General Grabber APT vs General Grabber AT2

General Grabber APT vs General Grabber AT2: All terrain tires are made to provide balanced performance on and off road. Both of these tires provide good traction in all seasons.

AT2 having higher void ratio performs well on deep mud and snow while APT with increased contact patch gives excellent grip and steering response on highways.

Side By Side Comparison

General Grabber APT has relatively closed tread design. The shoulder blocks are closely placed having narrower grooves in between them. All the shoulder lugs have a single sipe and deep cut on them. Central tread blocks are placed between two wide longitudinal grooves. Central tread blocks are placed closely having narrower lateral grooves that are dividing them. Sipes are engraved on all the tread blocks and there are no stone ejectors present in the tread.

General Grabber AT2 has a comparatively open tread design with small sized tread blocks placed all over the tire. All the shoulder lugs are of similar shape and size, and have open spaces dividing them. Central part also consists of similar shaped tread blocks which are also divided by lateral grooves. All the grooves in this tire are of same width. Several sipes are placed all over the tread and shoulder lugs consist stone ejectors in between them. Stud holes are placed on the shoulders to improve performance on ice

On Road Dry Traction

The dry traction of APT is much better than its rival due to compact design. The closely placed tread blocks allow higher contact patch with the road. As a result, the grip is enhanced on dry roads moreover due to closed shoulder lugs the contact area from shoulder side increases as well. This provides more stability while cornering and improves the steering response.

AT2 also provides exceptional dry traction but can’t beat its competitor. As it has a relatively open design because of higher void ratio as a result the contact patch is decreased and the grip is lower on dry tracks. Its handling is also not as good as of its rival due to wide grooves between the shoulder lugs that decrease the contact patch and thus handling performance is affected.

On Road Wet Traction

The results of wet traction of both these tires are also not much different from dry traction. As due to the higher contact patch plus numerous sipes APT provides great grip on wet roads as sipes wipe away the water. Handling of this tire is improved due to closed shoulder design and the presence of sipe and a cut on the shoulder lugs. The sipe, cut and grooves work together to wipe the water away and provide excellent wet handling. The hydroplaning resistance of this tire is much lower than the opponent due to lower void ratio. As narrower grooves allow lower volume of water to pass from them and the chances of aquaplaning increases if the speed is high.

Although AT2 can’t win in terms of wet traction but still it provides much better grip and handling on wet surfaces compared to dry roads. This is because it has numerous sipes which help to wipe the water away. Due to less contact patch from shoulders, its handling is lower but the presence of sipes somehow improve the handling ability and as a result this tire provides satisfactory performance on wet tracks. The hydroplaning resistance of this tire is very good due to wide and interconnected grooves plus several sipes, they all work together to wipe the water away and make sure that the tread is in contact with the surface.

Off-Road Traction Comparison

Mud Terrain

AT2 is way better than APT in the mud terrains. This is due to the open and interconnected grooves of this tire. The deep and wide grooves grab the mud particles and throw them on the opposite direction as the vehicle accelerates. So the tire does not loses its grip and moves smoothly. The open shoulders help to evacuate mud when the vehicle is cornering, this results in confident steer response and improved handling.

On the other side APT due to its compact design isn’t able to defeat its competitor. But still thanks to the two longitudinal grooves that work together to clear the mud and improve the grip of the tire. The shoulder lugs are closely space and have narrower lateral grooves which are only able to evacuate a limited amount of mud particles which results in lower handling efficiency. It is recommended to only use this tire in thin mud to avoid being stuck.

Snow Terrain

AT2 takes the lead again, in the snow terrain. Due to its higher void ratio, it has more biting edges and higher capability of grabbing the snow particles and throwing them backwards. This improves the grip of the tire and due to its wide grooves, it also cannot get stuffed with the snow. The open shoulders evacuate snow particles more efficiently while cornering and thus the handling is way better than the rival tire. Ice traction of this tire is not as good as its rival due to lower contact patch but as it has more sipes, and holes for installation of stud, so it also performs well. The stud holes in the shoulders can improve handling if utilized properly.

APT, due to lower void ratio, can’t perform well on soft snow as its opponent. But its two major grooves work well to throw snow particles backwards and the cut on shoulder lugs improves the biting ability while cornering. This feature improves its handling and the steer response is enhanced, but it isn’t matchable with AT2. On icy paths this tire performs really well due to higher contact patch and sipes. Plus, the two grooves and sipes work together to clear water from the surface of the tread and make sure that tire stays in contact with the road.

Rock Terrain

AT2 due to its higher void ratio has better ability to crawl on rocks, as more void ratio increases the bite’s surface area. As the central grooves are wide enough that no stone particle can fit in them so there is no need for stone ejectors and as the shoulder grooves are comparatively narrower so they have stone ejectors to emit stone/pebbles from getting stuck into the grooves. These features make this tire’s performance really well on rocky surface.

APT doe not perform well on rocks due to its limited void ratio and less biting ability. The closed shoulders aren’t able to provide satisfactory performance while cornering on rocks. Moreover, no stone ejectors are present in this tire, this even worsens the situation as the rock/pebble particles can get into the grooves and hinder the grip while damaging the tread as well.       

Comfort

APT provides higher on road comfort as it produces less noise. This is because it has lower void ratio. Noise is produced due to the movement of air particles in the tread, as the air particles move in the tread and collide with tread walls, creating sound. The more the space more will be the noise production. APT produces less noise due to narrower grooves while AT2 produces higher noise due to comparatively higher void ratio.

The off-road comfort of AT2 is more due to its wide grooves. Due to the wide grooves, it feels less rigid and performs like a lesser inflated tire absorbing much effect of the jerks. While the opponent on the other hand due to increased contact patch feels stiff and provides less comfort in harsh terrains.

Quick Summary

Both are all terrain tires.

General Grabber APT:

• Has higher contact patch
• Provides better on road traction.
• Provides good traction on ice.
• Is comfortable on road.

General Grabber AT2:

• Has higher void ratio.
• Has higher capability to resist aquaplaning.
• Provides better traction on mud and snow.
• Crawls well on rocky surface.
• Provides comfier ride off road.