same place the stock BFGs run $250+

Click to expand...

Be careful... especially with 4 Wheel Parts... my experience at one of their locations was that they place making a sale above everything else... especially if you just asked for the General Grabber tire... there are at least 3 currently available "Grabber" versions and this new one looks like it will be the fourth. I'm not sure these exact tires are available yet.

I don't see the model number in the article and the only thing I found on the General Tire website said "to be released later this year".

General Tire also has a complete line of Grabber tires for the passenger and light truck market, including the new Grabber DOT-approved off-road tire (to be released later this year); the Grabber HTS, which delivers the perfect synergy of comfort, durability and performance; the Grabber UHP, which sets a whole new standard in performance and ride quality for SUVs, light trucks and crossover vehicles; and Grabber AT2, designed for aggressive all-terrain traction in all weather conditions.

Click to expand...

I would think if these new tires were available, the website would have more info.

You're right Mark. As I understand it these are brand new tires and I could not find them ANYWHERE on the internet except in that article. Someone needs to call General.