Cooper Discoverer ATP/AT3 Tires - a Personal Critique

[ski3pin]

[SIZE=18pt]Well, we've now put over 160,000 miles on our truck with camper. Check our blog stories, you will find a well rounded set of travels - mountains in winter, the high passes in Colorado, the legendary roads in Death Valley, and a bunch of other rough dirt roads. Most all of our adventures involve having 4x4 engaged. We travel alone on the vast majority of our trips, so tires I can depend on are mandatory. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=18pt]I previously used two sets of BFG AT tires. I wanted to like them. I did not. My personal review on the BFG can be found here -[/SIZE]

BR Goodrich All Terrain KO Tires - A Personal Critique


[SIZE=18pt]I put 48,000 miles on the set of Cooper Discoverer ATP. Based on this extensive experience, please allow me to offer a very personal review.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=18pt]The Coopers performed for me better than the BFG AT KO . I am happy with them. Happy enough that I've replaced them with a new set of Cooper Discoverer AT3 from my local Cooper dealer. The ATP were a slightly different thread pattern and available only through Discount Tires.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=18pt]If this tire went to school, here are the grades I'd give.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=18pt]Dirt - A-[/SIZE]
[SIZE=18pt]Mud - D[/SIZE]
[SIZE=18pt]Snow & Ice - B+[/SIZE]
[SIZE=18pt]Thread life - A[/SIZE]
[SIZE=18pt]Quiet/Comfortable Ride - B- [/SIZE]
[SIZE=18pt]Overall, I give this tire a very strong B.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=18pt]Insofar as overall value, since the Coopers gave me 10,000 more miles and better performance than the BFG, Overall value gets a strong A.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=18pt]I've used many tire brands over the years - BigO Bigfoot, Bridgestone Desert Dueler, Cooper Discoverer, Toyo Open Country. My favorite thus far is the Cooper Discoverer AT3.[/SIZE]

 

[ski3pin]

For ease of comparison, here is a repost of my critique of the BFG AT KO -


We have put over 100,000 miles on our truck with camper. Check our blog stories, I believe you'll find a well rounded set of travels - mountains in winter, the high passes in Colorado, the legendary roads in Death Valley, and a bunch of others we keep to ourselves.

I have wanted to love these BFG tires. So much so that I ran through two sets on our truck, close to 80,000 miles. Based on this extensive experience, please allow me to offer a very personal review.

Things I liked about the tires - they did well on dirt roads.

Things I did not like about the tires - they were poor in mud, mediocre in ice and snow (we live in the snow), poor thread life (barely reached 38,000 miles each set), noisy and got noisier as they wore.

If this tire went to school, here are the grades I'd give.

Dirt - B
Mud - D
Snow & Ice - C
Thread life - C
Quiet/Comfortable Ride - C

Overall, I give this tire a very strong C .

An idea on other tires I have used over the years - BigO Bigfoot, Bridgestone Desert Dueler, Cooper Discoverer, Toyo Open Country. My favorites from this bunch were the Cooper and Toyo.

Yesterday we put new tires on the truck and went with Cooper Discoverer ATP


Why we went with Cooper? I liked them in the past and personally spoke with people who drive on Coopers. They certainly looked like they were worth a try.

My critique of the Coopers will come after I've got 15,000 to 20,000 miles on them, if anyone has interest.

 

[ski3pin]

Here are my comments on the Coopers as I used them.

cwd, same as you 31 x 10.5 x 15.

First impressions - quieter on the road than I remember the BFG's when new. I like the thread design and depth. I have a couple preconceived notions on how I think they will preform. Only time and use will tell.

I really want to resist first impressions. We just spent a load of money after making a decision. It is human nature to convince yourself you made the right choice.

That is also why I wanted to hold off on my critique of the BFG's until I had a consistent base of personal experience with the tire. We went through two sets in our adventures with our truck and camper.

A few thousand on them now. We have used them in all conditions - highway, rain, snow, dirt, 4x4 low dirt and rocks, and fairly extensive use on snow, packed snow, and ice (in mountain terrain, of course) and initial reaction is these are very good tires. I am very pleased with them - especially compared to the previous BFG AT - for winter mountain roads. They grip and are very predictable. For winter I rate them up with the best non studded I've used.

My real review will come after this set is worn out.

Four years ago, with an almost new set of the BFG all Terrains (the subject of this thread critique), we drove an extreme road down into a remote canyon in Nevada. On the steep 4x4 low crawl back up I was at the edge of traction with the BFG's.

A couple of weeks ago we again drove this road with our almost new set of Coopers. The road is now in much worse condition. Driving back out, I was very impressed with the new tires.

This was a good real world comparison of the two tires for us. The BFG's were good. The Coopers are better and I am impressed with their performance.

I just did a tire rotation on the truck and noticed I now have 20,000 miles on the Coopers Discoverer ATP that I moved to after the two sets of BFGs.

I have used these tires now in all sorts of conditions and remain pleased and impressed. My overall grade for these are a strong B+ and if the good thread wear continue, I may move it up in the A territory.

 

[Kolockum]

Thanks for posting this. Just out of curiosity how low do you let the tread get before you replace them?

I am about to replace my Toyo AT3 due to the significant loss of traction. They come from the factory with 1/2" of tread and I have a 1/4" of tread left (after 47k miles).

 

[ski3pin]

Just out of curiosity how low do you let the tread get before you replace them?

I never take them down to the wear bars. I know snow, so the subjective decision is based on, "Can I make it through winter with these?"

 

[Taku]

Thanks for the review. We have gone through two sets of Michelin LTX on our Tundra (and a set on our Tacoma before that). Got over 60K miles on each set, used in all conditions (including driving Teton Pass in the winter and summer going to work). Very good in snow, mud and pavement. Decent on rocky roads, but I would not depend on them for long term rocky road use. Quiet on the highway. Have a set of BFG KO's on the Tundra now - not as good in snow, much more road noise on pavement, but feel more confident on rocky roads. Have got about 30K on them and they are starting to look worn. Will either go back to the Michelins or take a look at the Coopers.

 

[Moss Grimmick]

I'm on my second set of Cooper Discoverer AT3 for both my Tacoma (including camper) and Jeep Cherokee. I've had three flats on the Jeep and none on Tacoma. 6.5 years on the Jeep and 5 years on the Tacoma. Very satisfied with them. The Cooper ATP is the same exact tire except for the difference in tread.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I’ve gone to Cooper AT3 tires on three different trucks, and when it comes time to get new tires, I’m probably going to stay with the Coopers.

I had one flat from driving a spike like piece of shale directly into the tread, and one tire replaced on warranty when it developed a directional pull. No other issues.

 

[Beach]

4 years on Cooper ATPs, no problems. Tried the BFG KOs but they had to much sidewall flex, felt squishy, even at max pressure(80 psi). Both brands were E range

 

[ski3pin]

The new AT3's

 

[buckland]

I'm on my third set of Coopers AT3... I agree with the above grading. Very important (with any tire) with this tread pattern is rotation and inflation schedules. If one takes the camper off you have to redo an alignment or the tires wear badly.... not their fault!

 

[Fernweh]

Say... help me decide what I may need to do. I ordered a set of Cooper Discoverer AT 3 LTs for my 2019 Toyota Tundra that's carrying a Grandby. Should I have ordered Cooper Discoverer AT 3 XLT? They seem more substantial the the LT's. Will be doing some off road driving but nothing extreme. XLT is a E rated tire, While I believe the LT is a D rated tire. Thanks for your input and suggestions.

 

[PaulT]

I have the Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT tires on my 2010 Tundra with Hawk. They are E series tires. Found this link that discusses the differences between the LT and XLT.

Really like my LT's. The increased tire mileage would probably be a good thing of the price difference isn't too great.

Paul

 

[craig333]

My LTs are E rated. I don't recall my reasoning right now but I looked at the XLTs and decided the LTs were better for me.

 

[Fernweh]

Thanks for the comments.... I did error in rating the LT's. That being said it nice to hear folks take on these tires. If you have a comment or suggestion please continue sharing.

 

[Potts208]

I went with the XLTs last fall and am very happy. Paid less than $1000 at Big-O. They are quiet on the freeway, have great traction on Forest Service roads, great in snow/wet surfaces. Really don’t think I could have gotten a better tire for my rig and I researched them all. I like the look of the more aggressive tread...good luck in your search, my feedback is the XLTs are great.

 

[JWL]

I have been looking at these tires myself. The way I saw it was the tire pressure range. The LT was 50-81 psi where the XLT was 35-81 so to me that meant it would be better in an air down situation. Am I looking at that correctly?

 

[Potts208]

Finally got this pic resized to be able to post. XLTs on my RAM 2500 w/Grandby

 

[SuperDutyFWC]

When I ran Coopers I found them to wear fast and unevenly. Same truck with same pressures had no issues with Pirelli or BFG tires. Not a Cooper fan.

 

[craig333]

My truck rode well with BFGs but they wore quickly. Its interesting how different vehicles respond differently to different tires.