JasonH
Full Access Members
More stable, less squirm and wiggle. Plus reduced risk of blowouts. I towed with them, but not particularly far yet. The improvement was apparent even over short (under 20 mile) distances.
Time for tires, Michelin Defender LTX vs Cooper Discoverer AT3 XLT
- Thread starter Fasttimes
- Start date
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More stable, less squirm and wiggle. Plus reduced risk of blowouts. I towed with them, but not particularly far yet. The improvement was apparent even over short (under 20 mile) distances.
shinysideup2
Full Access Members
LT tires will generally be more durable, but much heavier than their P-metric equivalents. Your fuel mileage may suffer.
For some reason, I thought the Michelin Defender LTX in our stock 20" wheel size was an LT tire, but I see now that it's a P tire. They do make LT variants, but not in our stock size. No use in upsizing if you're not going off-road... especially if you're towing, in which case stock (or even smaller) size will put less strain on your drivetrain and sap less torque (bigger tires reduce torque, acceleration, braking power).
https://www.michelinman.com/tires/defender/defender-ltx-m-s.html
One downside of an All-Terrain tire (vs. All-season / H/T) is that there are bigger voids between the treads, so on-road non-towing dry traction will be somewhat compromised. This has never bothered me, even being a lead-footed / ham-****** driver. While towing my 6500 lb trailer, I've smashed the brakes a couple times (oops!) and have never engaged ABS, so tire-traction doesn't appear to be the weak link, even with All-terrain tires...
I personally really like the Cooper AT3 XLTs - they look nice, they're durable (LT rated, Load Range E), they're surprisingly quiet on-road, and they are capable enough off-road to keep my family and me from getting stuck in most situations - even some that are uncomfortable.
If brand value and your trust in the Michelin name is important to you, and you're not doing any off-roading, then the Defender LTX look like a good choice. It's just not for me.
For some reason, I thought the Michelin Defender LTX in our stock 20" wheel size was an LT tire, but I see now that it's a P tire. They do make LT variants, but not in our stock size. No use in upsizing if you're not going off-road... especially if you're towing, in which case stock (or even smaller) size will put less strain on your drivetrain and sap less torque (bigger tires reduce torque, acceleration, braking power).
https://www.michelinman.com/tires/defender/defender-ltx-m-s.html
One downside of an All-Terrain tire (vs. All-season / H/T) is that there are bigger voids between the treads, so on-road non-towing dry traction will be somewhat compromised. This has never bothered me, even being a lead-footed / ham-****** driver. While towing my 6500 lb trailer, I've smashed the brakes a couple times (oops!) and have never engaged ABS, so tire-traction doesn't appear to be the weak link, even with All-terrain tires...
I personally really like the Cooper AT3 XLTs - they look nice, they're durable (LT rated, Load Range E), they're surprisingly quiet on-road, and they are capable enough off-road to keep my family and me from getting stuck in most situations - even some that are uncomfortable.
If brand value and your trust in the Michelin name is important to you, and you're not doing any off-roading, then the Defender LTX look like a good choice. It's just not for me.
07navi
Full Access Members
Tires are trade offs, just get what you require the most and have a good name.
2010ELExpy4x4
Well-Known Member
Cooper ATP or AT3
See major recall by Cooper Tires today.
ExplorerTom
Full Access Members
Recalled tires were made between Feb 1, 2018 and Dec 1, 2019.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/cooper-recalls-430k-light-truck-tires-due-sidewall-76133291
Any tire purchased today will not be made in that window.
Not if it’s been on the shelf for a while. And you don’t know about the update on the recall.
ExplorerTom
Full Access Members
True. But every tire I’ve ever bought has been just a couple months old. And all 4 tires have been within a couple weeks of each other.
I have 3 vehicles. All have Coopers. 2 of them have tires made during the noted timeframe. None of them are affected by the recall.
What updates?
Nah. Buddy of mine was saying sarcastically that they’ll come out and expand the batch of tires updating the recall to all their tires kinda like what happened to Firestone years ago.
