I fear I may have over researched

[PW01]

I've been looking to replace the tires on my Ranger 4x4 for several weeks. My requirements are great wet pavement traction, long tread life, not terribly expensive, and reasonable performance in light snow and moderate off road use (I know, like looking for the perfect woman!). My research has led me to the Firestone Destination AT (P 245/75-16), but while reading reviews of that tire, I have been introduced to the Cooper Discoverer AT3.

As we all do, I want to make the right choice. I'm replacing a set of BFG All Terrain K/O's that have been outstanding, I just won't get the service out of them to justify the expense. The truck in question is an 01 with 136k on the clock and will become a secondary vehicle within the next year. I know that Michelin makes a great product but am not wanting to spend that much either. So please, just opinions/experiences on these two tires. $50 either way would not sway me, I'd just like to end up with the better of the two. Thanks in advance!

 

[dparm]

Why not just get the same thing you already have?

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Why not just get the same thing you already have?


Originally Posted By: PW01
I just won't get the service out of them to justify the expense.


Of the two tires above, the Cooper is by far the newer design and likely will perform "better" in multiple metrics. On the other hand, Bridgestone/Firestone likely has a better dealership network, if that means anything.

Myself, I'd probably buy the Firestones, only because I really can't find many places locally to buy Coopers, and I don't buy tires from a distance (online).

 

[PW01]

I can buy both locally, and the stores are only about 2 miles apart, so that's not an issue. The price for each set is within $15, so that's not an issue either. I'm just looking for the better of the two. Wet traction, highway manners and tread life are the main concerns

 

[mrsilv04]

As I likely mentioned earlier, I have a set of the Discoverer A/T3 tires in that same size, and have no complaints about them.

It appears that Cooper put a lot of R&D effort into this tire before releasing it.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I imagine, then, that the Cooper will generally out-perform the Firestone. The Destination A/T has to be nearly a decade old by now, and that's a fairly long product cycle. To my recollection, the Destination LE and the Destination A/T came out at around the same time, give or take a year or so, and the LE2 has been out for a short while now. You may inquire with BFNA if they will come out with an A/T2 anytime soon.

If not, I'd probably buy the Cooper, though I have no direct experience with it.

 

[Danh]

Fwiw, I returned a set of Firestone Destination ATs under Firestone's 30 day test drive program. The set I had were near-impossible to balance correctly and were quite unpleasant on the highway, so I sure wouldn't recommend them. Haven't tried the Coopers but bought a set of Yokohama YK580s instead and like them a lot.

Most manufacturers have a 30 day test drive program so make sure you ask about it no matter what you buy. And keep your old tires in case you have to go to a different dealer to try something else.

 

[meep]

I'm a big firestone/bridgestone fan. But I would not buy the Destination ATs. IIRC they do not get good wet traction reviews.

I know little about coopers.

(shameless plug--- the Le2 mentioned above is a great tire, and the revo2's are on sale right now).

M

 

[A_Harman]

Have you checked out Tire Rack's website to see if they have tested these two tires? They do tire tests quite often and compare actual performance in wet roadholding, dry roadholding, wet braking, dry braking, etc. Even if you don't buy from them, it's valuable information.

 

[hisilver]

Just recently went from BFG KOs to Toyo Open country AT 2. Was also interested in the coopers..toyos were similar price. Love the toyos.

 

[PW01]

Tire Rack has no info on the Coopers, as they don't sell them

 

[PW01]

I pulled the trigger and had Discount Tire order the Coopers, they will be installed on Monday. $640 out the door plus an $80 rebate, 55k mile tread wear warranty, 30 day trial period. I'll be sure to post my impression of them, thanks to all who responded!

 

[rrguy]

Cooper Discoverer AT3 seems to be a good tire so far. Its quiet, rides nice, even on an 8 ply. New Havent had allot of time to test it. I also have the cooper discover ATP about a year they look similiar. worked good all winter another 8pl but on a 2500 suburban so the rear weight probably help.

 

[Rand]

Everyone I know loves the at/3

the worst they said about it was its not a performance tire

ie kinda floating around 70+mph..

but that was people who mounted it on a cuv and expected a car tire.

Its certainly no worse than any truck size tire I ever had.

 

[PW01]

I had the Cooper Discover AT3's installed yesterday at Discount Tire. So far, I've put about 100 miles on them and am very pleased. They are much quieter than the previous BFG's, which is to be expected because of the less aggressive tread. Road manners on the highway are outstanding, very smooth and even. The local forecast is calling for heavy rain later in the week, so we'll see how the wet traction is. I have a feeling that I made the right choice.

The service at Discount Tire was outstanding, the installation took only 25 minutes, the store is very clean and the staff was very friendly and proffesonal.

Yesterday I filled out, and mailed, the form for the $80 Cooper rebate. We'll see how long that takes.

 

[PW01]

I guess that because I washed the truck, the rain came early. I got to test the wet traction on a rural highway, in town and on the interstate. I must say that I am impressed with the wet traction and handling! These are much more "sure footed" than the BFG's ever were, but that's what I expected due to more siping. All in all,
I'm very pleased with my new tires, now to see how they wear...

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: PW01
I guess that because I washed the truck, the rain came early. I got to test the wet traction on a rural highway, in town and on the interstate. I must say that I am impressed with the wet traction and handling! These are much more "sure footed" than the BFG's ever were, but that's what I expected due to more siping. All in all,
I'm very pleased with my new tires, now to see how they wear...

More siping makes a tire tread squirm more, but new tires usually do well on wet pavement.

 

[buck91]

Also installed the AT3 on my truck this week, so far I'm very happy! Put P265/70r17 at3 on to replace LT235/80r17 Cooper H/T and its a detonate improvement in pretty much every catagory. Ride actually became slightly firmer despite going with the p metric and handling feels better too. Haven't tested them off road at al yet but they are quiet for an a/t- a light hum on some types of pavement and louder than the ht's they replaced but much quieter than the bfg I had on the f250.

 

[PW01]

So far I'm really happy with my choice. I have a 35 minute drive to work on the highway, and could not be happier with the ride, road noise and handling. We've had a great deal of heavy rain this week and I am really impressed with the wet traction. I haven't gone off road yet either, but suspect they will be just fine as it would be "light" offloading.