There are lots of good tires to fit and try but not all of them are worth it depending on what you are expecting from the tire itself. For those who want reliability both on and off the road, you may want to try something like Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT Vs Cooper AT3 which are designed to deliver an impressive performance across the terrains. These tires are rugged for off-road but still comfy on the highway yet, they are not identical so let’s see below about what they can offer.
In this comparison, we are going to talk about:
- What Makes All-Terrain Tires Different
- What are Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT and Cooper AT3
- What are the Features of Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT
- What are the Features of Cooper AT3
- How are the On-Road Performance of Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT and Cooper AT3
- How are the Off-Road Performance of Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT and Cooper AT3
- Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT Vs Cooper AT3
All-Terrain Tires
Tires may not seem like an important part of your vehicle but it is very necessary not only for the car to travel confidently but also to make sure you can travel far. The tire type is affecting the way they work as well but if you don’t want to select the option manually, we can just shop based on the original equipment. However, if you need the vehicle to have an improved performance whether it is on road or on gravel, we will need to consider the better choice.
If you are here then we assume that all-terrain is what you are currently looking for. There are more than plenty of all-terrain tires that we can choose from but not all of them will behave the same or will deliver the same type of performance. All-terrain as the name suggests is a type of tire that is designed to handle both worlds meaning the road and off-road such as when you are adventuring on gravels, muds, rocks, etc.
They are all-season in terms of time of application so most of them are going to stay reliable even when the cold season comes. You can call an all-terrain jack of all trades but master of none the same like an all-season. Those living in a place where the weather and temperature can get quite extreme need different types of tires when the season changes to optimize the performance and reliability of their vehicle but mainly for the safety reasons.
The specific tires like snow tires and summer tires such as Michelin Primacy MXM4 Vs CrossClimate 2 are going to be much better than all-terrain in their respective conditions but none can be as versatile as an all-terrain. Typically they are featured with a stronger bead which is a rope-like ring that runs around the inner perimeter of the tire and holds it onto the wheel rim. They also have tougher plies or the panels of steels or fabric mesh lying under the rubber which means to add strength and puncture resistance.
They are easy to notice from the outside because the design is very prominent. The rubber tread compound they use is thicker because it needs to be durable enough to sustain cutting, tearing, and deformation which is caused by the harsh off-road surfaces. They are chunky as well and these tread blocks are necessary to let them grip on loose surfaces, creating traction to let your vehicle move further. Some even have wider gaps to evacuate water and muds more effectively.
About Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT and Cooper AT3
Depending on where you are driving the vehicle, an all-terrain is often a great solution if you are combining both terrain or just heading to the gravel on the weekend for fun. They are still very useful as daily drivers for your truck to work and for the main transportation. The level of comfort may not be as good as for example touring tires but they are not bad and modern AT tires are not as noisy as well depending on the design.
Because they are very popular, expect to see the tires from most companies out there and while this can get very confusing, it is great to allow you to have a freedom to choose any of them that seems to work best in the driving habit. Goodyear and Cooper are two of the most popular when it comes to this rugged tire because they carry a huge range of options which often being the choice of many drivers for their reliability so you may like one of their variants as well.
For those who want a durable tire that is reliable on both terrains but also lasts long for the stress they are going to experience, the Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT and Cooper AT3 are two impressive choices from the line. These tires seem to be developed for the pickup truck and sport utility vehicles or similar vehicles to gain all traction in all conditions. They are also ideal for full-size SUVs or crossovers owners who are wishing for a blend of off-road grip and comfort.
The Cooper AT3 is a famous tire from this company and it has been around for quite some time that now the tire becomes a line of AT3 4S, AT3 XLT, and AT3 LT which are separated by the rating and how they are designed more for different applications. The LT and XLT are heavy duty tires while the 4S is for daily driving purposes so we are going to talk about the 4S variant today.
Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT Features
Before getting to know what these tires can offer, let’s see how they can achieve the performance starting from Wrangler Trailrunner AT. This tire is made of chip-and tear-resistant tread compound which is molded into the aggressive and symmetric tread pattern with interlocking blocks. It has saw-tooth block edges and multi-angle sipes to increase the off-road and winter traction. Goodyear claimed that this tread pattern is optimized for even wear and enhances treadlife while in addition it will minimize noise as well from the aggressive design.
On the internal structure, this tire is made with 5-rib tread design which is 245mm and wider section widths to meet the industry’s requirement for Severe Snow Service thus, it is labeled with three peak mountain snowflake symbols.
Cooper AT3 Features
Next for the Cooper AT3 or the AT3 4S in our comparison today, this tire is made with Cooper’s silica-based tread compound which is combined with Secure-Grip all-terrain pattern. It has this open, five-rib design which is engineered to provide wet and dry traction in addition to its off-road ability. The circumferential Aqua Vac channels are wide with lateral notches to evacuate water from the contact area while at the same time resisting hydroplaning. If you see closely, the AT3 4S has micro-gauge zigzag sips to provide biting edges and for added traction when in slippery conditions.
It is also useful to retain the tread block stability and dry traction or handling. The Snow Groove tech will use the saw-tooth block edges located on the outboard grooves to retain the snow in its tread pattern for the snow traction. On the internal construction, this tire is made of durable two-ply polyester casing and a single-ply nylon to reinforce the two high-strength steel belts in order to improve durability and handling as well as high-speed stability.
Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT and Cooper AT3 For On Road
Moving further, let’s see what the Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT and Cooper AT3 can offer on the performance part starting from the road application first which is very good for both tires. However they are not identical because we feel like the AT3 4S is more stable when used on regular roads and while you are trying to steer the vehicle. The traction amount is about the same but the response and stability is better on the Cooper tires.
The Cooper AT3 is also not as hard for the comfort level as it can mimic regular all-season really well so the tire is providing a better ride quality and low noise too even though it is not by much. In the wet conditions there is still plenty of traction but the Cooper is also more grippy in comparison while for the hydroplaning both are equally resistant.
Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT and Cooper AT3 for Off-Road
Next is for the off-road application because this is where the Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT and Cooper AT3 are going to show-off the performance. There are no particular complaints here but in comparison we do think the Cooper tire is better at handling the typical off-road situations whether you are driving on dirt, sand, mud, or rock. The most prominent difference is probably how the AT3 is performing amazingly as an all-terrain when it comes to loose surfaces.
As for the snow application, while many tires can have the 3PMSF symbol, they are not designed for the extreme condition. In comparison, it seems the AT3 is also more reliable and confident when gripping onto light or deep snow but is noticeably better for the ice traction.
Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT vs Cooper AT3
Both tires are impressive based on the performance on the road and for the off-road application. In comparison the AT3 or AT3 4S is working better across all of the typical driving conditions which proves that this tire is very reliable too. Its grips and stability are what makes the tire feel more confident both on hard packed gravel and on loose surfaces. It is also not noisy and still comfortable for on road application.
| Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT | Cooper AT3 |
|---|---|
| - Good dry traction | - Great traction |
| - Good for on and off-road application | - Performs impressive across applications |
| - Moderately comfortable | - Very comfortable |
| - Useful snow traction | - Reliable snow handling |
Conclusion
The choice is all yours because there is no bad option here but, based on the comparison above the AT3 or the AT3 4S seems to be the more reliable options with higher confidence and grip all across the application. It is also working really well during winter especially for light snow
