Nitto Terra Grappler G2 Review [2023 Updated]

By Tire Expert, Joe Steffen

Are you looking for your next set of tires? Can’t seem to find unbiased tire reviews from someone just trying to push products?

Look no further! I have seen and heard it all with over nine-plus years in the tire industry. All of my reviews come from personal experience and my experience with customers just like yourself!

Today I will review one of the most underrated off-road tires on the market, the Nitto Terra Grappler G2, and this tire is offered in multiple load ranges, not only in standard hard metric sizes but also in high-flotation sizes.

The Nitto Terra Grappler G2 tire is an all-terrain underdog because it has a smooth, quiet ride and excellent traction in all weather conditions. This tire is perfect for Jeep Wranglers, Toyota Tacomas/Tundras, and Chevrolet Silverados.

Let’s get to it, so you can see if this is the right tire for your needs.

Feel free to jump to any sections below if you want a specific aspect review of this tire.

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Pros

Cons

Ratings

4.0

4.5

4.0

3.5

Wet Traction:

★★★★★ 4.0/5

Dry Traction:

★★★★★ 3.5/5

Snow Traction:

★★★★★ 4.0/5

Ride Comfort:

★★★★★ 4.0/5

Ride Handling:

★★★★★ 4.0/5

Ride Noise:

★★★★★ 4.0/5

Hydroplaning:

★★★★★ 4.5/5

Tread Life:

★★★★★ 4.5/5

Value For $$$:

★★★★★ 4.0/5

Traction - Nitto Terra Grappler G2

The Nitto Terra Grappler G2 has an underwhelming tread design for an all-terrain, but I believe this greatly benefits the tire. Utilizing a design that doesn’t use sizeable chunky tread blocks allows this tire to perform exceptionally well on wet and snowy roads.

I have personally driven on this tire in these conditions as we had them on my wife’s Jeep Wrangler, and let me tell you, they do not disappoint.

In wet performance, the Nitto Terra Grappler doesn’t slip or slide around, and they use full-depth siping in each tread block, allowing this tire to pull water right off the road. What gives a tire optimal wet weather traction is its ability to A) evacuate water from the tread channels and B) pull water off the road into the siping.

Keeping minimal water build-up between the rubber and the road makes this tire’s wet traction highly rated.

Where this siping also comes in handy is the snow traction. This works slightly differently for snow than in wet. In the wet, you want a tire to evacuate water, and in the snow, you want the tire to pack snow in the tread channels.

It does precisely that in the snow, and once the packed snow turns to ice, it will eject it with flexible tread blocks.

For not being a winter tire, they sure do come close to performing like one.

When purchasing this tire, getting the three-peak mountain snowflake rated option is crucial. If not, it will not have the ability to stay flexible in sub-forty-degree temperatures.

While it does excellent in the categories mentioned above, the dry traction takes a small step back. While trying to come to a stop, I noticed it would take a little bit longer than the Falken WildPeak AT3W’s I had on my 4Runner.

Overall, you will not be disappointed by the traction the Nitto Terra Grappler G2 offers.

Traction Rating: 4.0/5

★★★★★ 4.0/5

Ride Comfort - Nitto Terra Grappler G2

Most all-terrain tires will come in two options a light truck and P-metric. The Nitto Terra Grappler G2 is the same way. I ran these tires in a P-metric on our Jeep and could not have been more impressed by how smooth they were.

I would expect the ride to be a little stiffer on the light-truck option since they have a stiffer sidewall due to the extra sidewall plies to carry more weight.

Nevertheless, you should expect a smooth, comfortable ride no matter which load range option you choose (as long as it’s a safely recommended fitment).

In my experience with all-terrain tires, they have a difficult time balancing out since they are heavier. They require more balancing weights to counteract this. When the balance is more challenging to get right, installers will “do their best,” By this, I mean they will let it leave unbalanced.

With the Terra Grappler G2, you won’t have to worry about nasty road vibrations at highway speeds because every set I have seen get installed has no problem balancing the first time.

The Nitto Terra Grappler G2 is one of the most comfortable off-road tires I have had the pleasure of driving on, and I have driven on multiple different options.

Ride Comfort Rating: 4.0/5

★★★★★ 4.0/5

Ride Handling - Nitto Terra Grappler G2

When rating this tire, I was torn because the Terra Grappler has some of the strongest on-road handling characteristics. It has coupling joints between the outermost and center blocks, which provide more edge rigidity.

More edge rigidity gives the tire a better steering response and less tire wander, and tire wander is when a tire will follow any imperfections in the road pulling the vehicle with it.

This tire could have been a five out of five if it had better off-road handling. My wife and I took these tires on a couple of trails in the Stanislaus National Forest, and they didn’t do a good job commanding through the terrain as they do on the road.

Even though the off-road handling isn’t as good as some of the more aggressive tread all terrains out there, I find the Terra Grappler to be highly durable when it comes to handling when towing. In the LT-metric ten-ply option, you may even forget that you’re hauling a twelve-thousand-pound trailer.

Maneuvering around is a breeze as I have had to make an emergency swerve to avoid hitting an object in the road and these tires did exactly what I needed them to.

With those two things being said, I rated this Terra Grappler G2 so high in ride handling because you can trust them to take an emergency turn and maintain control.

I recommend this tire to anyone who is mainly looking for a street handling tire. For those wanting an off-road handling tire, I recommend the Toyo Open Country AT3.

Ride Handling Rating: 4.0/5

★★★★★ 4.0/5

Ride Noise - Nitto Terra Grappler G2

Ride noise is one of my nit-picky categories to review, as there is nothing more I can’t stand than loud tires. My hearing is bad enough as it is, I don’t need another reason not to be able to hear my wife talk on long road trips.

To my surprise, the Nitto Terra Grappler G2 has the quietest ride out of all terrains.

Nitto uses variable pitch tread blocks and incorporated sound equipment while developing the tread design to provide the most silent ride possible. Eliminating that whirring you get from all-terrain tires.

Typically, a tread design that utilizes biting edges, staggered shoulder lugs, and aggressive dual sidewall designs(blade pattern and thunderbolt pattern) mean a tire will be extremely loud. All of these things mentioned are a recipe for road noise. However, the Terra Grappler doesn’t make a peep having all of these benefits.

Tire Cupping should not be a massive concern as the tread compound combined with the tread pattern promotes excellent even wear unless you have serious suspension problems.

Nitto Tire does an excellent job of producing quiet off-road products, especially with their Nitto Ridge Grappler, a very quiet and highly aggressive tread design.

For anyone who is looking for a quiet ride, Terra Grappler G2 is the way to go.

Ride Noise Rating: 4.0/5

★★★★★ 4.0/5

Hydroplaning - Nitto Terra Grappler G2

Hydroplaning is one of the scariest things that can happen when the roads are slick. I remember the first time I hydroplaned, and it felt like the car was floating as it slowly started to turn sideways. I don’t want anyone to ever be at risk of hydroplaning, and that’s exactly why I cover hydroplaning resistance.

One day the rain was coming down heavily, flooding the roads to get into town. As we were coming down the hill to turn right, I didn’t notice a large puddle in the street. Naturally, my wife started freaking out, and by the time I realized it was there, we had already plowed right through it.

While the water was flying up the car’s sides, these Terra Grappler G2s didn’t slip up for a second.

I have many more hydroplaning stories like this with the Terra Grapplers. The deep tread depth and full depth sipes act as a vacuum when rolling over water, keeping minimal water between the tire and road.

I rated this tire so highly for the reasons that I have had this tire in hydroplaning road conditions and based on the tire’s tread design.

Hydroplaning Rating: 4.5/5

★★★★★ 4.5/5

Tread Life - Nitto Terra Grappler G2

How long a tire will last is essential for anyone who drives daily, not so much for the autocross enthusiast. The Nitto Terra Grappler G2 has a highly long-lasting tread life.

While the Nitto offers a fifty-thousand-mile treadwear warranty in the LT-metric sizes and a sixty-five-thousand-mile warranty in P-metric sizes, it doesn’t matter which of these two your vehicles needs. Both will exceed the mileage rating.

On average, you can expect to receive between sixty and eighty-thousand miles on the Terra Grappler G2, depending on your truck tire load requirements. Bigger three-quarter-ton and one-ton trucks will be on the shorter end of that average, with them being much heavier vehicles.

I had a big issue with the original Terra Grappler regarding premature rubber cracking and dry rot. Nitto did a great job addressing this and providing a better oil retaining rubber compound.

Dry rot and rubber compounds drying out happen when all the oils in the tire seep out over time, and the oil is what keeps the tire nice and moist.

You won’t see rubber aging until around six years, the recommended replacement age.

I highly recommend this tire for anyone that does a lot of commuting and wants an all-terrain option.

Tread Life Rating: 4.5/5

★★★★★ 4.5/5

Value For Money - Nitto Terra Grappler G2

Anyone who has ever purchased a product knows how important it is to get a good value for your money because if something wasn’t worth your money, why would you buy it?

I find extreme value in the Nitto Terra Grappler G2 because you will get all the great performance benefits I have gone over. You will also find the price of the Nitto is not low, but compared to Michelin, Toyo, and BFGoodrich, it is much cheaper.

The people who find great value in this tire will be your daily drivers who enjoy trips up to the mountains or go camping on dirt roads, just don’t fall off the beaten path too much, or you may get stuck.

The people who may not find this tire to be a great bang for the buck will be someone who lives off-road and takes their lifted 4X4 rock crawling. As I have mentioned, this tire is not that awesome regarding off-road capability.

In my experience, most consumers who purchase all-terrain tires rarely go off-road all the time. They just want the aesthetic of the tire, which the Nitto Terra Grappler G2 offers.

Value For Money Rating: 4.0/5

★★★★★ 4.0/5

Final Verdict - Nitto Terra Grappler G2

This review covered traction, comfort, handling, ride noise, and hydroplaning resistance. After reviewing these categories, I have concluded that the Nitto Terra Grappler G2 is a well-rounded all-terrain tire that provides top-notch tread life and value.

I compared this tire to the Toyo Open Country AT3, BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2, and Michelin LTX AT2. I chose these tires for comparison because I know all three options have their respective categories they excel in.

While Toyo is the most off-road capable, I believe the Nitto excelled in all other categories making it the best option for any daily driver.

I also made a price comparison with all these tires. When comparing the pricing from retailers like Amazon, TireRack, SimpleTire, and many more, I found the Nitto to be the best price.

This tire offers the lowest price point and highest ratings, and I recommend the Nitto Terra Grappler G2 to anyone looking for new tires.

If you were curious to see how the Toyo, BFGoodrich, and Michelin compared, check out my in-depth tire reviews on them!

Meet Your Tire Expert

Joe Steffen

Joseph Steffen is a trusted expert in the tire industry, with nine-plus years of experience. He has worked as a tire installer, tire salesman, and more recently a writer for various companies, providing honest feedback and advice to those who need it.

Tire Recall Information

I found no open or closed recalls on the Nitto Terra Grappler G2, which does not surprise me as Nitto Tire has a high-quality standard in its manufacturing process.

In my search, I did come across an eleven-year-old recall on its predecessor, the Nitto Terra Grappler All-Terrain, due to the rubber chemical mixture not meeting their specifications. This resulted in parts of the tread detaching leading to a loss of control of the vehicle or complete tire failure.

With this being the most recent recall on their all-terrains, it should not impact your purchase decision.

Warranty & Tire Sizes

Warranty Details

Tire Sizes

Warranty Details

Tire Sizes

Frequently Asked Questions

Who makes the Terra Grappler?

Nitto Tire manufactures the Terra Grappler line of tires. Nitto Tire, however, is owned by Toyo Tires, a Japanese-based company.

What does a G2 mean on a tire?

On the Nitto Terra Grappler G2, the G2 stands for the second generation of this model. The first generation of the G2 was the Nitto Terra Grappler All-Terrain.

Where are Nitto Terra Grapplers made?

Nitto tire has manufacturing plants in multiple countries, including the United States and Japan. Where the tire is made will depend on which manufacturing plant it came from, all tires will have the location it was made stamped on the sidewall of the tire.