Lots of great info Jon. I'm in the same boat as I need tires for winter too. Although around my neck of the woods we haven't had a winter as of yet.

I was leaning towards the Cooper A/T3 but might be looking at the BFG T/A KO2 for my truck. Decisions decisions.......

 

Try 'Wild Peak'. They are the same tire and made by Falken. Don't know why they have 2 names for the same tire.

 

I like RightWingNutjobs setup. If I were going to have a dedicated set of tires for winter, I'd get a snow tire, and have at least the rear ones studded. Keep in mind that the studs may not be good for hard cornering if the road is wet or dry, and the studs do make noise on dry roads. But you should be able to go pretty much anywhere unless the snow is deeper than the bottom of the bumper.

I have the Cooper Discoverer A/T3's and like them very much in the snow.

 

[QUOTE=RedDevil460;15926315]Awesome, thanks for the pics and review Gregg! Those tires do look really good on your truck, and glad to hear that you like them. That's great that they're quiet too. I don't mind a little bit of tire noise, but it'd be nice to have something quiet after how loud my current tires are. Mostly do to the fact that they are old and worn very badly.


Just curious, where'd you get that all chrome grille from? Even though I've already got the 05+ grille, I've just always thought that the old grilles looked better all chrome, instead of with the black plastic in the middle, but I've never really seen them for sale anywhere online. I've only seen a few other trucks with them, just think they look better than old style stock grille.


Yeah it has been an unusual winter so far, hardly any snow, and warm temps too. Where are you located at in Ohio? I'm in Northeast Ohio, about an hour east of Cleveland, in Geauga County.




I can't remember what seller it was I got the grille from, but was on Ebay. I too was leaning and debating on the 05-07 grille swap, when I happened upon this early all chrome.





I live in northwest Ohio, south of Findlay. I am kinda familiar with the C****** area though. My Ex GF lived up there between Painesville & C******. LOL

All this talk of winter vs. summer tires got me to thinking of past vehicles I have had, and what I had on them. My first 4x4 was a 1979' Jeep CJ5 that I ordered new from factory. I put larger white spoke rims & tires on it most of the time, but in winter I had some factory steel rims and Firestone Town & Country mud & snow tires. Non radials. They were the best snow tires I have ever used. LOL

Had a 1978 F150 4x4, small lift on it. I did same with it. Larger chrome rims, & big tires. But had factory wheels & Goodyear Wrangler radials on it in winter. I had a 1992 Ranger 4x4 I put B.F. Goodrich radial TA's on, several sets, in 200,000+ miles. I liked them very much, so I know they have a big following.


Gregg,

 

Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in a few days, but I finally decided on the Cooper A/T3's. I've heard a lot of good things about them, and you guys had good reviews on them, so I wanted to give them a try. I also wanted a little bit of a different look than my current Duratracs, so the Cooper's gave me that and I like the look of them. They were also quite a bit cheaper than the Duratracs, so that was good. However I did make the last minute decision to go with 295/75R16's instead of the 285/75R16's. The 295's are almost an inch taller and a hair wider. Decided on those just because the Coopers are a little shorter than almost all of the other tires in 285's, and are a half inch shorter than the Duratracs. The 295's are a little taller than the 285 Duratracs. So I think they will look better, and will definitely make a difference once I go with the lift. The 285's would have really looked small with the lift.


But I guess the 295's are a bit of a rare size, so I had to pay for them. They ended up being $225 a tire, and extra $20 a tire than the 285's. But still cheaper than the Duratracs, and only an extra $80, so not too bad. I'm really excited to get new tires, and can't wait to get them on the truck! Ordered them last Friday and the tire guy will hopefully be getting them in tomorrow or Monday. So I should have them on sometime next week. Will definitely take some pictures and let you guys know what I think of them, once I get them on. Thanks for all your guys help along the way, much appreciated!



Yeah we haven't had much of a winter either. Finally got our first big snow over the past few days, got about a foot. That's why I haven't really been a big rush for tires, definitely need them now though.


Those are both good tires. Like I said, I decided on the Cooper A/T3's, I'm hoping they're going to be good tires. They definitely look good, and I have heard a lot of good things about them. Tire decisions are always tough, lots of options out there.



Thanks, I found them. Not sure why they have the different names for the same tire, definitely confusing. They look like a good tire. Will definitely keep them in mind for future tires.



I would have to agree, the best thing would probably be a dedicated snow tire. But I just couldn't make that happen right now. Don't want to get stuck with a snow tire come summer time, if I don't do the lift I was planning. With the lift I am planning to buy new, bigger tires to run in the summer anyways. If I knew for sure that I would be getting new tires in the summer than I would definitely get snow tires. Not sure if I would get studs or not, not sure that I would like them on dry pavement.


Glad to hear that you like the Cooper A/T3's. Hoping I like them as well. Really excited to get them on the truck!


[QUOTE=OhioGregg;15926686]
Thanks for the info Gregg! That grille does look really good. Really like the whole front end of your truck, looks clean.


Oh ok. Huh, small world, funny that you know the C****** area. I've lived here all my life, really like it here. When was the last time you've been here? I'm sure its changed a lot since then. Its really been built up in the last few years.


Thanks for sharing some stories about your old vehicles, always like hearing those. I'm sure they don't make those tires like they used to. A lot of stuff is like that now, can't beat the old stuff. Sounds like you've owned a good variety of vehicles, any favorite out of all of them?

 

Just another thought, if your looking for a mainly winter "All-Terrain" type of tire I would check out the Copper Discoverer M/S. We use these at work in our fleet ranging from service vans to F450's.



Cooper Discoverer M/S

 

Update: Turns out the 295's really were a rare size! My tire guy couldn't find them anywhere, pretty sure they were checking through the whole country haha. Could only find 2! I was worried about that, when I first decided to go with that size, I figured they weren't all too common. So I ended up having to go with the 285's that I was originally looking at. Still getting the Cooper AT3's. Oh well not a big deal, I think they will still look good. And I'll be saving more money than.


Should be getting them on tomorrow! Will definitely get some pictures up once they are on!

 

Photos for sure please?!

 

RedDevil, It has been a while since up in your neck of the woods. 2004 I'm thinking. I did get to use my AT3's in snow here while back. Had no problems whatsoever. That was using 2 and 4 wheel drive. Pleased so far.

Kalabin's pic and suggestion of their M&S tire is interesting. I had thought of getting those also. I must not understand tire tread design or whatever, the AT3's seem to have a much more aggressive tread design than the mud & snows. LOL

I think you will like them just fine.

Gregg,

 

Imo those prices are way too high. Check out Costco or SAMs club. I paid a bit over 850 for the bfgs in my sig which includes road haz and every thing at Costco. On top of it I get 2 percent back on the purchase which covers the member ship.

I came to the new tko from the old tko...the new tko is fin awesome on all conditions especially ice and really deep snow.

 

Yeah, its changed quite a bit since then. Can't remember exactly when we got everything, but we've got a Walmart and a Home Depot now, as well as a few other major retail stores. A bunch of restaurants and such as well. Its really been built up a lot in the last decade or so.


Glad to hear that the A/T3's did well in the snow. I'm liking them so far, haven't gotten to test them out too much, but did pretty good on my snow covered driveway.


The M+S is Cooper's winter tire. I've heard good things about them as well. The A/T3's have a cleaner look to them, but still have a pretty aggressive looking tread, with big lugs.



Idk, I didn't think they were too bad. Those were all including mount and balance. If I were to order a tire online, I would have to pay for the tire and then take it somewhere and pay to have it mounted and balanced. So with all the prices I found online, and then adding $20-25 for mount and balance, all the prices I listed were pretty much right on. And then if I were have to pay for shipping, it would have been even more. I got them from our tire guy at work, which we use for all of our tires and is trusted, so I felt comfortable with going with him. I didn't check anywhere else local for this reason.


I do really like the BF Goodrich KO2's as well, but am considering running them in the summer. So just wanted to try something different in the winter, and the Cooper's were cheaper.




Got the tires on Friday. A very different look than the Duratracs, just weird because I've never seen my truck with anything else. They are a lot cleaner look than the Duratrac's, but still have a good looking tread. I really like the look of them, the more I look at them the more I like em! They looked a little small at first, but its hard to tell. I think the more aggressive tread of the Duratrac's made them look bigger. Haven't really been on a good level surface yet, and there's too much snow on the ground at home, and I've got a little weight in the bed, so its hard to tell for sure. I think they still look good though! Its just a different look, which I like. Its nice to finally see some tread on my truck haha.


Haven't driven that much on them yet, but they feel very smooth. They are a lot quieter than the Duratrac's, with very little tire noise, which I was hoping for. Seem to have good traction too, with just playing around a bit in the snow in the packed snow in the driveway. So far I'm happy with them. I'll say more once I get some more miles on them.


So now to what everybody's been waiting for.... pictures! haha


With the old Duratracs. Older pictures






Out with the old..... Tires on right were on the front, not as bad. Tires on left were on the back, very bald.









And in with the new.

 

On the truck!

 

 

Looking Good !!! I noticed that you must have switched your auto lock hubs to manual also. I put a set of manual (MileMarker) hubs on mine, but just left the center cover caps off, for now. Might put them back on, just easier to get at. Sit back inside, and just looked odd, with the gap.

I hear ya on the local development. Its the same every where I'm afraid. The local town to me, Findlay, has two WalMarts now. And a new restaurant or store I have never seen, every time I go to town.

Gregg,

 

Thanks Gregg! Yeah they were auto hubs at some point, but are now manual. They are the Mile Marker ones as well. But I didn't put them in, they were on the truck when I got it. Work ok, but have always been a little stiff and hard to turn. Not sure how long they've been on there though. Probably going to put in some Warn Premiums in the summer though, since I'll be redoing a bunch of other things as well.


Yeah everything keeps getting bigger and more populated. Its not all that bad, just different. Still ain't the city haha.




So I'm loving the new tires! They really do ride a lot smoother, just took me a while to notice it. Since the truck is still making a few other noises that are annoying/distracting me haha. Took my buddy for a ride, and the first thing he said was Wow it rides a lot smoother! Awesome! They're a lot quieter too. Haven't gotten to test out traction too much, since we haven't had a good snow yet, but they do much better on wet roads. I could hardly even give it any throttle without spinning on the old tires.


Took it for an alignment last Friday and turns out that I need new ball joints. And there was I think a bushing worn out on the pitman arm that connects to the steering box. I think I'm going to leave that till summer. Also found out that my water pump is leaking so I guess I need a new one. Not driving the truck until I get that fixed.


Hopefully it will be a lot better after an alignment and new ball joints. Any recommendations on some good ball joints?