Cooper Discoverer AT3 vs BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2

Fuel Efficiency

The US Department of Energy estimates that around 25% of the fuel consumption of a vehicle is attributable to the tyres. That's a lot, and it means that choosing fuel efficient tyres can save you quite a bit of money.

The Discoverer AT3 4S tyres rank a D on a scale of A to E in the official fuel efficiency tests carried out by the EU (they call these rolling resistance tests).

The All-Terrain T/A KO2 tyres get a grade of E.

Expect the lower grade tyre to consume an extra 0.1L/100km. This works out to $24 extra spent on petrol per year, based on a typical 12,000 km driven per year.

Here's a graph comparing the Discoverer AT3 4S and All-Terrain T/A KO2 tyres for fuel efficiency (1 = Grade E, 5 = Grade A).

Grip & Handling

We'll now take a look at how these tyres compare in terms of grip and handling.

A good measure of this is 'wet grip', which is an indication of how well the tyres will allow the vehicle to come to a stop in wet conditions.

The Discoverer AT3 4S tyres rank a C on a scale of A to E in the official fuel tests carried out by the EU.

The All-Terrain T/A KO2 tyres, on the other hand, get a grade of B.

Expect the lower graded tyres to require about an extra 3 metres to come to a complete stop when braking at 80km/h.

Here's a graph comparing the Discoverer AT3 4S and All-Terrain T/A KO2 tyres for wet grip (1 = Grade E, 5 = Grade A).

Noise

Another key factor to consider when choosing a tyre is road noise. Once you're over about 40 km/h, the dominant source of noise you hear is from the contact of your tyres on the road.

There is a surprisingly wide variation in the amount of noise each tyre makes.

The Discoverer AT3 4S tyres produce 72.8 dB of road noise, which corresponds to a rank of B on a scale of A to C in the standardised testing done by the EU.

On the other hand, the All-Terrain T/A KO2 tyres produce 74.3 dB of road noise, which means a grade of B.

As their noise grade is the same, don't expect many differences in terms of cabin noise.

Here's a visual representation of how the Discoverer AT3 4S and All-Terrain T/A KO2 tyres stack up for noise (1 = Grade C, 3 = Grade A).

Based on the results of a number of tyre benchmarks, the Discoverer AT3 4S scores 5 out of 5 for comfort and the All-Terrain T/A KO2 scores 4 out of 5.

The Discoverer AT3 4S tyres have a treadwear rating of 620, which means that they would last 6.2 times longer than a tyre with a rating of 100. There's no treadwear data available for the All-Terrain T/A KO2 tyres.

The Discoverer AT3 4S tyres have a traction grade of A (on a scale of AA, A, B, C). There's no UTQG traction grading data available for the All-Terrain T/A KO2 tyres.

The Discoverer AT3 4S tyres have a temperature resistance grade of B (on a scale of A, B, C). There's no UTQG temperature resistance grading data available for the All-Terrain T/A KO2 tyres.

For fuel efficiency, Discoverer AT3 4S score a grade of D, which is below average. All-Terrain T/A KO2 end up with a grade of E, which is very poor.

More important is the wet grip, which gives you an indication of their traction and handling. In this regard, Discoverer AT3 4S get a score of C, which is more or less average. All-Terrain T/A KO2 end up with a grade of B, which is above average.

More important is the wet grip, which gives you an indication of their traction and handling. In this regard, Discoverer AT3 4S get a score of B, which is about typical. All-Terrain T/A KO2 end up with a grade of B, which is about typical.