Say hello to my little friends...

[jim65wagon]

Here they are, my BFG AT alternative, chosen in the (hopefully) correct size. Cooper Discoverer S/T's, yes in 255/85!

Why these? Why 255's?
I wanted to stick with an AT treaded tire, and of course I decided a little more clearance wouldn't hurt anything. There are many AT variant tires on the market and I bet I looked at most of them. Fun Country II's were high on the list (recommended by Haggis, the new guy who has not introduced himself to the crowd yet) as were Geolander AT's (almost had a nearly new set for 300), returning to the BFG's and a host of others. After way too much reading about this tire and that I selected the ST's for their slightly more aggressive tread and the fact that there was very few negative things said about them.

To help size selection I actually purchased 2 used tires, one in 255 and one in 285. (if anyone needs a half tread 285, let me know). The 255's proved to fit better with the truck without rubbing.

I can tell climbing into the truck I'm a bit taller, they are slightly louder at all speeds(well, up to 65) than the BFG's, and they seem to turn quicker (almost twitchy feeling but I'll get used to it). One major improvement, they balance better and with less weight than the BFG's ever thought about.

Mounted they sit at 32.5 inches tall and the tread is just over 7.5". That's a net loss of 1" of tread but a gain of an inch of clearance.



Here's pics, before and after. Any questions?

 

[bigreen505]

Cool, please keep us posted about tread wear, cupping and general thoughts on the tire.

 

[BCJC]

looks good. my buddy has the same tire (different size) on his tacoma, and they've worked very well for him. great wet road traction, as well as very good off road grip on dirt, rock, and some mud. they've worn evenly, with only a couple chunks out of the lugs. i'm not sure of the mileage he's gotten out of them, but i'd bet they're at approx. 35-40k, but ready to be replaced. good luck with your new set.

 

[Haggis]

Nice meats!!! Decided to date the skinny chicks for awhile, Huh.
Have you made up your mind yet whether you're goona snag a new set of rims. Summit has a new rim out, the 185 series, a ten hole rim, black insert, polished lip that would look good on that toy. 16 x 8 goes for $120.00 and looks like it would hold up well. Next time your up we can make the pilgramage to Mecca (Tallmadge, OH) and check 'em out.

 

[bluedog]

NIce choice on rims, I have the black alloy's from wheelers, good stuff.

Is the tire wide enough to protect that 8" rim?

B.

 

[jim65wagon]

NIce choice on rims, I have the black alloy's from wheelers, good stuff.

Is the tire wide enough to protect that 8" rim?

B.

It should be. It measures ten plus inches at its widest and the rim is eight. I like the black steel rims, they need a repaint now but that's easy to fix.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Summit has a new rim out, the 185 series, a ten hole rim, black insert, polished lip that would look good on that toy. 16 x 8 goes for $120.00 and looks like it would hold up well.

These? Backordered in 16x8, 6 lug, until 4/30/07!

 

[Haggis]

Indeed those are the ones I meant.

 

[SOAZ]

Glad to see someone else use those tires. I'm looking to use the same ones when I can get a new set. OLY884 is the only other person using that exact size and type that I know of and he loves them... although I heard he is going to bfg muds the next time around.
I want All Terrains's for road travel and these seem to be the ticket!

 

[PhulesAU]

Unless he's running in pure mud, I wouldn't switch. I ran the 33x12.5 in the Mud/sand mix and mud/clay we have around here in South Texas and they work very well. even better was the long tread life, considering how far you have to drive away from here to get to someplace interesting.

 

[michaelgroves]

New M/Ts are better in mud than A/Ts, but only for the first half of their useful life. Another reason to prefer A/Ts unless you really need M/Ts.

 

[Mayne]

Hi,
First time post for me, I mostly hang out on the jeep forum. This seems to be a little more up my alley, as I'm not into swamp and rock buggies.
Anyway back on topic... I bought a set of Cooper S/T's for my Wrangler about a 2 weeks ago. So far so good....
The shop I bought them from said they came with a 50K tread warantee... so take it for what its worth, I'm glad to find an agressive AT that someone says should hold up to a certain amount of daily driving abuse.

Mayne :bike_rider:

 

[jim65wagon]

Hi,
First time post for me, I mostly hang out on the jeep forum. This seems to be a little more up my alley, as I'm not into swamp and rock buggies.
Anyway back on topic... I bought a set of Cooper S/T's for my Wrangler about a 2 weeks ago. So far so good....
The shop I bought them from said they came with a 50K tread warantee... so take it for what its worth, I'm glad to find an agressive AT that someone says should hold up to a certain amount of daily driving abuse.

Mayne :bike_rider:

Yes so far so good.

500 mile road (yes road) report. The first full tank of gas on the S/T's was very promising, just back and forth to work but managed 16.6 mpg. That was about average with the 265's, so moving up in height did not seem to affect gas consumption. That is only one tank of, course...

They still steer quicker than the AT KO's but they don't feel twitchy anymore. Cornering; both low speed(think city streets) and high (think on-ramp and back roads) is excellent. I thought the extra sidewall height would change the handling characteristics a bit, but my numb butt doesn't seem to notice anything.

They track very straight and don't follow road grooves. Braking is excellent, and acceleration has only noticeably suffered from a dead stop. I only say suffered because it won't peel out like it did before, but it is still a good V8 and accelerates like one, just one with a slightly taller gear now.

Rain: It has poured here today, so the ride home was a good highway wet test. Braking is still good, handling is still very good, they grip wet roads very well. I experienced no hydroplaning even through some standing water.

I think these are going to be a great alternative on/off-road tire.:smiley_drive:

 

[SOAZ]

what did you pay??
I ask because I'm thinking about a set of those and I came across this: http://www.discountedwheelwarehouse.com/Store_Detail.cfm?ID=144053&InfoID=4278&ShowLarge=True&SnipID=4294

$132 seems to good to be true!

 

[jim65wagon]

Well crap in a basket![insert non-smiley here] That's where I got mine but they were $152! If you notice the basic info on the website is wrong for the tire, it's an LT not a P-metric and the load range is 119 not 104. I called Cooper and asked them and they assured me they were only available in the LT load D for the 255s and nothing less. He also steered me to buy from a local dealer (at $198 per) which is what made me decide to try this buying tires online. 608 and free shipping and a ten day wait and they arrived. Sweet.