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Head-to-head Updated

BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 vs Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 0 + 0 road tests and 123 + 326 owner reviews. How we score

Too close to call: Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 69, Discoverer S/T Maxx 68.

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Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx
Tire BCooper

Discoverer S/T Maxx

All Season

± 7

Tests – · none yet Owners 67 · 326 reviews

“Personally a huge fan of the Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx great on and offroad. Quite on road.”

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 68

    Dry

    Discoverer S/T Maxx +3
    71
    Why this score
    SourceMud-Terrain T/A KM3Discoverer S/T Maxx
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 68 (est.)≈ 70 (est.)
    Reviews found online6873

    Mud-Terrain T/A KM3: 60% × 68.1 (est.) + 40% × 68.4 = 68

    Discoverer S/T Maxx: 60% × 70.2 (est.) + 40% × 73.4 = 71

    No road tests of dry for Mud-Terrain T/A KM3. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).

    No road tests of dry for Discoverer S/T Maxx. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).

  2. 73

    Wet

    Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 +1
    72
    Why this score
    SourceMud-Terrain T/A KM3Discoverer S/T Maxx
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 73 (est.)≈ 72 (est.)
    Reviews found online7473

    Mud-Terrain T/A KM3: 60% × 72.6 (est.) + 40% × 74.2 = 73

    Discoverer S/T Maxx: 60% × 71.9 (est.) + 40% × 72.8 = 72

    No road tests of wet for Mud-Terrain T/A KM3. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

    No road tests of wet for Discoverer S/T Maxx. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. 68

    Snow

    Discoverer S/T Maxx +1
    69
    Why this score
    SourceMud-Terrain T/A KM3Discoverer S/T Maxx
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 69 (est.)≈ 70 (est.)
    Reviews found online6767

    Mud-Terrain T/A KM3: 60% × 69.3 (est.) + 40% × 66.6 = 68

    Discoverer S/T Maxx: 60% × 69.5 (est.) + 40% × 67.4 = 69

    No road tests of snow for Mud-Terrain T/A KM3. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).

    No road tests of snow for Discoverer S/T Maxx. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).

  4. 66

    Comfort

    Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 +7
    59
    Why this score
    SourceMud-Terrain T/A KM3Discoverer S/T Maxx
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 68 (est.)≈ 66 (est.)
    Reviews found online6555

    Mud-Terrain T/A KM3: 40% × 67.9 (est.) + 60% × 64.8 = 66

    Discoverer S/T Maxx: 40% × 65.8 (est.) + 60% × 54.7 = 59

    No road tests of comfort for Mud-Terrain T/A KM3. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

    No road tests of comfort for Discoverer S/T Maxx. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

  5. 65

    Noise

    Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 +6
    59
    Why this score
    SourceMud-Terrain T/A KM3Discoverer S/T Maxx
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 66 (est.)≈ 66 (est.)
    Reviews found online6348

    Mud-Terrain T/A KM3: 60% × 66.4 (est.) + 40% × 63.3 = 65

    Discoverer S/T Maxx: 60% × 66.4 (est.) + 40% × 47.5 = 59

    No road tests of noise for Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 or Discoverer S/T Maxx. The test half is the tested tires’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.

  6. 68

    Treadwear

    Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 +2
    66
    Why this score
    SourceMud-Terrain T/A KM3Discoverer S/T Maxx
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 68 (est.)≈ 66 (est.)
    Reviews found online7066

    Mud-Terrain T/A KM3: 60% × 67.7 (est.) + 40% × 69.7 = 68

    Discoverer S/T Maxx: 60% × 66.4 (est.) + 40% × 66.2 = 66

    No road tests of treadwear for Mud-Terrain T/A KM3. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

    No road tests of treadwear for Discoverer S/T Maxx. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

  7. –

    Handling (owners)

    No comparison
    52
    Why this score
    SourceMud-Terrain T/A KM3Discoverer S/T Maxx
    Reviews found online–52
Scores at a glance
CategoryBFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx
Relative Score 69 68
Dry 68 71
Wet 73 72
Snow 68 69
Comfort 66 59
Noise 65 59
Treadwear 68 66
Handling (owners) – 52

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Recomputed
Headline score
± 8

Mud-Terrain T/A KM3

± 7

Discoverer S/T Maxx

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Mud-Terrain T/A KM3

Pros

  • Outstanding off-road and mud traction
  • Surprisingly quiet and comfortable on the highway for a mud-terrain tire
  • Impressive tread wear and longevity

Cons

  • Do not perform quite as well as dedicated road tires during on-road driving
All owner themes in the Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 review

Tire B Discoverer S/T Maxx

Pros

  • Aggressive all-terrain tread pattern that excels in dirt, gravel, sand, and moderate mud
  • Surprisingly quiet and smooth ride on the highway for such a rugged tire
  • Exceptional sidewall strength and puncture resistance against sharp rocks and debris

Cons

  • Faster-than-expected tread wear for some users, particularly on heavier duty or lighter vehicles
  • Subpar wet pavement traction, specifically in cold or greasy conditions
  • Stiff ride quality and potential handling vagueness or steering pull if pressures are not meticulously tuned
All owner themes in the Discoverer S/T Maxx review

What real owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score

Tire A

BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3

We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.

Tire B

Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx

Positive

The community generally praises the Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx for its exceptional dual-purpose performance, offering low road noise and strong traction across various off-road conditions like mud, rocks, and sand. Users note good handling while towing heavy loads, though some mention a slight softness or different feel during cornering that does not negatively impact overall safety. While initial purchase costs can be high, overall satisfaction is very high with many loyal repeat customers.

bobistheoilguy.com ·2019-06-30

“Interesting, I'm considering a Cooper Discoverer A/T3 Sport or Discoverer S/T Maxx in 245/70r16 for my Nissan. All of the reviews are excellent and have been recommended from friends using both types, one on little Suzuki Jimny and one on GC 2.7 diesel. According to them they are great both on pavement and off road, with GC driver being long time off roader.”
r/ToyotaTundra ·2 upvotes ·2026-10-10

“Personally a huge fan of the Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx great on and offroad. Quite on road.”
duramaxforum.com ·2012-09-10

“I have 285/75-r16 on my f-150 and love them. I've put them through hell (rocks, mud, sand, rim breaking in half and truck skidding down the road on it) and the have held up amazing. My old set of cooper st's last around 60k and still had a little life left. Ill never run any thing but coopers now. and for the record i had that tire checked out by 3 different tire shops and they all said it was fine.”
Top themes
#on and off road traction#low road noise#heavy towing performance#durability and toughness#cornering feel#aggressive appearance

Based on 11 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 B · Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx
CategoryMud-Terrain tireAll Season
Vehicle typeSUV and 4x4SUV and 4x4
Sizes available2730
Rim diameters16″ – 20″16″ – 20″
Tread depth18/32″19/32″
SidewallRaised Black LetteringBlack Side Wall - Raised Outline White Lettering
Max pressure45 - 80 psi35 - 80 psi
Sizes in common1818

Which one should you actually buy?

BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3

Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx

Too close to call: BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 and Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx are within 2 points overall. BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 is stronger on comfort and noise. Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx is stronger on dry.

Pick tire A You want the most comfortable ride

BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 scores 66 vs 59 on comfort.

Pick tire A You want a quieter cabin

BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 scores 65 vs 59 on noise.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx scores 71 vs 68 on dry.

Tire A · BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3
Check price on Amazon
Tire B · Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx
Check price on Amazon

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Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 or Discoverer S/T Maxx?

Which is better in the wet, Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 or Discoverer S/T Maxx?

Neither, by our numbers: 73 vs 72 on the wet score, within 3 points.

Which grips better on dry roads, Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 or Discoverer S/T Maxx?

Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx, 71 vs 68 on our dry score.

Which is better in snow, Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 or Discoverer S/T Maxx?

Neither, by our numbers: 68 vs 69 on the snow score, within 3 points.

Which is quieter, Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 or Discoverer S/T Maxx?

BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3, 65 vs 59 on our noise score.

Which is more comfortable, Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 or Discoverer S/T Maxx?

BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3, 66 vs 59 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 or Discoverer S/T Maxx?

Neither, by our numbers: 68 vs 66 on the treadwear score, within 3 points.

How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology