Cooper ST Maxx in snow, Any good? (1 Viewer)

[JohnnyOshow22]

So are you saying that the Falkens are better off road as well? Off road is important to me i am just trying to find the right ballance. Good on the trails and better on snowy roads than my Yokohama G003 MT.

Offroad I would take the Toyo Mt's as the best tire I've run, but I would not hesitate to take the at3w's to the rubicon tomorrow and I've done it 3 times in my 80. They walked up my 80 up to Mckelvey lake (north meadow creek) last summer when it was still very wet on the trail without an issue. They flex well offroad aired down but are stiff enough for a 7800lb 80 on the highway. The carcass is strong and have held up to many times I would have cut a sidewall on a duratrac.

For the price they are the best all around tire in my opinion. Just like an 80 they're a jack of all trades master of none.

 

[elkun1]

This. "Good" is a relative term. People probably would say they are fine, and fine they probably are. MTs suck in slick conditions. The STMaxx is similarly sipped like the Geolandar MTs I run. They plain suck in your typical 1-2" of snow and ice we often see here in Ohio. Sure I'd love to take them out in a huge snowfall, and theyd probably rock, but that is the exception and not the rule.

Now will you be just fine and get where you need to go? Most certainly yes. Just be careful. If you dont know any better then you'd probably never know, but its a crazy reality check to get out of your Toyota with MTs you thought was pretty good and into a something like a AWD BMW with snow tires.....like velcro lol.

after growing up in the midwest i didn't know you could go anywhere in more than 6" of what they call snow , 1-2" of that crap is bonzai driving at it's best. notice that we sype the middle of the max's and it really makes a difference. wear is still really good and traction on the diesels is superb. if you really want a good tire try the nokian winter tires or blizzacks. then say a prayer that the person that's behind you is also using them. Gotta luv these tire threads.

 

[Kyitty]

I know a lot of you guys were running Cooper ST Maxx a few years ago. What the consensus on them? I have MTs but will be switching to AT soon. Need something better in the snowy roads. Mostly looking at Falken Wildpeak A/T3 but saw the Cooper ST Max were the same price. So i am back thinking about them. I will also use them for a lot of road miles but need them to work on trails as well when aired down.

I had Cooper ST Maxx for 2 winters with a 255 width. The tread wear wasn't great. But I never, ever felt out of control on snow/ice. I had supreme confidence in those tires. Did two trips to Moab on those tires, wheeled in the snow, mount dirt roads, mud. Cut the sidewalls without loss of air. My Tacoma went anywhere with them. haha. I drove to Coeur d'Alene and back at 80mph in one day at -20F on those tires to pick up a puppy from a breeder.

When it came time for new tires though I had to cut the budget a little and got Falken AT3Ws with 285 width (they didn't offer a 255 on 16" at the time). I've definitely noticed 285's dont' handle as well on ice as 255's. But I've been very happy with them over all. Tread life has been a lot better to (though they haven't been to Moab either).

 

[Kyitty]

years ago i was in the middle of season so told sam to get tires on 3 vehicles. can't remember what tire i told him to get but he came home with duratracs. these were a new tire at the time and looked really nice. anyway on 16 inch rims they were good. drove good and held up okay. on the dodge pu with 17" rims they were beyond terrible. you'd go to pass someone and the sidewalls would flex and it felt like they were breaking loose. the wife wouldn't drive that pu. seems like everytire has issues, sometimes you luck out othertimes not so much. I bet all these reports have made your decision much easier, lol. on a side note, Sam has a set of st maxx'. on his f150 with over 60000 miles on them 35's and i don't remember the rim size. almost all highway miles between casper and here. think it's his 4th set. we usually sipe the centers

From what I hear Duratracs when new are great snow tires. But their Kevlar sidewalls are not very strong. Heard lots of stories about punctures, etc. Plus I don't think they make an E rated Duratrac (could be wrong). For full size, let alone diesel, trucks I'd skip Duratracs from the input I've been given on them.

Then again I've run E rated ST Maxx and Falken AT3W on my Tacoma. LOL

 

[thetoyotaman]

What I’ve noticed about the ST maxes is they seem to chunk out around here on the trail but I do agree with @elkun1 that they are probably better suited for a heavy truck whereas Duratracs seem to work better with the lighter rigs. I always had good service from them. I’ve had one set of Falcons on my 470 and have had them adjusted out because after going up to goose Creek the sidewall started splitting around the sidewall tread to the point that they were warranted out as a possible safety defect. However I am trying another set of 35s coming up due to the warranty and @JohnnyOshow22 recommendation to give it a second chance. I just put some BFG ko2s on my truck as they turned out to be cheaper than the Falkens in the size that I bought and the other day we had bad ice on the road and it started to lock up and slide but something happened I’ve never had happen on the truck, the tire kept biting over and over again until I gained traction when I came to a stop. This truck doesn’t have antilock brakes so I’ve been real impressed with the new KO so far.

 

[rc51kid]

I am kind of surprised by the mixed reviews of the coopers. The fallen are exactly the same price. I think in the past the falken were cheaper but not any more. The KO2 are a good bit cheaper but I wasn't really considering them. I wonder if they are worth a look.

 

[thetoyotaman]

IMO the BFGs and the Falkens have a newer stickier compound followed by the Duratracs and Coopers are usually pretty hard. The cool thing about Cooper is they make 1 million different tread designs and a lot of size options so I like that about them. I have had balance issues with Cooper’s more so than other brands. But a part of that has to do with the tire technician you get on that day. LOL.

 

[90WT]

I am kind of surprised by the mixed reviews of the coopers. The fallen are exactly the same price. I think in the past the falken were cheaper but not any more. The KO2 are a good bit cheaper but I wasn't really considering them. I wonder if they are worth a look.

I have no experience with the ST maxx or Falkens. I'm running the KO2 the last couple of years. They are fantastic in snow and ice. Offroad performance is great. I run them at 42 psi on the pavement, rotate all 5 every 5k miles, have 30k miles on them and am very satisfied with the tread life. I will get 50k at least from them. YMMV. Here's a snow video that helped me pull the trigger, for what it's worth.

KO2 Canadian Tire Review

Whatever you choose, my advice on any tires is call at least 5 different shops for prices. For me prices varied more that $50 per tire in Bozeman/Belgrade, and one shop said they don't exist in the size I bought!

 

[pigmony]

+1 on the KO2 in snow and ice. I've been pleased with them. Prior to the KO2s I was using BFG Rugged Terrains, which had better road manners, were quieter, worked about as well or equal in snow and ice, lasted forever, and gave me slightly better mileage. Alas, despite showing up on the BFG website, nobody seems to be able to get them in the size I need anymore.

 

[JohnnyOshow22]

KO2's are a great tire based on wheeling with people that have them but I haven't had them on any of my rigs. I have driven lots of customers cruisers with them, no complaints other than they're usually more expensive compared to other tires of the same size. When I bought my 315/75r16 AT3W's the KO2's were several hundred more

 

[rc51kid]

Thanks for all the info. Right now I am also leaning torwards Toyo ATIII. They look like a nice mix of open patern and stiping. Also a little cheaper here. My preference might easily change in a few days as I tend to do.

 

[elkun1]

Thanks for all the info. Right now I am also leaning torwards Toyo ATIII. They look like a nice mix of open patern and stiping. Also a little cheaper here. My preference might easily change in a few days as I tend to do.

those are what i have on my 84 flatbed. been driving it around after this last snow and they seem to be pretty decent.

 

[ttFJC]

Offroad I would take the Toyo Mt's as the best tire I've run, but I would not hesitate to take the at3w's to the rubicon tomorrow and I've done it 3 times in my 80. They walked up my 80 up to Mckelvey lake (north meadow creek) last summer when it was still very wet on the trail without an issue. They flex well offroad aired down but are stiff enough for a 7800lb 80 on the highway. The carcass is strong and have held up to many times I would have cut a sidewall on a duratrac.

For the price they are the best all around tire in my opinion. Just like an 80 they're a jack of all trades master of none.

Johnny kind sir MR expert, can you tell me who carries these locally. And does any one want to buy a set of 5 gently used Duratrac 315/75/16s. ?

 

[Montanamtnman]

This. "Good" is a relative term. People probably would say they are fine, and fine they probably are. MTs suck in slick conditions. The STMaxx is similarly sipped like the Geolandar MTs I run. They plain suck in your typical 1-2" of snow and ice we often see here in Ohio. Sure I'd love to take them out in a huge snowfall, and theyd probably rock, but that is the exception and not the rule.

Now will you be just fine and get where you need to go? Most certainly yes. Just be careful. If you dont know any better then you'd probably never know, but its a crazy reality check to get out of your Toyota with MTs you thought was pretty good and into a something like a AWD BMW with snow tires.....like velcro lol.

Couldn't disagree with you more. I've had nothing but great traction in 1-2" of snow here in Montana with st-maxx's. They are also amazing at maintaining contact during the rain. Never had an issue with hydroplain

This. "Good" is a relative term. People probably would say they are fine, and fine they probably are. MTs suck in slick conditions. The STMaxx is similarly sipped like the Geolandar MTs I run. They plain suck in your typical 1-2" of snow and ice we often see here in Ohio. Sure I'd love to take them out in a huge snowfall, and theyd probably rock, but that is the exception and not the rule.

Now will you be just fine and get where you need to go? Most certainly yes. Just be careful. If you dont know any better then you'd probably never know, but its a crazy reality check to get out of your Toyota with MTs you thought was pretty good and into a something like a AWD BMW with snow tires.....like velcro lol.

Couldn't disagree with you more. I've fallen in love with the st-maxx. Here in Montana we get rigid negative cold on top of snow and these tires are AMAZING in 1-2" of snow and even better the deeper it gets. I run blizzaks on my wife's acura awd and those are great for ice but suck in snow over an inch. My biggest gripe with these tires are in gumbo/clay mud. I've got about 12k on this set and well over 50k on my last set. The noise is completely tolerable and not really noticeable compared to other similarly siped tires.

 

[iwashmycar]

Couldn't disagree with you more. I've had nothing but great traction in 1-2" of snow here in Montana with st-maxx's. They are also amazing at maintaining contact during the rain. Never had an issue with hydroplain

Couldn't disagree with you more. I've fallen in love with the st-maxx. Here in Montana we get rigid negative cold on top of snow and these tires are AMAZING in 1-2" of snow and even better the deeper it gets. I run blizzaks on my wife's acura awd and those are great for ice but suck in snow over an inch. My biggest gripe with these tires are in gumbo/clay mud. I've got about 12k on this set and well over 50k on my last set. The noise is completely tolerable and not really noticeable compared to other similarly siped tires.

Welcome to the forums.