Tests – · none yet Owners 60 · 14 reviews
Head-to-head
Updated
Continental Cross Contact A/T vs Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT — Compared
Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews. Based on 0 + 0 road tests and 14 + 251 owner reviews. How we score
Discoverer AT3 LT is ahead, 75–62
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Tests – · none yet Owners 78 · 251 reviews
“I ran a set of 295/70r18 Discoverer AT3 LT’s for about 25k miles. I had seen lots of negative reviews but figured that I would be OK with them for my needs ( I drive in snow 4 - 5 times per year). Initially I was happy with the tires as they performed well in the snow and the rain but after 10k miles they developed a balance issue and started to wear irregularly. I had never experienced anything like it before. I actually purchased new shocks but never installed them. As I drive a lot of miles I just never had any time to deal with chasing the vibration / balance issue and just replaced the tires with Bridgestone Dueler AT Ascent. I now have about 20k miles on the Bridgestone’s and they are still ride very smooth and are wearing great.”
Category by category
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
-
64
Dry
Discoverer AT3 LT +1377Why this score
Source Cross Contact A/T Discoverer AT3 LT Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 66 (est.) ≈ 74 (est.) Reviews found online 62 83 Cross Contact A/T: 60% × 65.5 (est.) + 40% × 62.2 = 64
Discoverer AT3 LT: 60% × 73.7 (est.) + 40% × 82.6 = 77
No road tests of dry for Cross Contact A/T. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.40).
No road tests of dry for Discoverer AT3 LT. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.40).
-
64
Wet
Discoverer AT3 LT +1478Why this score
Source Cross Contact A/T Discoverer AT3 LT Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 66 (est.) ≈ 76 (est.) Reviews found online 63 82 Cross Contact A/T: 60% × 65.7 (est.) + 40% × 62.5 = 64
Discoverer AT3 LT: 60% × 76.4 (est.) + 40% × 81.5 = 78
No road tests of wet for Cross Contact A/T. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.56).
No road tests of wet for Discoverer AT3 LT. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.56).
-
53
Snow
Discoverer AT3 LT +1871Why this score
Source Cross Contact A/T Discoverer AT3 LT Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 60 (est.) ≈ 71 (est.) Reviews found online 41 72 Cross Contact A/T: 60% × 60.4 (est.) + 40% × 41.3 = 53
Discoverer AT3 LT: 60% × 70.7 (est.) + 40% × 72.4 = 71
No road tests of snow for Cross Contact A/T. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.33).
No road tests of snow for Discoverer AT3 LT. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.33).
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65
Comfort
Discoverer AT3 LT +772Why this score
Source Cross Contact A/T Discoverer AT3 LT Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 68 (est.) ≈ 70 (est.) Reviews found online 60 75 Cross Contact A/T: 60% × 67.6 (est.) + 40% × 60.4 = 65
Discoverer AT3 LT: 60% × 70.1 (est.) + 40% × 74.7 = 72
No road tests of comfort for Cross Contact A/T or Discoverer AT3 LT. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.
-
–
Noise
No comparison72Why this score
Source Cross Contact A/T Discoverer AT3 LT Professional tests (TWG score) – ≈ 67 (est.) Reviews found online – 79 Discoverer AT3 LT: 60% × 67.3 (est.) + 40% × 78.7 = 72
No road tests of noise for Discoverer AT3 LT. The test half is the tested tires’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.
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65
Treadwear
Discoverer AT3 LT +671Why this score
Source Cross Contact A/T Discoverer AT3 LT Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 65 (est.) ≈ 68 (est.) Reviews found online 64 74 Cross Contact A/T: 60% × 65.2 (est.) + 40% × 64.4 = 65
Discoverer AT3 LT: 60% × 68.3 (est.) + 40% × 74.4 = 71
No road tests of treadwear for Cross Contact A/T. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.31).
No road tests of treadwear for Discoverer AT3 LT. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.31).
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62
Handling (owners)
Discoverer AT3 LT +870Why this score
Source Cross Contact A/T Discoverer AT3 LT Reviews found online 62 70
Scores at a glance
| Category | Continental Cross Contact A/T | Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 62 | 75 |
| Dry | 64 | 77 |
| Wet | 64 | 78 |
| Snow | 53 | 71 |
| Comfort | 65 | 72 |
| Noise | – | 72 |
| Treadwear | 65 | 71 |
| Handling (owners) | 62 | 70 |
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
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Recomputed
Headline score
62
/ 100
Cross Contact A/T
75
/ 100
Discoverer AT3 LT
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 Cross Contact A/T
Pros
- Excellent on-road comfort and handling with acceptable noise levels
- High potential longevity and mileage for many users, with sets lasting upwards of 50,000 to 80,000 km/miles
- Competent dry and wet performance on paved surfaces
Cons
- Susceptibility to punctures and fragile sidewalls reported by some drivers
- Rapid, premature tread wear experienced by certain users
- Poor traction and spinning issues in winter conditions such as snow and ice
Tire B Discoverer AT3 LT
Pros
- Excellent towing stability with minimal sidewall flex under heavy loads
- Surprisingly quiet and smooth on the highway for an all-terrain tire
- Strong durability and wear resistance on rough gravel, rock, and dirt roads
Cons
- Subpar performance in heavy snow, ice, or deep mud for some users
- Occasional reports of balancing difficulties or initial cold-weather tire thumping
- Isolated incidents of sidewall splitting or premature wear
What real owners are saying
From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score
Tire A
Continental Cross Contact A/T
We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.
Tire B
Mixed
Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT
Community sentiment regarding the Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT is mixed with a positive lean. Drivers appreciate its wet and snow traction, low noise, and strong tread life under heavy loads, though some report irregular wear and persistent balancing or vibration issues after accumulating mileage.
wanderthewest.com
·2020-07-08
“I have the Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT tires on my 2010 Tundra with Hawk. They are E series tires. Found this link that discusses the differences between the LT and XLT. Really like my LT's. The increased tire mileage would probably be a good thing of the price difference isn't too great. Paul”
clubfrontier.org
·2 upvotes ·2023-02-26
“I got 80k (rotating every 10k) out of Coopers on my 2010 and have 40k on current 2019 SL ... Discoverer AT3 LT ... they are designed for heavier trucks... excellent noise, excellent in water. I got stuck in a grass field in the factory HT hancocks... same field few years later with coopers.. no issues.. never tried in snow but imagine they would do well...”
forum.ih8mud.com
·1 upvote ·2018-07-29
“From the Cooper site: Discoverer A/T3 55,000 Mile Treadwear Protection - Light Truck sizes 60,000 Mile Treadwear Protection - SUV sizes The Discoverer A/T3™ is an all-season, all-terrain tire designed to perform well on the highway and off for drivers of SUVs and light duty trucks. Excellent highway performance Excellent wet traction Improved treadwear and traction in rocky and gravel terrain M+S Rated Discoverer AT3 LT 60,000 Mile Treadwear Protection - LT-metric sizes The Discoverer AT3 LT™ with Durable Tread Technology™ hauls heavy loads with less wear and are built to withstand ongoing assault from dirt and gravel. Designed to prevent shredding on rocky and gravel terrain Extreme durability for hauling Superior control and braking in wet weather Cutting through the marketing-speak, it sounds like the A/T3 is more road biased and the AT3 LT is perhaps heavier duty and more offroad biased. And the AT3 LT is not rated for winter conditions. I've had Discount Tire try to feed me a load of BS on more than one occasion. It sounds like that's what they were doing to you. The A/T3 is definitely still available.”
Top themes
#Wet traction performance#Treadwear and longevity#Heavy load handling#Balancing and vibration#Snow traction capability
Based on 5 community posts
Specs side by side
| Attribute | A · Continental Cross Contact A/T | B · Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT |
|---|---|---|
| Category | All-Terrain tire | All-Terrain tire |
| Vehicle type | SUV and 4x4 | SUV and 4x4 |
| Sizes available | — | 14 |
| Rim diameters | — | 16″ – 18″ |
| Tread depth | — | 16 - 17/32″ |
| Treadwear warranty | — | 60,000 mi |
| Sidewall | — | Black Side Wall - Raised Outline White Lettering |
| Max pressure | — | 50 - 80 psi |
Which one should you actually buy?
62
/ 100
Continental Cross Contact A/T
75
/ 100
Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT
Winner: Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT — better snow, wet and dry. It leads or ties in every category we score. Continental Cross Contact A/T rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 14 reviews), so read this result as provisional.
Pick tire B
You drive through snowy winters
Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT scores 71 vs 53 on snow.
Pick tire B
Your priority is wet-weather safety
Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT scores 78 vs 64 on wet.
Pick tire B
You want the most grip on dry roads
Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT scores 77 vs 64 on dry.
Pick tire B
You enjoy sharp, responsive handling
Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT scores 70 vs 62 on handling.
Tire A · Continental Cross Contact A/T
Tire B · Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT
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Cross Contact A/T or Discoverer AT3 LT?
Which is better in the wet, Cross Contact A/T or Discoverer AT3 LT?
Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT, 78 vs 64 on our wet score.
Which grips better on dry roads, Cross Contact A/T or Discoverer AT3 LT?
Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT, 77 vs 64 on our dry score.
Which is better in snow, Cross Contact A/T or Discoverer AT3 LT?
Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT, 71 vs 53 on our snow score.
Which is more comfortable, Cross Contact A/T or Discoverer AT3 LT?
Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT, 72 vs 65 on our comfort score.
Which lasts longer, Cross Contact A/T or Discoverer AT3 LT?
Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT, 71 vs 65 on our treadwear score.
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