Cooper tire conundrum - A/T3 LT or ST?

Hey there, new 2018 DCLB TRDOR owner here. I've been deliriously studying multiple threads regarding tire sizing and options and have settled on Cooper.

A little background:
Plan to buy a topper soon, so a little added weight in the back. I live in the central CO mountains, have an occasional 45 min commute sometimes on snowpacked, icy and wet roads, and do about 70% highway, and 30% gravel/offroad mileage wise. Of that 30% offroad, probably 1/3 or less of it is truly rocky, muddy, and 4x4 only. However, I love the look of the up-sized tire options especially with the long bed on this particular truck. My practical mind still tells me I'm also looking for a tire that won't severely cripple the mpgs, and won't be annoyingly loud on the highway - (ruling the ST MAX out due to its 59LB weight). I also do not want to modify the stock suspension.

The tires I've narrowed my search down to include:

-255/85/16 Cooper Discoverer ST - 33.2" diameter, Load Range D, 18/32 tread depth, 48 LBS ($221/tire)
I'm surprised to find very little on the forums about this tire. It seems to be a bit more on the all terrain side, but still very aggressive with lots of tread. Anyone have any experience with this particular 255/85/16 on a 3rd gen stock offroad?

-265/75/16 Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT - 31.6" diameter, 16.5/32 tread depth, 48 LBS (Load C)/ 49 LBS (Load E) ($168/tire)
Looks like a pretty solid choice. Really good tread, quiet, good in the snow.

Also curious about any mpg differences people notice with these vs. stock


Give me your vote!

 

If your not looking to modify your stock suspension I would stay away from the 255/85r16. Decent amount of trimmong will probably have to be done to make that work on stock suspension. The 255/85r16’s will also hurt your mpg more than the 265’s especially if you do a lot of driving around town. Taller tire take more to get moving. I would say based off what you said the c rated 265’s would be good.

 

Pretty sure @WNYTACO has those ST's in 255/85/16.

 

Appreciate the advice, I'm kind of leaning towards the 265s for the time being as well.

Thanks for the intel, I'll have to see how his experience has been.

 

Yup I am. I like them a lot. They fit the truck well and are not as heavy as most other tires this size. They are noisy though.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-skinny-on-skinny-tires.529656/

Read that. It has good information as well as links about more on the subject.

 

Thanks - I've been through that thread....I think I'm wallowing in a bit of my own indecision at this point, and soon I just need to pick something and go with it

 

I ran 265/75r16 Duratracs C Load. I noticed a slight loss in power, but no huge MPG difference. Once you get up to the 285 range is where you will truly notice power/MPG sacrifice.

Both of your choices wont affect your performance in a highly noticeable way. More aggressive tread will generate a higher road noise that generally gets worse with wear. You just have to adjust your radio volume to drown it out.