Nitto Ridge Vs Terra Vs Trail Grappler Which One Should I Buy?

Nitto Ridge Vs Terra Vs Trail Grappler manufactures all contenders for light trucks, but Terra and Ridge are also available for passenger cars. Each of them has symmetrical tread patterns and is designed for all seasons.

Terra is an all-terrain tire designed to deliver enhanced performance on the road, but can also handle some terrains.

Due to its high density siping, its aquaplaning resistance is phenomenal. It offers superior road noise, even at high speeds.

Ridge is a hybrid terrain (also known as rugged terrain) tire that combines the characteristics of both all-terrain and mud-terrain tires.

Because of this, it provides decent on-road and off-road performance. Similarly, its tread design combines the tread designs of the other two contenders.

For this reason, most of its features and capabilities are intermediate. As a result of its tread design, load-bearing capability, and operational speed, it is exceptional.

A Trail tire is a mud-terrain tire with wide grooves and large tread blocks, designed to deliver outstanding off-road performance.

Large tread blocks, biting edges, aggressive shoulders, a 3-ply polyester sidewall, and thick rubber construction enhance its performance, strength, fuel efficiency, load capacity, and durability in rugged off-road conditions.

Table of Contents

Table of Comparisons

Specifications	Terra Grappler	Ridge Grappler	Trial Grappler
Tire Type	All-Terrain	Hybrid	Mud Terrain
Tread Type	Symmetrical	Symmetrical	Symmetrical
Tire Season	All Season	All Season	All Season
Inches, Available Sizes	16, 17, 18, 22, 24	16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24	15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26
Two Side Wall Design	Yes	Yes	Yes
Vehicle	Passenger & Light Truck	Passenger & Light Truck	Light Truck
Cost (LT265/75R16)	225.49 $	272 $	288 $

The tread design

Terra’s tread pattern was designed to provide both on-road comfort and performance off-road in dry and wet conditions.

The tread blocks are comparatively closed to achieve a balanced void ratio for on-road handling and off-road traction with four zigzag circumferential grooves.

In order to improve steering response, coupling joints are installed in the outermost circumferential grooves.

Off-road, its staggering shoulder lugs with lateral grooves also provide better traction. Terra has a relatively high density of sipes.

A zig-zag circumferential groove separates the shoulder lugs from the internal tread blocks on the Ridge. With stepped block edges and a comparatively wider zig-zag groove pattern, it provides extra biting and cutting edges for surfaces that are hard and slippery.

It is also equipped with stone ejectors in its lateral grooves, along with coupling joints between internal tread blocks to minimize tread flex.

As a result of its staggered shoulder design, it has lateral groves with different widths and lengths to clear mud in off-road conditions as well as provide better traction on roads. The siping density is moderate.

Because Trail is a mud-terrain tire, its void ratio is bound to be high for mud evacuation. There are three circumferential grooves with relatively larger tread blocks and shoulder lugs.

Its shoulder grooves are being reinforced to improve stone ejection and self-cleaning. Its siping is relatively low density.

The tread patterns on all three contenders are symmetrical and all-seasoned. Trail has the highest void ratio, followed by Ridge and Terra. Terra has the highest siping density, followed by Ridge and Terra. Terra, Ridge, and Trail have four, two, and three circumferential grooves, respectively.

Terra and Ridge have coupling joints, and Ridge and Trail have stone ejectors. As a result, we can say that Ridge has a better tread pattern since it combines the benefits of both tread designs.

The On-Road Traction

The on-road traction of any tire depends on its contact patch, the tread area in contact with the road. The lower void ratio of Terra means that it has narrower grooves and more surface area to contact the road.

On a dry road, Terra would have better traction, the ridge would have intermediate traction, and the trail would have the least traction due to the high void ratio.

Terra is the best choice on a wet road due to its high contact patch and high-density siping, which will help prevent hydroplaning.

Since Trail has a smaller contact patch and low-density siping, it is not well suited for wet on-road traction. Ridge would also perform intermediately on wet roads.

Terra is clearly the winner of this race.

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The Off-Road Traction

Mud Terrain

In this situation, Trail would be the clear winner since it is a mud-terrain tire. There are large grooves with a high void ratio for better mud evacuation.

Ridge is partly designed for off-road terrains, as half of its lateral grooves are wider for better mud evacuation.

Terra can be used for both moderate and thin mud, but has the smallest groove width for optimal mud evacuation in high-density mud terrain.

Snow Terrain

Snow evacuation, as well as mud evacuation, depends on the width of the grooves. Since the Trail has comparatively wider grooves, it would have better snow evacuation ability and superior traction in snowy terrain.

Terra’s traction would be the lowest in this terrain due to its narrower grooves. The traction of Ridge would be intermediate since it contains both narrow and wider grooves.

Ice Traction

On icy roads, traction also depends on the contact patch of the tire. In this regard, Terra would prevail due to its high contact patch, while Trail would prevail due to its smaller contact patch. Ridge would offer moderate traction on ice.

Rocky Terrain

Featuring a high void ratio, reinforced shoulder grooves, and a 3-ply sidewall, Trail is the best choice for rocky terrain.

Ridge is also a very good candidate for rocky terrain because of its varied lateral grooves, stepped block edges, staggered shoulder lugs, and stone ejectors.

Terra is suitable for use in rocky terrains due to its staggered shoulder design and good void ratio, however, in comparison to the other two contenders, Terra is not an ideal choice in rocky terrain due to its narrow grooves, lack of stone ejectors, and lack of biting edges. In this regard, trail is the better choice.

Treadwear and Durability

There are many factors affecting the durability of car tires, such as climate conditions, road conditions, driving habits, weight and size of the car, etc.

While determining the durability of any tire, tread depth and the number of plies are the two most important factors to consider.

The larger the tread depth, the longer it would take a tire to wear out. A tire’s number of pliers is the number of layers inside it, usually made up of rubber and polyester. Ply count increases sidewall strength, which improves puncture resistance.

The tread depth of Trail is comparatively higher, and it’s also a 3-ply tire, so its durability will be higher than its competitor. Ridge has the option of 2 or 3 plies in its construction, as well as a lower tread depth than Trail. As a result, its durability would be moderate.

Terra is a two-ply tire, which means it would be most vulnerable to punctures, as well as having the smallest tread depth. It would be less durable than its competitors. In Trail and Ridge, there are stone ejectors that provide additional puncture resistance.

The durability trend is Trail > Ridge > Terra.

Contenders	Size	Tread Depth	Tire Plies
Terra	LT265/75R16	15.6/32”	2
Ridge	LT265/75R16	16.4/32”	2/3
Trail	LT265/75R16	18.9/32”	3

Noise & Comfort

The comfort of a tire is heavily dependent on the tread depth and width. The wider and deeper the tread, the more cushion is available between the passenger and the road.

As a result, there would be fewer jerks and a more comfortable ride since the large and deep tread would absorb impact.

Since Trail has large and deep tread, it would be more comfortable considering these aspects. In contrast, Terra would provide passengers with the least comfort, while Ridge would provide an intermediate level of comfort.

Air gets trapped inside the grooves and strikes the walls of the tread blocks when driving at high speeds on paved roads, which causes noise.

The higher the void ratio, the more noise will be produced since there would be more space for trapped air.

Thus, the Trail would produce loud noise due to its high void ratio. By contrast, the Terra would deliver quiet and calm travel. In comparison to its rivals, Ridge would be a moderate noise producer.

While Terra is the quietest tire among the contenders, it is also the least comfortable on bumpy roads. While Trail is the loudest tire among the contenders, it is also the most comfortable. The Ridge produces intermediate noise and provides moderate comfort on bumpy roads.

Speed and Load

The following table shows the load and speed ratios of the same-sized competitors. As we can see, Trail can withstand a high load, but has a relatively low speed rating.

Terra, on the other hand, has a relatively high speed rating but is less load-tolerant. Ridge is the best choice since it will match Terra’s speed and can handle the same amount of load as Trail.

Contenders	Size	Load (lbs.)	Speed
Terra	LT265/75R16 119Q	2998	Up to 99 MPH
Ridge	LT265/75R16 123Q	3417	Up to 99 MPH
Trail	LT265/75R16 123P	3417	Up to 93 MPH

Efficiency of the Fuel

The rolling resistance of a tire is the amount of energy your car supplies to keep it moving at a constant speed. A car tire that flexes or squishes more, at a constant inflation pressure, will have a high rolling resistance.

More rolling resistance would require more power from a vehicle, and therefore more fuel consumption. Hysteresis is usually referred to as this energy loss. A tire’s contact patch directly affects its rolling resistance.

Terra is less efficient due to its high contact patch and higher rolling resistance. Among the contenders, Ridge would come next, and Trail would be the most fuel-efficient.