GRABBER A/TX
Planning to buy quality tires for a large and heavy SUV? Then General Tire Grabber A/TX is exactly what you need. These all-season tires are specially designed and built for All-Terrain vehicles.
Thanks to a special tread pattern, the tires provide excellent off-road maneuverability. On the other hand, a large area of the contact patch of rubber with the road surface provides the comfort of movement on a flat road surface, which is important if the car is used most of the time in urban areas.
The General Tire Grabber A/TX went on sale in the North American market in 2018 and is still very popular today.
US off-road tires
The North American continent is famous for its large number of off-road vehicles. No, this does not mean that the roads in the USA are bad, the roads are just that, excellent. It's just that America has developed farms and is full of small settlements with off-road and rugged terrain. And here you can't do without an SUV or a pickup truck. And for the operation of off-road vehicles to be full, it is necessary to use high-quality tires with good grip.
There is no shortage of off-road tires in the USA, moreover, the range of offers is wide. Nevertheless, each tire manufacturer considers it its duty to launch its own product, which combines in its design all the best of what is typical for rubber of other brands.
The oldest American manufacturer of pneumatic tires - General Tire also did not stay away from the fashionable fad and produces excellent rubber for special off-road vehicles. Grabber A/TX are tires that were first shown at the 2017 SEMA Show.
Externally, the tires presented in this model line were similar to the GeneralTire Grabber AT2. The Grabber AT2 model has proven itself well, and therefore the manufacturer, when designing the Grabber A/TX, decided to borrow the already proven tread pattern. However, despite the obvious external similarity, there are differences between the tires.
Features of Grabber A/TX
The question is - why did General Tire launch the updated Grabber A / TX line into production if at that time there was a Grabber AT2 line and also a similar Grabber X3 model? The answer is simple - the new tire has taken all the best from the previous models. For example, the AT2 has adopted an effective directional tread pattern. The X3 rubber has borrowed traction grooves on the shoulder blocks, which enhance the tire's grip on loose dirt and off-road surfaces. Thanks to numerous borrowings, the new tire became a hybrid, which, of course, benefited it.
What is it made of
All tires are made from rubber and Grabber A/TX is no exception. But there is a difference - high-density rubber is used for the manufacture of these tires. But, as you know, the denser and harder the rubber, the less friction in the contact patch with the road surface. Meanwhile, the Grabber A/TX has high friction and excellent grip. How did this become possible?
The secret is in the silica additives, which are added to the main composition of the rubber. As a result, the new tires provide excellent grip, regardless of the season, and do not wear out for a long time. However, the excellent strength properties of the new tire are due not only to the rubber composition but also to the design features and a number of technologies involved.
What makes Grabber A/TX tires one of the best
Let's list the technologies used since it is thanks to their use that these tires are really good.
- DuraGen is a completely new technology that uses a belt to reinforce the inner structure of the tire. In other words, thanks to this technology, the tire configuration will remain unchanged, no matter how fast and on what surfaces the car is moving. Among other things, this technology prevents uneven tread wear, which, as you know, prolongs the service life.
- Comfort Balance Technology - technology provides maximum absorption and dissipation of vibrations. As a result, the feeling of driving on rough terrain is about the same as when driving on a flat road.
- StabiliTread Technology - the dense arrangement of the wire in the reinforcing sheath increases the tire's resistance to cuts and tears. This is more than relevant when you consider that the rubber is tubeless.
- Three Peak Mountain Snowflake - Silica contamination provides additional friction at road contact. This is very important for all-season tires, as it provides equally good handling on dry and wet surfaces. Moreover, thanks to the good friction, the tires are prepared for winter use. This is confirmed by the presence of a snowflake pictogram against the background of a mountain with three peaks (standard 3PMSF).
How these tires ride
Perhaps the main question is how Grabber A/TX shows itself in use, otherwise what else is rubber purchased for! The operation of these tires can be characterized by the following characteristics:
- Quicker start without slipping. Considering that modern SUVs are fast and powerful, this advantage comes in handy. Thanks to the good grip, which is provided by the rubber compound and the tread pattern, the car does not move but literally starts.
- Fast braking. This advantage is provided by the same rubber composition and tread. The car stops on dry surfaces, on wet roads, and even on snow - it's not for nothing that it is all-weather! Given that off-road vehicles are heavy and have a lot of inertia when braking, a short braking distance is a significant achievement.
- Excellent directional stability in any weather. This advantage is achieved thanks to the special tread pattern. The diagonally located tread grooves not only provide excellent grip but also disperse water to the sides, eliminating the likelihood of aquaplaning. A car equipped with such tires can move equally well in a straight line and enters corners.
- Low noise level despite the fact that the tires are off-road and equipped with a raised tread. Anyone who has driven a car on tires with aggressive tread knows how much noise it makes, especially when driving on asphalt. But in the case of the Grabber A/TX, everything is a little different - the vibration when the tread contacts the road surface dissipates. As a result, this rubber makes noise almost the same as passenger tires.
- Durability - These tires wear out slower than other brands. It's all about the high density of the rubber and the metal reinforcement of the tire.
Wear and balance markers
Finally, a few words about a pleasant feature of all modern GeneralTire tires. Wear indicators and balancing indicators are installed on these tires. Both are colored patches on the rubber. As these markers wear out, you can understand in what operational condition the tire should be replaced or not.
If the wheel is not balanced, the corresponding indicators will wear off unevenly, and you can make the right decision about visiting a tire service, where they will balance your wheels.
Verdict
Unfortunately, outside of the United States, these wonderful tires are not widely available. But in the USA, Grabber A/TX is installed on various off-road vehicles, since the variety of sizes allows it. Besides, all buyers have noted numerous improvements in driving performance. So, we recommend purchasing!