Hi all....

A real quickie for you.....

I am willing to accept that I have simply misunderstood, however I have read slightly confusing write-ups/reviews of the General Grabber AT and AT2 tyres.

Can you still buy both varieties of tyre?

Did one variety replace the other? Logic suggests that the AT2 replaced the AT, but some write-ups/reviews seem to suggest it was the other way around, and that the AT is (in fact) the newer tyre?

What is the significant difference between the two tyres (assuming there are any)?

Thanks in advance!!

I did a bit of research into this a few months ago when I bought my GG AT's.

My understanding is that the the AT's replaced the AT2's which were discontinued with noise being a major factor for the change. The AT2's had a slightly more agressive tread pattern than the current AT's and I read reviews claiming the AT2's were slightly better off road and also others which claimed they're on & off road capabilities were really much the same.

Either way I think the AT2's are pretty much unobtainable now unless you find some old stock that's been in storage somewhere.

There used to be an AT. Then it was replaced by the AT2. Then another new tyre was released, but instead of calling it the AT3 General simply called it the AT again. So the current AT is the later tyre.

Both are still available, but the sizes available differ between the two. Some people swear by the AT2, but when General designed the AT they aimed to make it at least as good as the AT2 in every way, whilst still meeting the current EU noise regulations, etc.

I have the AT on my FL2, and am very happy with it. It's not quite as good on-road as a pure road tyre (no AT tyre will be), but it's still pretty good, and is excellent off road. I'd say it's the one to go for. (Unless you need something you can stud, in which case the AT cannot be studded whilst, iirc, the AT2 can.)

Thanks chaps!!

That explains my confusion, and proves I'm not quite as barking as I thought I was!!

Presumably the ORIGINAL AT (i.e. the one BEFORE the AT2) would have been discontinued such a long time ago that there is no danger of me picking some up by mistake?

i.e. ordering some AT's thinking they are the latest tyre, but actually ending up with the predecessor to the AT2?

The original AT is long gone. I had some on an Isuzu back in the 90s! The new AT is very easy to recognise from its distinctive tread pattern too.

Ta muchly!!

I've got newer AT's on my FL2 and older AT2's on SWMBO's D3. Both great tyres, one is no more aggressive than the other. I was reliably informed ( no sure what counts as reliable!) that AT2 were only available as run-out stock

the At2 was around prior to the AT, and is being phased out due to road noise restrictions that have been enforced in the states. It is still possible to find tyres around europe, but they are no longer being produced.

The differences between the two tyres are that the AT2 had holes that you could fire studs into, making the tyre essentially winter legal in scandinavia, and was a popular legal offroad tyre for winter use. And a cheap alternative to the BF Goodrich

The AT is the road bias replacement that has the slashes in the tread pattern, Havent used it so I cant speak of it really, however the AT2 was a great tyre, with not to bad road noise levels and a great lifespan.

I never had a problem clearing mud from the tread when I needed to, and deflating the tyre, I always had good grip on rock, however, on snow and ice, it was pretty appalling without studs to be honest. The blocks dont offer enough stability for good road handling or enough flex for winter traction, you pretty much depend on the studs.

A good jack of all trades, but a master of none. I used the tyres on a Defender.

I have just fitted a set of GT AT's tyres to my 11 MY and have not done much running yet but they have a very aggressive looking tread pattern, they look great

My only regret is they don't make either in a 19" to fit the freelander 2
Had ggat's on my d3, went everywhere with no problems at all
Dunc

If you want something specifically from your tyres, buy the tyres which specifically match that need. Bloody obvious but I simply overlooked that vital thing and have encouraged others not to do the same ever since.

I have a set of 17" wheels fitted with AT's that I bought last March, for use during a couple of planned Summer and Autumn holidays which might have required a bit of driving across wet grassy fields in Gloucestershire and S.W England. I have reported my experiences of them previously, so here's a cut-down version.

There is a trade off between All Terrain grip characteristics when compared with tyres which have a design bias towards wet tarmac, dry tarmac, ice or snow. Seems pretty obvious, right?

My mistake was buying AT tyres (any AT tyre would have been the same), when what I really needed was to use my Conti's until the 'below 7 degree' threshold began, at which point i'd have some decent Snow/ Winter tyres to use until Spring. Big mistake!

What happened? I ended up sliding sideways and backwards down a moderately inclined motorway (A27 near Falmer), during the snowy/icy period at the beginning of last year, simply because I had only recently bought the FL2 and erroneously believed that when fitted with other tyres, that it was virtually indestructible. No amount of HDC, ABS, ESP or 2nd gear control overrode this. Lesson learned, no damage done.

So now with a set of 17" rims fitted with barely used AT's sitting in my loft, i'm tussling with the notion of selling them and buying a set of Winter/ Snow tyres so that I can get out to those remote places I want to photo, if and when the snow comes.

Heed guidance and advice and don't get wrapped up in the '70dB +/-2dB' etc comparison charts. Talk to those who use specific tyres for specific purposes and follow their advice. Whereabouts unknown stop going to follow stream until reach civilisation stop message ends