Ironman All Country AT vs Cooper A/ T 3 4S

Both AT tires were compared under the size of 235/75/R15, where Ironman AT has a tread depth of 10.8 mm and the Cooper AT3 with a slightly more 11.1 mm.

The wide-angled lateral grooves and the void ratio that sits well enough to evacuate the mud and the water on the way while maintaining a good grip is what the Ironman All Country A/ T is all about. And maybe that is what your car or SUV might need? Cooper A/ T 3 4S 2, on the other hand, is especially great for driving on wet roads because of the compound added in it and the tread design outside, making it perfect for Jeeps, trucks, and SUVs.

Not only this, Ironman All Country A/T comes with a protection policy and road hazard protection lasting for 60 months!

A cherry on top, when it comes to Cooper AT3, is its non-staining sidewalls that keep the white letters from discoloration and makes the tire look all new. At the end of the day, the looks do matter. At least in this world, they do.

Comparing Ironman All Country AT with Cooper AT3

You might have noticed that the Ironman All Country A/ T has large tread blocks and deep grooves. The large tread blocks specifically act to increase the friction between the road and the tires, hence increasing the stability of the tire. The deep grooves which are specifically wide-angled at the lateral ends, make it easier to evacuate the mud and the water in the way. The high void ratio, too, serves the same purpose. The tire also has an intelligently designed Buttress design that improves the grip and stability in the mud and the watery areas.

Cooper A/ T 3 4S2, quite effortlessly flaunts its open five ribbed design that makes the traction both on and off the road better. The laterally placed wide notches and the wide AquaVac channels are there to evacuate the culprit for the decreased grip on the road, water. The biting edges are a gift of the Zig-Zag sipes that further assist the evacuation of the water both on the road and off it.

Traction on the road

When it is dry

Your car needs friction to stay stable. The more contact with the road, the more the friction, hence better gripping and traction. The large tread blocks of Ironman All Country A/ T are there to do that. It provides an optimum contact with the road that makes the gripping and traction on the dry road better. Keeping the starting, stopping, and cornering of the tire into consideration, the dry traction, and gripping of the tire are good.

The tread design of Cooper A/T 3 makes it look like more of a wet traction tire than it is the dry traction tire. The five ribbed design helps with the dry traction, but the wide notches and grooves make it more suitable for a rainy day. The drive with these tires on a dry road mostly feels smooth, however, the dry handling may have some issues.

On the rainy days

Ironman All Country A/T has wide-angeled, deep grooves at the lateral ends and a high void ratio that makes the evacuation of the water easy. However, with starting, cornering, and stopping being brought to notice, it does not seem to perform as well on wet roads as it does on dry roads.

Cooper A/ T 3 4S2, with its zig-zag sipes and the wide notches, and Aqua channels has been specially designed to work on wet roads. Hence, its stability and traction on the road when it is wet are pretty satisfactory. However, it might need a bit more steering control. Overall, its wet traction is pretty good!

Off-Road Traction

When it’s muddy

Ironman All Country A/ T has large tread blocks and deep grooves which makes it excel at its off-road traction and stability. This mainly happens because of the optimum contact of the tire with the path it is on and the optimum evacuation of the water from the land. Its Buttress design further increases the traction and protects your tire from getting punctured while it is on the rough pathways, as it ought to in the countryside. The high void ratio, too, aids the better traction in the presence of water and mud.

Cooper A/ T 3 4S2 with its secure grip all-terrain design promises a good grip on the rough, muddy roads too. The Zigzag sipes improve the stability of the tread blocks and give biting edges that make the ‘tread’ into the slippery surfaces more safe. Adaptive Traction technology knows quite well about how to ‘hold on ‘ to even muddy surfaces. In case of hydroplaning trying to get to your safety, the Aqua Channels save the day. This makes its performance on the muddy roads very impressive.

When in snow:

Ironman All Country A/T has come to us with a lot of improvements like big tread blocks, wide shoulders, and deep sipes. To top it off, the Buttress design takes care of stability and safety. The high void ratio aids better traction, especially when the surfaces are slippery.

All in all, it performs pretty okay on snowy surfaces.

Apart from its very specific tread design and the zigzag sipes, Cooper A/ T 3 4S2 comes with the patented Snow-groove technology, and you know what it does? Yes, you guessed that right. It increases the traction and stability of the tire in the snow. The stopping distance for the tire in the snow is as low as 71.8! This makes it the best option for the snowy days (and areas).

Comfort Comparison

Ironman All Country A/ T provides a pretty smooth ride on the highways, with some amount of noise being heard. The noise does not get to the nerves or anything. However, off the road, quite understandably the comfort levels deteriorate. The tires seem to remain relatively quieter in spite of that.

Cooper A/ T 3 4S2, too, gives a comfortable ride on the road. However, the driver needs a lot of control on the steering while driving fast with the tire. This sort of compromises safety. These tires are also not noisy. When off the road, they cannot promise you the same comfort as you would experience on the road but Cooper makes sure you do not feel much of a disparity.

Durability and treadwear

Ironman All Country A/ T’s buttress design, yet again, comes to notice as it has been introduced for a very important purpose. To prevent the puncture of the tires. The tread life of the tires has been noted to be around 40,000 miles. This is below the average tread life that is promised by the other industries. The interesting thing to think about here is the 2 year long protection and road hazard policy. They promise you a tire exchange for the first two years in case anything goes wrong!

Cooper A/ T 3 4S2 promises a healthy tire for ten years after its date of manufacture. In case the tire gets any older than that, it must be replaced with the new one. It gets a rating of 8.9 when it comes to treadwear protection.

It all comes down to money!

Ironman All Country A/ T will not cost you much. The price is pretty less. But then again, so is the tread life in comparison to the other tires in the industry. Its protection policy may save you some money in case any hazard happens, though.

Cooper A/ T 3 4S2 has a fair price. It is not cheap, but it is not expensive enough to be out of reach either. Its tread life is good enough to keep you at rest for quite some time once you get the tires, though.

Quick Summary

Just like everything, every tire has its pros and cons. Evaluating them and seeing what suits you and your vehicle best is your job. Before we take your leave, let us give a quick overview of the conclusions we can draw from today’s discussion.

• Both the tires are All-terrain tires.
• Ironman All Country A/ T shows large tread blocks, deep grooves, a high void ratio, and a Buttress design. All of which aid in better traction. Cooper A/ T 3 4S2 has a five-ribbed design for better traction, Aquavac Channels for evacuation of water, and zigzag sipes for biting edges.
• The dry traction of Ironman All Country A/ T on road is pretty good, however, Cooper A/ T 3 4S2 tends to perform better on rainy days.
• The traction of Ironman All Country A/ T is pretty acceptable off-road too, but Cooper A/ T 3 4S2 seems to be the best option in case you have to visit the rough paths too often.
• Ironman All Country A/ T gives a smooth ride on road, but the noise of the tire is slightly audible. Its comfort deteriorates off the road. Cooper, too, has a smooth ride but the steering control gets slightly compromised with the tires.
• Ironman All Country costs you less on a single purchase, but you might need to change them soon. But once you get the comparatively expensive Cooper A/ T 3 4S2, you will not have to change your tires for a long time.