Cooper AT3 Opinions

I haven't had them on gravel roads but they've done well in lighter mud (I haven't had them in heavy mud). They had just come out a few months before I got mine put on and when I googled 'Cooper AT3 Review', most of them were mud and off road reviews. All of the ones I read said they performed very well in sloppy conditions when compared to similar well known A/T tires, including the coveted BFG A/T KO.

 

Any updates on how the At3s are in the snow and ice?

 

I got a request to update this thread now that I've had the tires on for a while. Unfortunately, we didn't get diddly for snow this year. We got about an inch last October and that was all these tires saw so I can't give a good review on snow or ice performance. Apotter has them also and lives in Maine, he might be able to help out in that regard.

The tires seem to be wearing very well. I rotate them every 5,000 miles and haven't noticed any premature wearing. I haven't done much in the way of off roading other than what most would consider a rough dirt road with some mud. Wet and dry traction has been very good.

Some of the not-so-good things I have noticed is these tires seem to make the truck wander. Tire pressure really plays a big role in this. If I adjust the pressure a few lbs, I can a big difference in how planted the truck is at highway speed. At slower speeds and on back road twisties, they've been great! Also, as they wear in, they seem to have gotten a little louder as well. Still not bad at all as far as A/T tires go, just curious if they'll continue to get noisier or level off.

Overall, certainly not a bad tire at all although, next time I need tires, they aren't good enough to make we just get another set. I'll be shopping around for some other options.

 

what pressure are you running in these?

 

I believe I'm at 35 all around. If I didn't have the shell and tools in the back, I'd probably run 30 - 32 in the rear and 35 for the front.

 

I was pretty much settled on the AT3s after messaging you about them Pugga, was going to order them this week actually. I still might, what do you plan to go with next time?

 

Honestly, I'm not 100% sure. I'm thinking the Toyo A/Ts or the Hankook Dynapro. I had the Cooper ATR and the reason I went to the AT3 was because the ATR's were splitting on the sidewall and Cooper warrantied the tires, giving me a credit toward another set of Coopers. Assuming I wear these for another year or two, I'll see what other new options come up or I'll go with one of the tires I mentioned above. Yokohama Geolanders seem like a decent option also.

 

The Yokohama Geolanders I had wore quicker than shit.I'll never buy that brand again.

 

Good to know, that's the first bad thing I've heard about them!

 

Well, I'm out of the Coopers, sold off and off the truck so this will be a final review of them. I finally did get them off road and traction-wise, they were great. As long as they were on the ground, they dragged the truck pretty well. For the summer, I switched to a set of stock Bridgestones for the highway and just put my Coopers back on 2 weeks ago. Holy hell, what a difference. They are loud and wander pretty badly. The truck handled and drove fine with the Bridgestones and all I did was swap tires and wheels and it feels very very loose (like hang on with two hands on the highway loose). I sold them off to my dad, he's got a 2wd GMC and will run these on the rear for traction in the winter. I guess going from a good riding and handling tire to these made me realize how bad they were. Between my issues with the ATR's splitting and the way these handle, I'd be hard pressed to buy Coopers again.

 

I have them and really like them. Great tire but only have couple thousand miles on them.

 

I seem to be the exception with these tires. A lot of members have them, same size and truck as me even, and they really like them. For some reason, they have not done well on my truck.

 

Had these on almost a year now.Not one problem.They drive great and look better than any other tire I've seen.I think they have gotten a bit louder but I'm not sure. A 5 star tire as far as I'm concerned.

 

Rub it in

I'm glad others are having better luck with them than me. I put my highway tires back on and the difference is night and day. The Bridgestones are quiet and the wandering is gone. I must have just gotten a bummed set. QA/QC must have been asleep the day mine were made.

 

I thought I would add my $0.02 to this thread. I actually bought a set of Cooper AT3 from Discount Tire Direct during the rebate back in Oct. based on the reviews in this thread and others on TW, as well as the review on the river website posted on the first page of this thread. I wish I would have seen the final review prior to purchasing.

Mine wander some, but not bad. I don't really notice any road noise; the notorious Tacoma wind noise may cover it up. However, the worst part is that one of my tires will not balance. Tried it on different wheels and no dice. The tire shop I use said that Coopers are notoriously hard to balance. Like the OP, this will be my last set of Coopers. I was really on the fence between the Coopers and Hankook ATM Dynapro, but bought the Coopers since they offered a better price after rebate (before rebates the difference was like $40). Wish I would have bought the Hankook.

Hope DT is good on returns or swaps the bad tire for a good one.

UPDATE: Just contacted Discount Tire Direct. Man, those guys are A+ on customer service. Told them my dilemma with the unbalanced tire and is shipping a new one two day delivery, providing a return label for the bad one, and reimbursing me for the remounting and balancing.

 

Damn, that sucks! My dad had a set of Coopers that he could not get balanced properly also. DT has a rep on TW, maybe shoot him a message. He might be able to tell you how to go about starting a warranty claim.

When my ATR's crapped out, one thing I will say about Cooper is they were great with the warranty. There was no hassle, they bought the tires back, pro-rated for the tread wear, and that's how I ended up with the AT3s to begin with.

EDIT, glad DT is taking care of you!

 

I have been running a set of Cooper ATR's for a while and am having them replaced with a set of Duratracks this Thursday. I had them put on right before winter 2 years ago and they handled great for that winter. Since then they have been terrible on anything but dry roads. I have about 30000 miles on them now and they are done. My wife had to use my truck a while back and it was raining that day and she even commented on had bad they were and asked when I was going to replace them.

Long story short I will never run cooper tires again on anything. Of course this is just my opinion/experience.

 

could not agree more. i think a pencil eraser would have a longer life than these tires. had a set of geolanders and they were basically garbage after 20k. running km2 now and much happier.

 

Yeah I can't say enough about DT and the excellent service I received so far. I may have been a little rough on the Coopers, but time will tell.

I said the same thing, but maybe after my problem is corrected I will be good with my purchase.

 

Wow, I guess I sort of got lucky that mine crapped out when they did. My sidewalls started to split at about 25k miles. They handled great up to the point I got rid of them but it sounds like I was in for a bad experience if I had them for another winter.