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Last updated 1/15/2025 - Originally published 1/15/2025
Written by SimpleTire
The century-old American tire maker, Firestone Tire is a household name in the country thanks to its solid lineup of reliable tires in different categories like all-season, all-terrain, winter, all-weather, highway-terrain, and all-terrain tires. The Bridgestone subsidiary is among the pioneers of the tire industry with a wide portfolio of strong tires for coupes, sedans, CUVs, SUVs, and light trucks. On the other hand, another American tire manufacturer, General Tire has had a long experience in churning out great tires with incredible performances. Under their highway-terrain tires, the Transforce HT3 and the Grabber H/T from General offer adequate performance on paved roads.
Designed for light trucks and SUVs, the Firestone Transforce HT3 and General Grabber H/T are highway-terrain tires laced with reinforced carcasses and sturdy sidewall construction for extra durability that enhances their load-carrying capacity on paved roads. While the optimized tread design resists noise and vibration levels, the solid traction, grip, and handling in dry, wet, and light snow ensures consistent year-round performance. So, which one is a better option? Let’s compare Firestone Transforce HT3 vs. General Grabber H/T tires based on our proprietary SimpleScore to know the answer.
Firestone Transforce HT3 tires
Introduced in October 2024, the Firestone Transforce HT3 is a great heavy-duty, highway-terrain tire that offers fantastic year-round service of hauling equipment and everyday drive. Built with a robust tread pattern and wear-resistant rubber compound, the Transforce HT3 reduces irregular wear, even when fully loaded, and promotes uniform wear for a longer service life. Thanks to the longitudinal grooves and interconnected lateral grooves, the Firestone highway tire quickly evacuates water from the tread to mitigate the risk of hydroplaning and boost wet and snow traction. With the heavy-duty construction, the Transforce HT3 can handle the toughest loads even in demanding conditions, while the rugged sidewall design safeguards the tire against damage for a longer tread life.
With an 8 average score, the Firestone Transforce HT3 promises adequate grip, traction, durability, stability, and longevity.
General Grabber H/T tires
Launched in September 2024, the General Grabber H/T is designed for SUVs, light trucks, and crossovers. Packed with Duragen Technology, the General tire has a robust rubber compound and high-strength steel belts for increased durability and longevity. With the optional outlined white letter and black sidewall design, the Grabber H/T amplifies the look of the vehicle significantly. While the Replacement Tire Monitor indicates the period when it’s time to replace tires, the Visual Alignment Indicators alert the driver visually about any misalignment. The optimized tread design of the General tire ensures reduced noise and vibration levels for comfortable ride quality. With a 45-day satisfaction trial, the highway-terrain tire is backed by an up to 70,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty.
With a great 8.7 out of 10, the General Grabber H/T offers great handling, stability, grip, and traction along with exceptional tread life.
Firestone Transforce HT3 vs General Grabber H/T tires on traction
Traction ensures consistent road contact with the surface without any signs of slippage. Highway-terrain tires are designed to offer great traction and grip on paved roads in different weather conditions except for extreme winters.
With an 8.3 traction score, the Firestone Transforce HT3 features an all-season tread pattern with deep and wide circumferential grooves that clear water quickly from the surface for increased wet grip and traction. The wavy sipes further boost grip in wet and light snow.
Boasting an 8.1, the General Grabber H/T comes with zigzag grooves and multiple sipes that offer great traction and grip in dry, wet, and light snow. The circumferential grooves resist hydroplaning by flushing water quickly from the tread and boosting wet performance.
With a better score, the Firestone Transforce HT3 wins the traction score.
ADVANTAGE: Firestone Transforce HT3
Firestone Transforce HT3 vs General Grabber H/T tires on handling
Great handling and stability at high speeds ensure safety and confidence during drives. Both the highway-terrain tires ensure adequate steering response and control on paved roads. Let’s check their handling scores.
Scoring an 8.5, the Transforce HT3 features solid center rib and sturdy shoulder blocks that not only provide increased stability but also boost steering response for a confident and sure-footed ride quality.
On the other hand, the Grabber H/T has a great handling score (8.3) thanks to its optimized tread pattern that reduces noise and vibration levels and, at the same time, improves handling and stability in different driving conditions.
The Firestone Transforce HT3 wins the handling tussle too with a marginally better score.
ADVANTAGE: Firestone Transforce HT3
Firestone Transforce HT3 vs General Grabber H/T tires on longevity
A tire’s longevity is defined as the number of years or miles it can survive. However, it depends on factors like tire quality, tire upkeep, driving habits, and driving conditions. The Transforce HT3 and Grabber H/T have a vast difference in their durability scores. Let’s check the same.
With a fine 7.3 longevity score, the Firestone tire features a wear-resistant rubber compound that resists irregular wear and promotes uniform wear throughout the tire’s lifecycle. Unlike other highway-terrain tires, the Transforce HT3 is not covered by a mileage warranty.
Conversely, the General Grabber H/T scores a phenomenal 9.6 thanks to DuraGen Technology which not only protects tread from cuts, chips, and snags but also boosts strength and durability, leading to enhanced tread life. It is covered by a solid 70,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty for S-, T-, and H-rated sizes, 65,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty for V-rated sizes, and a 50,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty for R- and S-rated sizes.
With an incredible score, the General Grabber H/T outlives the Firestone tire in the longevity race.
ADVANTAGE: General Grabber H/T
When to use each
Highway-terrain tires are designed to offer great traction, grip, and durability along with superb hauling and load-carrying capacity. The sturdy rubber compound and great sidewall construction enable a damage-free, longer service life. You can go for all-terrain tires if you occasionally venture into off-road terrains.
If you frequently travel off-road, mud-terrain tires are the best as they feature large tread blocks that offer strong traction and grip in difficult situations.
Which one should you choose?
To sum up, the Firestone Transforce HT3 has an edge in traction and handling while the General Grabber H/T offers superior tread life. Moreover, the General highway-terrain tire has a strong mileage warranty, something that is missing in the Firestone tire. Let’s compare their prices.
Comparing the prices of the LT275/65R18 123/120S E tire size, the Firestone Transforce HT3 costs around $268 per tire, and four such tires cost $1072, while the General Grabber H/T costs around $260 per tire, and four such tires cost $1040 (a difference of $32).
Based on SimpleScore, you should choose the Firestone Transforce HT3 if you:
- Drive vehicles like the Dodge Ram 2500, Nissan Titan, and Ford F-150
- Want better traction (8.3 vs 8.1)
- Prefer improved handling (8.5 vs 8.3)
You can opt for the General Grabber H/T if you:
- Drive vehicles like the Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Acadia, and Honda Pilot
- Want incredible longevity (9 vs 7.3)
- Prefer tires with a mileage warranty of up to 70,000 miles
Still not sure which tire to buy? Fortunately, SimpleTire is here to help as our helpful agents are more than happy to assist you in selecting the right tire for your ride and budget.