265/70/16 Cooper Discoverer M+S....My thoughts..

It took me a long time to decide what to do about tires with my truck... I was really focused on going with a set of tires that I could run all year... An all terrain..

After digging and hunting for that perfect winter rated A/T tire, I just could not settle on anything... Anything any good with the tread depth I was looking for was only to be had in an LT.. And I really did not want to get into the woes of an LT on this truck...

Once you step out of C load range, your asking for it... Runout.. Balance.. Etc..

Everything in the LT, C load was not in the size I needed..(stock)

It was all coming down to the Duratrac P rated.. But I've had these tires before.. about 4/5 the way into the tread life, they start to howl.. And if you've ever had dedicated snow tires, you would realize these tires are a bit over rated for snow and ice..

The Falkens... My wife's snow tires on the Corolla(WS80), have more tread I think..lol Snow rated and all, I just don't think these would work that good for the conditions I get...

Then I went over to the BFG K02...lol... I just couldn't do it.. I've seen that tire in action a few times, and I wasn't to impressed.. They don't clean out in any mucky conditions.. But the sidewall thickness is impressive.. And the biting edges.. But its an optical illusion... They aren't good in winter..

After comparison of so many AT's, I finally made the call to go dedicated winter.. The truck came with the Wrangler All Terrain Adventure... This tire is one of the most expensive and highly rated tires on the market... And honestly, They were doing great for what I needed in the warmer months.. Sidewall thickness is my only complaint about them.

So after searching forever for the perfect winter tire, I was led to Cooper..

I had considered MANY tires before coming to the Discoverer M+S...

Blizzak, Michelin, Nokian...Etc... Price, I didn't really care, I wanted something I wasn't going to regret.. I couldn't settle, If it wasn't lack of tread depth, it was the tread orientation.. Sizes... lol.. Always something.

I made the choice on the Cooper's because they are aggressive. They have a ton of sipe's, and they have lots of tread.. Not to mention, private ambulances run them around here, and the tread design hasn't changed in 20+ years... My dad had these on his Silverado when I was 10..lol

These WINTER tires IMO are the best suited to a truck over the other brands.. Cooper has the ATW, but it doesn't "look" to me like they would be as good..

I'm impressed with the traction I get just in 2wd... No weight... Steering with these tires isn't to bad, I find they slip a bit if you get to aggressive in anything mucky... but they always grab..
Forward traction is phenomenal.. There is a bit of road noise, and I did lose 1L/100... But that is to be expected... These are soft tires, and the sipe's let you lose energy acceleration from a stop..


Long read, but I wanted to give reason for my choice. I hope this helps a fellow snow goer' make their decision..

 

have to agree........no perfect Taco tire........

either too heavy......too aggressive.......not enough aggressive......

I settled on Cooper AT3's.....SL.....we need more selection in 16" C rated......

 

More pictures I had, I forgot to add..

 

Just put Ko2's on last week and 3 days later got 7 inches of snow and it handled and cut through it like it was nothing. I live in a very hilly area, and I have no complaints whatsoever with the Ko2's. C Load in 265/70/17

 

Glad your happy with them..

 

Thank you for taking the time to explain your reasons for choosing a tire that best fits your needs.

Great photos.

 

Great writeup. I am working through the exact same thing as you. I would love a single tire to run all year long. My concern is that "winter" in Western Washington typically isn't very snowy...we mostly get rain, and maybe a couple weeks of snow. I just don't know if 2 weeks worth of snow is worth getting a winter tire. I have been seriously considering the Falken Wildpeak A/T3w since it seems to be rated for winter even though it is not technically a winter tire.

I want the best of all worlds: highway driving for my commute, descent offroad (forest service roads) and 2 weeks worth of snow.

 

I've had 2 sets of the Cooper AT3's. One set on my 06 Tacoma, and a set on my wife's 12 4Runner that were on it when we bought it. I found that after they are about 1/2 worn the wet traction is awful. Trying to accelerate on wet pavement on even a slight uphill grade both vehicles would start spinning. That's my experience with them, hope yours is better.

 

Cooper Discoverer M&S are extremely popular here in Northern VT. We run them on our plow truck. Also took advantage of @Discount Tire Direct super sale with eBay to purchase all our Cooper's. So thanks all around!

 

A friend picked up a set of the Yokohama G015's for his 2500 Dodge.... He is happy with them.... Maybe have a look into that tire.... Or the Kumho version....

 

I just installed these with studs on my truck and my wife’s 4Runner

Will post pics in a bit

 

Cooper’s are my favorite kind of tire out there. The ST Maxx’s are an excellent A/T tire and have done very well in varying conditions this winter so far. They balanced fine and are wearing extremely well after 25K miles with rotations every 5K. Load E tires are a bit overkill, but the alternative is worse. Glad you’re enjoying the M+S.

 

Makes perfect sense. We drive out east to Naches over 410...but not in the winter.

 

Hmmmm. After some searching and reading, the General Grabber AT2 looks like an interesting "do all" tire. Stock size P metric, 40.5lbs, snowflake rating.

 

I came to the same conclusion as pot_lickr, was looking at Coopers and General Grabber Artics. Guy at Discount told me they were discontinuing the Coopers so I went with the General Artics. Running 265/70 16 and I believe this is an XL tire. Very quiet smooth, running tire and the traction seems quite good although the tires have seen limited challenges. I ran Falken AT3w on my 4Runner and they seemed to do very well. I ended up buying a second set of wheels/tires(3rd gen take-offs from an OR that included a set of GY Wranglers) and will run them the rest of the year.

 

Which coopers are being discontinued?

 

Discover M+S, that was what I was told. I saw them on sale at Tire Rack for a very good price so I was suspicious. Guy at Discount was just concerned about being able to replace the tire if I had issues. Neither tire was in stock, so I had to order. I don't think he was intentionally steering me away for another reason. I went in to the store with those two tires in mind based on my research. The Discovers have been around forever.

 

I did not know this..

Good info!

My tires were made in july this year I think.. I'd have to look at the week again..

 

I had some 1st gen Tundra wheels in the garage so I put the studs on them.

 

Awsome... I was going to stud mine, but I'm just not on snow all the time, It's treated roads here, so its not bad..

If I still ive up north I would stud..