When we do a whole lot of research on modifications you want to do on your vehicle, there is always just a hint of apprehension. Will it all work out as you hope, or will there be niggles with the change you bring about? Literally, the first mod to our Suzuki Jimny was to spoon on a set of General Grabber AT3 50/50 All Terrain tyres. Would we gain in one area at the cost of another?
We did not go blindly into our decision to choose the Generals. We did a lot of research and studied the technical specs. What we learned was that the General AT3s were not necessarily the best in any one area, but rather really competent all-rounders. Given that our Jimny has to perform as a city runabout, smash the odd long-distance trip and be competent in the dirt requires all-round ability.
The AT3’s design brief was to provide exceptional grip, deliver off-road and not compromise ride comfort. The tread pattern is designed for enhanced grip as well as to be self-cleaning in mud. Sidewall lugs are meant to reduce the chance of sidewall damage from offroad hazards. Digging a little deeper, we see innovations like ‘DuraGen technology’, where steel belts reinforced with two nylon cap plies are used to provide penetration resistance as well as give better durability and stability at speed.
We recently had the opportunity to put some of these features to the test. We drove down to Sabie for some content creation. The Generals had already impressed with their good ride quality on dodgy tar surfaces around Jo’Burg as well as their impressively silent performance on the highway.
We were now going to get an opportunity to evaluate them off-road. We were heavily loaded with all our kit and camera equipment and with a bike-laden trailer in tow. The Jimny was also sporting Des Sol upgraded suspension. The ride quality and stability were a significant improvement over the standard suspension and highway spec tyres. Clearly, the upgraded suspension and General AT3s had transformed the road demeanour for the better. No compromises there then. Now for the dirt.
We needed to traverse logging roads around Sabie, contending with gradients, ruts, fesh-fesh-type sand and loose gravel. To say that the Generals ‘impressed’ us is a wild understatement. The ride quality on a solid axle short wheelbase vehicle was superb, inspiring confidence over all the surfaces that we traversed.
In the course of recording some video footage for Des Sol we drove the Jimny in a particularly spirited fashion over some gnarly roads. The fact is that the upgraded suspension allowed us to push the car significantly harder than what would be considered ‘normal’. This had the effect of asking a lot more of the AT3s than normal too. They took everything we threw at them and begged for more! At no stage did we feel limited or compromised by the tyres. On the contrary, their performance was stellar!
Driving home we reflected on the performance of our ‘modded’ Jimny. It is enhanced in every way. Nothing we have done to it has required us to live with any sort of compromise. It is simply a significantly better package.
The General AT3s have allowed us to get the full potential from the suspension improvements, whilst giving us enhanced confidence in their tough, go-anywhere ability. We would recommend them unequivocally to anyone wanting all-round competence without compromise in their 50/50 All Terrain tyres.
