General Grabber AT3 and Cooper Discoverer AT3 are both all-terrain tires designed to perform well on paved tracks as well as off-road. Discoverer offers smooth and controlled driving experience on roads while General AT3 excels in off road performance.
Grabber’s superior traction over messy surfaces like mud and snow is credited to its open tread. Textured shoulders and stone ejectors allow it to deal with gravel better than its competitor. Discoverer huge blocks are uniquely designed to provide optimized grip on road.
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Comparing General Grabber AT3 with Cooper AT3
General Grabber AT3
Cooper AT3 XLT
Vs
Tread of Grabber AT3 has an aggressive look due to broad grooves, bold lugs, stone ejectors among central ribs, alternatively scooped and staggered shoulder blocks and upper sidewalls having deflection ribs and larger lugs. On road grip is minimized due to its high void ratio. Limited contact patch makes it difficult to hold on paved surface firmly. Strengthened shoulders and sidewalls make steering easy but overall on road traction is lesser in competition. Frequent sipes over blocks wipe away liquids from slippery pathways and make dependable wet traction possible.
Massive grooves prove beneficial while roaming around tough terrains off road. These tires can roll through muddy puddles and snowy heaps easily as they have got enough capacity to throw mud and snow backwards while moving ahead. This tire is M+S as well as 3 peak mountain snowflake rated. Its shoulders are alternatively scooped and staggered, this texture gives additional traction necessary to handle the vehicle while taking risky turns on mountains. Little stone ejectors are present circumferentially along central ribs to toss off any striking pebbles or rock fragments and keep the grooves, stone-free.
Discoverer AT3 has a classic look characterized by bulky blocks with textured edges, narrow grooves, zigzag sipes over the blocks and big shoulder lugs which are also alternatively scooped. Due to densely placed blocks, it has higher contact patch as well as directional stability leading to awesome traction on roads. Large shoulder lugs contribute in firm handling as the vehicle turns around on the road. It exhibits good traction over wet roads as well due to its versatile siping pattern. Blocks are marked by zigzag sipes for making water wiping ability more efficient, thus resist hydroplaning. However, this tire is not much suitable for off road ventures. Its narrow grooves are inefficient in dealing with loose substances like mud, sand or snow. Such stuff gets stuck into grooves instead of evacuating backwards from tread. Cooper AT3 also finds difficulty over rocks, its large flat lugs with smaller grooves among them have less traction over uneven surfaces. It lacks stone ejection property, hence it is vulnerable to stone clogging of grooves and puncture drilling due to rocky particles.
On-Road Traction Comparison
Grabber loses to its competitor in terms of on road traction. Contact patch is limited due to wider grooves making the tire relatively unstable as it cannot grip properly on hard paved roads. Aggressive shoulders help in steer handling yet it does not make tire’s on road performance comparatively superior. Well-spaced and well siped blocks give hydroplaning resistance as water squirms out through these slits.
Cooper AT3 provides superior experience when used for on road trips. Its tread consists of five rows of huge blocks placed relatively closer leading to higher contact patch and consequently good grip on paved area. Steer handling is credited to large shoulder lugs which are also alternatively scooped for enhanced biting ability and providing more contact patch. This tire also provides optimized traction on wet roads owing to zigzag sipes which proficiently wipe away slippery liquids and resist aquaplaning.
Off-Road Traction Comparison
Mud Terrain
Grabber has top-class traction abilities to deal with mud and loose dirt. The tire resists mud stuffing as it automatically cleans itself while rolling through boggy areas. Its voids are broad and deep which allow efficient removal of mud by throwing it backwards.
Scoops and notches along shoulder lugs provide more space for mud evacuation and account for additional traction especially when cornering.
Discoverer AT3 is not much successful for wandering off in tough terrains due to it bulky symmetrical tread. In mud terrain it may get stuck in boggy areas as it lacks evacuation capacity to get rid of heavy mud while rolling. Its narrow grooves get filled with debris and mud and the tire loses traction.
Snow Terrain
Grabber AT3 can play in light snow without any trouble owing to its open tread. Its grooves are capable of throwing snow out easily due to their relatively increased width and depth. Better evacuation cleans tire’s tread and its pathway as it rolls along. However, it faces some difficulty on ice as minimal contact patch result in less grip. Although numerous sipes avoid slipping off by wiping water away yet they play only a little role in improving traction on icy surfaces.
In light snow Discoverer meets troubles due to its low void ratio. It smaller grooves do not provide enough space for removal of snow and gets choked by snow easily. However, on icy surface this tire performs well because its tread has high contact patch as well as competent siping pattern making it grip on the surface tightly and wipes water efficiently.
Rock Terrain
If you want to explore rocky trails, Grabber is a better choice than its competitor. Its blocks are much raised and angularly shaped which equips them with deep biting ability over uneven rough surfaces. Aggressive texture of shoulders and strength of sidewalls not only resist chips and scratches but also provide enhanced handling over dangerous mountain turns. Moreover, this tire has stone ejectors along central grooves. These little bumpy elements toss off bombarding hard particles and stones keeping the grooves safe from choking and punctures.
Discoverer AT3 is not the best choice for rocky mountain ranges. Large Size, less angular shape and closed arrangement of blocks in symmetrical manner make its grip over uneven surfaces of trails much lesser. Risk of stone clogging of grooves and stone-drilled punctures is increased due to absence of prominent stone bumpers. Only a little bit of stone ejection is contributed by stone ledges formed by reinforcement of blocks.
Driving Comfort
Comparatively, Grabber AT3 offers less comfort on road due to its high void ratio. Broad hollow channels provide huge space for reflection and resonation of wind particles making a lot of noise. Less contact patch also limit traction on road resulting in less comfortable street driving.
Quieter and more comfortable rides can be enjoyed using Cooper AT3 tires. Its narrower grooves only allow a little space for the collision of wind particles, as a result noise is effectively minimized. Higher contact patch maintains good grip providing excellence in terms of comfort.
Durability and Tread wear
Grabber AT3 employs DuraGen technology for construction of its tread which includes combination of steel belts and 3 ply rubber composition. Although this composition makes the tire sturdy and chip resistant yet its competitor performs better. It does not comes with any tread wear warranty from its manufacturer.
Discoverer AT3 has a longer tread life than Grabber. Slower tread wear is contributed by superior rubber composition. It bears a UTQG tread wear rating of 560. Cooper tires also provide a mileage warranty of tread life up to 60,000 miles.
Price Differences
Discoverer AT3 is priced higher than its competitor but its longer tread life makes it worth the price. On the other hand, Grabber delivers supreme off road experience without putting extra burden over pocket.
Quick Summary
- Grabber AT3 and Discoverer AT3 are both All-terrain tires.
- Discoverer wins the competition in terms of on road wet and dry traction.
- Grabber perform better in tough terrains like mud, snow and rocky trails.
- Cooper AT3 offers quieter and comfortable on road rides.
- Discoverer tread life is longer and it is also backed by a mileage warranty from its manufacturer.
- Discoverer is priced lesser than AT3.
