General Grabber SL - WTF

[Yeti]

If you're considering using the tremor for off road/overland use, consider replacing your tires. It appears we've been "forded" again.

In their infinite wisdom, it appears Ford had General create a special version of their Grabber brand. This SL rated tire is fully capable grabbing groceries, picking up the kids from soccer and even the occasional trip to your local big box hardware store.

For those of us that may venture into something a bit more challenging than well mowed grass, the origami strength sidewalls of the Fordified Grabbers will not do well against a sand spur much less sharp rocks.

How it is that Ford continues to treat their consumers so poorly is beyond me but if you're going to sell me an "off road" vehicle, please make certain it can at least handle rolling over a small branch without a critical failure.

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[unscheduled clean]

If you're considering using the tremor for off road/overland use, consider replacing your tires. It appears we've been "forded" again.

In their infinite wisdom, it appears Ford had General create a special version of their Grabber brand. This SL rated tire is fully capable grabbing groceries, picking up the kids from soccer and even the occasional trip to your local big box hardware store.

For those of us that may venture into something a bit more challenging than well mowed grass, the origami strength sidewalls of the Fordified Grabbers will not do well against a sand spur much less sharp rocks.

How it is that Ford continues to treat their consumers so poorly is beyond me but if you're going to sell me an "off road" vehicle, please make certain it can at least handle rolling over a small branch without a critical failure.

This is interesting. I have had these tires in the past and the only option was (E) Load rating. If they are indeed SL then you would be correct in your assessment that ford had General Tire "special" make these tires.

 

[Zyvin]

Not a surprise. They don’t want to put 14 mpgs on the window sticker. Also, my Hankook ATs look nothing like the ones at the tire shop.

 

[IconicTremor]

Meh, I mean sucks don't get me wrong. I'm sure there was a lot of intentionality into doing this. I came from a 2019 Rubicon and it had BFG KO2s and they were the real deal. But it was a Rubicon and I expected shitty gas mileage and a rough off road-esq ride. F150 is a flagship product for Ford and we all should have accepted some effort to maintain their MPGs, comfort, and noise.

They also sometimes acknowledge when consumers will modify their vehicles and wheels/tires on an F150 seems like a common mod. I don't really care to pitch a fit about it, I'll just replace the tires with some 295/70/18 Cooper STT Pros or something similar.

 

[Yeti]

Meh, I mean sucks don't get me wrong. I'm sure there was a lot of intentionality into doing this. I came from a 2019 Rubicon and it had BFG KO2s and they were the real deal. But it was a Rubicon and I expected shitty gas mileage and a rough off road-esq ride. F150 is a flagship product for Ford and we all should have accepted some effort to maintain their MPGs, comfort, and noise.

They also sometimes acknowledge when consumers will modify their vehicles and wheels/tires on an F150 seems like a common mod. I don't really care to pitch a fit about it, I'll just replace the tires with some 295/70/18 Cooper STT Pros or something similar.

Agreed. This is more a buyer beware than only a rant. Ford should provide equipment for what they're selling but I more wanted to get this visible to keep people from having a miserable day they could avoid.

I've already seen videos of people starting to exercise their trucks and a couple of them are starting to reach that critical failure point.

 

[smyph]

Agreed. This is more a buyer beware than only a rant. Ford should provide equipment for what they're selling but I more wanted to get this visible to keep people from having a miserable day they could avoid.

I've already seen videos of people starting to exercise their trucks and a couple of them are starting to reach that critical failure point.

Can you link video examples?

 

[doocatracer08]

of course ford put SL tires on the tremor, dont need more than that load range for the payload. Besides if ford put the normal E tire on everyone would complain how the ride is crappy and stiff. so it's a no win situation. i have general grabbers atx load E's on my 2018 now, and are a lot stiffer, but they work good.

 

[Yeti]

of course ford put SL tires on the tremor, dont need more than that load range for the payload. Besides if ford put the normal E tire on everyone would complain how the ride is crappy and stiff. so it's a no win situation. i have general grabbers atx load E's on my 2018 now, and are a lot stiffer, but they work good.

Then don't sell it for something it isn't intended for. I think they refer to that as an FX4.
The point is still that if the 5 minutes it took me to write the PSA saves even one person from having a miserable day, it was time well spent.

 

[Vulnox]

Then don't sell it for something it isn't intended for. I think they refer to that as an FX4.
The point is still that if the 5 minutes it took me to write the PSA saves even one person from having a miserable day, it was time well spent.

I am not clear on how they would have a bad day, do you have any evidence of failure or that they are selling a tire that will fail? Or is it just because of a rating on the side of the tire that you presume will lead to failure, even though those that have even higher load and spec tires still get sidewall tears offroading. If you have a source of sidewall failure proof tires of any make or model, I imagine everyone would love some.

Sorry if it's harsh, I just don't get the idea of a PSA based on your feeling of something over actual evidence of failure. That isn't a PSA, it is just an opinion.

Quick PSA, I don't like Sushi.

 

[roxbury29]

the Ranger Tremor has General ATx tires too and they are LT, not SL. General does make both SL and LT rated in this style. I would suspect the F150-Tremor would be LT as well?? But if you are not towing the P(SL) would work just fine.

 

[diesel97]

Then don't sell it for something it isn't intended for. I think they refer to that as an FX4.
The point is still that if the 5 minutes it took me to write the PSA saves even one person from having a miserable day, it was time well spent.

You act like as soon as you go off-road all 4 tires will implode. It's not made to run the Baja 500

 

[Yeti]

I act like I use my truck for something more than mall crawling and have been for the better part of 20 years and made multiple bad decisions based on feedback from people that spend more time polishing their trucks than pushing them to their limits. An SL rated tire is not meant to endure even moderate side wall abrasion. If you care to take your oem tires for your next 400 mile adventure off road, I wish you luck. For me, I'm happy to know that these tires aren't something I can rely on before I need to rely on them.

I'm sorry if I popped your fanboy bubble but off road and SL aren't something that belong together, not even from Ford.

 

[Tizzzo]

I act like I use my truck for something more than mall crawling and have been for the better part of 20 years and made multiple bad decisions based on feedback from people that spend more time polishing their trucks than pushing them to their limits. An SL rated tire is not meant to endure even moderate side wall abrasion. If you care to take your oem tires for your next 400 mile adventure off road, I wish you luck. For me, I'm happy to know that these tires aren't something I can rely on before I need to rely on them.

I'm sorry if I popped your fanboy bubble but off road and SL aren't something that belong together, not even from Ford.

I mean I get your point, but at the same time I get why they went SL. I do agree they should have went with a C or D rated tire at the very least but the Raptor is Fords top of the line off roader and even that only has C rated tires. They have strict epa guidelines and will most likely go for the lightest weight and most comfortable ride tire to get the best MPGs. The tremor looks cool and can be built up to a very capable off roader but if you're looking for something that's hardcore off-road ready straight from the factory then that's what the Raptor is for.

 

[Yeti]

I mean I get your point, but at the same time I get why they went SL. I do agree they should have went with a C or D rated tire at the very least but the Raptor is Fords top of the line off roader and even that only has C rated tires. They have strict epa guidelines and will most likely go for the lightest weight and most comfortable ride tire to get the best MPGs. The tremor looks cool and can be built up to a very capable off roader but if you're looking for something that's hardcore off-road ready straight from the factory then that's what the Raptor is for.

Oh, of course. It makes complete sense from an actuary standpoint. I mean it is probably everything they needed to make all the numbers so attractive (and why I ordered a tremor). Most people who would buy grabbers wouldn't think of there being an SL version. I'll be using them for my trailer set since I only tow on the road and may try the e rated out for my off road use.

 

[Pedaldude]

SL tires have no business off-road whatsoever, I have had sidewall punctures in LT tires and it's pretty crazy how thin the sidewalls can be in modern tires.

OP might seem like he's exaggerating but he's not, I wasn't even able to creep through the alleys in my neighborhood without having to replace two Yokohama Geolandar tires on separate occasions because of dickheads who leave debris out. That includes sticks from small branches, ones thin enough to snap with your hands!

This likely wasn't a cost saving measure by Ford, since it doesn't cost much more to add extra material in a tire. The decision was almost certainly made to reach higher MPG figures.

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