Nitto Crosstek Tires

[LBARTLETT]

Need tires on the 06' 2-wheel drive dually. I like to run a highway tread. Would love to have michelins (hate that first cost) but had planned on Firestone Transforce HT's which I have on now. Cheapest I could find them was about $200/tire mounted and balanced.



Got a coupon on-line from NTB buy 2 get 2 free, buy 1 get 1 free so I called them. Only tire offered in my size (235/80/R17) was the Nitto Crosstek (supposedly designed for 3/4 and one ton trucks). Did some reading on them and if true they have a flatter tread surface and are made with a new composite which is supposed to get longer life.



6 tires, free balance and rotate for life, 3 year road hazard and free one year alignment (I know it's not really free) for $1,020. 68 out the door. It's a no brainer for me.



Has anyone used the crosstek? Apparently it is a new tire so it's not made in 16's or some other sizes.



Going to get them at 1:00 today. I've never done business with NTB. Always traded with the local tire shop but for the money in this economy I couldn't pass this deal up.



Nitto® CROSSTEK®

 

[seafish]

Though I have never driven a Nitto (also preferring Michelins), I have heard good things about them.
They have a reputation for balancing easily and driving smoothly.
The Crosstec, is a very new tire... don't know anyone who is driving yet.

Do they come with any sort of mileage warranty?


That is a great deal... where is NTB??

Do they have an online store?

Thanks.

 

[LBARTLETT]

just do a search for NTB or National Tire & Battery, you then put in your zip cod and it will give you the closest store, it doesn't appear they have a on-line store



no mileage warranty but included is a 3 year roadside assistance with a maximum charge to me of $60 per tow/locksmith/roadside tire repair, limited to 3 assistance calls with the $60 deductible in the 3 year period



I also asked how often I could get a free balance, rotate or alignment, they said as often as I want



the 50 mile drive home was pleasant, the 73-78 mph vibration I had before with my worn firestones was gone, price was exactly as quoted



the buy 2 get 2 free and buy 1 get 1 free end I think Sept 28th



I'm really looking forward to see how they are in the rain, if it will ever rain in East Texas

 

[ktb]

i got a set of nitto dura grapplers last month and so far am very pleased with them. I have gone through 2 sets of michlens and one set of coopers and feel that the nitto's are as good if not better. The truck feels more secure in the corners when loaded now. The only thing i think i might have done wrong was go with the 285/75/17 i think it is a little to tall for 3. 73 gears i had been running 285/70/17 an think this is a better size for mileage, but as far as the nitto tire i think they are very good 2 of the tires balanced with no weights they run smooth and are quiet

 

[AH64ID]

If your looking for cost effective highway tires have you searched craigslist for OEM takeoffs? They are quite cheap.

 

[MChrist]

I have the Nitto Dura Grapplers on my '06 with 3. 73 gears and I really like them. The Crossteks look even more street biased, which would probably be even better than the Dura Grapplers if you stay on the highway. I may consider those for my next set next year when my tires are too far gone (probably 50,000 miles of all stop and go driving)

 

[LBARTLETT]

I bought the crossteks as 95% plus of my driving is highway mile, so far I am very pleased with them



they ride very nice and are very quiet

 

[LBARTLETT]

just got back from my first 1,000 mile trip with my new tires, even drove in rain for a little bit



must say I couldn't be happier, the ride great and there was no hydroplaining in the drive ruts in the highway

 

[MChrist]

I have the Nitto Dura Grapplers on my '06 with 3. 73 gears and I really like them. The Crossteks look even more street biased, which would probably be even better than the Dura Grapplers if you stay on the highway. I may consider those for my next set next year when my tires are too far gone (probably 50,000 miles of all stop and go driving)

Well, it's been a year since this last post, and I now have right about 55,000 miles on my Nitto DuraGrapplers, and my tread depth on every tire taken at every rib is exactly 5/32". They have been great tires, and obviously wear quite evenly. I've kept the front tires right around 60-65 psi, and the rears are either run at 50 or 65, depending on if I'm cruising empty or loaded.
My 55,000 miles may differ from your 55,000 miles though. My shop is less than 10 miles from home, yet I endure 8 stop signs/lights. During summer months, I carry a 1000 lb tank in my bed, with between 100 and 200 gallons of water.

If I was a mile-muncher, (mostly highway) I would imagine that I could easily have 75,000-85,000 miles on these tires with 5/32" remaining.
I stopped in at NTB to check out the new Nitto Crosstek HD and the do look very impressive. I got the impression from the salesman that Nitto is phasing out the Dura and the Crosstek is taking it's place.
My plan is this: I will groove and sipe these tires and add weight to the bed for winter, just to see how well the siping will work for snow. I will then swap the Duras for Crossteks to see how well they work in snow. If not satisfied, I will swap them for the Blizzaks that I have on separate rims that I use just for winter.
By "grooving" these tires, I do not mean to make the existing grooves deeper. LT truck tires are not made for that. I will instead cut small grooves into the existing solid rubber blocks, at the same depth as the original grooves. This will provide better water/snow evacuation, and more biting edges.
I'll take before/after pics and report my findings.

 

[AH64ID]

The siping should help traction, but on a diesel pickup it really makes the tires wear super fast.

The crosstek is a great looking tire, but why does a 285 for a 17 have a 3195lb load rating when the nitto dura grappler has a 3750 lb rating.

 

[MChrist]

The siping should help traction, but on a diesel pickup it really makes the tires wear super fast.

The crosstek is a great looking tire, but why does a 285 for a 17 have a 3195lb load rating when the nitto dura grappler has a 3750 lb rating.

I don't know, but when I was on the phone with Tire Rack, and I mentioned that my current 285/70/17s had a 3750 load rating, he turned into a real "Richard" and explained that "nobody makes a tire with that rating".
The Nitto website doesn't give much/any info on the Crosstek HD, so that isn't much help. I'm hoping the Crossteks will do well.
As far as the siping and grooving. . I'm at 5/32" now, which is the depth I typically pull tires off the road, so I'm not concerned with wear. It's just more of an experiment, really. Proponents of siping claim that siping actually makes the tire wear longer. I have not noticed any difference in wear between siped/not siped, but have noticed a great increase in traction. I just wish I had more of an empirical way of testing, other than my butt-meter.
When the DuraGrapplers get down to 5/32", there is still plenty siping, but there is room for improvement. We'll see.

 

[MChrist]

The siping should help traction, but on a diesel pickup it really makes the tires wear super fast.



The crosstek is a great looking tire, but why does a 285 for a 17 have a 3195lb load rating when the nitto dura grappler has a 3750 lb rating.

I don't know, but when I was on the phone with Tire Rack, and I mentioned that my current 285/70/17s had a 3750 load rating, he turned into a real "Richard" and explained that "nobody makes a tire with that rating".

The Nitto website doesn't give much/any info on the Crosstek HD, so that isn't much help. I'm hoping the Crossteks will do well.

As far as the siping and grooving. . I'm at 5/32" now, which is the depth I typically pull tires off the road, so I'm not concerned with wear. It's just more of an experiment, really. Proponents of siping claim that siping actually makes the tire wear longer. I have not noticed any difference in wear between siped/not siped, but have noticed a great increase in traction. I just wish I had more of an empirical way of testing, other than my butt-meter.

When the DuraGrapplers get down to 5/32", there is still plenty siping, but there is room for improvement. We'll see.

 

[AH64ID]

Too funny on the load rating, any "Richard" can use google! Heck the 285/75/17's on my dad's 06 have a 3970 lb rating!

My experience is that siping adds tire life when there isn't much torque, but on diesels it eats the siped tread in a hurry. I will sipe non-diesel tires, but my truck won't ever see siped tires again. I also do plenty of dirt road driving and the siping just makes the tread easier to chunk off, especially on my truck where no matter how hard I try just letting the clutch out will churn some dirt.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Too funny on the load rating, any "Richard" can use google! Heck the 285/75/17's on my dad's 06 have a 3970 lb rating!



My experience is that siping adds tire life when there isn't much torque, but on diesels it eats the siped tread in a hurry. I will sipe non-diesel tires, but my truck won't ever see siped tires again. I also do plenty of dirt road driving and the siping just makes the tread easier to chunk off, especially on my truck where no matter how hard I try just letting the clutch out will churn some dirt.

Any RICHARD!!!:-laf:-laf



Have kind of a funny story with the counter part to RICHARD.

We had company 2 way radio in the trucks so dispatch could screw you at will. The dispatchers name was Richard. He would try to get me on the 2 way and most of the time I had the AM/FM on and didn't want to be bothered. So he got upset so I did listen (sometimes) he called once and I picked up the mike and said Ya go ahead DICK he said something that I (really did hear) and again I said Go ahead DICK Hay DICK I can almost hear you DICK went out to fire up the truck the next day and the 2 way was gone

 

[MChrist]

Well, I finally made the switch from my trusty Nitto DuraGrapplers to the newer Nitto Crosstek HDs. They are VERY nice!! The tread is very unique and well thought out. The circumferential grooves are quite wide for great water evacuation, and I like how the sidewalls look more like an aggressive off-road tire, yet still have a more highway oriented tread.
The ride is quiet and smooth. I had my tires mounted by a very reputable shop that performed a Hunter dynamic balancing operation, where they mount the tires on the wheels with no weights, put a load on the tire with a roller, and measure deflection and some other things. The Hunter tech happened to be there, and explained that tires this size usually come in at around 26-37 "units of deflection", and mine were between 3-11, which he said is almost perfect. So these tires are very uniform, which is a pretty good indicator of construction quality.
Driving down the road, they are smooth as glass.
This repair shop just took on the Nitto line, and are also very impressed with their quality.
Only time will tell how they ultimately perform, so I will start a new thread and keep updating. If they are as good as my DuraGrapplers, I'll be very pleased.
I'll have to get my wife to post pics, since she is the computer person, not me.

 

[Regcabguy]

The siping should help traction, but on a diesel pickup it really makes the tires wear super fast.

The crosstek is a great looking tire, but why does a 285 for a 17 have a 3195lb load rating when the nitto dura grappler has a 3750 lb rating.

My new 285-75-17 AT2's are rated at 3195#. Very pleased though. No squirm as opposed to my neighbors who's got awful squirm on his 285-75-17 Nitto Terras with a load rated of 3970#. He's going on 3K with those.

 

[MChrist]

My Crosstek HDs in 285/70/17 LRE have the 3195# rating vs the DuraGrappler's 3750# rating for the same size. These do ride a bit softer, which I attributed to the new, thick tread vs my 5/32" left on the Grapplers. I've only driven locally, and pulled a few light trailers short distances so no real test yet. They do seem to stick in wet conditions better, though. Again, more tread equals a more pliable media to grip pavement with, so that may be why.
I've found that I need to bump up my psi by about 5 all around to equal the amount of sidewall bulge I had with the DuraGrapplers, so that may equalize ride characteristics a bit. Towing camper 1,000 miles next week. I'll have more info then.