General Tire Debuts New Grabber Street Tyre in US

The success of the Grabber brand has been highlighted in Continental Tire the Americas’ decision to apply this name to products in General Tire’s truck range. Yet as the name suggests, the original Grabber was a dedicated off-road tyre with an emphasis on traction – and in August 2010 a new street version that combines off and on-road use was released in the US. Parent company Continental describes the latest Grabber as an “extreme traction tyre for the street and off-road,” a product that brings General Tire’s race technology to everyday use.

“The General Grabber is truly born from Baja,” commented General Tire’s director of marketing Travis Roffler. “This tyre is a direct result of rigorous testing we did with Team General Tire off-road racers ‘Ballistic’ BJ Baldwin and Carl Renezeder. We’ve taken the best elements from our wildly successful Grabber competition-only tyre, and re-engineered it to be a true off-road enthusiasts’ tyre that delivers equally strong on-road and off-road performance.”

A three-ply reinforced body construction and chip- and tear-resistant ‘Duragen’ tread compound are two features General Tire report will help the Grabber stand up to the rigours of highway, and off-road conditions. The tyre maker explains that Duragen technologies consist of ultra-high strength steel belts and a new three-ply casing. “In fact, the steel belts in one Grabber tyre are strong enough to lift a trophy truck, and the ultra-durable micro-fibre three-ply casing makes the Grabber the strongest General Tire ever produced,” Continental reports.

The Grabber’s patented ‘Strake and Chamfer’ tread pattern is, says Continental, designed to take on the elements with ease. The strake, or sweeping groove across the tread, is designed to allow the chamfering of the corners of the tread blocks to directly interface with off-road terrain. Describing the tyre’s tread characteristics, Conti invites us on a ‘tour’: “Looking down at the tread, the pattern appears to be one that will be very quiet on paved roads, but looking across the tread horizon, you see the traction “pockets” created by this patented technology. The result is very aggressive off-road traction, with a tread design that is very stable and quiet on paved roads.”

The Grabber’s sidewall is engineered from General Tire’s off-road competition experience, and – in a General Tire first –in select sizes, will include the same extremely popular red lettered sidewalls used on the desert racing version of the Grabber. The new tyre is available in a range of popular 15 to 20-inch sizes to fit a variety of pickups, sport trucks and SUVs.