Tire Review: Cooper Discoverer ST / Maax

by Alan
(Boise, Idaho, USA)

I just put a set of these on my 3/4 ton Yukon XL. 285/75/16, I got them from a local Commercial Tire dealer here in the Boise ID area. I drove up to the Sawtooth mountains over the weekend on a paved winding mountain road.

I was very disappointed, with the On Highway, Dry Pavement performance of these tires. It felt alot like I was driving on Marshmellows, it was scary! The tire "Return to Center" was very poor and I white knuckled it all the way home.

I understand this is a pretty agressive off-road tread but I have used other tires with similair tread patterns and never experienced anything even close to this.

I'm not sure why but I suspect it's the way the sidewall is constructed. Below is a quote from Coopers site describing the side wall "Angled Ply Construction".

"A unique angled ply construction absorbs and helps dissipate tire impact forces that can damage a tire in harsh off-road conditions".

I took the truck back to the dealer and had them replaced with a set of AT/3's which made a huge difference!! Much, much better handling.

So in my experience, for this vehicle, this size tire, these conditions, I would not recommend this tire. I think its a well built tire and would be great for off-road performace if you are willing to sacrifice on-road performance which was not something I was willing to do. I would not recommend this tire for towing a trailer either.

Comment:

Although you didn't specify, I would hope that the AT/3's were the same size and the same tire pressure. If not those differences might be part of the explanation of the changes you experienced.

The other thought I've had in reading your account is that some tires which are designed for pure off-road experience do not give the best results on highway or city driving. Mixed use tires, of course, also give up some benefits for the convenience of not having to change tires for different uses.

TG