When it comes to aftermarket wheels and tires, diesel truck owners usually end up having to choose between function and style. Since diesel HD pickups are designed to carry heavy loads and pull large trailers, often times the tire and wheel choices are less than up to the task of dealing with heavy loads, especially when you get up in the 20- and 22-inch wheel category. This can pose a safety issue, while on the other hand, those who tow heavy loads are often faced with premature tire wear from overloaded and overheated tires.

Nitto Tire of North America, who has dominated the sport, custom and off-road truck market in recent years, has recognized the need for a heavy-duty tire specifically designed for diesel trucks that tow. The idea was to design a whole new tire with a wear-oriented tread compound and Load Range E capabilities for diesel enthusiasts who use their trucks to the max. The end result is the new Nitto Dura Grappler line of highway-terrain tires.

According to Nitto, many customers who have been using mud or all terrain tires in heavy-duty applications have been experiencing premature tire wear, especially when towing. Tire tread “squirm” or movement, often results in overheating, which softens the tread compound under load leading to accelerated wear.

FEATURES

Nitto classifies the Dura Grappler as a highway-terrain tire that utilizes both steel and nylon belts to reinforce and stabilize the tire, more specifically the tread area. Select Dura Grappler sizes, most of which are OE replacement fitments, get the added feature of Nitto’s Dura-Belt 3Steel Technology for added stability and longer tread life.

Speaking of the tread, the Dura Grappler tread layout features a four-rib pattern for LT sizes, and a five-rib pattern for P-metric and metric sizes. The four-rib tire features deep grooves, nearly a half-inch deep in many applications, which helps channel water in wet driving conditions. Multi-slanted tread blocks with waved sipes improve all-weather traction. But the secret to the Dura Grappler’s longevity is the special tread compound. Nitto believes in this tire so much it offers a 45,000-mile tread wear warranty on all DuraBelt sized tires and a whopping 60,000-mile tread warranty of all P-metric/metric sizes.

Nearly the whole Dura Grappler lineup carries a Load Range E rating, which means over 3,000 pounds per tire load carrying capacity at 80 psi maximum inflation pressure. Nitto offers the Dura Grappler in sizes ranging from 16-inches all the way up to 22-inches. In typical Nitto fashion, the Dura Grappler is offered with an aggressive sidewall design with an incorporated bead-lock style wheel protector while the flip side of the tire offers a more conservative and conventional design, giving buyers two sidewall appearance options.

TESTING

Since the proof is in the pudding, the only way to appreciate the new Dura Grappler was to mount a set on a late-model GM HD pickup. This particular truck sees a lot of highway miles and tow duty, so it was the perfect candidate for the test. The truck is fitted with a Rancho IFS lift and was originally shod with 295/70R17 Nitto Terra Grapplers. The Terra Grapplers are a Load Range D tires (3,195 lbs at 65 psi) with an overall diameter of 33.19 inches.

We selected a slightly taller and slightly narrower Dura Grappler for the test, a 285/75R17 with a Load Range E rating of 3,970 lbs at 80 psi. We opted to keep our original 17x8.5-inch Weld Velocity 8 wheels since they are forged wheels that have a 3,000-plus pound load rating. The object of the test is to not only give the Dura Grapplers a thorough workout, but to also see if we could pick up some mileage from the big Chevy with a slightly more narrow footprint, improved rolling resistance over the all terrain-style tire and the added benefit of an additional 20 psi of inflation pressure.

IMPRESSIONS

Once our Dura Grapplers arrived, just unloading them from the UPS truck gave us an indication these were no ordinary truck tires. Based on the weight and initial look-see, we figured the Dura Grappler must have started life as a big rig tire scaled down for use on HD picks. Once mounted, a trip to the scale confirmed our suspicions as the tire and wheel combo weighed in at 95 lbs, compared to the 80-plus pounds of the Terra Grappler. The folks at 4Wheel Parts in Mesa, Arizona, did the mount and balance for us, and surprisingly, the Dura Grapplers required very few balance weights.

With an inflation pressure of 60 psi as a starting point, we were pleasantly surprised at the ride quality of the Dura Grappler as compared to the Terra Grappler at the same inflation pressure. We figured the depth of the tread and the added sidewall (75-series vs. 70-series) helped with the ride. Best of all, the Dura Grapplers were dead quiet, even at highway speed. Certainly much quieter than our semi-worn Terra Grapplers.

Dry handling was precise, while a run though an Arizona monsoon storm with plenty of standing water on the freeway was no problem for the Dura Grappler, thanks to the deep tread grooves. Off-road, the tires are great for everyday dirt roads, but lacked the floatation need for deep sand running. Mud had a tendency to pack the treads quickly, but the deep center grooves were cleaned easily with liberal amounts of throttle and wheel spin.

Since most folks spend 90% of the time on road, the Dura Grappler should be fine for most off-road jaunts. And with a 10-ply construction and built-in rim protector, working the rocks shouldn’t be much of an issue.

Overall, while first skeptical of giving up an all-terrain tire for a highway-style tire, after spending time with the Dura Grapplers, the tradeoff for added load carrying capacity and longer life is worth what we gave up in deep sand floatation. We can’t wait for winter to give these tires a workout in the high-country snow and more importantly, to monitor any mileage improvements we suspect we’ll gain. More importantly, when we hook up to a heavy trailer, we’ll be secure in knowing both the tires and wheels are up to the task, especially in the extreme summer heat on Arizona roads.