Worth moving to Cooper AT3s from stock Wrangler Adventure?

Cooper and some other tire manufacturers are running their periodic sale on tires. I have 500+ miles on a set of stock Goodyear Wrangler Adventure (265/70/16) that came with the TDR Off Road. I am thinking of switching over to the AT3s.

Is this six of one and half dozen of another? Are the GY on par with the AT3? I mainly will be driving on-road (city/highway), but definitely want the ability to head into the mountains on some tame off-road passes this summer. Will the GY handle that?

You always lose a bit when you sell your tires on Craigslist. Plus, I will have to pay the $20 per tire balance/warranty through Discount Tire to put on the AT3s. So, is it worth it to switch?

 

Anyone?

 

I'm switching my tires since they're meant for on road only and I'd like AT. IMO you already have AT, stick with em until you have a good reason to switch. If you're the type that goes for looks, that's a whole other discussion, but the AT3 look about the same visually.

 

Thank you, Cohiker. Appreciate the honest opinion. Looks means nothing. In fact, just about my entire truck will remain stock. Just didn't want to be caught short in an off-road situation where the tires weren't up to snuff.

 

Yep. You mention tame off road passes... just a year ago I was conquering 'modified 4x4 only' trails in my non-4x4 ford escape with worn firestone ATs. People highly underestimate their vehicles and tires. I bet a stock OR with stock tires can do almost anything apart from intense rock crawling and extremely deep mud.

 

One of the mountain passes we plan to tackle this June is Cinnamon Pass. I've done it before when I had a Land Rover Discovery. Complete novice. And I believe I had Michelins at the time. Absolutely none the wiser, but it worked out fine. Will be doing the same pass this June because it was relatively tame, if I remember correctly.

http://www.dangerousroads.org/usa/689-cinnamon-pass-road-usa.html

 

Your stock Goodyear Wranglers will do just fine. There's no point in spending more money on tires for your on road driving and the occasional dirt road. They did fine when I had them but I went to a 17" wheel and there's other members on here that have really pushed the stock tires without problems.

 

If I were you I would stay with the GYs for at least this year and see how they perform. The GYs should be able to get you over anything that the michelins got through. The Michelins excel in exceptional treadwear and water/snow traction but Off Road on dirt they're average so the GYs with alot of tread on them should be more than up to the task.

 

Yes, sticking with the GYs will save some money, which seems to be flying out of my wallet from reading TacomaWorld.

 

Good choice Yeah this website has a good or bad influence depending on how you look at it The list of things I want to buy for my truck keeps growing by the day.

 

I've run the stock Goodyears on my OR reasonably hard and they have held up so far. I suspect the only advantage to a "better" AT tire would be puncture resistance, mud traction, and maybe resistance to abuse from running low pressure. I'm keeping mine for now and will probably run them down before considering a change.

The on road manners are pretty darn good and the off-road performance has been fine so far. I'll be hard pressed to give that up when the time comes to make the choice. Though, the AT3's seem to be a better combination.

Also, I believe tires used by OEM's are focused on getting good mileage and ride comfort. That means they tend to lighter with more flexible sidewalls (less durable off-road) and have less tread depth (don't last as long). It also means that just about any other tire will give you worse mileage and a harsher ride.

Have you seen this article? I really wish they would update it with the KO2's and Duratracs, but it has good descriptions on the GY and AT3 tires you are choosing between.

http://expeditionportal.com/where-the-rubber-meets-the-road/

 

Cinnamon Pass is great, we often ski there in late May...its been driven by 2wd VW beetles and vans with typical M+S tires

 

I would echo what others are saying here and say that unless you are running over some real rough terrain with sharp rocks on a weekly basis, or just want bigger cooler looking tires, then you would be fine to stick with the stock GY. Run them until you find their limit, and then decide what tire best addresses your needs at that point. Personally I've found the stock GY to be marginally acceptable in snow, so that has been my main complaint with them. In 4H they do okay though, or at least the truck is a lot more stable and takes off from a stop a lot better.

For me, because of my winter driving, and looking for an all-around good tire that sees 90% road use, I'm keeping my eye on the new Falken AT/3W. It comes in C-load for 265/75-16 which is a rarity, and for some the lighterweight of C vs E is a pro. In the mean time I'm going to get some use out of the GY and figure out exactly what I want to do ...

 

HalfWayThere: Excellent article; had not seen this. ThomasJ, NvTacoma, JoeRacer and Cohiker: Thank you all. Based on all this, I will stick with the Goodyears . . . and my wallet will be all the happier for it.

By the way, not sure what everyone thinks of DeLorme maps. But, check out the Group Buys/Deals & Coupons for a 50% off. Good stuff.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/delorme-maps-50-off.419527/

 

Total BS so far! You need some tires that look like they were made for the rear of a Ford 8N!!!!

 

One reason I switched to more aggressive AT tires is that Discount tires gave me a trade in value of $60 for each tire...therefore if I could get a good deal on the AT tire of my choice it is that price -$60...a good deal in my thinking...

 

Thanks for the link I just ordered a Nevada and California!