All-terrain tires are amazing for their ability to tackle both road and off-road terrains, making them versatile and convenient for your daily and adventure driving. The options however, vary widely when it comes to which will fit in your light trucks or SUV such as the popular Nitto Ridge Grappler Vs Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac with their own good reputation. If you are also interested to install one of these tires, let’s see what they can offer and which of them will be the better option.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
- Why Choosing All Terrain Tires
- What are Nitto Ridge Grappler and Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac
- What are the Features of Nitto Ridge Grappler
- What are the Features of Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac
- How are Nitto Ridge Grappler and Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac on the Road
- How are Nitto Ridge Grappler and Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac for Off-Road
- Nitto Ridge Grappler Vs Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac
All Terrain Tires
When it comes to a vehicle’s performance like your car’s ability to drive comfortably and through different terrains, some people may think about the engine and the body of the car itself but taking all into consideration, the tire is probably one of the most important yet can get overlooked often. Since the vehicle will need to be in constant contact with the ground, taking the tire into consideration is a wise idea since without a good set we won’t have the good experience.
Talking about tires, there is one type that we personally think as the most versatile and convenient option for many people and you guess it correctly, it is an AT or all-terrain tire. With the good number of sales for vehicles such as light trucks, pick-ups, and SUV, it is just logical to see the popularity of AT tires because these vehicles are often fitted with them. When it comes to AT tires, there are also both bad and good sides to note.
One of the qualities that makes AT tires attractive is the open-tread design and as you may already know, the benefits of this design is improved traction when you drive off the road. With many interlocking tread elements, your tire will be able to provide a good grip on loose or uneven surfaces such as rocks, muds, as well as proper handling for the smooth road. The next quality is reinforced sidewalls which are necessary if you will be driving on rough terrain or carrying heavy load.
In some models of AT tires you can find variants with reinforced sidewall but usually this type of tires are meant for the aggressive design and landing more in off-road application or some models such as AT and MT hybrid. In addition, our personal favorite is they are also all-year operable because it isn’t specific to certain weather or condition and hence we not only can use them in all terrains but also in all weather; both in summer and winter.
On the bad side, while AT tires are convenient and versatile, they are not going to be the best at the more specific categories such as driving comfort because they are typically not as silent as the all-season due to the tread design. In addition, since traction off the road is relying on how the tire tread grip into the surface, most of them are made to be softer in general but while it is great for adventure, it also means our tire won’t last long.
About Nitto Ridge Grappler and Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac
However, if you are the type who will spend the time on both worlds, having an all-terrain installed will put your mind at ease because it can make sure we can drive confidently daily and on the weekend. Not all tires are going to be the same when it comes to performance despite looking similar to each other thus, it is still necessary to consider your option, especially those who want to move from their original equipment due to performance issues.
Most all terrain tires however, will be ideal if you wish to do some adventure on the gravel and unruly terrain, just to different extent. Talking about AT tires, almost all tire manufacturers, especially big names have several sets or lines based on the focus and special features, including Nitto and Goodyear. When it comes to shopping for a new tire set, personally we prefer to stick with the popular brands because it is easier to choose from them and they are also easily available with good reputation.
Considering the abundant promising collection, Nitto Ridge Grappler and Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac will be two ideal options if you are going to tackle more on the off-road section. Both of them are rather aggressive even on the AT line and many have relied on these tires for their daily driving and also the adventure. With such high praise, these tires are very promising especially on the grip and traction areas so you can always drive confidently even on difficult terrains.
Some may be worried how they will behave on smooth road but it seems the two are also good enough to not causing any issues and the best thing is that Nitto Ridge Grappler and Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac are going to be versatile enough all-year, all-season, and on different surface. In our opinion, they are ideal for application with light trucks, pickups, vans, and sport utility or commercial vehicles that are going to face such challenges. Overall they are ideal for convenience and for fun.
Nitto Ridge Grappler Features
As you can see on the sample picture above, the Ridge Grappler is more of a combination between AT and MT with the more aggressive look. This tire is designed with variable pitch tread to make sure the ride on the road stays comfortable and has staggered shoulder lugs to transits from the tread to sidewall which functions as small traction scoops. It has an alternating groove pattern as well to allow the tire to bite in the rocks while the sidewall will help you move forward.
Since we will be playing around with gravels, chances are the tire will pick up small rocks as well and this may harm the compound that it can drill the material but, worry not because this tire has stone ejectors in between the tread voids to handle the issue, combined with reinforced tread blocks for added stiffness. Read also: Nitto Ridge Grappler Vs Falken Wildpeak AT3W.
Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac Features
Moving to the Duratrac, similarly this tire is also using a symmetric tread look with large shoulders and highly angled center tread blocks in order to help with stability and traction in both dry and wet condition. It is also claimed to be self-cleaning because of the stepped shoulder blocks, zigzag sipes, and TractiveGroove at the base of the circumferential grooves which will give the tire more biting edges or extra traction even on loose surfaces like snow and mud.
In addition, the tire also has rim lock that helps in preventing wheel slip throughout the life of the tire while also offered with built-in rim protector in order to assist the wheel from accidental on or off-road damage risk.
Nitto Ridge Grappler and Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac On the Road
Now let’s move to the most important part or their performance and starting with the city or smooth road, none are rising a doubt that they will still be a good road tire. Of course there is some limitation in which none will be the quietest tire you will find. The common problem is the drive comfort itself because it can be heavier and in general not as responsive which is understandable but taking all consideration, Nitto Ridge Grappler and Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac are very good AT tires.
The best area will probably be their wet traction because those large chunks of lugs are gripping into the road properly and assisting well when you need to stop. Overall we have no complaint about how these tires behave on regular roads.
Nitto Ridge Grappler and Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac for Off-Road
Moving to the off-road section, this is where Nitto Ridge Grappler and Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac will show their impressive side. In this part both are very reliable and we do think they can handle loose surfaces really well with those large lugs, especially if you often drive on sand or mud because they are better than some AT models. The compound is not overly soft but just enough to struggle with sharp rocks and stones; the two are also available in F-load sizes.
As for the winter performance, they are not the best but very impressive with light and deep snow counting as not a serious issue. They can stand really well on snow despite not specifically winter tires but the Ridge is just slightly less grippy than Duratrac, probably because of the sipes. On ice or freezing roads they are a bit slippery but strangely the Ridge is slightly better here so we conclude that they can handle winter just as well.
Nitto Ridge Grappler vs Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac
Both are amazing options that won’t cost so much but performance wise the two are also very similar to each other. When it comes to road comfort we do think the Ridge is slightly less noisy than Duratrac but the weight and drive are almost the same. Off-road is not a problem as well and in this area they are working impressively on loose surfaces. Winter is not an issue but Duratrac is more grippy on snowy roads while Ridge seems to be better on ice.
| Nitto Ridge Grappler | Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac |
|---|---|
| - Less noise | - Louder noise |
| - Better comfort (road) | - Not as comfortable (road) |
| - More responsive (road) | - Less responsive (road) |
| - Good at snow | - Better at snow |
Conclusion
It is best to shop based on what you will need from the tire but between these models, you can go amazing with either yet, personally we will recommend the Ridge Grappler because this tire is more all-rounder and just slightly more comfortable on the road.
