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[Spawn Sack]

Yes I know...I know...this is a place to discuss fishing - not tires! However I fish a lot and need good A/T tires to get me in/out of some pretty hairly (at times) locations. I'm just wondering if anyone has or has an opinion of the tires I'm thinking of buying for my 08 4Runner: The Cooper Discoverer AT3.

It seems you don't see a lot of Cooper tires in Canada. Nor do a lot of tire shops sell them. In my city, Chilliwack, only one tire shop carries these specific tires. I am thinking of buying them mainly because they are highly rated by Consumer Reports and pretty much every website I checked out. They are also something different as opposed to the BFG A/T's and other ubiquitous A/T tires that you see on every truck on the road.

I am a little hesitant as I don't know anyone who has them or has had them. I'm specifically curious if anyone has run them in the winter and if they do well in snow/slush/ice. I am planning to run the tires year round and not use seperate winter tires. And yes I know the BFGs and a few other A/T tires have the snow-flake aka a winter rating. I don't really care about the snow-flake as long as they're decent in the winter (I carry chains when I go up Hemlock, etc in case theing get really ugly).

Again apologies for posting this on the fshing forum but I figured if anyone might be running a set of these tires it would be another fisherman!

Here's a good review of the tires and a link to Cooper's website:

http://rivermud.blogspot.ca/2011/06/gear-review-cooper-discoverer-at3-tires.html

http://us.coopertire.com/Tires/Light-Truck/DISCOVERER-A-T3.aspx

[Spoonman]

Put a set  on my '08 Frontier last year.Have about 17,000 K on them so far with no issues.A bit louder than the oem BFG Longtrails that were on it.Didn't really have much snow last year to try them out fully,but seemed good in the bit I dealt with.They really do perform in the rain though.They just plough through downpours/standing water on the hwy/fwy.

[Spawn Sack]

Spoonman, thanks for that. Good to hear from someone who has them and likes them. Also the Frontier is a pretty similar vehicle to my 4Runner. Normally I buy Michellin tires, and as a no brainer was going to buy the LTX A/T2s. However the Discoverers appear to be every bit as good a tire in most performance categories. Plus they look a LOT sharper that the Michellin, which is probbaly the most boring looking A/T I've ever seen. The Michellins will likely last a bit longer and yeild slightly better fuel economy as they are a few pounds lighter and have lower rolling resistance. Oh well you can't have it all and these are downsides I can live with.

[c-pin]

Put them on my 2007 Jeep Liberty 6 months ago.

In short: They are a great tire. Great in the rain. Great in the snow. Great on the highway.

[MERC]

Hey John.  Where did you buy them and how much were they?

[bigfishy]

Buy the goodyear wrangler duratrac. Snowflake symbol for winter aggresive tread pattern for off road.

[Spawn Sack]

C-Pin, thanks for the comment, good to hear another fisherman is happy with them. I had a good chat with the Manager (Rod) at the Discount Tire in Bellingham the other day about the Discoverer AT3s and comparable A/T tires. At the end of the conversation I was convinced I was making the right choice by going with them. Of course there are plenty of other A/T tires that would also suit my needs quite well. In the end I just like them and they excel in the categories that are important to me.

Bigfishy, thanks for the advice and I'm aware of the Duratecs. I have no good reason, but I just don't like Goodyears. Perhaps it's because I had a set of Goodyear Nordic winter tires on a car many years ago and they sucked compared to other winter tires I've had. I just wouldn't be happy seeing them on my 4Runner every day. Something about the AT3s just wins me over. Sharpest looking A/T tire IMO. A good all around performer and nice that every second truck on the road isn't sporting a set of them.

FYI a lot cheaper across the line. I'm going to time the purchase with a two day trip to Seattle so I don't have to pay HST at the border. Difference in price between my local tire shop and in Bellingham = $260 out the door!

[hungry6]

Well here is Aust. They're the butt of good jokes. We do alot of serious offroading down here. Invariably the 2 that always comes up for outright grips and dirtability is BFG KM2 and Bridgestone Dweller 967? Got these on my last three 4wds and cant complain. No spikes and decent on road too.
But another one to consider and maybe cheaper there is Mickey Thompson ATX. Theyr are just too dear here.

[Spawn Sack]

Well here is Aust. They're the butt of good jokes. We do alot of serious offroading down here. Invariably the 2 that always comes up for outright grips and dirtability is BFG KM2 and Bridgestone Dweller 967? Got these on my last three 4wds and cant complain. No spikes and decent on road too.
But another one to consider and maybe cheaper there is Mickey Thompson ATX. Theyr are just too dear here.

Can someone translate this for me???

[troutbreath]

His first language is probably Australian.

[HOOK]

I have Km2's on my Ram and nothing has come close to stopping me yet. they seem to eat everything and spit it right out. IF the tread gets full of snow then just hit the peddle a bit harder for a few seconds and "poof" empty treads because they are designed not to "fill" when your mudding, i have however not gotten them into any thick goop yet but thats mostly because if i do get stuck i rather not do it while im alone.

Only thing i have noticed is they are fairly noisy especially at higher speeds and especially now since they have worn down somewhat. Found a screw stuck in my tire a few months back, pulled it out and you couldnt even tell it was ever there 

[Spawn Sack]

His first language is probably Australian.

Haha!!

[c-pin]

Hey John.  Where did you buy them and how much were they?

Hey Merc .... It's been a while !! I got them at Tirecraft 7990 Vantage Way, Delta, BC (in Tilbury).

Call me and I will give you the lowdown. Got 4 tires installed at around $940 incl tax.

John
(604) 690-7472

[Noahs Arc]

The KM2's are pretty good in the snow but terrible on ice or that packed slushy sh*t we are famous for here in the valley.

[Noahs Arc]

Go to tire rack or look around, find the cheapest price you can and call discount tire in Bellingham and they'll match it. When I got my BFGs on down there the place was packed with canadians. Good service too. 4 33" BFG all terrains load range E installed plus swapping out my spare with an old runner for under $1000