Nitto Dune Grapplers...

[biju]

Love em' or hate em' - the Proton's sittin' at Discount right now getting them put on all 5 wheels.

I'm pretty stoked, as Denver's supposed to have the second round of blizzard conditions later today - so they came just in time. The OEM's just don't cut it in this snow...

Weather permitting I'll post pix after picking her up...

-biju.

[MustangO4]

Good job! Did you get a good deal, or just "cowboy up" and pay what it took? I ask, because I want them and if you worked a deal, I'd try to strongarm my local Discount.

[Vfrider1]

I love em! I have certainly had the chance to test them out today. Combine the Nitto's with the VX and you have a real snow machine!

[biju]

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3167/dune01.jpg

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3167/dune02.jpg

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3167/dune03.jpg

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3167/dune04.jpg

-biju

[biju]

Good job! Did you get a good deal, or just "cowboy up" and pay what it took? I ask, because I want them and if you worked a deal, I'd try to strongarm my local Discount.

I just went for it. No deals. I thought about the ones you see on eBay, but by the time you get them mounted and balanced - plus purchase the free balance/rotation/protection plans you're pretty much at cost anyways. Total damage was $1350 for the five.


I love em! I have certainly had the chance to test them out today. Combine the Nitto's with the VX and you have a real snow machine!

Agreed. The Dune's felt just like the Terra's on the brief ride home through the snow. Nitto just seems to make really great tires. Can't wait to put these to the test in Moab...

-biju

[Chopper]

Mine aren't here yet, but we are dealing with different warehouses. Thanx for the pix Bud... any anxiety I was having over this choice just went out the window. They are friggin awesome, and pure redneck at the same time. I'm a big fan of the Nitto. We have Terras on Weld Racing wheels under the Hummer,and 555s on Ricks Corvette. I think the Belaire is riding on Nittos as well. Good product!

[biju]

They are friggin awesome, and pure redneck at the same time.

Bwahahahhaaaa... yeah.. I almost didn't get them because of that 'redneck' stigma - but in the end decided to just ignore that.

I was worried that the design of the Dune might clash with the unique look of the VX - as I think the VX has nothing in common with redneck culture. However, after seeing the tires on the VX I think they're a nice compliment to the vehicle IMHO.

FRIEND: "WTF?! Your tires have FLAMES?!!! You listening to country music now too?!"

hahahaha...

-biju.

[Chopper]

nothing more satisfing, than doin what they'd never expect of you. I'll skip the country music though... Unless you're talking bluegrass and some traditional Irish type crap. Nothing wrong with a few pints and a fiddle....is there?

[Ldub]

(Images of inbred hillbilly boy dance through my head...)

Cue banjo...du du dew du du du dew du dooooo...

Kiddin' Beej...new skinz look SWEET !

I think you should drive down to F L A & have Wayne give the Prot a pearlescent purple,orange & green flame job ! :p

(disclaimer: Anyone taking offence to above comment...GROW UP)

(unless, of course, you're inbred...& willing to admit it.)

[biju]

Thanks Dub... not quite as cool as the mud graps, but they're unique in their own way...

I can't wait to see what they'll look like with a lift, etc.

-biju.

[tomdietrying]

Now B, why are you spending all that money for? That means I'm going to have to spend more money just to keep up with you in Moab. :p

It really looks good!

Peace.
Tom

[Chopper]

Naaa.. I'm feelin' that Crazy, yellow-flip-orange, Sikkens that Lambo is using this year. It glows like something parked too long at Three Mile Island. Of course I'll need your bank account numbers to begin the work. I'd think we could do it for under 20 large ;) @ 900 a pint ;eekg; ;eekg; ;eekg; Wayne

[biju]

Now B, why are you spending all that money for? That means I'm going to have to spend more money just to keep up with you in Moab. :p

It really looks good!

Peace.
Tom


...I was well on my way with some decent mods on the Dragon before parting with her. Juss trying to get to that point with the Proton as quickly as possible before Zu. If I can't, I'll probably have to ride shotgun with one of you all who have some great mods already.

-biju.

[Y33TREKker]

What size did you go with, and more importantly, how do they do in the snow?

[biju]

What size did you go with, and more importantly, how do they do in the snow?

Hey TREKker...

I guess I didn't mention that in the original post... I went with the 285.60.18's. It's strange, because looking at the pictures it doesn't seem to fill the wheel well like the Terra Grapplers do, yet they're the same size.

Anyways - they work great in snow. Have had plenty of snow around here with the recent snow storms to try em out. And on the highway (dry), they are slightly quieter than the Terra Graps which is kind of nice. (and I didn't think the Terra's were that noisy really...)

-biju.

[Triathlete]

...I was well on my way with some decent mods on the Dragon before parting with her. Juss trying to get to that point with the Proton as quickly as possible before Zu. If I can't, I'll probably have to ride shotgun with one of you all who have some great mods already.

-biju.

What are you talkin' 'bout? Ride shotgun? You've seen the capabilities of a stock VX even with bald, skinny street tires!

[Y33TREKker]

Hey TREKker...

I guess I didn't mention that in the original post... I went with the 285.60.18's. It's strange, because looking at the pictures it doesn't seem to fill the wheel well like the Terra Grapplers do, yet they're the same size.

-biju.

Yeah, I wouldn't have guessed they were 285.60's. Maybe the flames create an optical illusion? :)

What happened to the pics though? They showed up alright yesterday.

[biju]

What happened to the pics though? They showed up alright yesterday.

Oops. I rearranged my gallery today - causing the url paths to break. I fixed them now...

-biju.

[Spike]

...more importantly, how do they do in the snow?


Better question... how do they do in the RAIN

[biju]

DRY SURFACE:
One word: Smooth. The rubber is smooth, and has the added benefit of being noticeably quieter than the Terra’s. This was the strangest result for me, as I didn’t feel the Terra’s added much noise really. However, please consider that the Dragon (which had the Terra’s) had Dynamat installed. I have deadener for the Proton, but it’s not installed yet. Once that’s done, it should quiet the Dunes down even more so. The tires do not like grooves in the pavement at higher speeds (55 – 85mph), and give a good struggle to keep the VX straight – jerking the Cross from side to side. However, the width of the tire could play some role in this. Finally, the tires are have much grip giving the VX amazing agility and responsiveness around turns and quick maneuvers – very secure and surefooted.

MELTING SNOW/SLUSH/WATER:
I feel very sorry for the bloke behind me – and hope he/she has good wipers. These tires spew out quite the rooster tail of water! All around they channel water very well though, and give little play when faced with moderate water on the surface. They also do great when the small/medium puddle is encountered (good control). Watch out for water filled grooves in the pavement though – proves tricky.

SNOW:
EXCELLENT. We’ve had plenty of snow to test the tires in. They plow, and plow with ease! The Dune’s give good traction – thus little slippage. I like using the “Winter” option on our VX’s, but really there’s been little to no need for that with these tires. Unfortunately, the flames on the rubber are just for looks, and don’t actually heat up the road as you drive. Man, I wish somebody told me that before shelling out the pesos…

Admittedly, the 285.60.18 Dune Grapplers give the illusion that they’re smaller than the Terra’s of the same size (not as beefy) – as the wheel wells don’t seem as ‘filled out’ – at least not on our VX’s. However, so far the tires have impressed me handling water, snow and ice with tenacity. If the Terra’s are any indication of Nitto’s quality, the Dunes should perform excellent in Moab – my hope and expectations are high.

[technocoy]

But I have a question for Chopper.

What would a quality color change run? Like say I wanted to go from my astral to a nice black pearl with a glossy clearcoat?

I actually have been seriously debating a colorchange, but I've had trouble finding info on a good quality colorchange (where you wouldn't know it was silver looking under the hood or opening the doors)

I'm sure it's expensive, but I have the feeling my VX is going to be getting driven less and less as a daily sinceI really do want to keep it forever and slowly do some preemptive restoring and customizing.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions on a color change.

I do love the silvers dirt hiding properties and at one point had thought about just getting a nice wicked silver done over top of it all so to avoid all the prep work that goes into a complete colorchange.

Thanks Chopper.

[biju]

...hands down - that's the cleanest example of a thread hijack I've ever seen. Well done. :p

-biju.

[technocoy]

again I apologize :p

I just started typing!

I guess I could've titled a thread "hey chopper", but since he was here in the room, I thought I'd try and grab him. lol

I swear I'm not a message board terrorist! ;)

[biju]

Dood - no worries. twas my poor attempt at being funny.

-beej.

[Chopper]

OK...Well, first; got my Dunes, love the look, but they just won't work for me. In Fla. there are two conditions we drive in. Wet,smooth, and Fast... and dry, smooth and Faster. Two lanes are posted@ 55-65, four lanes are mostly 70, which means we are pretty much all doing 65-90 all the time. Around here, the roads are well maintained, and glassy smooth, with looong straights and banking on the few curves we have. These things are too "squirmy" at speed, and since I don't go off road, they are now gracing a Wrangler that belongs to one of our metal men. A much better home in my opinion. The Michelin Pilots are working much better for me...laser tracking, great cornering, don't know about wet, but they ain't cheap. A little over 1700 with alignment and balance. Second:Wifey wanted me to look at that white one this weekend, for her. She wants it Purple! Cool by me, I'm thinking somewhere between old "Plum Crazy" and "Prowler Purple" but with a ton of dry Pearl and maybe a smidge of House of Kolor super fine gold flake in the clear. Glitter like a Bass boat in the sun and sparkle like a starry sky at night. I love doing totally inappropriate paint jobs! :cool: :cool: Figure all the prep (removing the glass, grill, door handles, lights,rack etc. interior,and dash, doors, all the stuff on the inner fenders and firewall...everything) at about 100 hours including stripping the old paint. Easy 40 hours priming, sanding, then cutting in the edges and insides. Two base coats, maybe one candy/clearbase, Three clears; next day 2000 grit it flat and give it three more clears and let it breathe a day or two...about 20 hours. Cut and buff out, 12-15 hours. Put it all back together, about 20 hours. About 8000 in labor and depending on type 3-4000 in material. Anything quoted at 2000 or so is a cheap scratch and squirt shoot... not what you want on a collector, more like Chevy Malibu. You can spend a LOT more...we,ve hung 40,00 on some nuts Viper... but not a whole lot less than 10000 for a real good shoot. Hope this helps answer some questions. Man this is a long post... but Hey... I was "jacked" :p Wayne

[biju]

These things are too "squirmy" at speed

Chopper: Strange - mine are very solid at high speed (flat surface). It's just the large grooves they don't like. (here in colorado we have some nasty nasty road grooves). Did you get the same size (18")?

-biju

[Chopper]

Hey Beej, it wasn't the straights so much, as fast sweepers, and particularly the quick left- right transitions. I think the sidewalls are a bit compliant... probably a concesion to airing down, or absorbing sharp object impact. Don't misunderstand, they are awesome tires, big improvement over the "Stones" and if I hit dirt at all, they would still be on the VX. Yeah, they are 18's by the by.