I went from Hankook Dynapro HT 265/60/R18 110T tires to Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT 275/65/R18 120S tires on my 2020 2.7 screw also equipped with HD RAS. It is overkill but these were only $10 more per tire than the 4S P tire variant and that difference got me a much stronger tire and more tread depth for longevity. I tow a ~7000lbs travel trailer which was the primary motivation for making this change. Unladen I inflate all tires to 40psi, the same as I did for the OEM Hankooks (the door jamb calls for 43psi). When towing I inflate to 50/43psi rear/front. For the Hankook's I did 47/43psi rear/front.

I was fearful for a big change in mpg, harshness and road noise but was pleasantly surprised. These tires at 40psi have the same feel as the Hankook's and there is only a slight increase in road noise that I can begin to perceive above 50mph. At 80mph you can easily hear the difference but it's still a small fraction of total road/wind noise. Unladen I lost around 2mpg at 75mph (24->22) and 3mpg at 0-45 mph stop and go (19->16). Towing I lost about 1 mpg from 11 to 10. As my tire geometry increased 5.2% in diameter but I have not reprogrammed my truck I am calculating new mpg by taking the lie-o-meter mpg result and multiplying it by 1.05. I did lose some pep with these tires but that's not my driving personality. With the Hankook's I could easily spin the tires with too much pedal, less so with the Cooper's.

Towing with these tires is an improvement but nothing major. Two things I notice is there is a little less sway and the rear tires definitely deform less when I'm maxing out my payload and this causes rear squat to reduce. The more significant improvement is to my mental state as I know these tires are beyond spec for what is required of them and I can relax and not worry about failure for a very long time. Now I just need to do the same for my Westlake TT tires and switch them out to class D Goodyear Endurance tires

 

If its a brand name store they will probably let you order both tires in to look at.

The 4s are pretty tame looking if thats what you are going for or not.

 

XLT

 

Thanks again for everyone’s input! I greatly appreciate all of the information. I ended up having the Cooper AT3 4S’s since they were in stock. I like the look of them better in person than a picture. Not overly aggressive and they rode so much better than my Hankooks. I did a recording on the way to drop the truck off and one on the way home with the new tires and they are actually quieter as well. Win win for me I think on these. Thanks again everyone!

 

I've run 4 sets of Duratracs(2 on my truck, 2 on a jeep) and 2 sets of KO2's(1 on my truck, 1 on my Lexus GX).

-Duratracs - Ran 275/60R20's on my truck, 265/70R16 and LT265/75R16's C range on my Jeep
Pros - Great in the snow. Like almost winter tire good but not quite. I never felt the need to run Blizzaks when I had Duratracs. They were pretty quiet for how aggressive they are.
Cons - They are a little soft, which likely why they are so good in the snow, but it causes them to be a little "squishy" on dry pavement. I never had a problem towing with mine but you could feel they had a little squish to them and so I would run them at a little higher PSI

KO2's - Running LT315/70R17 C range Raptor takeoffs on my truck, LT285/70R17 C range Wrangler Rubicon takeoffs on my Lexus.
Pros - great dry pavement manners. They are stiffer and more responsive than the duratracs. Seem to have solid traction and durability offroad. I take my GX into the woods a lot and air them down to 17 psi and they ride well.
Cons - They are a bit louder than the Duratracs on both vehicles. They are not even close to as good in the snow as the Duratracs and I do run Blizzaks on the Lexus in the winter now.

I tow a 5500 lb GVWR travel trailer and have not had any issues with either tire stability wise. I tow the trailer with both the F150 and Lexus GX.

 

So we had a horrible experience towing with the Cooper's this past weekend. While the overall ride and sound were far better than the Hankook's without towing, the Hankook's were a better tire for towing somehow. I inflated them to 45 PSI as instructed by the tire shop for towing. Nothing else had changed in our process but when semi's passed us and there was an occasional gust of wind, the trailer sway caused the rear tires to break loose. One of the time triggered tire screeching and traction control to kick on. On the way home, I lowered the PSI back to 36 PSI like the tire shop had initially and it felt like I was driving on ice the entire way home doing 55-60 mph on the highway. I contacted the RV dealer to see if anything needed to be adjusted on the WDS/Sway and they said it had to be the tires and to confirm with them. I contacted the tire shop and they agreed it has to be the tires and recommended swapping them out. So....I'm back to square one on trying to decide on the tire. Wanted to get some opinions on the situation along with the tire shop's recommendation to upgrade to an E rated tire. My question that didn't really get answered by them was if the Cooper's have a higher weight rating than the Hankook's, shouldn't that make them sturdier in the sidewall? Thanks again in advance for the input/advice!

 

Scary trailering experience, glad you maintained enough control to get through it.

Might re-check trailering axle weights for safety to make sure weight distribution hitch isn’t transferring too much to front of truck and trailer, thus unloading the rear axle.

Put BFG KO2s on mine again this week. I like the stiff sidewalls. Got 52k out of the last set with 5/32 left, evenly worn. Towing at 50/50psi. Drop to 45/40 for comfort. Carry deflaters & a compressor and *may* drop to 20/20 off road if worth the bother. LT 275/65-18.


2011 XLT Screw 4x4 3.5l 3:55LS

 

Let them break in.

 

Assuming you went from Hankook Dynapro AT-M 275/55/R20 (225/75/R20 in your original post doesn't exist and is likely a typo) to 275/55/R20 Cooper Discover AT3 4S, this is a pretty lateral move as both tires are very similar in specifications. The Cooper brand name does not bring with it any exceptional advantages over the Hankook, maybe lifetime durability. To get an improved towing experience from your OEM P tire you need to move up to a heavier LT tire with the advantages and disadvantages that brings.

I will also add that new tires are soft. When you replace an old tire with new it feels like you're suddenly driving on a cloud. This effect wears off after a few thousand miles. I suspect your Coopers rubber is softer and more malleable and that may have contributed. And it's just idle speculation on my part, but the 4S (4 seasons) component of your Cooper might also be responsible for softer rubber vs the Hankooks as this is a key factor to how a winter tire behaves better at low temperatures.

Lastly I would say that a 20" wheel is the best wheel for tire sidewall flex, as you have the least sidewall! I honestly don't know how your new tire could have performed so differently unless it is different tire dimensions and that impacted your WDH setup.

 

Thanks again everyone! I actually had a deal fall into my lap and traded the truck in yesterday. Thanks again!