Cooper ST Maxx or BF Goodrich T/A KO2

I was getting yet another flat tire fixed on my 265/70/16 Cooper AT3's this morning. Most of my driving is on logging roads, and these tires are well worn after 20k miles. I have been considering the Cooper ST Maxx for a while, and while I was there, a guy was getting some Cooper ST Maxx’s put on his jeep. After talking to them about the ST Maxx’s they suggested the T/A KO2's and filled me in on why they were so much more expensive than the AT3's I went with. I was almost sold on the ST Maxx’s, but now I have to add the T/A KO2’s into the mix. Both tires are 10 ply and I think the T/A KO2's are $10 cheaper thru them. If anyone has used both these tires, I would love your feedback, preferably from someone who has at least 20k miles of usage out of them.

I know there are a lot of other good options out there, but choosing a tire is complicated enough as it is. If interested, I had a quote of $980 and $990 for these tires and that includes free rotation and flat tire fixes for the entire life of the tire. I see them online for cheaper, but I prefer to keep my business local.

 

I have the KO2s and they are a great all round tire, the E weigh around 54lbs so not to bad for weight. You can’t go wrong with them,
I was considering trying the ST Maxx next, see what the hype is about.
You might want to try the C KO2, if your sticking to logging roads mainly.

 

Cooper ST Maxx love mine, move water like crazy and is very quiet.. very very puncture resistant as well, only real downside is the weight IMO..

 

I have had both on my truck and in my opinion the St Maxx is the better tire both on-road and off-road. If you have any questions let me know. Copied my original post below.

New 265/75/16 are on. Just a few miles on them so no big review yet. My initial impression is very positive,especially compared to the KO2'S .

The ride quality is the first thing that I noticed, still E load firm, but much improved over my old E rated KO2'S. The KO2'S we're very sharp and abrupt when driving over pot holes, the St Maxx has a more compliant feel to it, big improvement.
Tire noise is no issue, very quiet at all speeds. I'm sure they will get louder with wear as do all tires.
The St Maxx handles the same as theKO2'S, no big change there.

That's it for now, until I get some more miles on them. In a couple of weeks I have a few trips planned so I should get some trail time on them.

I was curious about the mpg difference with the Cooper's, they are a few pounds heavier and more aggressivethan the KO2'S. Well it makes no sense to me but I have seen an almost 1 mpg gain with the Cooper's, running same psi (32f & 30r).

 

Very Nice! I have 25k miles on the KO2's on my '17 taco SR, and have been quite happy with them so far, even after some pretty aggressive wheelin trips, and some multi-thousand mile road trips, hauling motorcycles, and running hundreds of miles on unpaved roads in Colorado and New Mexico last summer. They have worked quite well, but i believe I'll try the Cooper S/T Maxx after all the great results I've had from the several sets of Cooper STT's I've run on numerous Jeeps.
I also have a 3" lift that's been waiting for my warranty to expire, so I'll likely try to go to a 33" tire sometime next year. The S/T Maxx looks like it'll do a little better off road, and I've heard nothing but good things about its on road manners.

 

I’ve read a lot of online reviews and both tires get bad reviews along with the good reviews, but since most of the reviews are on bigger heavier trucks, I wanted to get some feedback from Tacoma owners. What I see about the Cooper ST Maxx is that they are horrible on wet pavement and noisy, but I also hear that they are not noisy. How was your experience on wet pavement with both tires?

 

Nothing less than E load for me. To explain why would be a long paragraph, so if anyone is interested, I can explain. Simply put... I’m tired of flat tires.

I’ve seen lots of reviews that say they are horrible on wet pavement. Could this be because the reviews are written by bigger heavier truck owners?

 

255/85/16; I've had the ST MAXX on my truck for a year now. I like them a lot they handle well off road and on road. So far they are wearing evenly.

 

I like my Falken Wildpeak At3ws, I have had BFG Ko2s and I liked them but when I got these my mind changed quickly. I want run another tire at the moment and I've ran everything besides the Maxx stt. So just putting a little input in.

 

I've used both the AT3 and currently run ST MAXX on my taco. The ST MAXX is by far the best tire I have ever run. Great traction on/off road, and great wear so far. They also handle better than my old set of KO's I had. The KO2 is the same tire as the KO, with the only difference being a sidewall redesign.

 

The KO2's were OK on wet roads until they got to around 25,000 miles at which time they became scary on wet pavement.
The St Maxx are doing great on wet roads so far I only have about 4k on them. The Cooper's are quiet for how aggressive they are, but they do make just a little bit more noise than the KO2'S. The noise is a non issue for me and doesn't interfere with the radio or conversation.
The traction difference in the mud and snow is impressive, the Cooper's are a big improvement over the KO2'S.
The St Maxx also have a much better ride than the KO2'S , both tires E load and same PSI.

 

I am running BFG KO2's 235/85/16 my only complaint is they break traction on wet pavement starting out from a stop sign/red light. They took me to Moab just fine and helped me commute 38 miles one way to work during the winter months in the front range of Colorado. I might give the ST Maxx a try in the future to see if they are any better on wet roads.

 

This has been an interesting thread. It seems like when I got the AT3's I have now that the KO2's seemed to be real popular in this forum, but I’m not finding much on them now. They were so much more expensive than the AT3's, but at the time I did not understand why. It’s beginning to look like the ST Maxx’s will be my next tire. I appreciate the feedback and poll participation.

As a side note, when I made this poll, it was supposed to close at the end of march. How it came that it will close on Sep 20, 2019 is beyond me. That’s 1 year 6 months past 3 months. I wonder if I can change that?

 

I have KO2s. Had the original KOs before the "update", didn't like the originals... still not blown away by the KO2s. The only reason I got em was because I couldn't resist $750 for a brand new set of 285/75/16s

Next time I'll be going with 255 Cooper St Maxx's

Pics of the KO2s for your time.

 

I wont buy anything other than the S/T Maxx from now on.
puncture test:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kz8mmLkeks

 

so, yes, the ST Maxx can be difficult in the wet, and they can be noisy, too.

or not. it's about your application and how you use them.

the Maxx are E's, so super firm sidewalls, can handle crazy pressures. if you turn up the pressure you lose tire carcass compliance, which is a huge part of your grip, especially in the wet. then you're driving on little rocks. turn your pressures down in accordance with the chalk test for your tires and you'll have normal grip on the wet, which is still somewhat compromised on our trucks due to our light weight not really pushing down on the tires enough (unless you're loaded heavy with correct pressures). i love these tires but i do go more careful in the wet than if i was on any C rated tire.

as for the noise, pretty much all A/T tires get noisier as they age. but I'm on STMaxx for about 23k miles and they're still as quiet as day one. can't comment on the ko's.

 

Thanks for the photos. For some reason when I bought the AT3's I hated the look of the KO2's, but now I like them. Maybe I’m not as old and set in my ways as I thought I was.

 

I actually saw that video a few days ago. The guy at the tire place said the ST Maxx's are built to take that stuff.

 

I have had the Cooper ST/MAXX in 265/75/16 and they were fucking awesome. I switched to 17's and didn't want a E Rated tire for this Mall Crawling Pansy. So I too just went with BF Goodrich Ko2's in 265/70/17 in C Load. So far I love them and I got a great deal on 5 of them shipped to my house for $1,000.00 plus 5 new replacement certificates. Love them they handle great in the snow and whatever else. But the Cooper ST/MAXX is definitely a better in looks and performance. But until these need replacing, I am liking them. But I think I will be going back to ST/MAXX or try the Pro's next.

 

Good info on wet pavement. That definitely causes concern for me. Most of my pavement driving is on old logging roads that have been paved. They are curvy. Not much in straight sections. I never change tire pressure and will most likely keep the same tire pressure in them as the installer recommends, assuming of course he knows what he is doing.