Angle's new shoes..

[92exp4x4]

I've been contemplating over new tires for a while now. The other night I finally blew out one of a crappy set of tires on my limited. These tires I removed from service on my at-the-time-wife's (long story) mazda pickup because they were unsafe. I traded her so she could have good ones, and they went with the truck later on. (You can guess what happened).

The worst part of the failure was that I was 60 miles from home, with no spare, at 2 in the morning. Another crappy situation initiated by my now ex-wife. (Now you know what happened!!) Luckily my dad was awake and willing to drive one of the other Explorers to me so I could use the spare tire.

I have looked and read and thought about all kinds of tires. My goal was to have bfgoodrich all terrains on all my vehicles. But they went and changed the tire and I don't like the new ones. I didn't want to pay what most people are asking for them either. I kept going back to General Grabbers. Their AT2 looks a lot like the BFG, but is much less in price. This was hard for me. Michelin and BFG are probably the best tires available, and I really liked the classic all terrains. Michelin just doesn't have one I care for.

Several weeks ago I received 6 new F250s for my fleet at work. All of these are equipped with general grabber HTS. I figured if they are good enough for Ford, they must be decent quality at least. So, here is the result of my $500 eBay purchase.

What do you all think? I own one set of the BFGs now. They are coming on 11 years old. The generals are quiet, they ride great and they are sticky. The tread depth is like the grand canyon. They are studdable, and have lots of tread siping for snow traction. The tread surface is squared off with minimal carcass bulge at 35 PSI. They are LT235/75r15, load range C. When pushed into corners, they are very stable even being soft with a 4300 lb SUV sitting on them.

So far I love them. The truck rides and drives better than it ever has. As soon as can afford it. Another 2 sets will be in the future. The junkyard tires I'm running on several vehicles now are more than due for retirement (pun intended!!)

 

[larrydd999]

Good to hear about someone happy with their purchase. The tread looks a lot like a set of Michelins that I had some years ago, which I also liked a lot. My current set of all season Michelins (ATX MS/2 I think) are a bit noisier than the last set (different tread pattern) but otherwise seem fine. I've been purchasing Michelin tires for over 25 years now and have yet to be unhappy with any of them.

 

[RIV Customz]

I like it! Tread looks great. The white outlined print on the tires suits the body paint well. Great match.

 

[natenkiki2004]

Good looking tires. The Grabbers were my 2nd choice after the Cooper Discoverer AT/3s. Only reason I went with the AT/3s was I had a set on another vehicle and loved them. Grabbers look great for the price. Both tires are often underrated IMO, seems like everyone just jumps towards the BFGs because everybody else has them. Good choice on the LT size too, in my research they have a bit more tread and have an extra ply compared to P rated tires. I think it's a good combination since the Explorer should ride like a truck. It is truly amazing how much different a new set of tires feels. It's a lot of money to choke up but once you do, it becomes well worth it.

Sorry about the **** situation but at least there's a happy ending.

 

[Rhett]

Thanks for the review. The only problem I have with the General Grabber is that they don't make it in 32 x 11.50 size.

Otherwise, it seems to be a good BFG clone for a lot less $$$. While I have run BFG's for over 10 years, I do think they are a little hyped, at least for the money.

 

[malohnes]

As long as you're happy with them that's all that matters. I think they look great.

Ive heard great things from the Coopers and Generals so youve done well.

 

[Dzrtcj7]

I ran General Grabber AT2's studded and siped on a ranger and loved them. Put well over 50k miles on them before I sold the truck. Now I'm running 33x12.50x18 AT2's on my Superduty. Absolutely no complaints. They run loaded with my camper most of the time. I'm about at the 50k mark and they are due to be replaced this winter.

I've also run BFG AT's on several rigs. I see no major differences between the BFG's and Generals other than price.

 

[92exp4x4]

Good looking tires. The Grabbers were my 2nd choice after the Cooper Discoverer AT/3s. Only reason I went with the AT/3s was I had a set on another vehicle and loved them. Grabbers look great for the price. Both tires are often underrated IMO, seems like everyone just jumps towards the BFGs because everybody else has them. Good choice on the LT size too, in my research they have a bit more tread and have an extra ply compared to P rated tires. I think it's a good combination since the Explorer should ride like a truck. It is truly amazing how much different a new set of tires feels. It's a lot of money to choke up but once you do, it becomes well worth it.

Sorry about the **** situation but at least there's a happy ending.

Thanks, BFG built a great reputation in the 70s and 80s but everyone else caught up to them in the late 90s until now. There are so many more options available now in the all terrain world. They are still great tires, but i agree they are priced on their popularity and not necessarily for their performance any longer. Compared to many similar tires, I think the generals are a great value, and its nice to use my Limited wheels again. My Explorers don't get loaded heavy often, but when they do its nice to have the extra beef of the LTs too. They have been known to haul one another on the trailer for short distances.. (2 doors hate tongue weight)

The best part of first gens is the truck suspension and their truck basis, I'm just old school I guess. I'll gladly sacrifice a little comfort for durability and simplicity. These vehicles seem to be the perfect mix of simplicity with just the right amount of modern convenience like fuel injection, overdrive, disc brakes, and the most wonderful of options... power windows (which can kill the simplicity in life sometimes!) I just wish cozy wings and cowl vents were available.

I learned a lot from the bad situation. I'm just thankful its all over now and I'm moving on, for the most part, unscathed. I'm just happy to still have and be playing with my cars again. I have several friendships and a lot of lost time to make up!

 

[92exp4x4]

Thanks for the review. The only problem I have with the General Grabber is that they don't make it in 32 x 11.50 size.

Otherwise, it seems to be a good BFG clone for a lot less $$$. While I have run BFG's for over 10 years, I do think they are a little hyped, at least for the money.

I will try to post as they wear in and cure. I'm really curious as to the tread wear and how they hold up. These tires are really soft, and it's good and bad depending on how you look at it. I have several sets of BFGs myself. A set of 11 year old all terrains in fantastic shape, a set of 33x12.50" M/T KM2s and 4 traction commercials and 2 straight tread commercials on my 93 superduty. The commercials show no wear under my heavy truck with a routine 16-18K combined GVW. They are about 4 years old with close to 15k miles on them now.

 

[92exp4x4]

I ran General Grabber AT2's studded and siped on a ranger and loved them. Put well over 50k miles on them before I sold the truck. Now I'm running 33x12.50x18 AT2's on my Superduty. Absolutely no complaints. They run loaded with my camper most of the time. I'm about at the 50k mark and they are due to be replaced this winter.

I've also run BFG AT's on several rigs. I see no major differences between the BFG's and Generals other than price.

How much tread did they have at that mileage on your ranger? I'm sure the heavier SD and camper wore them faster?

 

[92exp4x4]

As long as you're happy with them that's all that matters. I think they look great.

Ive heard great things from the Coopers and Generals so youve done well.

I think so, just curious about the long haul.

 

[Dzrtcj7]

How much tread did they have at that mileage on your ranger? I'm sure the heavier SD and camper wore them faster?

At 50k they hadn't started losing studs yet, so I'd say 40-50% tread. I got 90k out of a set of BFG AT's on that truck, and I expected to get close to the Generals. It was an '86 reg cab 4x4, so quite a bit lighter than an Ex.