Cooper Discoverer Long Term Review

28,000 miles and countless memories later, I finally have a time to look back at my time with the Cooper Discoverer STT.  With 170,000 miles now on the clock, I’ve had some great journeys with my Tacoma and have had a handful of different tires on the rig throughout that time.  Not trying to sound bias on my opinion, but so far these Coopers have worked their way to the top of my list of tires.

From the factory Rugged Trail to BFG AT, then to Duratracs and finally MT/R before making the move to these STTs, I’ve had a variety of tires on the Tacoma over the years.  Coming from the Duratracs and their outstanding winter handing, they had a high bar set for comparison in the winter time.  The Goodyear MT/R made a great name for itself in the dirt, rocks and mud in the time I had them installed and also set a high standard in those categories.  These tires, however, still had their drawbacks and kept me looking for a better overall tire to hold its own in a variety of categories and not just excelling in a few aspects.

Enter the STT into our lives.  We’ve taken these tires from the streets of Denver, to the high alpine roads in the San Juans of Colorado and on many back roads throughout Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona.  In every condition, I’ve seen favorable outcomes with the STT.  Take that statement with a grain of salt as mentioned before, previous tires set high standards in winter and off-road conditions in my opinion.  

When it comes to winter conditions, were the STTs the best?  No.  When it comes to off-road handling and durability?  Almost.  How about tread life and wear?  Not really.  That being said, they are nowhere near bottom of the list, far from it.  In those categories, the STTs are a close 2nd in the list of tires I’ve tried on my 2006 Toyota Tacoma.  With the needs I demand of my truck, I’ve been very pleased with the overall performance of these mud-terrains.  

Through the rocky terrain of Colorado, their sidewall has proven their worth time and time again. They did show their mortality on a tough climb on Grizzly Lake. Angling my truck up a tough ledge, the wet rocks didn’t provide enough traction and I slid my sidewall into a nasty rock that pinched my sidewall between my FN Wheel and the rock.  The tear wasn’t significant, but it did enough damage to warrant swapping out and later replacing the tire.  Besides that, the STT airs down great and they still feel plenty sturdy even at 12-15psi where I typically run them.  They aren’t the stickiest tire out there, but they hooked up great on a variety of off-road conditions and through all the abuse, they did not show any major signs of chunking.

Last fall, we took the truck into the backcountry of the San Rafael Swell and we saw some muddy conditions in areas near Fuller Bottom, but it didn’t take much to get the STTs and us over muddy river banks and push us effortlessly through muddy washes.  On long trips like those through backcountry areas where a reliance on your equipment is crucial, I began to appreciate the comfort my STTs gave me over an assortment of terrain and weather conditions.

Having a winter under my belt with the STT, I can also say they hold their own on a variety of winter conditions.  Again, are they the best?  No, but they really do kick some serious butt for a mud-terrain.  I’m sure if I had the tires siped, their performance on icy/hard pack would improve, but I never felt that uncomfortable with them to warrant that step.

Tread life and wear are a couple categories that I was surprised and pleased with.  Coming from the MT/R right before the STT, I did not see favorable tread life in the short time I had the MT/Rs.  They were great when they were off the pavement, but I daily drive my truck and see a lot of highway miles on some of our journeys.  This is where the full package of the STT really comes into light.  The STT comes new with 20/32nds tread depth and so far I’m still showing 11/32nds with over 28,000 miles on them.  Longevity coupled with great (given not the best, but a close 2nd) off-road and all around handling, the STT has made its way to the top of my list on an overall tire standpoint.

[flickr set=72157651839236169]

To get your copy of the

April 2015 issue:

FIND US ON:

Twitter | Facebook