General Grabber Arctic vs HTS60 vs APT vs A/Tx vs X3: Have you ever wondered how all terrain (AT) & mud terrain (MT) tires perform in Snow? There is always a notion that with the large grooves of the mud terrain pattern, it will be able to work through more snow at a faster pace. We will put this theory to test as Tyre Review has done a full comparison of the General Tires with the classification as below.
| Product | Segment | Labels |
| Grabber Arctic | Winter | 3 peak mountain |
| Grabber HTS60 | H/T | 3 peak mountain |
| Grabber APT | A/T(mild) | M+S |
| Grabber A/Tx | A/T | M+S |
| Grabber X3 | M/T | M+S |
The idea here is to find out which tires have the best snow capability, especially the AT vs MT comparison. At first glance, only Grabber Arctic & HTS60 have a 3 peak mountain logo on. This means that these 2 tires are legally certified as a winter tire as they have to pass a certain threshold of snow traction level as determined by the legislation. The other 3 tires only carry a M+S log which does not mean much from a testing point of view.
We know that the Grabber Arctic being a winter tire would definitely outperform the rest, the question is how much do the other segments differ? Without further ado, let’s check out who comes out on top in the snow battle !
Table of Contents
Results
Results below were taken from Tyre Review’s HT vs AT vs MT vs Winter Tyres on Snow test. A total of 5 tires were tested on General Tire’s Sweden proving ground. The graph below shows the comparison between General Grabber Arctic vs HTS60 vs APT vs A/Tx vs X3 based on the relevant performance category. The Grabber Arctic was set as a reference due to its winter segmentation & hence at the 100% mark.
A detailed testing on snow including traction, braking, snow hill climb & handling were provided. The tire size of interest is a 265/70R17 which is a common tire size for Chevrolet Silverado 1500 & Toyota FJ Cruiser. You can check out our latest tire size table for more information. The testing vehicle is a powerful Chevrolet Tahoe .
Snow Braking & Traction
As expected, Grabber Arctic dominated in snow as it is after all a winter specific tire. However it was surprising to see how bad the Grabber X3 performed in both snow braking & traction. In comparison to its AT counterparts, Grabber X3 was 12% worse in snow braking while 25% off in snow traction. For us it is clear that the AT segment tires from General clearly perform better in snow compared to the mud terrain tires of Grabber X3.
On the other hand, the 3 peak mountain labeled highway terrain Grabber HTS60 did not fare as well as the M+S all terrain counterparts. This leads to the theory that there is an optimum void for snow braking/traction and the all terrain void level seems to be the best compromise.
Snow Braking
- Arctic : 100%
- HTS60 : 92%
- APT : 91%
- A/Tx : 91%
- X3 : 79%
Snow Traction
- Arctic : 100%
- HTS60 : 81%
- APT : 86%
- A/Tx : 86%
- X3 : 61%
Snow Handling
A similar story also enfolded in snow handling as Grabber Arctic was top once again while the Grabber HTS60 followed closely behind. The mud terrain Grabber X3 continued its bad performance by being last both in terms of lap time and also in subjective points. Grabber X3 was close to 5 seconds off in lap times in comparison with Grabber A/Tx. In terms of subjective rating, HTS60 was the best among the “rest” with a 8.5/10 rating while the Grabber X3 only managed a 6/10.
Snow handling(lap time)
- Arctic : 100%
- HTS60 : 95%
- APT : 95%
- A/Tx : 94%
- X3 : 89%
Snow handling (subj)
- Arctic : 100%
- HTS60 : 93%
- APT : 90%
- A/Tx : 85%
- X3 : 80%
Snow Hill Climb
Snow hill climb is an interesting test as you will probably relate as you are trying to climb out a slope but your tires just do not stick to the road. The tests were run in 2 different conditions. One time with light snow with a small depth and the other one is with deep snow which has a much higher depth. The Grabber A/Tx performed strongly in both light and deep snow with a 9/10 rating for light snow & 8/10 rating for deep snow. On the mud terrain side, the Grabber X3 continues to be the worst among all the tires with a disappointing 6/10 rating in both light & deep snow.
Snow Hill Climb (light)
- Arctic : 100%
- HTS60 : 90%
- APT : 90%
- A/Tx : 95%
- X3 : 80%
Snow Hill Climb (deep)
- Arctic : 100%
- HTS60 : 83%
- APT : 88%
- A/Tx : 90%
- X3 : 80%
Noise/Comfort/Ride Quality
When it comes to mud terrain, noise, comfort & ride quality is usually the lowest priority. With such a large pattern void, air pumping is at its maximum for mud terrain tires. This would result in a high level of noise due to the air vibration generated by the air in the grooves. From the results, the higher your pattern void level, the worse your average results are. This is true as the Grabber X3 finished last with a 6.33/10 rating while HTS60 & APT finished with a better score of 8.33/10
Noise/Comfort/Ride Quality:
- Arctic : 100%
- HTS60 : 93%
- APT : 93%
- A/Tx : 88%
- X3 : 83%
Summary
Overall, we found that mud terrain tires (Grabber X3) have the worse performance in snow in comparison with all-terrain tires (Grabber A/Tx). While the best tire is a winter tire (Grabber Arctic) followed closely with the 3 peak mountain labeled highway terrain tire (Grabber HTS60). If you are unsure between all terrain or mud terrain tires while snow performances are crucial for you, all terrain would be a smart choice !