General Grabber APT vs Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S: The last time we looked into the all terrain segment, we showed how Goodyear’s Wrangler AT Adventure showed clear competency in off-road & dry performances over the highly popular BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO. As these 2 products are more focused on off road properties, we would like to introduce 2 other products which maintained the off road chunky patterns but comes with the elusive 3 peak mountain certification.
Cooper’s Discoverer AT3 4S was launched in 2018 and it is available in most markets. General Grabber APT on the other hand was launched in 2017 and has been developed specifically for the North American market. Both tires are a new generation of off road tires which comes with the elusive 3 peak mountain logo. Without further ado, let’s bring these 2 tires head to head and see who comes out on top!
Table of Contents
Results
Results below were taken from Tire Rack’s Testing On-/Off-Road All-Terrain Tires 2022 test. A total of 4 tires were tested on Tire Rack’s proving ground. The graph below shows the comparison between General Grabber APT vs Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S based on the relevant performance category. The General Grabber APT was set as a reference hence at the 100% mark.
As both tires are classified as an all season tire, Tire Rack will include snow & ice in its testing portfolio. A detailed testing on snow including acceleration, braking & handling will be available after the 2022 winter season. The tire size of interest is a 265/60R18 which is a common tire size for Toyota Hilux 1500 & Ford Ranger. You can check out our latest tire size table for more information. The testing vehicle is a powerful 2022 Ford Explorer ST.
Wet
The friction of coefficient of the tire/road dramatically decreases in wet roads compared to dry roads. Hence it is more likely to get into a road accident during wet conditions rather than on a sunny day. It was so important that the EU label has wet braking as one of its three criteria. In regards to wet braking, Discoverer AT3 4S managed to out brake Grabber APT by 12.3 feet (3.7m) which is a big enough margin not to ignore.
With the advantage gained in wet braking, Discoverer AT3 4S continued its dominance in wet handling with a 1.1 seconds advantage in lap time against Grabber APT. For the subjective wet handling rating, Discoverer AT3 4S fared better with a subjective score of 6.41/10 compared to 6.04/10 of Grabber APT. Below were some of the feedback in regards to the 2 tires from the test driver.
Discoverer AT3 4S:
Subjectively, our drivers liked the tire’s braking behavior and cornering traction. The steering was a little dull, and the handling balance leaned toward safe, controllable understeer.
Test driver feedback on Discoverer AT3 4S
Overall, Discoverer AT3 4S is clearly the best performing wet tire.
Discoverer AT3 4S:
- +9% in wet braking
- +1.9% in wet handling (subj)
- +3% in wet handling (lap time)
Dry
As for dry, safety is usually not an issue as the braking distance is much longer than wet. However this is the default daily usage and the tires have to perform at a very consistent level. Grabber APT was ahead of Discoverer AT3 4S in dry braking by stopping 1.3 feet (0.4 m) earlier.
In dry handling both tires were quite even as only 0.24 seconds separated them apart in lap times. They both were effectively judged the same on subjective handling at a 6.3/10 score. Overall, Grabber APT has an edge in dry braking while both tires were fairly similar in dry handling.
Discoverer AT3 4S:
- -1.5% in dry braking
- -0.1% in dry handling (subj)
- +0.7% in dry handling (lap time)
Noise/Comfort/Ride Quality
Ride comfort, noise & comfort was tested and Discoverer AT3 4S came out slightly ahead at 6.59/10 rating compared to the 6,42/10 rating of Grabber APT with noise being the main differences.
Discoverer AT3 4S:
- +0.8% in average of Noise, Comfort & Ride Quality.
Snow & Ice
In regards to winter performances, as both tires have the elusive 3 peak mountain labeled, we expect both tires to be highly competitive in winter performances. The results are expected to be out by early 2023. Stay tuned !
UTQG rating
We have previously shown that UTQG tread wear rating can be a good indication of your expected mileage. Below are the UTQG values of both of the tirelines.
| Brand | Tireline | Size | Tread Wear | Traction | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooper | Discoverer AT3 4S | All | 620 | A | B |
| General | Grabber APT | All | 520 | A | B |
The mileage warranty for Discoverer AT3 4S is at 65,000 miles while for Grabber APT it is at 60,000 miles. This is aligned as Discoverer AT3 4S has a higher UTQG tread wear rating of 620 compared to 520 of Grabber APT, as the lower UTQG rating tire provided (Grabber APT) 5000 miles less warranty. Taking into consideration the big differences of the UTQG rating and mileage warranty provided , we would expect the Discoverer AT3 4S to have a slightly higher expected mileage compared to Grabber APT .
For more in depth information about UTQG, please check out this article here. We even have a free download on the latest UTQG values from the leading tire manufacturers.
Price
Discoverer AT3 4S was found to be 31 dollars more expensive than Grabber APT.
Tire size: 265/60R18
Discoverer AT3 4S: $259
Grabber APT: $228
Difference: +12% more expensive for Discoverer AT3 4S.
Summary
Overall, both tires excel at different performance segments. Discoverer AT3 4S had an advantage in wet while Grabber APT had a slight advantage in dry. Stay tuned for the winter results and maybe that would be sufficient to determine who takes the winning spot !