Cooper AT3's

[Sierra048]

Need your opinions on the Cooper AT3. I've reached my limit with the terrible factory General Grabbers. Just turned 28k on the Sierra, 80% highway miles and they are shot with 5k rotations. No Discount tires within hours of me so will have to use a local small town tire business with a decent rep. Thinking of the Coopers because reviews seem to be ok. Don't need any high priced top of the line , off-road, premium tire. Just something with decent driving characteristics that will hopefully last 40k to 50k miles before replacement. 265/70/17, set of 4, OTD for $663. Price does not include the current $70 Visa card promotion. Any comments good or bad on this tire? Thanks.

 

[JeepWJ19]

Most people have good reviews.

I do not.

Dads jeep had them, were OK in rain, not much difference in snow. They wore pretty fast.

Uncle has them on his truck, he likes them but they wore fast as well.

Buddy of mine with a Jeep has them on his, has racked about 5-10k miles on them and is trying to sell them. He does not like their snow traction, he's trying to switch back to BFG KOs.

Edit: since you're in Georgia you probably don't have to worry as much about snow as others lol. Probably a decent road tire.

 

[Kuato]

Discount Tire will ship tires to you, or to a shop you choose.

I've heard good and bad about the AT3's, most people love them but they do wear a little quicker and get noisy if not rotated.

I put Michelins on but at around $950 installed they're a bit more spendy. Goodyear Wranglers came on my truck, gave good service and lasted just over 50k.

 

[jeepman3071]

My dad had them on his Grand Cherokee, and I now have them on my Cherokee. They are decent tires. Good for mostly road driving, and they are quieter than my BFG A/Ts were. My dad now has the BFG KO2's on his Jeep, and they are much better in snow and rain than the Coopers were. My next set I will likely be going back to BFGs.

 

[BrianF]

I ran a set of 10 ply on my 2011 Ram 1500. I had them on for just shy of 2 years, 50,000km. They were less expensive than comparable Goddyears. They were great in the summer and on the grid roads. They appeared to wear faster than I would have liked and they were not as good in the snow/ice as the old Goodyear Wranglers.

Would I get them again? Maybe......

 

[Tdbo]

I have them on my Ranger.
They certainly far from being a high end tire, and I don't see them going high mileage, but they are not bad for a budget tire. I would say they are middle of the road in rain or snow. I've had better, but I've had worse.
I got in on one of the DTD Direct holiday sales, and I was in for < $200 for 4 tires delivered. All in, mounted and balanced, I was at less than $230.
I'd buy them again, but this is on a fourth vehicle. If I wear them out before they dry rot out, I'll be amazed.

 

[buck91]

I ran the Coopers on my F150 in P265/70r17 (stock equivalent size) for a few years. Just about 45k miles, actually. The firs thalf of the tread life (as measured in depth) offered very pleasant driving abilities in all sorts of Michigan weather. In fact, winter traction was what I would describe as "very good." Tread wore even and like iron (6/32nds remaining after 45k). Unfortnuately, they developed two problems at about the same time (45k).

1. Traction became terrible. Visually you could see they had worn down past most of the siping. Yes I still had "50%" tread left, but what does that matter if the siping is gone? Traction in the dry wasn't really affected (naturally) but even a little rain and it would EASILY spin the rear tires with even casual acceleration to merge with traffic. This was particularly problematic during one highway interchange on my daily commute. It would readily break the rear loose during the required aggressive acceleration from approx 40mph to 70mph.

2. Around this same time, one of the tires developed an aggressive leak (20psi per day). Figuring I'd just picked up a screw or some such, I popped my 12v compressor in the truck for a few days until I could get it fixed. When I took it in, tire shop said the inner liner had separated from the carcass.

In all fairness, and rather laudably IMHO, Cooper offered a pro-rata on the entire set; they even based it on tread depth instead of miles. This resulted in a significant warranty credit. Honestly, I would get another set of Coopers but not the AT3. Just not happy with performance as they wear.

All that said, for the first half or more of their life they were absolutely great tires.

 

[volk06]

People either love them or hate them. Mostly positive reviews. Hard to beat for the price but I'm more of a fan of the hankook ATM (RF10) tire.

 

[dlundblad]

I squeezed 90k out of my first set of Duratracs on my Jeep.

Are you set on this brand/ model?

 

[TWG1572]

I have them on my Frontier currently. I've gotten 60K out the two other sets of tires I've had on this truck (General Grabber AT2, BFG Long Trail). I'm at 60K on these and have plenty of tread left before getting to the indicators. But like Buck says, they have worn past most of the siping. And they are loud, and they have been slow leakers since installed. First one tire, than another. I've given up on taking them to a shop to get fixed, and reconciled myself to having to fill them about ever 2 weeks.

Discount Tire Direct is having their $100 off a $450 purchase on eBay this week, so I decided to kick them to the curb and get some new tires. I tend to stick to mid-priced/value brands, so I've got some General Grabber HTS60's on the way. Going for a highway tire this time.

 

[BrianF]

When it comes time to get tires for my new Ram 3500 I will see what Cooper has. I really need something a bit better in the snow and ice. I run one set of tires year round.

 

[rq375]

I have had them on an 02 F-350 7.3 for about 30k, they are rotated every 5k and inflation is checked regularly. The good: they have worn well and are very quiet for an AT, the bad: snow and ice traction is not great and two of them have developed concentric cracks about 1/2 way between the bead and tread. I only occasionally tow an open single car trailer, and most of the 30k has been highway so I would not call them abused. I'll probably go BFG or Toyo next time.

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted By: BrianF
When it comes time to get tires for my new Ram 3500 I will see what Cooper has. I really need something a bit better in the snow and ice. I run one set of tires year round.


My new Ram had Firestone Transforce HT tires on it. I needed a tire with better traction, so I had the Dealer swap out the OEM tires for a set of Toyo Open Country C/T tires before I took delivery. From reviews I've read of both, the Toyo's should have much better traction, and longevity. They are likely a bit more noisy than the Firestone HT's would've been, but on the 400 mile drive home from the Dealer, they rode nice, and were really very quiet. The Cummins just softly purred, and the tires were barely audible.

It might be in your best interest to get what you can for your OEM tires now, before they wear excessively.

 

[fcjeep]

Sierra048,

I know you asked about Coopers and not Firestones but I posted this on another thread last week and maybe it will be helpful if you decide not to go with Coopers. I was writing about Firestone Destination AT tires:

"I had a set of Destination ATs on my GC. One of the best sets of tires I've ever had.

Lasted 68,000 miles. Still had about 4/32" tread but were starting to crack so I wanted to replace. Good ride, good handling, quiet, good in rain, great in deep snow. No balance issues. Rotated every 5K miles. Would buy again.

Replaced with a set of Pirelli Scorpion ATRs because I got a good deal. Big mistake. The Scorpions stink. They slip and slide even in a little bit of snow (2"). Traction control is always kicking on and it rarely used to before. The rest of the time they're ok. Won't buy Scorpion ATRs again."

Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[Shellguy]

Originally Posted By: buck91
I ran the Coopers on my F150 in P265/70r17 (stock equivalent size) for a few years. Just about 45k miles, actually. The firs thalf of the tread life (as measured in depth) offered very pleasant driving abilities in all sorts of Michigan weather. In fact, winter traction was what I would describe as "very good." Tread wore even and like iron (6/32nds remaining after 45k). Unfortnuately, they developed two problems at about the same time (45k).

1. Traction became terrible. Visually you could see they had worn down past most of the siping. Yes I still had "50%" tread left, but what does that matter if the siping is gone? Traction in the dry wasn't really affected (naturally) but even a little rain and it would EASILY spin the rear tires with even casual acceleration to merge with traffic. This was particularly problematic during one highway interchange on my daily commute. It would readily break the rear loose during the required aggressive acceleration from approx 40mph to 70mph.

2. Around this same time, one of the tires developed an aggressive leak (20psi per day). Figuring I'd just picked up a screw or some such, I popped my 12v compressor in the truck for a few days until I could get it fixed. When I took it in, tire shop said the inner liner had separated from the carcass.

In all fairness, and rather laudably IMHO, Cooper offered a pro-rata on the entire set; they even based it on tread depth instead of miles. This resulted in a significant warranty credit. Honestly, I would get another set of Coopers but not the AT3. Just not happy with performance as they wear.

All that said, for the first half or more of their life they were absolutely great tires.


This is a very accurate review! i had some and really liked them but traction after 50(percent wear) was questionable and i then replaced them.

 

[Sierra048]

Thanks for all the info and advice. Volk06 is right, people either love them or hate them. I focused on these because I do like the tread pattern and the $70 visa card promo going on right now. My hope is to get the best tires I can get at the best price I can. Someone mentioned General Grabbers. These are the tires that came with the truck new. Given my frustration with them, I can't see myself deliberately buying them. Years ago I bought a set of Destination LE's for a half-ton pick up I owned. They didn't last long at all. Please keep in mind I am far from a tire expert. I am definately going to broaden my search based a several first hand experinces posted on this thread. I'm trying not to let my bad experiences from years ago cloud my judgement now since things can improve over time. That's why I asked for opinions. Having mentioned that I do like the tread pattern on these tires, any suggestions on comparable tires. I've searched so much lately, and there are so many brands, they start to all look alike and I'm sure I've missed some. BTW, thanks for the suggestions offered above.

 

[BlindBaby]

The following is a brief review I wrote on these tires for Discount Tire Direct. Tire size is 265/70 R17.


Rating
8.7
Review Date
February 12, 2017
Vehicle
2009 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500 LT/LTZ
Location
Sutton, WV
Driving Conditions
Mixed Dry Rain
Driving Style
Mixed Highway and City
Owned Tires for
3 years 2 months
Miles Driven on Tires
30000
Ride Comfort
9.0
Cornering/Steering
9.0
Ride Noise
9.0
Tread Life
7.0
Dry Traction
9.0
Wet Traction
9.0
Winter Traction
9.0
Buy Tire Again Yes

Tire Pros

American made, excellent quality for the price.

Tire Cons

Tread wear is not as advertised.
I've owned these tires since 2013 and put approximately 30,000 miles on them from mostly interstate and paved secondary roads. The tires do well in all weather conditions other than mud. My truck has never been in the mud, but my Father and two co-workers run the same tire and due to the tight tread design, the tires do not clean themselves well. My only complaint is that I will not get the advertised mileage from these tires; which is typical. I have rotated the tires every 5,000 miles and maintained the correct pressure; that being said, the tires have worn evenly and provided me great service; they've balanced well, no road noise, no vibrations, etc. all-in-all an excellent product for the selling price. I will be able to run the tires until the winter of 2017 at which time there won't be enough tread to safely drive in the snow. I anticipate having approximately 40,000 miles on the tires.

 

[Sierra048]

Thanks BlindBaby. This is the exact feedback I was hoping for. I'm still considering these tires and one other, the Yokohama Geolander G015. Just found out after talking to my sister that my BIL just had a set of these put on his Chevy p/u. They don't have enough miles on them to give me a real feel but they do like them so far. Any opinions on the Yokohamas? I'll be heading out later today to hopefully look at these in person.

 

[Sierra048]

Thanks BlindBaby. This is the exact feedback I was hoping for. I'm still considering these tires and one other, the Yokohama Geolander G015. Just found out after talking to my sister that my BIL just had a set of these put on his Chevy p/u. They don't have enough miles on them to give me a real feel but they do like them so far. Any opinions on the Yokohamas? I'll be heading out later today to hopefully look at these in person.

 

[fcjeep]

Sierra 048

My son has had the Yokohama Geolander G015 on his Xterra for the past 12,000 miles. They only hit the market on April 1, 2016 so you won't find too many long term reviews. On his truck they have been quiet, very smooth and grip well in rain and snow. The "eyeball test" shows they are wearing well so far but I have not measured them.

When he bought them last April there was a $70 rebate in effect. Maybe they'll do the same this year.