ROH Trophy wheels & Nitto Ridge Grappler tyres
plus Tyre Pressure Monitoring System
For several years I happily ran Mickey Thompson's Baja ATZP3 tyres on the 200, fitted to ROH Octagon alloy wheels.
With the arrival in Australia of Nitto's widely acclaimed Ridge Grapplers, I thought it was time for a change.
The new wheels and tyres were fitted just prior to our Cape York trip, to give them a great torture test.
At the same time, I installed a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) for additional safety.
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Nitto Ridge Grappler vs Mickey Thompson ATZP3
After running the P3s successfully for 4 years, it was a difficult decision to change, especially to a brand I'd never used before.
However, Nitto have been around for a long time (they are part of the Toyo tyres group), and their Ridge Grappler has been getting rave reviews from the USA, where it's been available for several years. I also spoke to a friend who imported their own set (from the US) before they were available in Australia.
The Ridge Grappler has a similar target market to the ATZP3. They are both relatively aggressive All-Terrain type tyres. Both have aggressive sidewall lugs, but reasonably mild tread patterns. Pricing is similar.
Sizing
Although I was happy with the diameter of my P3s, I wanted something wider to fill the guards out on the 200. I eventually went with a 33x12.50R18 size in the Ridge Grapplers. These are about 25mm wider than the 285/70R17 P3s I was previously running. They need a minimum 18x8.5" rim.
2-ply Vs 3-ply
One interesting point about the Ridge Grapplers, is the sidewall plies. All of the imperial sizes (eg 33x12.5R18) and some metric sizes have 3-ply sidewalls. The rest of the metric sizes have 2-ply sidewalls. You'll need to check with Nitto to confirm which metric sizes are 2-ply, and which are 3.
There are pros and cons for each. The 3-ply sidewall is stronger and more durable against sidewall punctures, but is heavier and more rigid. So a better choice for outback trips and severe offroad work. The 2-ply is more flexible and lighter, so is better on sand and will use less fuel on the bitumen. So it's a factor to consider depending on your primary use.
Performance and Durability
As I write this, I've been running the Nittos for around 4 months and 12,000km. This includes around 1500km around town, 8500km to Cape York, and 2000km between Sydney and Melbourne.
In all these situations, the Nittos have performed brilliantly. Their traction levels on dry, wet and dirt roads are excellent, as is their performance on sand and rock. In mud, they perform on-par with other all-terrain tyres, but (as you'd expect) not as well as a dedicated mud-terrain. Noise levels are very low. Almost as quiet as the factory rubber. Wear rates seem low, but only time can tell on that front and I'll provide an update on this factor in the future.
Their durability seems to be excellent. On a recent Cape York trip, running the Ridge Grapplers on both the Land Cruiser and camper trailer, I suffered no failures or punctures despite the severe operating conditions and I was very impressed with the levels of traction on all surfaces.
Overall, I would rate them as being as good or better than the P3s in every situation. They stand out as being superior on dirt/gravel roads, and they are much, much quieter on the asphalt.
In short, I have never experienced such a brilliant all-round 4WD tyre. They are highly recommended.
Pricing
Make sure you shop around for these tyres. I bought them retail, and found prices varied by almost $100 per tyre between dealers in adjoining suburbs!
ROH Trophy alloy wheels
Due to the larger size of the Nittos I chose, I also needed to change wheels, increasing both the width and the diameter. I decided on the fantastic looking new ROH Trophy alloys, in 18x9" sizing, with a +47mm offset. This size is perfect for the 33x12.5" tyres and also for the 200-series itself, ensuring the tyres don't protrude from the guards and the offset remains legal. They also have a 1250kg load rating, which is vital to maintain my 3800kg GVM upgrade validity.
Design
The Trophy is an aggressive 8-spoke design. The spokes are an anodised metallic graphite finish, while the outers are matte black with machined highlights. Overall, they are a fantastic looking wheel.
Tyre Pressure Monitoring System
One of the most common and dangerous problems when touring is a major tyre failure. The combination of high speeds, long distances, high temperatures and heavy loads put a lot of strain on tyres.
Most commonly, the failures are caused by a slow leak and/or high tyre temperature.
Installing a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) greatly increases safety by warning of slow or fast air leaks, low and high pressure situations, and excessive tyre temperature.
There are a lot of models on the market, but many are limited to four tyres, and most don't allow for multiple pressures, so when you air-down (for sand or dirt roads), you either need to reprogram them or turn them off to stop constant warnings. These aren't limitations I wanted to deal with.
I've gone for the Innotech RV monitor, which overcomes both of these problems. It supports up to 22 tyres, and comes supplied with either 4x sensors , 6x sensors , 8x sensors or 10x sensors. I went for the 8-pack (which is the only set also available on Amazon), being four on the car, two spares and two on the trailer.
It also has two pressure memories for each tyre, allowing for road and off-road pressures to be pre-programmed, with a single button to switch between modes. Additionally, it ignores trailer tyres if no signals are received for 15 seconds, so it won't beep at you when you unhook. It picks them up again next time they are within range.
I ran the system on the Cape trip, and it performed perfectly for the whole time.