Nitto Dune Grapplers...

[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.

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.

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.

[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.

-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!