Fear No Ski-Hill Commute: Nitto Terra Grappler G3 AT Tire Review

I typically know winter is here by the first fishtail my pickup truck does getting onto the highway. It’s generally early November — and raining — and for a few adrenal-squeezing moments, I recon just how long it’s been since I put on new tires.

To say the new Nitto Terra Grappler G3 came at the perfect time would be an understatement. Newly revamped, this all-terrain rubber picked up on the shortcomings of the previous iteration in wet weather and now has come full circle, sporting a new rubber compound, a mess of new sipes, and retaining that 3-peak mountain snow rating.

I’ve been running the new Grapplers for roughly 5,000 miles on my Toyota Tacoma, and now, with the worst of winter in the rearview, I can safely say that they are some fine tires for wet weather on and off-road adventuring. 

In short: Getting up to the ski area is half the fun here, but the new Nitto Terra Grappler G3 tires performed every weekend I asked them to. They also chewed up fire roads, towed fully loaded trailers, and ran down some highway miles. This is my 5,000-mile first look at these updated all-terrain tires.

Looking for new all-terrain tires? Check out GearJunkie’s Best All-Terrain Tires Buyer’s Guide to compare the Terra Grappler G3s to the rest of the options out there.

Nitto Terra Grappler G3 All-Terrain Tire: Review

What’s New?

The Terra Grappler line has always enjoyed notoriety as a solid all-terrain tire, but the new G3 version doesn’t rest on any laurels. For one, the tread design is entirely revamped with a new five variable-pitch tread block design. The full-depth sipes on the new version also now all drain into the lateral grooves, which helps explain the new wet-weather performance. 

Even bigger news is the tweaked rubber compound, which balances between being soft enough to retain the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake Rating (3PMS) and hardy enough to squeeze 5,000 more miles into the mileage warranty. With the G3s, you now get a 70,000-mile (hard metric sizes) and 55,000-mile (LT and flotation sizes) treadwear warranty.

The previous version of the Terra Grappler leaned a bit further into the terrain side of all-terrain tires, but the G3s bring the tire back on the road a bit more, which is where most of us spend a good amount of time anyway.

Wet-weather performance was also not spectacular in the G2s, but the brand listened to feedback, and it’s now a front-and-center strength on the G3s.

Mountain Road Manners

You typically get to see the entire water cycle while driving to ski areas in Washington State, starting with a healthy deluge as you head from home and passing up into full-blown sideways snow and ice by the time you hit the passes. The new Terra Grappler G3s, I learned, don’t care what phase you’re driving through.

While they aren’t as primed for cold-weather driving as dedicated snow tires, the 3PMS rating these tires have does make a difference. To be certified with such a rating, tires need to be at least 10% better than standard all-terrain tires in snow traction, which includes starting, stopping, and handling. 

To be sure, if I give it a bit of the lead foot treatment, I can still spin the tires on a packed snow roadway. But with a bit of skinny pedal (and a few sandbags in the truck bed), the G3s were confidence-inspiring enough not to think about the drive up to the ski hill this winter. I typically try my best not to have to run tire chains for the relatively short run up the passes, and the 3PMS rating is an excellent hedge against needing to do so. 

Gravel Grinding

Gravel logging roads were also fair game on the new G3s, and I ran up and down a not-small number of them this spring, brushing out downed trees and bucking up firewood.

The 265/65/R16s I’m running are taller tires than come stock on these trucks, and they stuff exceptionally well under the small lift I’m running. These tires negotiated potholed and washboard roads across western Washington, and they never lacked traction when I needed it.

The lugs along the exterior of the G3s are newly redesigned to be supported by small connecting lugs that run deeper in the tread. This keeps those blocks from squirming around when you’re leaning the tire over. These exterior lugs also sport a concave shoulder that gives the tire an added grip surface when you’re really trenching in the deep stuff.

Rock ejection has been about on par with other all-terrain tires I’ve run, with only a few so far that have wormed their way into needing to be freed with a screwdriver. This is very minor, however, and in the past 5,000 miles, I can say that the Terra Grappler G3s have been fairly set-and-forget when it comes to off-road traction. They simply dig in when I need them to.

Pounding Pavement

The new G3 has been tweaked to be more mild-mannered on pavement, which is greatly appreciated, as it’s not all gravel fire roads and potholes out there. Notably, the Terra Grappler G3s are significantly quieter than the Toyo Open Country tires I was running previously. Changing the size of the tread blocks is apparently to praise here, and whatever Nitto has done, it’s working.

A redesign of the siping to shuttle water into the lateral grooves on the tires has also noticeably improved wet-weather traction (no more fishtailing getting onto the highway this winter). Our previous testing showed a performance deficit in this area in the G2 version of the Terra Grappler, so it’s refreshing to see Nitto focus on this and really improve it.

The G3s are a little heavier than comparable all-terrain tires, weighing around 3 to 5 pounds more per tire. This is something to consider if your rig is mostly putting down highway miles. Since I put the G3s on, I’ve rotated them once, and the wear pattern has been consistent and even.

Load Hauling

The load-range E G3s I’ve got on my truck are 10-ply, which does come at a weight penalty of around 5 to 7 pounds per tire compared to the comparable six-ply LT versions. That said, I frequently pull a trailer with my Tacoma, and as a light truck, it can use all the sure-footing it can get.

Thankfully, an E-rated G3 can be run all the way up to 80 PSI, and while it won’t be a pretty ride, these tires didn’t get goofy when pulling a fully loaded 10-foot trailer.

I frequently air up these tires to around 45 psi when I’ve got a full load, and they’re bounce-free at that pressure.

These tires are a bit heavier than a true HD tire like the BFG HD-Terrain T/A KT, which will be better for heavy loads due to the broad lug pattern that better shoulders the weight. That said, the G3s are certainly more all-around than those tires, and unless you drive a full-sized truck specifically for hauling, they fill the need well.

Fancy Sidewalls?

Yep, apparently. Nitto is actually sort of known for its dual sidewall designs, which offer a choice depending on which side of the tire you run. It’s a particularly savvy thing for Nitto to do, knowing how folks like to style their rigs, and besides looks, you also gain a bit of sidewall puncture protection.

I went with the dealer’s choice at the tire place and ended up running the lightning bolt-esque sidewalls, which has increased my cred with the local high schoolers by at least 33%. Honestly, though, the option is nice to have.

Nitto Terra Grappler G3 5,000-Mile Review: Conclusions

I’ll continue running the Terra Grappler G3s until they’re worn past the point of no return, which, if the treadwear warranty is to be believed, will be about 50K miles away from here. That’s a danged healthy run for an all-terrain tire and should see me through at least a few more introductions to winter.

The all-terrain traction is solidly within what I’d expect from such a tire that aims to balance on- and off-road performance, and I’d feel comfortable nosing them onto any rugged forest road. True off-road traction won’t be as full-tilt as something with a chunkier lug pattern to really fling mud, but for most folks, the G3 has more than enough grip to get you into and out of trouble.

The weight-for-durability trade is one that I think most will be comfortable making, but if your mileage is something you watch, a set of lighter all-around all-terrains should save you a few bucks. That said, the new rubber compound and lug pattern on the updated G3s are more than enough for me to recommend these tires to anyone looking for a solid set of all-terrains.