New winter tire time. Cooper A/Tw's or studded ST Maxx??

Hello all. I have sold my Blizzak W965's to my father in law for his FJ. My wife is sick with Lyme disease and has a chronically sore neck and bad headaches so I am looking for a less industrial winter tire. Those things ride like they are solid rubber.

My summers are 10 ply Michelin M/S2's in 265/70r17.

I have a set of 16" TRD OR rims and want to mount a set of either studded all terrain or strictly winter tire on them. A studded AT or MT tire would be nice for hunting and off-road trips where the michelin's won't cut it. The Cooper A/TW's seem like a pretty goop option. Smooth riding A/T tire that has good winter traction. Definitely more aggressive than my Michelins but there are NO REVIEWS that I can find.

I plan on getting 235/85r16 LRE for optimal winter traction. The coopers will run 42 lbs which is 7 lbs less than my old blizzaks and a more open tread pattern to displace snow and dirt.

Should I get the A/TW's or the ST Maxx studded??

I have ruled out Duratracs because of all the people who say they suck once half worn. As for BFG A/T KO and GY Silent Armour.. I know they have a snowflake symbol but for a dedicated winter set I want something better on ice.

http://tires.canadiantire.ca/en/tir...duct/0062118P/cooper-discoverer-a-tw/0062300/

http://tires.canadiantire.ca/en/tires/light-truck-tires/product/2084148P/cooper-discoverer-s-t-maxx/

Thanks

 

I am running studded Hercules Avalanche X-Tremes and I've never been happier with a winter tire. They have amazing traction in deep snow and on ice and they're very quiet for how the tread pattern looks too. Given you're location you probably wont see much in the way of winter driving conditions but if you're planning on getting off the island and venturing inland or north I would advise against a studded A/T in favor of a real winter tire.

I know that's not really what you asked, just tryin' to help out.

 

Yeah the only reason I'm thinking a studded AT or MT is so they will be a better off-road tire during hunting season. I haven't seen those Hercules tires. KalTire?

 

My vote is the new cooper AT/w or ST Maxx, either one will be great, i.have the ST maxx but not in snow yet..
Ooh also the Hercules brand tires are made by Cooper...

 

Just ordered a set of Cooper A/TW tires in 235/85r16 10 ply. I will post pics and review once I get them on. $727 at Canadian Tire including taxes, probably going to be another 80 or 100 for mounting/balancing.

I went for the 235 because they are only 42 pounds and will cut through slush and show much better than the 265. I still need the LT because of off road use and my slide-in camper.

 

I got my A/TW's installed today on some off road 16 rims. The guys only loaded them to 35 psi but I intend to bump them up to 40 then maybe 45. They are extremely smooth and quiet on the road and absorb bumps very well. They handle a little loose but that should change once I bump up the air. So far I've only driven them 15 minutes home and parked it, now I work all week.

The tread pattern is much more open than I thought based on Cooper pics. For a tire that is high mileage warrantied, has a snowflake, and has a quasi-aggressive tread pattern, I can't believe they get 100/100 in fuel economy, dry, and wet handling. Great overall tire and I think they look great. I like the skinny military tire look, and these are intended for winters. If I was using these year round I may go 265 but I am very happy with these so far.

Also, they balanced very well and took very little weight to do so. Hope this helps anyone on the fence or looking for a good year round tire that is capable, quiet, and good for fuel economy.

4 installed for about 750 Canadian taxes in after the mail in rebate.

 

I've had my Cooper A/TWs for 4 days now and have put about 750 miles on them. They are a softer ride than stock; bumps don't seem as sharp. And they grip like stink on my dog; I took a corner on a gravel road near my hunting shack that always puts me in a little rear slide and it never even came close to breaking loose.

I will report, however, that they are louder than stock. There is a distinct hum that gets louder with increased speed. Seems to be better on asphalt than it is on concrete road surfaces. I think I'll get used to it, and if they live up to the hype this winter I will live with it, but it is making me think about looking into some sound deadening material for the cab.

 

Will be winter tire time again soon and thinking of getting a set of these, since you've had these for a full winter season I'd like to hear what your thoughts are.

 

After having them on for a full winter in Nanaimo, they didn't see snow or ice once. Didn't do any roadies and we had a very warm winter.

That said, I am going on a moose hunt in late October and will definitely be putting them through some nasty stuff. deep snow and unmaintained FSR's 75 km from any telephone poles or 2-leggers. I am happy with the tires overall and for the price you can't go wrong. If you were looking for a winter tire that is capable off road or if you want a year-round tire that will be great in winter, you can't go wrong with these. Especially for the price.

 

I would like to hear more about the A/TW,I was thinking either these or the Discoverer M+S

 

Hey Matt @neverstuck , could you do a long term update for us? I think Cooper makes high quality tires (in NA) and I've been intrigued by this A/TW tread pattern even since it came out. I am thinking of putting a set on our family's Honda Odyssey all year round to equip it with great winter traction and give some confidence on seasonal roads while camping and exploring.

Thanks, Eric

 

Before I say anything, I think the best tire ever manufactured for 99% of people on the road, is the Michelin M/S2 and that is the tire I recommend to damn-near everyone. I've heard the new LTX Defender can have balancing issues but I'm sure it's going to prove to be every bit as good. When I bought the Sequoia it's the first thing I bought for it.




2 things that prevent me from providing a good long term review on the Cooper A/Tw:

1) I am cursed with living in the best climate in Canada and thus, didn't see winter road conditions ONCE last year. The only snow I drove in was the unmaintained snowy forest service roads at higher elevations.
2) I sold the set mid-winter because my wife is sick, traveling in the vehicle gives her horrible horrible headaches and neck pain (trip to the ER for dilaudid IV kind of pain) and thus I decided to drop the 10 ply tires and just run my P rated Michelin MS2's all winter.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend these tires to someone looking for a true all-season A/T tire because in my experience, Duratracs are garbage on ice or even wet slick roads, and I don't find BFG's to be remotely impressive on ice or hard-pack icy snow.

I put about 20k kms on these tires and I would say their warm weather dry pavement and off-road manners are every bit as good as the competition. They are better than the competition on wet roads but not near as good as Michelin MS2's. They are better than the competition on icy roads but are not as good on ice as Blizzaks or other good dedicated ice tires. They are no louder or faster wearing than other AT tires I have tried.

I didn't find that the tire had Michelin-level quality as you could see the bulges in the sidewall around the seam of the tire where it was joined end-on-end to make it round but it did balance well.

All this, coupled with the mileage warranty and the fact that they are almost always available for 25% off here in Canada (@ Canadian Tire) makes these a very good, if not great tire, at a great price.

For trucks and SUV's I say, give 'er. For the minivan, I guess if you want an AT tire this would be a good choice, though you may have better winter traction from something like the Toyo Celsius which is another "all weather" year-round tire with a snowflake symbol. I could be wrong but I though the A/Tw only came in 10 ply.





After selling these tires with 20k kms on them (for a ridiculous $1200, mounted on an old set of TRD O/R 16's) I found myself looking for a 6 ply AT tire I could use for the odd off-road adventure, camping trip, hunting trip etc, so that I wouldn't have to worry about shredding a sidewall on my wonderful, brand new P rated Michelin MS2's. In the meantime I also sold the 13 Tacoma for a 2003 Sequoia (medical bills). I picked up a set of LT255/75r17 Cooper ST Maxx in a 6 ply (almost new, 5 of them for 250 bucks!) and I frickin love those beasts. I can't imagine they'd be much good on ice due to the lack of lateral siping but they're absolutely beastly looking, super-tough sidewalls, and are surprisingly quiet and stable on the hwy. They're loud as shit in parking lots but once you're moving on the roadway you can't even hear them over wind noise.

 

Wow, thanks for all the info on the A/TW as compared to other tires! That really helped define its performance. I wouldnt expect it to be as good as a dedicated snow.

Great looking Sequoia and I am surprised how good the 255 Maxx's look on it. I'm actually considering the Sequoia or Landcruiser or Highlander as a replacement for the Odyssey.

Putting All Terrains on the minivan would be for me to help me stand the Odyssey and toughen it up if we decided to keep it. But it's going to need a timing belt job and tires and a hitch installed to tow a camper. So I figure it is a good time to sell and jump to a Toyota SUV that already has a hitch, 4wd and ground cleatance to let us explore farther than the particularly low Odyssey, not to mention the heavy snow we can get in Buffalo NY. The van can't even handle 8" of snow even with dedicated BFG Slalom KSI snows. Trust me it's the van, not the tires.

Thanks again
Eric

 

I'm surprised they make a 10 ply size that fits a Honda Odyssey. I want to see a picture when you butch that thing up and hit the trails.

 

I would likely choose 225/75-r16 which is still a widely available size with about 29.3" diameter.
Stock size is 235/65-16, and I also have a dedicated snow tire/wheel set of 225/70-16 28.4" diam BFG Slalom KSI that fit with room to spare. Hopefully we will be in a Sequoia or Landcruiser though.

By the way, in keeping with the intent of the thread, I have been very happy with the BF Goodrich Slalom KSI.
I like the looks and it gives good handling characteristics that I'd put at approximately 90% of a touring tire. The snow traction seems to quite good compared to the fact the van basically couldn't move with new touring tires in 5" of snow- easily the worst vehicle ever in snow, which hits at the core of why I am not comfortable leaving dry pavement with the van. If it were RWD, I'd love it.
The BFG KSI noise level has been very good and doesn't bother you, despite being audible, it seems to fade to background noise quickly.
Wear has been good also, I might have 12,000 miles on them and have this season and possibly one more on them.

Eric