CYPRESS, Calif. — Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc. is expanding its Trail Grappler light truck line into the powersports market with the launch of the Trail Grappler SXS in a pair of 15-inch sizes.
The Trail Grappler SXS shares technology and design details with the Trail Grappler light truck tires, Nitto said, including innovations such a reinforced shoulder groove for greater off-road handling without sacrificing tread block stiffness and computer-designed tread blocks for optimized mud and dirt evacuation from the tread.
Angelo Naval, Nitto Tire U.S.A.'s senior director of product planning and business development, said, "We've drawn on our years of experience in race-winning and proven off-road tire construction to bring signature Nitto performance to an entirely new market segment."
Nitto, an affiliate of Toyo Tire U.S.A. Inc., teased the Trail Grappler SXS at the 2019 SEMA Show and then trialed it in competition at the 2019 Can-Am UTV King of the Hammers.
The tire launches in June in two sizes — 30x9.5R15 and 32x9.5R15 — designed to fit the more popular side-by-side ultra-terrain vehicles.
The Trail Grappler debuted in 2014 as the mud-terrain iteration of Nitto's Grappler family of light truck tires.