Firestone Transforce HT3 vs General Grabber HTS60 tires

Firestone is a subsidiary of the world’s second-largest tire manufacturer, Bridgestone, and was founded in 1900 in the United States. In the world of motorsports, Firestone is recognized for its significant contributions and winnings at championships like Formula One and Indianapolis 500. The tire manufacturer offers tires for passenger cars, light trucks, commercial vehicles, farm applications, and OTRs, and its portfolio consists of all-season, winter, UHP summer, all-weather, UHP all-season, all-terrain, rugged-terrain, mud-terrain, and performance tires.

General, on the other hand, is another admirable tire manufacturer born in the United States in 1915. Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, the manufacturer offers tires for use on passenger cars, light trucks, commercial vehicles, and industrial applications. Its range of tires includes all-season, all-terrain, UHP all-season, winter, all-weather, highway, UHP summer, mud-terrain, and performance.

For use on fully loaded light trucks that haul your boat to the lakeside or equipment to the job site, both Firestone and General offer two great tires on the market, the Transforce HT3 and the Grabber HTS60. Both tires are all-season specific and can be used in dry, wet, and light winter conditions. While the Firestone Transforce HT3 is particularly made for light trucks, the utility of the Grabber HTS60 extends further to CUVs and SUVs.

Both tires sport innovative features and advanced technologies to offer reliable performance, but which of the two could be a better choice for you, let’s find out in this Transforce HT3 vs Grabber HTS60 tires comparison based on their SimpleScore for traction, handling, and longevity. In addition, we will also discuss the price, warranty, and other key details of these tires to give you a comprehensive analysis.

Firestone Transforce HT3 tires

Introduced in October 2024, the Firestone Transforce HT3 is a solid all-season tire that’s built and designed for trucks and is engineered for dependable year-round traction, solid wet grip, long-lasting wear, and solid durability. Whether it is about doing demanding jobs or cruising during daily driving, the Transforce HT3 assures reliable performance. It misses the tread life warranty but its features and abilities make it a worthy choice.

Thanks to the above abilities and things like responsive handling, enhanced grip, and longer wear, the Transforce HT3 earns a respectable 8.0 SimpleScore rating.

Get Firestone Transforce HT3 tires at the best deals for your vehicle here

General Grabber HTS60 tires

The General Grabber HTS60 is a touring all-season tire that’s suitable for use on SUVs, CUVs, and light trucks and is also backed by a tread life warranty. The tire is optimized for year-round traction, solid durability, confident braking, responsive handling, reduced noise levels, and long-lasting tread life. The additional availability of the tire in Outlined White Letter makes the appearance more stylish.

Overall, the Grabber HTS60 scores an 8.4 SimpleScore rating, thanks to its extended tread life, sharp handling, and dependable traction.

Get General Grabber HTS60 tires at the best deals for your vehicle here

Firestone Transforce HT3 vs General Grabber HTS60 tires on traction

Let’s analyze the traction performance of these tires and learn more about their surface-biting ability. To give you a precap, both tires give each other tough competition in the traction area, but one of them marginally leads and wins. Here are the details:

The Transforce HT3 earns an impressive 8.3 SimpleScore in traction, assuring you of great year-round traction in dry, wet, and light snow conditions. The tread pattern of the tire is engineered for effective water evacuation for a solid grip in wet conditions and an optimized all-season rubber compound helps maintain consistent grip in changing conditions. The zigzag sipes placed across the tread offer a commendable grip on snowy surfaces.

Contrarily, the Grabber HTS60 scores an 8.2 SimpleScore in traction, slightly lower than its peer. The unique arrangement of the tread pattern with sharper edges provides increased locking ability with surfaces for enhanced traction performance, and similarly, the multiple sipes ensure a commanding grip in wet and light snow conditions. The circumferential and lateral grooves on the tread also boost the traction performance in wet and slick conditions.

While both tires are loaded with many features that enhance traction, it is the Grabber HTS60 trails here and the Transforce HT3 wins by a small margin.

ADVANTAGE: Firestone Transforce HT3

Firestone Transforce HT3 vs General Grabber HTS60 tires on handling

Let’s now find out which of the two tires is better when it comes to controllability. While analyzing the handling scores, we were surprised by the competitiveness of both the Transforce HT3 and the Grabber HTS60.

Starting with the Transforce HT3, the tire scores an 8.5 SimpleScore rating in handling, which means you enjoy sharper steering response and improved controllability year-round. The flat footprint helps the tire maintain optimum stability while the three ribs at the center improve steering response and lane-changing ability. For better cornering performance, the shoulders of the Transforce HT3 are optimized to absorb the driving pressures at the edges. Additionally, the braking performance of the tire is improved by the continuous zigzag sipes on the blocks.

On the contrary, the Grabber HTS60 also scores an 8.5 SimpleScore rating in handling, staying at par with its competitor. The tread and compound of the tire are engineered to offer reliable braking on wet roads, while continuous sipes and advanced tread pattern boost handling performance. The steering response is improved by the wider center rib and the solid shoulders improve the cornering performance. Thanks to the enhanced durability, the tire maintains its shape for increased agility and the flat footprint keeps the larger area of the contact patch glued to the surface for better ride control.

In handling, both tires offer great performance and score an equal SimpleScore rating.

ADVANTAGE: Tie

Firestone Transforce HT3 vs General Grabber HTS60 tires on longevity

Now, let’s talk about the longevity part and find out which of the two tires serves longer.

In longevity, the Transforce HT3 scored a good 7.3 SimpleScore rating and assures reliable and long-lasting performance. The tire features a wear-resistant tread compound with a robust tread design that prevents irregular wear. The inner casing of the tire is also strong enough to resist the driving pressures and offer a long-lasting service.

On the contrary, the Grabber HTS60 scores a higher 8.8 SimpleScore rating in longevity and is also backed by an up to 65,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty. The score and tread life warranty coverage indicate that the tire can cover a good number of miles. Thanks to Duragen Technology, which utilizes robust rubber compound and ultra-high-strength steel belt for increased strength to resist wear. Similarly, the StabiliTread Technology also contributes to the increased tread life by preventing uneven or irregular wear.

In longevity, the Grabber HTS60 scored higher and assured a longer service than the Transforce HT3.

ADVANTAGE: General Grabber HTS60

When to use each

Both, the Transforce HT3 and Grabber HTS60 are suitable for use on light trucks. The Grabber HTS60 also offers the additional advantage of being compatible with CUVs and SUVs other than pickup trucks. Another good thing is that they both are all-season specific and can be used in dry, wet, and light winter conditions. But, it is to be noted that they aren’t Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certified and shouldn’t be considered for use in extreme winter conditions when the temperature is below 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

While the Transforce HT3 tires are available in 16- to 20-inch rim sizes, the Grabber HTS60 tires are offered in 16- to 22-inch rim sizes.

Which one should you choose?

Based on the overall SimpleScore, the Grabber HTS60 is a better choice than the Transforce HT3 as it scores a higher rating (8.4 vs 8.0). However, both tires are good in one or the other area, and therefore, your selection should be based on your driving style and needs.

When it comes to pricing, the Transforce HT3 is offered at a starting price of at least $168 per tire, while the Grabber HTS60 is available at a starting price of at least $139 per tire. This means, a set of four Transforce tires will cost you at least $672, while a set of four Grabber HTS60 tires will cost you at least $556.

Looking at the SimpleScore, you should pick the Transforce HT3 if you:

• Drive a vehicle like the Chevrolet Silverado 3500 or the Toyota 4Runner.
• Need a tire that’s better in traction (8.3 vs 8.2).
• Need an equally good tire in handling (8.5 vs 8.5).
• Are comfortable buying an overall better set of tires.
• Need tires in the rim size range of 16- to 20-inch rims.

On the other hand, you should choose the Grabber HTS60 if you:

• Drive a vehicle like the Jeep Renegade or the Ford F-150.
• Need a tire that’s better in longevity (8.8 vs 7.3).
• Need a tire that’s covered by an up to 65,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty.
• Need a tire that’s affordable and yet delivers reliable performance.
• Want a tire that’s offered in the rim size range of 15- to 22-inch.

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.