Cooper Discoverer Stronghold

Love my Coopers. Had AT3's on my 2500 Ram, had a set of Coopers on my previous commuter car, and have Rugged Treks on my Tacoma.

 

All I use are AT3s. Except this thread may change my mind. I just don’t want to have to change my full size spare.

 

Beats the hell out of the "Got them today performed great on the 45 MPH paved roads between the shop and my house, only have 12 miles on them but they're performing wonderfully" tire reviews..thanks for taking the time to share your experiences.

 

@PTSDTherapy Cooper should give you a commission. Travel safe out there.

 

Excellent post OP. Thanks for a well documented review.

 

Snow Review

I’ve run about 385 miles in the snow all off-road. I’m pleasantly surprised.

Tires have very good grip and get traction in 7 plus inches of snow. Being that they are skinnies and I am almost all off-road here I bumped the air up 3 lbs in each tire. They had no problem digging down to the ground to gain traction if needed.

Feels stable at speed with a small amount of slip in turns. Even turning all the nanny gizmos off the truck was easy to control. Should note that I have 300 lbs of gear in the back in front of the axle with the heaviest stuff close to being on top of the axle.

Mix of heavy mud and snow the tires did well. A small ie very slight temporary loss of traction in this condition however better than other AT tires I’ve had. They consistently found grip which to me is the most important thing in all off-road conditions.

Haven’t had them on pavement with snow so I cannot comment as to that capability nor will I speculate. Won’t see pavement again till after spring is here.

In all I’ve been impressed with the tire. The tread pattern definitely enhances grip especially laterally in slopes. Rain performance is very good. Mud performance is higher than expected from a AT tire. Snow performance while not that of Hakkas is definitely there especially in off-road conditions.

 

Do you have any experience with the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT? Would like to know how the Cooper compare..

 

If I did not have a full size spare in Discoverer AT3 XLT, I’d jump to these. Just can’t seem to pay for an additional tire at this time.

 

Just put these on and am liking them!

 

I wanted to run these but didn’t want to spend the extra money on a full size spare. When I go to proper 34s I’ll consider it. They look so appealing and this write up really gave me some thought provoking decisions lol.

 

Oh man. This post inspired me. Not only to buy these tires but to start an account and thank the OP. So thank you!

I haven’t put too many miles on them but the few miles I’ve put on them have been rough. Mud, rocks, and gravel.

My typical off-road environments are unmaintained log roads, maintained gravel haul roads, mud, and broken shale rock. I typically see all these environments when hunting and my first trip with these new tires was a hunting trip.

I previously had the 265/70/17 Falken Wildpeak AT/3 I went with the Cooper Discoverer Strongholds in 275/70/17. It’s a 32” tire.

These are E-rated tires and I can’t tell any difference in ride quality from the Falkens which were standard rated 4-ply. They have a bit more road noise but not what I was expecting AT ALL from the posts I see here about E-rated tires.

Why did I buy these? I got these because I am sick and tired of getting arrowhead punctures when I’m off pavement. I haven’t had them long enough to say it will never happen. But in the (4) years I had the Falkens, I had 7 flats aired down to 30psi. And the flats never occurred in the worst spots. Just standard shale roads.

Another reason I chose these tires was their weight. They’re 52lbs per tire for an E-rated 275/70/17. Only 5 lbs heavier per tire than the smaller 265/70/17 standard rated Falken 4-ply.

I’ll get some additional photos up soon but I just wanted to say thank you to the OP. I took the leap because of you.

 

I’ll be rotating this weekend. Will have just over 6k on them in about 50 days. I’ll take some wear measurements. Probably throw a few pics in as well.


Currently happy with 32/33 front 29/30 rear. Harsh off-road I’ve been down to 18/20 front and back.

I’m glad my write up helped. You are most welcome.

 

Threads like this really add value to this forum. Intrigued to say the least. Patiently waiting to see the future of these tires.

 

Looks like you've got a bit o' lift, but how do these run size-wise relative to the Falkens? The temptation to go for a "little bit more" is there for me, but I'm not sure if that's pushing it too much, or if I would be good with the -19 offset wheels (17x7.5; the SEMA's you have are the same size with -4 offset if I am not mistaken). I think the AT3's ran smaller than average, but that doesn't really mean anything for an all new tire (assuming it is all new; possible new tread/compound on old carcass? Not a tire engineer, just an educated speculator). And PTSD's 235/85's at least look beefier than most, so maybe these are on the chonker side of things..

 

If this thread is ever seen by the right people you just might start getting free tires to test out and review.
Your gig certainly beats sitting at a desk.

 

Thanks for writing this. I feel like what is going on in your head was going on in mine. Here’s how it all went down for me:

1) I read multiple posts on TacomaWorld that most people said the cookie cutter 33s (255/80/17) fits on their stock 4x4.

2) I was nervous about that so I put on a 2” lift.

3) I was still too nervous and folded under pressure like Harbor Freight JackStand. I went with the 265/70/17 in Standard Load Falken Wildpeak AT3. At this time, 2020, I was more concerned about aggressive tread than understanding “load rating.”

4) I’d go hunting with my new “aggressive” tires and wonder why over (4) years I’d get 1-2 flats per season with my “aggressive” tire. I was SICK of it.

5) I began to get a better understanding of “load rating” and C and E and SL and P and the differences amongst the ratings. I saw a post from someone claiming to be a Montana Game Warden. He said they’d drive log roads and forest roads and the only tire he trusted not to get a flat was an E-rated tire.

6) I began to research weights of the SL vs. E to try to estimate what the rotational inertia impacts would be for gas mileage.

7) I became less obsessed with size. And more obsessed with functionality. So I went with 275/70/17 - a 0.5” larger diameter tire. And the width difference is negligible. The weight per tire difference was only 5lbs for a bigger and sturdier tire. But to be fair, that is where I am seeing a small decrease in mpg. I haven’t tested it but it’s just being “in tune” with my truck.

Lastly, I saw this post. I saw what OP was able to do with his and that he runs them harder than I likely run mine. I saw how they looked.
I was sold.

I’ve beat the absolute hell out of these tires in the past month. 1000/1500 miles have been on bad roads and about 200 miles of that is over spiky shale - oftentimes going steep uphill really digging in. I’ve run them HARD almost trying to get a flat. I’ve become somewhat of a tire changing expert so I’ve been really putting them through the grinder to see if they’ll fail.

As of now, I’d say I’m feeling 99% confident I made the right choice with the trade-off of a lost mpg. And don’t get me wrong, I feel that. But we’ve got two deer tags filled earlier than ever. Definitely some luck. But trusting your equipment gives you a confidence that’s wildly important when you’re out of cell range.

Zero rubbing in any condition I’ve encountered including 4H, 4L, hard-over U-turns on roads not meant for U-turns. The ride quality on the highway at 35psi is great. I run them at 32psi when on the log roads. I’m going to put them to 40psi after hunting season to see if I can reclaim these mpg I feel I’ve lost.

I would not have bought these if I didn’t run my truck this hard for 2 months out of the year. I run it what I believe to be the TacomaWorld badge of HARD HARD. But then I’m on the highway from December to the following October. So… ya. If you just want looks, go with the SL. It’ll save you gas money, some weight, and still give you the look you want.
.

 

After my 7th flat this year, 2 of those unrepairable, I'm [bad word] over it. And this is all street/gravel, no real off roading here - but a big chance next year I'm heading back west where I'll actually use it for more than commuting and home depot runs. I'm sad about the lack of 16" options though, but I do just happen to have 17" steelies already.

KO3's are ugly (superficial AF, not gonna even try to deny it); KO2 supply drying up; Destination XT nice and light, but maybe too light; Falkens just seem so heavy; really the only other option I am eyeing is the Geolandar XD. The 245/75R17 option in that may be a good mix of aggressive, diameter and weight..but I think it's probably too aggressive and then I circle back to the Stronghold.

 

Ya. I literally ran through all my options. The weight was hugely important but so was price.

Discount Tire matched an eBay price so my grand total was $1023. I also got a $100 rebate online. It took two weeks to process but it said expect 6-8. So grand total was $923 for (4) chunky E rated tires.

Combine the price with the comparable weight… no brainer. No one else could touch it.

And I love the aggressive tread look. I think they look mean. So I don’t feel like I lost anything there.

My Fiance has a nice Grand Cherokee Overland. We have some ATs on hers… previously Open Range ATs and now Cooper AT3s. I love the look of both of those ATs for a mostly street SUV. They’re tough but sleek. For my truck, I wanted something more aggressive. The Discoverer Strongholds accomplish that.

 

I wouldn't pay much attention to Cooper, I will admit, but their price point and size availability hooked me and I put a set of AT3 4S on my 2nd gen Forester 6 years ago, and then a couple years ago I went with some LT AT3's on an old diesel Ford I was tinkering around on; dead silent and smooth. I don't consider myself brand loyal but Cooper is 2 for 2 in my book. Local farm store is having a buy 3 get one sale and they said they could special order the Strongholds if I wanted - that might just push me over. I do wonder if Discount will match that offer, I will have to ping them on that, would rather get it from a national chain so I've got some coverage wherever I wander off to (farm store has road hazard certs but they are local-ish only). Was a replacement voucher denier, until this year that is, hah!

I am a bit apprehensive about throwing heavy tires on though, I do quite enjoy how the truck currently drives (stock size Revo 3's came on it). I suppose I could always resell if it's really that dramatic. My MPG hit upgrading from 3G to 2G was 1-2 better than I was braced for, so at least in some screwed up convoluted logic, I have fuel economy to spare..?

 

FWIW, if you search the Stronghold AT on Discount Tire, they show an LT265/75R16 as being available. Tire Rack and even the Cooper website itself do not otherwise show that size as being available.