Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Cooper ST Maxx Tire

Anyone running these? Good or bad like to hear your thoughts as I’m thinking of buying a set in 275/70/18 for my tundra...These would replace the BFG ats currently on them (only got 35k miles out of them)

Buy a set. You won't be sorry.mtmuley

Tikkanut should be along to reply soon. He runs a set on his Tacoma, and I know he likes them a lot.

I run them on my ‘06 Chevy 1500 and on my ‘12 power wagon. They aren’t quiet, but they are all I use. I get a lot of life out of them on my 1/2 ton. Been great tires, I keep buying them. First set on my 1/2 ton were the ST, then couldn’t find them and went with ST Maxx. Truck has over 210,000 miles and is not halfway through 3rd set of Coopers.

My PW eats them up quite a bit faster though.

I have them on my 2016 Tundra they are good on snow and ice and equally good in light mud I have 35K on them now and will probably get another 15K out of them.

yep.....have 'em on my '14 Taco truck.....only about 3K miles

expect some highway humm noise.....

They make a nice compromise between an AT tire & full fledged mud tire

Three ply side walls.....plain ole tuff tires

https://www.discounttiredirect.com/buy-tires/cooper-discoverer-st-maxx

Appreciate the feedback - trying to decide between these and the Falken Wildpeak ATW3....Thinking the coopers may be a bit tougher tire...

Falkin WP3's have a big following on Tacoma World..........

Another popular one is DTD's Goodyear Ultra Terrain exclusive

Watch DTD Labor Day sales/promo's

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/packed-with-technology-falken-wildpeak-a-t3w.419869/

https://www.discounttiredirect.com/

In that size/price range I'd have to give the Nitto Ridge Grappler a serious look as well.

I holed one on the shot-rock logging roads of northern Vancouver Island. 1999 F350, 285/75/16 size. Tire had 12/32" tread left. Discount Tire did me right, though, and prorated the cost of a replacement.

I thought they'd be the final word for gravel roads, but such is not the case. It could be that those roads are somewhat special, though...the rock is sharp!

Taking a hard look at the commercial traction options from Toyo Open Country, Mastercraft and Yokohama for the next time around.

I just wore through a set of cooper atp's in 36k. A belt on one broke and they all seemed to be falling apart the last 3,000 or so miles. I got more mileage from cheaper goodyears. I replaced them with BFG KO/2 DT's. The DT line has a tougher tread compound for longer life towing with diesel trucks. You do give up the three peak snowflake rating, but they should last longer than the original rubber in the KO2'. We will see. Discount tire paid for the broken belt one and I got over $80 per tire on the mileage warranty, applied to the BFG's.. They did right by me.

Not the same tire, but I did try the Nitto Trail Grapplers one time. Cost more, were louder, and didn't last a bit longer on my pickup.

I had Trail Grapplers on my current '11 F-250. They lasted fine for me but traction was poor on snow/ice which we see plenty of here in Eastern ND.

Currently using Eco-Grapplers as my "winter tires" and they're fantastic. That said, they're heavy and ride fairly stiff, probably not needed for the 1/2 ton the OP asked about.

I ran them on my 98 Dodge 2500 on the winter. I carry heavier loads and they have a stiffer sidewall.They don't roll the side wall going around bends like Duratracks do. Great tire IMO

Best tire I’ve ever run. Only one that holds up to 15-20k miles on dirt roads per year

We will see how they do - pulled the trigger and ordered a set of 275/70/18's as well as a new set of Wheels for them to set on. Should be here Monday/Tuesday. Cooper has a $70 rebate and I got two different $40 rebates for using my Discount Card, plus 9 months no interest so I said screw it and got them purchased. Still figuring out a way to explain to my wife I also bought wheels...lol

This is what the wheel simulator shows it will look like - I like it.

I doubt you'll regret it, at least the tires anyway.

you'll be happy with new shoes on the big 'Yota truck.....

wheels too......doing the same in Nov for our '05 Taco.....

sell the old tires/wheels for $250-300.....use DTD Black Friday promos.......

My '14 last Nov after rebates & sale of old stuff......I was out $670 for new

ST Maxx....wheels.....lugs.......road haz.....shipped......

My local shop told me to stick with Nittos as they see fewer problem with punctures. I was surprised, as I thought the MAXX is supposed to be a tough tire. I've been an M55 fan, but have not been disappointed with the Nitto EXO for punctures.

Punctures and stone drilling seem to be a bigger problem in certain parts of the country, like the PNW. People claim that it's due to the volcanic rock. On the trails, and crushed for gravel.

Late to the party, but my impression of them was that they were pretty soft in the sidewalls for a diesel. I know the OP was asking about a tundra, but as I recall he also tows a ~8500# trailer too?

I didn't find that to be true. I did of Duratracks that you could feel roll when going around a curve.I typically ran about 16,000 pounds with my 98 Dodge Cummins,slide in camper and 3 horse slant trailer fully loaded. The SST's, E rated, held up well,but you have to run max tire pressure

I ran them as winter tires (studded), so don't have them on currently. They are certainly squishier than I like (I also ran them at 80PSI). Not a huge deal for me as I don't typically tow anything too heavy in winter, but I wouldn't want them on the truck year round. The swap to exo grapplers was noticeable.

I do tow a 25' Toyhauler that when fully loaded with top out at 83-8400 pounds, however I tow that 5-6 times a year. That's the extent of my heavy towing. When I do tow, I air my tires up accordingly. So far the tires seem great. Touch more road hum on the Freeway than the BFG's but they are also more aggressive and have 20/32" of tread - very beefy tires.

I run them on my old Toyota hunting truck and a 3/4 cummins Dodge that I pull the excavator with. Both 33" tall with 16" wheels. Pleased with them in the dirt and on the road. I notice gravel sticks in them pretty bad but it hasn't seemed to hurt anything.

That extra belt in the sidewall sure does add an awful lot of stability on a heavy pickup........

Thanks for that recommendation BTW.

I currently have them on my '12 Taco.

They are my third set of tires on this truck after BFG MT's and a set of Toyo MTs.

My opinion of them...they performed very well but have not lasted as long as the previous MTs.
I do a lot of off roading including the El Camino Diablo, Yuma to Ajo.

26K on them and I need new tires, and yes, I religiously rotate my tires every 5K.

I won't be buying them again.

Those tires are meant for snow/mud, cold, etc. and are softer, not desert driving, hence low mileage. It is always a compromise. I don't expect 50K miles out of a M&S tire.

I don't question the life expectancy argument, but I recall Cooper boasting about the years of development spent in Australia with the ST MAXX.

I have them on my 2016 RAM 2500 diesel. They are OK, but I don't know if I can say I've ever had a tire on a diesel p/u that I can say is great. Pros: they are great on muddy roads, job sites (my work), gravel, rocky roads, and they look great. Cons: they suck in the snow (I have dedicated snow tires and there's no comparison), are louder than I'd like on the highway, I don't get more than 15K miles out of them, and they are expensive.

Colorado roads are curvy and typically either going uphill or downhill. Seldom flat. Backcountry roads are gravel and rocky, and I'm on them often. I tow a 8500lb. trailer a few thousand miles a year. RAM requires the rear tires to be inflated to 80psi - which destroys the center tread. The truck isn't some urban cowboy garage queen and the tires take a beating. While not great, I personally don't know of a better option and I've tried, numerous Coopers, Good Years, Bridgestones, one Firestone, and one Michelin.

May be over kill on a Tacoma......but

After busting a Cooper AT3 SL w/3K miles on a graded BLM road

Decided on the ST Maxx.....currently this Taco only runs 7K miles annually

First rotation later this fall....

I guess I didn't get that memo or see that advertisement.

Who told you that btw?

From Coopers own advertisement.

Nitto Exo Grappler. They're NOT like a Blizzak or other dedicated snow tire. They are however the best AT tire I've used on a diesel pickup in snow/ice. I don't really get lots of deep snow here in ND, but, we have packed snow/ice 3-4Mo/yr. I run 3-4K Mi worth of gravel annually and that doesn't seem to bother them much.

If you put the Exo's on, you'll be very surprised at how much more stable they feel and how mushy the Coopers were.

ST Maxx mushy? Lmao. Ok 👍

Have you run the Exo Grapplers in comparison personally? They do have very stiff sidewalls.

For those that don't know, Nitto markets the EXO as a Heavy Duty tire. It's the only model with that designation in their line-up, and is targeted towards industrial and commercial use like the M-55 from the sister-company, Toyo.

I've used the EXO since 2017, and it reminds me of the Toyo M-55 in terms of puncture resistance, but is much better against cutting, chipping, and chunking. This can be a concern in N. CA, OR, WA, ID, and BC, where there is sharp rock (like obsidian) but may not be an issue in other regions. So, what works for me in the PNW may not apply to someone who deals with red clay in the south Eastern US, for example. I also drive aggressively at high speed on these sharp rocks. But, I don't do much mudding.

The EXO also balances better, and does't follow rain grooves as bad as the M-55. The M-55 is almost legendary to some people for toughness, especially around here, but I think the EXO is an improvement.

That is not to say that the EXO is perfect. That stiff carcass and sidewalls do not lend themselves well to airing-down. Something like the KO2 with more flexible sidewall would be better if that is what you need for deep sand or snow. Or maybe the STT MAXX, as it seems like it's not as stiff as the EXO.

Buddy has several sets of the Coopers through over 400K on 2 different Super Duty Ford diesels. It took one trip with a bean header on his flatbed behind my truck for him to swap.

The info about the ST Maxx being bad in snow and ice is total BS. I'm not in Colorado. Maybe Montana snow is different. As far as mushy, no. 3 ply sidewall, just like the EXO. mtmuley

Have you run both tires in question personally? Hard to have a valid comparison by reading specs alone.

Anyone that I have met who switched to Exo Grapplers from any other tire seems to love them for being stiffer and better traction. They are showing up on more and more stock-trailer-hauling pickups around here.

They're tough/stiff like an M-55 but actually have good traction on packed snow-ice without having to have studs.

I might have to give these Exo Grapplers a shot if they're not too much more coin. I'm happy as hell with the traction of the Coopers, but I'm willing to try something new.

Sometimes. Maybe.