Cooper Discoverer STT Pro Review: Outstanding Off-Road Traction

Despite the inevitable disadvantages of off-road tires when it comes to on-road use, owners of trucks and SUVs are still convinced that they are the best choice for their vehicles. People simply love how these tires look, especially when installed on a real off-road truck.

Now, we won’t argue with that – everybody is entitled to have an opinion. However, being an informative medium, we don’t recommend off-road tires for on-road use. Sure, most modern off-road tires are usable for driving on the street, but they still aren’t a match for highway tires.

With that said, there are many enthusiasts that will fully exploit the capabilities of these tires. Off-roading resurged in popularity in recent years, and consequently, the number of off-road enthusiasts increases. For these people, off-road or mud-terrain tires are a clear way forward.

Right now, one of the best off-road tires on the market is the Cooper Discoverer STT Pro. Designed for use on trucks and SUVs with excellent off-road abilities, the STT Pro focuses on giving the driver outstanding traction on slippery surfaces, such as gravel, dirt, mud, and stones.

Moreover, Cooper made sure that the tire also works on the road. Mud-terrain and off-road tires are notorious for being loud and uncomfortable, and some of them aren’t very safe for spirited driving. The STT Pro tries to mitigate these issues as much as they can.

Until now, we learned to believe Cooper Tire as a company. They aren’t competing in the premium segment, yet produce amazing products that provide safe and reliable driving. However, that doesn’t mean that we didn’t put the STT Pro through our paces to see how it handles the harshest conditions.

In our Cooper Discoverer STT Pro review, we uncover if Cooper’s claims for outstanding off-road traction, usable on-road handling, and improved comfort are true.

We tested the tires in several categories, including on-road handling (dry and wet), snow traction, off-road traction, comfort, and durability. Let’s dig in!

What are the features of the Cooper Discoverer STT Pro?

The Cooper Discoverer STT Pro is an all-season off-road tire designed to give the driver maximum traction in a variety of different off-road scenarios.

Like most tires in its category, the STT Pro is primarily designed for trucks and SUVs with 4×4 drivetrains, such as Jeeps, Toyota 4Runners, and Land Cruisers, Chevrolet Colorados, etc. In other words, if you own a truck that’s capable of off-road driving and want to exploit that, these tires are a perfect match.

The Cooper Discoverer STT Pro is available in many sizes, ranging from 15-inches to 22-inches in diameter. That should cover owners of older off-road vehicles, as well as the newest crop of trucks and SUVs. In terms of availability of sizes, the STT Pro is among the best in the category.

To satisfy the needs of off-road enthusiasts, Cooper built numerous modern technologies inside the Discoverer STT Pro. The most important one is perhaps the robust tread compound with a chip- and tear-resistance, which shouldn’t wear fast, even in the most demanding conditions.

The feature by which the STT Pro differs when compared to other off-road tires is the Armor-Tek3 Construction technology. Essentially, the tech is a combination of a three-ply polyester casing to improve puncture resistance, two wide, strong steel belts to support the tread, and a single nylon cap ply reinforcement. Moreover, the third ply runs at an angle of 8 degrees off, which, according to Cooper, further improves the puncture resistance by up to 2.5 times.

The tread compound is molded into an aggressive, high-void tread pattern, similar to most off-road and mud-terrain tires. That said, Cooper implemented additional alternating cleats and scoops in the shoulder lugs for enhanced mud traction, as well as mud release dimples on the tread blocks.

Moreover, STT Pro is also equipped with anti-stone retention ribs that eject small rocks, thus protecting the tire from punctures. Wet traction and stability are covered with wide lateral and circumferential channels for better hydroplaning resistance, as well as additional in-bloc sipes for improved traction on wet roads.

With that said, the Discoverer STT Pro is an all-season tire, and it only comes with the M+S symbol, which means that it’s only usable on unpacked snow. On that note, some competitors come with the 3PMSF symbol, which makes them useful on unpacked snow.

On a more positive note, the tread ribs of the STT Pro have a unique 3-2 pattern for reduced noise and better on-road stability, something that we focused on in our Cooper Discoverer STT Pro review.

What are the maintenance indicators?

Like most mud-terrain tires, the Discoverer STT Pro doesn’t have any maintenance indicators. However, the tread on this tire is very aggressive and deep, which means that it will retain its wet traction and braking for longer. In other words, you will probably replace the tires long before they aren’t usable for on-road driving.

Cooper doesn’t offer any treadwear warranty on the STT Pro, but that’s understandable in this category. More importantly, people that already owned these tires for a while report that the tread compound is very resilient and that it doesn’t wear fast. You should get around 30,000-miles of one set, even if you often drive on hard-packed surfaces, such as dirt, gravel, and rocks.

Is it good for off-road driving?

Well, that’s the primary reason why you want to buy this tire, isn’t it? When it comes to off-road traction, the Cooper Discoverer STT Pro is one of the best tires on the market. Overall, its performance is on par with premium products from Goodyear and BFGoodrich, which cost over $100 more for a set of four tires.

But, let’s get into more detail. On hard-packed surfaces, the robust tread compound makes the STT Pro very responsive, even at higher speeds. The levels of grip and traction are also outstanding, among the best in this category. Moreover, thanks to the stone retention technology, you won’t need to clean the tires afterward.

Furthermore, the Discoverer STT Pro performs outstandingly well over larger rocks. The robust tread compound also helps with keeping the tire intact, improving the durability. Finally, we were impressed by the mud-terrain performance of the STT Pro. The tire has enough traction to get you out of deep mud, and it also stays clean afterward.

Overall, in the fun part of our Cooper Discoverer STT Pro review, we found that the tire performs as well as the premium competition, despite costing less. Impressive, indeed.

How does it behave on a dry tarmac?

To our surprise, the STT Pro doesn’t exhibit the usual off-road tire disadvantages as much as other products. Sure, you won’t be amazed by the handling and braking you get from this tire, but we think that this is as good as it gets in an aggressive off-road tire.

At usual speeds, the Discoverer STT Pro is responsive enough, and it provides the driver with admirable levels of grip and traction. Moreover, this tire is also not very heavy, which improves performance and lowers fuel consumption when compared to other tires in this category.

How is it over wet and slippery roads?

Again, as good as it gets in an off-road tire. Thanks to the unusually high number of sipes, the STT Pro performs very well when it rains. Traction and grip on a damp tarmac are sufficient for everyday driving, while the hydroplaning resistance in heavy rain is excellent.

Overall, Cooper did a great job of making the Discoverer STT Pro usable on the street and highway. It’s not amazing, but it gets the job done. That’s something that most off-road enthusiasts will surely appreciate.

With that being said, how is it on snowy roads?

The deep and aggressive tread pattern on the Discoverer STT Pro looks like it can manage the harshest winter conditions without any issue. However, it’s not all about the tread pattern when it comes to snow traction, and that shows here.

The Discoverer STT Pro simply lacks enough siping and biting edges to be usable on packed snow, and especially on ice. In these conditions, the tires slide around and don’t give the driver enough bite. Yes, they are usable for driving on unpacked snow, but you won’t encounter those conditions often.

When it comes to snow performance, we think that the premium competition performs slightly better. Ultimately, though, the best choice for harsh wintry conditions is a set of proper winter tires.

Is it comfortable and refined?

Look, the Discoverer STT Pro is not a very comfortable or a quiet tire. However, that is something that can be said for every off-road or mud-terrain tire on the market. What is important is that Cooper’s technologies implemented in the tire to improve comfort really work. The STT Pro doesn’t produce a lot of vibrations when driving on the road, and it produces less noise than similarly-price rivals. Impressive? Of course not. Usable? Hell yes!

You can see more tire review here: Video created by Alex on Autos

Should I buy the Cooper Discoverer STT Pro?

Well, we can’t think of a reason why you shouldn’t buy a set of Discoverer STT Pros. Cooper managed to design a tire that performs outstandingly well on slippery off-road surfaces and one that works on the road as well. More impressively, they managed to keep the price lower than the premium competition, despite achieving similar performance.