The tires on the 2006 Cummins were just about gone, I can’t complain though as running around with 1,000 ft/lbs and a heavy right foot (and a wife’s right foot that is just as heavy) plays hell on any tire. As I contemplated what tires to try on the truck a great opportunity came around, Nitto has come out with a new tire called the Crosstek, It specifically targeted at ¾ and 1 ton trucks. Nitto’s site says “The CROSSTEK HD is designed for ¾-ton and 1-ton trucks. It is a durable and long-lasting tire. Each size is E-load rated for higher payload and towing. The construction, compound and tread pattern are all built to provide strength and durability.” Well Nitto contacted DieselBombers and asked for some of the Staff to give them a shot to get some feed back to them before they hit the market. Well seeing as how I always love the opportunity to try something new and tear up on some ones parts to see if they live up to the claims or not I volunteered to try a set. To say I was excited was an understatement!

I got ahold of Nitto and working out the they sent me out a set of 265/70r17 E range tires to try. Well on Friday a couple weeks ago the tires showed up and I immediately fell in love. I’ve been running BFG A/T’s on my truck since the factory tires got replaced. These Nitto’s look as if they will live up to the bar that has been set in my mind by the BFG’s. The tread pattern has a definite street pattern but the inner two rows of lugs and the outer most row have a slight offset between the lugs. This should be fine for the very little off pavement driving I do with my truck. My truck is set up to tow and I think these tires will handle that fine. The tread pattern seems to have influence from a few different styles, aside from the offset lugs there are two center rows that have long sweeping blocks, kinda what you see in a sport tire, also the gaps running the circumference of the tire reminds me of the tread you see on tires for over the road trucks. I still have mixed feelings about the side lugs; I think they are a little aggressive for such a street/light duty off road tire. I have not made my mind up yet if I like the way they look.




After drooling over my new tires and even rolling them up to the old set on the truck to see what they looked like I set up an appointment at my buddys shop to get them mounted and balanced. Steve immediately noticed that the deep tread and pattern should lead to a very long life, the tires mounted up without any issue and balanced with only a minimum of weight. One tire only need 1oz to get it perfect.
Road manners are good, the tire is responsive and has no road noise what so ever. The ride at full recommended pressure (80 psi) is hard and rough but that is expected of any E range tire. I stopped by the fire house and let some air out, 60psi in the front and 50psi in the rear, this softened up the ride. You kidneys still get a work out on back roads and over bumps but that’s the price you got to pay for running around in a ¾ ton truck. I got the opportunity to really drive these tires hard the other day on some back roads. While these trucks will never be a sports car when it comes to handling (speed is a different matter LOL) the truck felt solid and the tires seemed to grip the road great. Steph says she really likes them too, rides great and does not walk around following the crown and groves of the road. She also commented on how quiet they are going down the road. While I only have 800 miles or so on the tires I’m very happy so far. In the next month or so I plan to get some time on them with the camper hooked up behind the truck and seeing as how Nitto is markiting these towards the towing/work crowd, that will be the real test.

Here are some pictures of them on the truck, sorry for the nighttime shots but with my work schedule I leave before the sun comes up and I’m home after it sets.




That’s a quarter to show the tread depth.

 

UPDATE

Got some miles on them. They are doing GREAT!

Also got a chance to pull a little weight with them. The camper comes in at 9,000-10,000 lbs. The tires felt awesome. Nice and solid, quiet, and rode perfect. I'm really happy with these Nittos.

 

Thanks Bobby,
This is a very useful post , I really like the look of the tire as well! I'll be looking for a few sets to run on our work trucks before long. My big concern with Nitto is in this area there's not to many dealers with Nitto's that are not ridiculous. As you've seen from being up here, I get along with just about everyone, and know just about every shop owner. The main concern for us in this area is there's no warehouse that provides nittos close by, and the ones that are in this area are very high. That high price that get's moved along to the store, then moves along to the customer, wholesale or not.
I just really hate to have to order tires online and pay shipping, and not get a wholesale discount. I can buy them cheaper online than I can at local tire stores that we have wholesale or shop accounts with!

 

Hi Bobby - thanks for the review of these tires... I put a set on last week and have a couple hundred miles on them now and also find them quiet and comfortable. I had the chance to put a few of the miles on while dragging my boat and was pleased with the performance with the additional load as well.

I'm still playing with the pressure a bit... I started with 65psi all around and have since dropped the front back down to 60psi... and at this time - I think this is where I'll keep them for a little while. We'll check the tread across the tire with a gauge tomorrow night when I get back to town... just to make sure the wear is even...

Thanks again - I'm enjoying the content on this site... keep up the great work.

tc

 

I'm impressed by the deep thread.
They seem to be a good rain tire- there are a lot of sipes. Let us know how they do work on rain and bad weather.

 

I have been running a pretty tall sidewall (285/75/R17) on my 07 to put my RPM's right at 2,000 at 70 MPH.
2 WD so I can't really go any wider without rubbing.

All that being said, this results in some noticible flex in the tires and felt sway while riding in the truck.

I have run both the Nitto Terra Grappler and the Nitto Dura Grappler and there is noticibly more sway with the Terra Grappler all terrain tread.

Has anyone noticed these tires feeling a little floaty?