A bit of confusion here. The "E" load range (indicating the equivalent of a 10-ply construction, which in itself is somewhat misleading as nobody builds tires with actual 10 plies anymore) is used to rate Light Truck / LT tires exclusively. Passenger / SUV tires - those without LT prefix - come either in Standard Load (SL) or reinforced, Extra Load (XL) versions. The latter is the type of passenger tire that Land Rover recommends for the new Defender, as it is a heavy vehicle with a high towing capacity.

There is no such thing as an XL tire with an E load range or "rating". Load ranges B, C, D, E and F - E being the most popular - are used to identify the maximum load capacity and inflation pressure of stiffer, heavier - and heavier duty - LT tires.

 

Thank you Umbertob for the correction -- it was definitely needed.

I was tired and rushed my reply. Sorry all.

 

Steve, did you find a buyer for those wheels and tires yet? Shipping may be a problem but I am in Dallas and do have an interest.

 

I am switching wheels today and then I will post them.

 

I have switched back to OEM wheels and tires and have now listed the Vossen HF-5s and NITTO Ridge Grapplers. They are posted in the Marketplace section.

 

With the 255 70 R18 Ridge Grapplers on my P300 D110 and with the front set at 43 psi and the rear at 46 psi, and with the winch and tray installed and the heavy-duty rock sliders in place, here are my initial on-road impressions:

1) they are louder than Continental or Falken A/T tires and louder than the Goodyear OEM A/Ts. The noise is not overly obtrusive, but it does vary, as follows:
a) the rear is louder than the front (I think I will drop the tire pressure and see if this changes at all). Having the second row up decreases the sound a bit.
b) the hum begins at 45 mph and the pitch of the hum rises steadily through 75 MPH (which is as fast as I drive).
c) the front makes more noise under braking (interesting).

2) they provide a bit stiffer ride than the OEM tires (feelings in the bum are more pronounced). Lane changes are more pronounced.

3) I can see why Steven is changing back to OEM tires, if he is to daily drive long highway distances. I am not, and drive often off-road, so I think I am fine.

4) I will make sure to rotate the tires every time I change the oil (every 5K miles). As an aside, the used oil is useful to start necessary bush fires to maintain property out in the country -- so not to worry about the changes occuring more often than recommended. Nothing goes to waste.

So far, the tires are behaving exactly as described by you all and by Nitto. I am looking forward to getting deep in our mountain mud and see how they perform!

Enjoy!





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I lowered the rears to 44 psi and the noise in the rear was reduced to equal with the front -- a very positive difference. Much better.

I drove on the interstate for 100 miles or so and the noise level was quite tolerable -- I am probably getting used to it.

We took the Defender off-road up a 20 degree hill atop dense, 3 to 4 feet high grasses and plants in lifted, LO range and grass mode and the climbing (without the use of momentum) was exceptionally easy and smooth -- nary a slip whatsoever. The tires are a definite traction improvement over the OEM A/Ts and other A/Ts I have used on my Defender and my LR4 (both which climbs this same hill ok, but with slips and starts and stops, sometimes.) The hill has defeated several MB SUVs -- which do not have LO range.

I am very pleased so far. Now waiting for it to rain to go find some mud.

Enjoy !!


The upper section measures out true 20 degree climb. The Defender is sitting at 10 degrees or so in the photo

Cannot hay the upper portion -- too steep to run the tractor safely

 

Ok, its been raining in the mountains, so I was able to get out into the wet -- gravel, grass, forest stuff (leaves, sticks & bark) and MUD (of course) -- for a bit of time.

YES, yes, yes -- VERY happy ! The Ridge Grapplers continue to be exactly what was promised by Nitto and you all.

Drove another couple hundred miles on the interstate -- happy there too.

Enjoy !

 

Man, that’s great to hear! I was picking up a part at the JLR dealer yesterday and parked next to a LR3 with RidgeGrapplers — such a great looking tire for our trucks. Glad to hear the interstate experience is still good with them. I had no doubt the mud experience would be vastly improved.

Now I still just have to grapple with the question of do I go down to 18s, with all the concomitant expense, or just buy RGs in 20?

I am so used to dropping my Jeep to 14 psi on rough trials, even if not rock climbing, just trails with 3-6” scree scattered around on them, and it changes the comfort picture so dramatically (combined with disconnecting the front sway bar.) I fear that with the large amount of pressure I’ll need to leave in these tires if the wheels are 20”, I won’t be satisfied with the off-road ride on long bumpy but non-challenging trails/roads.

 

^Really above average dad pun.

It's pretty much settled for me. HUGE thanks to @TrioLRowner for starting this thread and confirming that the Nittos are a solid choice!

Daily 20's with the best tires I can find for daily driving in heavy traffic and Florida rain. I want the stopping power and handling.

For off-road trips, 18" Tuffant steelies (5 for $1000), LR rear caliper kit from the post below ($340), Ridge Grapplers ($?), don't believe spacers are necessary. This gets me through the 8-24 hour drive to a trail from Florida and should work well once I'm there.

Swap over myself before and after and I don't have to worry about beating up my 20's.

Quite bluntly, it's been a very long time since I've been on one of these trips and I'm probably wrong about some of it but it seems like the best decision for me.




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