Cooper Discoverer AT3 XLT vs Winter Tire?

I'm sorry, but with all due respect, this is wrong
trust me, from personal experience and knowledge - winter tires are better than ANY all season tire in winter/snow and it's not even close

 

He never said better, he just said they perform fine. Which is my sentiment as well after driving up here in Alaska for going on 3 decades.

No one is saying AT’s or AS’s perform better in winter conditions than a dedicated winter tire.

 

I live in an area with pretty solid winters, live in an area of town known as the "hill", been driving for 20 years and never once had or needed winter tires on a 4wd. 3PMS tires and good driving habits have served me just fine. Winter tires are no doubt better, but for the hassle/cost of having to change them, I think most can get along just fine without them. Also I'm not comparing winter tires to crap factory "all season", I mean real quality all terrain with 3PMS and M+S.

Now in my wife's Camry I absolutely run blizzaks every winter, no question they are needed and worth every penny on a 2wd.

Just my opinion, as I said.

*EDIT* my original post did say "all season". I meant all terrain. I only run good AT tires and there is obviously a huge difference between that and all season. So I agree with you calling me out on my original comparison.

 

Same here. 295/70/18. No 3 peak rating.

 

Good point. I should’ve specified a 3 Peak rating. Up here some provinces won’t allow you on certain roads without winters or at least 3 Peak rated ATs.

Also, a few guys have mentioned winters not being needed on 4x4s, and while I get what they’re saying... 4x4s often benefit more from the improved stopping of winters. It’s not always about getting moving.

 

worst tires I've ever had in winter were Toyo mud terrains that came on my truck when I bought it. Hard compound, large lug spacing, no factory siping. They were awful, even scary. Worse then all seasons I bet.

I believe to be 3PMS tires have to be a softer compound and have factory siping. In other words they are similar to actual studless snow tires.

 

In case anyone is interested I reached out to Cooper and according to them here are the AT3 XLT sizes with the 3PMSF rating:

31x10.50R15
LT275/70R18
LT265/70R18
LT265/60R20
LT275/60R20
LT275/65R20
LT275/55R20

So it looks like it does have to do with the width because any size over 275 does not carry the rating.

 

I think it was earned just this year (2020) I don't think they were 3 peak for 2019.

 

I don't have the Coopers but I have the Falken Wildpeaks with 3PMS rating. I also have a dedicated set of Blizzaks for winter. In my opinion, the AT tire with 3PMS will be fine most of the time in winter. The advantage of winter tires are when you are trying to stop or turn in icy conditions. And it doesn't even have to be sheets of ice, just "icy". Even with a good AT, you slide in a "soil your pants" kind of way when you are coming in too hot to a stop or a turn. With winters, your slide feels more controllable or predictable. But if you drive sensibly and cautiously, you will be fine with a good AT with 3PMS.

 

Thanks for posting. I recall an article I read a while back about skinny tires are better in snow. More surface pressure is better than surface area when it comes to snow/ice traction.

 

So now another question...where are the Coopers made? USA or overseas?

 

I believe the majority of Cooper tires are made in 1 of 4 US plants. You can identify which plant the tires were made at using these codes stamped on the tires.

DOT codes for Cooper’s American plants:

• 3D – Albany, Georgia
• U9 – Tupelo, Mississippi
• UP – Findlay, Ohio
• UT – Texarkana, Arkansas

The only exception may be the commercial truck tire that are made in China. But I believe all passenger and LT tires are made in the US plants.