Have had these on for less than a week, but wanted to give an initial impression.
Stock I had 245/50/20s.
These are 255/60/18 Nitto Terra Grapplers, on Honda Ridgeline OEM 18x8 wheels with 55mm offset, painted matte black, and I had them mounted at the same time as a 1.5” Traxda front/rear lift.
The terra grapplers were not my first choice, as I would have preferred a Pirelli Scorpion AT plus, G015s, or Conti Terrain Contacts. However, I wasn’t comfortable going with 265/60/18s due to the rubbing and very minimal clearance in the wheel wells, so I went with the Terra Grapplers in 255/60/18, as there’s only two tire choices in that size.
Noise/Comfort:
I was expecting these to ride way more rough, and have way more noise. These are actually extremely quiet for an AT tire. On other vehicles I’ve had BFG ATs, Pirelli Scorpion ATs above, and Revos. Pirelli by far was the best riding and quietest AT tire I’ve had. The Nittos so far anyway, are only a little louder than the Pirellis, and “louder” isn’t even the right word. These are very quiet with just a slight hum. If the radio is on at all, I don’t hear anything.
Handling around town:
I thought the stock Conti Terrain Contacts handled poorly, on wet or dry roads. Wet especially, but I never felt they gripped dry pavement that well either. I’m happy to say the Nittos feel like they handle better wet and dry. I have not had them on the interstate yet though, so will have to add a later update on that. No rubbing after several U-turns, parking in/out in various places, etc.
Performance/ & Acceleration:
On bumps the extra tire makes a noticeable difference from the stock low profile that doesn’t have much give. The lift I put on at the same time however, makes the bumps a little more noticeable, so it kind of evens out to just “slightly” riding stiffer than stock, but when I hit the bump going up my driveway for example, this tire/wheel combo absorbs it better than stock, for example.
Acceleration wise is barely noticeable at all. Maybe ever so slightly, but at only .4” larger in diameter than stock, and maybe 5 more lbs, it’s barely worth mentioning. I discovered Sport mode today as had no idea what that was, and the car feels quicker than it did with the stock wheels in normal Drive mode, if that tells you anything.
Conclusion:
At least initially, I’m super happy with this tire/wheel combo. We’ll have to see how they wear over time, but I’ll be rotating my 5th full-size spare into the rotation. Just waiting on my Rigd Ultraswing to come in so I can mount it, and then in 10K miles the rotation fun can begin.
