Least Aggressive A/T Tire for Mostly Highway Use or Stick With My All-Seasons

[T_Mart]

I have Cooper Discoverer EnduraMax All-Seasons on my ridgeline currently. They are pretty new and on the road they are excellent. Quiet on the highway, and great in the rain.

This is my first real AWD/4WD "truck" (yes go ahead and laugh for me calling it a truck). As such, I've been using it for some off-road duties. Recently I've had to drive it up a steep gravel road with a tight corner to get to a friend's lake house, drive through muddy grassy fields to get to camp sites, and drive up a rutted dirt road at a steep angle. Soon I will need to drive it on the beach and this winter it will definitely see snow on less improved roads.

So far the performance has been ok with the Coopers off-road, but many times I've had wheel spin/loss of traction and required use of VTM-4 Lock to get out of a few spots, but never been actually stuck/unable to get somewhere. I'm actually pretty impressed with the trucks capability. My issue is that my use of the truck as my daily driver means that it sees pretty much only pavement/around town/highway use. The only time I am off road is the last 2-4% of a trip to the cabin/lake/camping/beach/etc. I'm not really willing to give up the on road characteristics of these all-seasons (noise and comfort) for an A/T tire, but maybe I'm unaware of less aggressive A/Ts that could offer some more off-road grip without sacrificing on road characteristics too much. The Continental TerrainContact A/T looks really mild but I have no experience with it.

Any input is welcome, even if it's just "Keep your all-seasons".

Thanks!

EDIT: forgot to include size. Stock is 245/65r17. Not willing to size up.

 

[Kuato]

Since you like Cooper, check out the Discoverer AT3 4S.

I also like the Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015.

 

[barkingspider]

Goodyear wrangler adventure AT w Kevlar is not very aggressive but can handle your off-road needs and smooth /quiet on road. They are reasonably priced and will last

 

[DriveHard]

I had these on my truck...loved them. Low noise, great snow traction, stiff sidewalls, good for towing/hauling.

https://www.discounttiredirect.com/buy-tires/pathfinder-at/p/26174

 

[T_Mart]

Since you like Cooper, check out the Discoverer AT3 4S.

I also like the Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015.

I have nothing for or against cooper really. I bought the truck with these tires on it. The Discoverer AT3 4S looks like what I'm interested in. Very mild, but still an AT. Will check out the Yokohama as well. Looks like it won't get to loud over time hopefully.

 

[T_Mart]

Goodyear wrangler adventure AT w Kevlar is not very aggressive but can handle your off-road needs and smooth /quiet on road. They are reasonably priced and will last

Certainly willing to check these out. I've had mostly a hate-hate experience with Goodyear all-seasons and summer tires but I'm always up for redemption.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

You might like H/T tires

The General Grabber HTS60 seems like it would suit your needs.

 

[OilSwine]

I can give an endorsement for the Continental TerrainContact A/T. I have a '21 Ridgeline with Michelin Defender LTX M/S which are great tires, relatively quiet and great in the rain. A few months ago I put a set of TerrainContact A/T's on my son's 4Runner and it changed the ride of that vehicle significantly for the better. I still wanted the 4Runner to have some off road ability but act right on the road. Our vehicles spend alot of time on I-10 between Baton Rouge and New Orleans so ride and rain performance is really important. The Continentals are great in the rain, as good as the Michelins. We've had it in gravel and dirt and they were fine, but I'm not sure that was really a good test. They look pretty good too.

There's a good chance I'll put the Continentals on my Ridgeline when it's time to replace tires.

 

[Sonic]

I just bought Falken wild peak AT3w’s for my Sante fe. 235/65/17. Very nice. Sporty rugged look but no too aggressive. Quiet and smooth on the highway. Available in your size.

 

[02SE]

I have nothing for or against cooper really. I bought the truck with these tires on it. The Discoverer AT3 4S looks like what I'm interested in. Very mild, but still an AT. Will check out the Yokohama as well. Looks like it won't get to loud over time hopefully.

Here are our Yokohama A/T G015's in LT 265/70R 17 E.

They are great in rain, snow, they are quiet, balanced easily, and so far have done great on 4wd trails. Although we generally don't encounter deep mud. The light mud they have been through was no problem.

A review: https://expeditionportal.com/review-yokohama-geolandar-at-g015/

 

[Sonic]

Falken wild peak AT3W

 

[RooflessVW]

The AT3 4S has been doing great for me. Starting to get a little noisey 30k in.

 

[CheezWhiz]

super swampers, of course!

 

[Doc8404]

I just bought Falken wild peak AT3w’s for my Sante fe. 235/65/17. Very nice. Sporty rugged look but no too aggressive. Quiet and smooth on the highway. Available in your size.

I have heard nothing but good things about these.
Probably my next tire for the F150

 

[02SE]

I have heard nothing but good things about these.
Probably my next tire for the F150

It's weird. I had a set that couldn't be balanced. I've heard the same thing from lots of other people, and a friend who is the GM of national tire chain. In fact they're considering dropping them due to too many come-backs.

At one time they were very cheap to buy, which is one reason they became popular. Now they are not so cheap to buy. But the uniformity issues seem to persist.

Do your due diligence.

 

[Doc8404]

It's weird. I had a set that couldn't be balanced. I've heard the same thing from lots of other people, and a friend who is the GM of national tire chain. In fact they're considering dropping them due to too many come-backs.

At one time they were very cheap to buy, which is one reason they became popular. Now they are not so cheap to buy. But the uniformity issues seem to persist.

Do your due diligence.

it was these or Cooper

 

[02SE]

it was these or Cooper

Based on what I experienced, the complaints I've read all over the 'Net, and finally the opinion of my tire chain GM friend, between the two I'd choose Cooper.

 

[Egg_Head]

As for beach driving, airing down to single digits PSI is more important than tread pattern. You want flotation not something that is going to dig a hole.

 

[T_Mart]

As for beach driving, airing down to single digits PSI is more important than tread pattern. You want flotation not something that is going to dig a hole.

I'm not sure I can go down to single digit PSI without beadlocks. It seems most people go down to 15-20psi on road tires when airing down for sand.

 

[WishIhadatruck]

I have the Cooper AT3 tires on my 2500 Suburban 4x4. Totally different vehicles, but I will give you my experience with them. I use them to tow a heavy travel trailer and wanted some better traction for the occasional time I go off-road.

FYI, mine are the older style, not sure how much different the new ones are?

When new, the tread depth was very noticeable. I could feel a LOT of tread squirm and it made towing less stable. General non-towing handling was not nearly as good either. They started around 15-16/32" of tread. Now they are down to around 12/32 and feel totally fine. It was really when they were new that I didn't like them. Worked great when we parked in some mild sand on a beach once however. I don't regret buying them at all. I may get them again next time. I'll probably get 40k out of them. Mine are 265/65R18 load range E.

As a reference, when they were new, I was changing from Michelin LTX MS/2 tires in size 245/75R16 LRE. They were worn down pretty well and that combined with being an all season, they felt really good on pavement. The AT3s obviously were going to feel much different.