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New DOT-Approved General Grabber - 4-Wheel & Off-Road Magazine

Kevin McNulty Former Editor, Mud Life

We always seem to find ourselves a little delirious when a new off-road tire is released. We can barely stand the wait to get our mitts on them for some hardcore testing. General Tire introduced the Grabber Competition tire about two years ago, and it has proven its toughness and dependability through numerous of off-road events like CORR races, the Baja 1000 and 500, the San Felipe 250, and Vegas to Reno races. General now offers a DOT-approved version of the Grabber for regular folks like us.

new Dot Approved General Tire Grabber desert Photo 33361191

Given our location near the high deserts and mountains of Southern California, we rarely have difficulty finding tough testing grounds. Through our grueling testing we found the Grabber extremely capable off road, providing excellent traction in mud, rocks, snow, and sand. What really impressed us was that the Grabber was not only able to provide good all-around traction in a number of environments, but was also highway-friendly without the drone so commonly found in mud tires. We have to rate the Grabber a great to-and-from-the-trail tire, perfect for the weekend warrior desert racers!

PhotosView Slideshow

Since it has some of the toughest trails in the country and is extremely hard on tires, the first place we usually head with a new set of tires is the Hammer Trails in Johnson Valley, California. After running sections of Jack and Sledge we found that the Grabbers provided unexpectedly good traction while crawling around the boulders. We were impressed by how the Grabbers provided more traction than brands of tires with more aggressive tread patterns.

The Grabber is constructed with seven-ply tread: three polyester, two steel, and two polyamide belts. The sidewall features three polyester belts. After running the rocky trails of Hammer we didn't notice any chunking, tearing, or gouges in the sidewall.

We tested the tires in a slick mud bog 200 yards long, with depths of a foot or two in some areas. The test runs started with slow stops and starts then progressed to high-speed mud running and erratic turning. The Grabbers provided excellent traction and allowed the vehicle to track straight without losing control.

PhotosView Slideshow The wide voids of the Grabber allowed it to self-clean in the mud. The tire features Acoustic Modulation Technology, a wave-suppression technology that provides an exceptionally quiet street ride. They also feature General's patented Strake & Chamfer tread design, a design of diagonal grooves and chamfered lug corners that gives the tire its traction capabilities.

The wide voids of the Grabber allowed it to self-clean in the mud. The tire features Acoustic Modulation Technology, a wave-suppression technology that provides an exceptionally quiet street ride. They also feature General's patented Strake & Chamfer tread design, a design of diagonal grooves and chamfered lug corners that gives the tire its traction capabilities.

We just received a fresh batch of snow, which allowed us to test the Grabbers in icy conditions. As with our mud testing, we stopped and started in the snowy stuff and blasted through the snow with high-speed passes. Again the Grabbers impressed us with their ability to hold traction.

The 35x12.5R17 Grabbers allowed us to blast through sand dunes without digging in and burying ourselves. With the tires set at 32 psi we were still able to climb steep dunes and float across flat sections of the softest sand. The tires are available in 33- to 35-inch sizes for 15- to 20-inch wheels.

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New DOT-Approved General Grabber - 4-Wheel & Off-Road Magazine

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