Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S vs LT Road Manners

Anyone have any experience with the Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S (SL load) versus Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT (in C load) in terms of road manners, noise, off-road durability, etc? I need something more tough for sharp rocks and wondering if you lose a lot in terms of road manners bumping up to the LT in C load.

Thinking of the 265/75/16 which is a 47lb tire. A bit heavy. Also thinking of the Duratracs in the same size also C load but weighing in at 45lb. Don’t know as much about the Duratracs.

 

I cannot speak to the AT3 SL.
I've been running C Load AT3's for the past 120,000 miles. Currently on the second set, they have about 40k on them with no end in sight.
Very good tire, noise is minimal. They got a little louder at about the 40k mark. Ride is fine, certainly not as stiff as running E rated Michelins on my 4runner. They seem to handle everything very well - except for red clay mud - which is expected for pretty much any tire you buy. I've driven probably 10k miles of forest service roads, sharp rocks, sand, gravel with the current set - haven't had a single puncture.

The last set got kind of sketchy in the rain at the 6/32 mark, at about 65,000 miles - but i still ran them for another 15k.

I should note - the AT3 LT comes with probably 18/32 of tread new, I believe the SL is less than that.

 

This is so very helpful. So do you run 265/75/16s? I think the C load only comes in that size for a stock build. Also, any noticeable change in acceleration etc running 47lb tires versus the 37lb stock wranglers? Again, thank you very much, so helpful to get real life anecdotal data.

also, yes, I did note the much deeper tread… my land is super rocky and has a bunch of thin cutoff cedar stumps .. hoping that extra tread will help me avoid punctures

 

I had AT3 4S SL and they didnt take well to gravel roads and wore down quickly. I did offroading a few times with them and would not use them for any real rough terrain.

I now have a 10 ply tire for that.

 

My 4S's handled Moab just fine

 

Any idea how these compare to the duratracs?

my property is 300 miles from my house so I need a tire that plays nice on concrete and can handle rocks … not the easiest opposing requirements to try to satisfy .. I just keep coming back to cooper c loads

 

Mine was more constant abuse on gravel roads with occasional offroading.

 

I suppose it is a softer compound with more sipes. I love mine in the winter.

 

So I have gone off roading on my ranch again in the stock tires. Popped driver side real tire a second time now — 2/3 times. I need a C or maybe even E.

 

Anyone know if the AT3 XLT in 285/75R16 has the 3PMS rating? Coopers website only notes that the 3PMS is on certain sizes.
Maybe @Discount Tire can answer?

 

Our data is showing that the Cooper AT3XLT in that size is not 3 peak mountain snow flake rated. We will follow up with Cooper tire tomorrow morning and confirm then repost should we find otherwise.

 

Did you wind up going with the Discoverer AT3 C load OP? I am looking at getting the same tire in a 265/75r16 as well and have the same question as your original post

 

I ended up with standard load falken wildpeak AT3W and could not be more pleased with grip, off-road capability, weight, durability, road manners, noise (or lack thereof) - they are a bit stiffer than your average SL but that’s a good thing

A few people say they don’t balance but mine balanced perfect. pro tip: ask where they were made. Mine were made in Japan and I think they are a notch above the other plants but have no evidence to back that up

 

How many miles you got on them so far? Did you take much of an mpg hit with the more aggressive tread pattern?

 

I think 10,000 miles? The tires are heavier, more aggressive, and an inch taller - and still not much mileage change that I can’t tell .. maybe 1-2mpg around town and zero on highway

 

The at3w’s haven’t really been on my radar but they are now, thanks for the reply

 

I know this is a Tacoma thread, but for what it's worth, on my v8 4runner my first set of AT3 - C rated, I got 54,000 when I got metal through the treads. I got 66,700 on second set. I'm at 71,500 on my third set. Probably mix of 85/15 pavement/forest service roads (maybe closer to 90/10).

 

AT3 4S has the triple snow peak rating and is a great Tire that I have on another vehicle. Currently have the XLT in 285/75/16 and its quiet for what it is. Not a plush as the 4S but I like the sure footed feel it has over the 4S. Also they are relatively light. The XLT in E rating is the same weight as the Toyo RT's I had in 265/75/16 before.

 

I had the P-rated AT3 4S on my wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee in 18" Tacoma sizing.

I only got 50% life out of the set before one tire started having severe cracking / rot on the sidewalls. These tires had even treadwear and were always properly inflated and rotated. Cooper was willing to pro-rate one tire, but given the Jeep is an auto-4WD vehicle I wasn't about to have one tire with a different tread depth, so I opted to replace them with a different brand of tire.

I was a big fan of these tires until this happened, but I'm hesitant to chalk this up to a single fault as I saw evidence of this starting with other tires.

 

My last set of 4S tires started cracking too. I think mine had to do with lots of heat cycles since I put on 85k miles in less than 3 years on them.