please get these so i can have at least one review on an fj before i buy em.

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company - Discoverer STT PRO?

Expedition portal has only good things to say about em;

Exclusive: Cooper Discoverer STT Pro Review | Expedition Portal

 

I saw those and was very interested! They look wicked too! Like you said, they are just untested and not many reviews. If they had an estimate on how long they lasted and how much road noise they made, I would be more interested. But yeah, I like the way they look fur sure!

Those SSTs look like the best tires out there. Super high void

Yeah but man, I just don't want to have to replace them in 30,000 miles...

 

Those SSTs look like the best tires out there. Super high void

 

Living in Ohio has me convinced that you need at least two sets of tires for any vehicle. Summers and snows. Having a special purpose vehicle adds another set for off-road. When we first got the FJ the tires were less than great, we decided on all seasons to avoid noise, less milage and lower life expectancy. 2 years and 20,000 miles later we will be needing new all seasons before next summer. Tire warranties are a sales tool, I think 20-30k is an excellent life span for a tire.

 

Where do you live in Ohio? I recently moved out to Cali but still call Ohio home. Tires are just not an easy decision to make. The two tires I am looking at basically weigh the same too.

 

Born and raised in Lakewood, I just moved back from south Orange County in 2013. Where are you at in CA?

 

Living close to Santa Barbara. Love the weather but people in the midwest are usually nicer and also better drivers :wink were you in OC of Cali?

 

I run Goodyear MT/Rs with the Kevlar sidewall belts. Expensive, but worth it.

I would go with the BFGs way before the Coopers. We use a lot of the STTs on our work trucks, and in my experience they do not hold up well. (Rapid tread wear and steel belt/tread separations.) The BFG ATs and Mud Terrains are probably the single most popular tires in the USA. They got that way for a reason. Just my 2c. :bigthumb:

 

Thanks for the tips. It is actually pretty sweet that you have a fleet of trucks with STTs. Loads of info when you can talk about how an entire fleet of tires do! I am starting to lean more towards the BFGs. How have your MT/Rs done so far? They had a sweet deal on those about two months ago ($230?) per tire and I was interested then but now they are back up to around $280.

 

That's the trade you make. Stuck to the transplants, there's enough of them! I started out in Anaheim and ended up in Laguna Niguel. I would deal with any amount of a$$holes to be back in that weather. Stick with it!!

 

If your looking at STT, you may want to look at the ST MAXX. Great tire, quiet, aggressive and long life. As in 50-60 K. I've ran many sets of BFGs and there is no comparison IMO. Took a set of BFG TA KOs off for the Coops. You can get 50K out of BFG, but it's a hard 50k.


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I wouldn't compare the KO to the KO2. I used to have KO's on my 3rd Gen 4Runner and thought they were a desert tire that was awful in wet and mud. The KO2 is not the same as the KO in my experience. I have about 5,000 miles on my KO2's and have never been this impressed with an A/T tire for all-around traction in dry, wet, snow, ice, dirt, sand, rock. I sold my KO's before they were worn out. I am so happy with my KO2's that I won't be ditching them until I wear them out. I've also heard good things from the Cooper tires but I've never run them.

 

Another vote for ST Maxx I put a set on mine 6500 miles ago and they are quiet and have amazing performance off and on road. As for how long they last I used to run the older ST on my F250 and would get 55-60K per set of hard heavy driving and pulling overloaded trailers with no problems

 

I can't recommend the KO2s until I get the the bottom of my current set's rapid deterioration, but I'll keep you posted.

 

My first set of STTs lasted 60K + and still had enough tread left for me to sell them used.
As for homie that says BFGs are better, I'd take the Pepsi challenge over BFG, Hankook, Nitto and even the GoodYears ON THE TRAIL any time. I've seen two KO2s puncture the sidewall and the Hankook/Nittos guy can't hook up as well as the STTs. As for the MTRs, not any better or worse, just way much more $$$$ and not worth it to me. I'm on my 2nd set of STTs and can't wait to wear them out enough for a set of STT Pro.

 

Some pics of my STT PROS 285/70/17. Looks like my mpg took a 1.5-2mpg hit. I can live with it. Do I have a choice? Paid $1439.00 5 tires mounted/balanced/aligned.

 

I didn't even read the thread... between Cooper and BFG... Get the BFG and be happy. Seriously .. BFG
Actually, if your in the So Cal area, I have 5 brand spanking new BFG all terraing (KO2s) that came on my TT at like 265/75/r16 or so.. I might be wrong... that I'll let go for 500. They have 500 miles on them. just pm
Regardless... forget Cooper. Go BFG.

 

By the way, no matter what you hear, Cooper are a "tier 2" tire. Vbration, road noise, traction, aired down sidewall, etc... are all not as good as well as general wear. Just keep it in mind. My source is just that I've been doing this stuff for over 30 years. Could care less about the nawsayers, doubters, ans skeptics....

 

Not sure what you mean by "tier 2"? It appears that what classifies a tire as "tier 1" is nothing more than the big 3 tire companies that have the market share and distribution to the large auto manufacturers. As of a recent report, BFG is not a tier 1 tire and according to the reports, all are competing for a tier 1 status. It is not a quality issue between tier 1 and 2, rather numbers sold. Price differentials are minute as well as product. The only tires to be concerned with are the economy tier 3 in that price drives the product, not build quality. I'm not disputing the quality of a BFG tire. I've been using their products for 25+ years. I do believe that Cooper makes a quality product as well and according to a 2015 report, they sit beside BFG in the tier 2 pool.
http://mtd.epubxp.com/i/449261-jan-2015/41?


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BFG get my vote also. They have reliable traction on and off the road, and have decent tread life.

 

Cooper makes good stuff, they also make lesser quality tires (as does BFG). In tire quality you want to consider rubber compound, tread design, shoulder reinforcement, sidewall design and reinforcement, load rating, temp rating, wear rating, speed rating, and terrain the tire was built for. I don't think anyone in this thread has mentioned a tire to be concerned about when looking for good to best quality.

IMO the BFG KO2 is as good as an A/T tire gets. The Cooper A/T tires are also good tires that offer good traction. You will probably trade some road noise for some off-road wet/mud traction looking at that STT vs. KO2. The KO2 by nature will give you a smoother and quieter ride where the STT has better tread spacing between the blocks (better cleaning when in mud/clay/soft dirt). Both tires will damage/puncture if you air them way down and abuse them. Both tires should perform just fine on the road (although I think the BFG has a better design for road manners).

If you are still looking at this option I would ask you what YOUR driving style is going to be like? I drive my rig on the street every single day and don't do a lot of mud wheeling so the BFG was a natural choice for me. If your rig is more of a weekend warrior and OFF ROAD WET traction is more important to you than I would change your options to Goodyear Duratrac vs. STT.

Yes, the KO2 is much better in wet conditions than the KO was but there are still better contenders in the A/T category. Your only other route is to abandon street performance and comfort for a true MUD tire.

 

Well said. I sort of got off track. I think your spot on. It's not really a good comparison when pairing the STT to the KO2. I'd think the ST MAXX may be closer.


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I installed the ST Maxx in 285/70R17 size about 5k miles ago. The tires are pretty quiet on the road and handle well. They're a load range E tire so the sidewall is stiffer so it does have a bit of a harsher ride in the city but I don't notice it on the highway. These tires weigh a lot{68lbs I believe) so your mpg will take a hit. I like the tire all around (snow,rain,mud,rock).

 

Another vote for the Cooper ST Maxx. I put a set on my 2012 FJ about a month ago - right before I left Atlanta for Summit. I have driven them almost 3000 miles in the last three weeks (and will have another 1000 miles on them by the time I get home) and could not be happier. This includes highway/city driving, plus running trails daily at both Pre-Summit and Summit. The road noise on the highway is not much more than I had with the Dunlops that I had originally. The sidewalls seem pretty stout - when they are aired down you almost can't tell. They have taken everything I have thrown at them and are still running great.

I had Cooper L/T tires on my 1995 Ford van that I owned for over 10 years, and I hauled a crap ton of stuff in that vehicle. The Coopers held up as well as any other tire I ever bought, so not sure about this whole "tier 2" stuff. I'm very pleased with them so far.

 

I vote KO2, thats just based only on my personal experience with BFG's, big off road BFG's. I would take the Tier 1 and 2 comments lightly as well. I know not all tires from BFG are even made at the same plants by the same standards as i would imagine that same process is followed with Cooper tires. You cannot deny the "popularity" of the name BFG and that popularity has merit and may be for a reason. Anyway, all just in my humble opinion...>

 

Being the human I am, I changed my mind and (at least to me) split the difference. I picked the ST Maxx. So far they have been on for about 300 miles, 50 of which have been offroading. Some of it pretty hard offroading. To be honest, I love the choice! The only down side I see is the hardness of the E rating. Definitely need to air down when offroading or your going to feel like you are riding a bucking bronco when going over small bumps in the road. I am sure that is the same with all E rated tires. Noise level is low but you can hear them if you pay close attention, but the FJ looks sooooooo much better and performs much better offroad.

 

Nice choice. My brother ran those on his '15 4Runner. He loved them and they looked pretty good! I went with the KO2's and have been very happy with them. I don't think you could have gone wrong either way! :cheers:

 

The KO2's look very similar to the original KO's. After they turned into racing slicks in a thin layer of mud once I decided never again. Out of the two I would go with Cooper just because I despise the KO's and a similar looking KO2.

Just to throw another option into the mix have you looked into the goodyear duratracs? They are a good mix between a AT and MT.

 

Just to throw another option into the mix have you looked into the goodyear duratracs?

The Duratracs are only D rated (vs E for the Coopers). That might be a concern if you are airing down a lot. Someone I met at Summit split the sidewall on one of his Duratracs coming down from Imogene (he ran over a sharp rock). The ST Maxx just seems like a better quality tire to me for the money. With the BFGs and Goodyears, you are paying a premium for the name - personally I would rather pay for the tire.

 

I have at3s, if you don't mind the tamer look, they are wonderful tires!

Cheers


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These are really great tires for sure. I got every bit as good use out of them as I did BFG TKOs on my 1/2 ton pickup. Not aggressive but a great AT

 

I have now run my Cooper STT PRO's for about 1000 miles with some mild to moderate wheelin and all I can say it WOW. Noise is there especially in sweeping turns at speed, but I can carry on normal conversation in the vehicle and using the Bluetooth is no problem when calling or receiving calls. Grip on the trail is great and ride is as expected for a LT tire with E rating. Started running 40lbs on the road but quickly changed to 35lbs. I am totally satisfied and would be safe in recommending this tire to anyone with an FJ. PS- I like the side wall construction with these Coopers and it doesn't hurt that they look mean as heck also.

 

Can't wait for more feedback on the STT PRO's. You should start a separate thread to document their life.


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I almost went after the Cooper SST's but found too many posts on chunking. I ended up going with a softer tire by Cooper, the Mickey Thompson MTZs. They were ranked 3 in a off road tire test that included all the major off road brands. They have been great for on road performance but are a little louder than i want. They have lost about 1/3 of the tread after two years of use or about 24,000 miles, most of which is street driving. They have been decent on rock and dirt, and great in mud. I am running 35's and they balance easy enough, even on beadlocks. I think it's an overlooked tire.

 

I am having a really hard time choosing a tire here. I wont be doing alot of off roading in the near future and right now I really need to change out my Kenda Klevers. Any recommendations on a not so expensive (maybe $160 or less) tire that is not loud on the road, but good in all weather. I am in Ohio and winter is going to come! haha friggin snow!

 

Cooper AT3s above all else! They still show weakness on ice, but are great in snow. They are a great price, and are super quite on road. Also, if you ever do go off-road, they kick some serious butt...
Cheers,
Matt


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