New tires in the shop are always a great smell, but it is not the smell of fresh rubber that gets our attention, it is knowing that we will be out testing the tire in a matter of a few hours. This time, we have Cooper Tires Discoverer MTP mud-terrain tire.

The Discoverer MTP tire is Cooper Tire’s newest tire, and an exclusive to Discount Tire. We would be mounting the tires on a Jeep, and testing them out to determine if they would make the vehicle more capable of being an off-road rig.

Mount Up

We headed to Discount Tire to have the wheels and tires installed on our Jeep. We went with a LT315/70R17 Discoverer MTP, and 17×8.5-inch DX 4 Tuff wheels. Like the tires, the wheels are a Discount Tire exclusive also. The install was quick and simple, which meant we would be in the dirt in no time.

• 
• 

The tires and wheels would soon be ready to hit the trail.

• 
• 

Just a couple more steps before the tires would see the dirt.

Behind The Rubber

Before we hit the dirt we wanted to find out more about this tire, and the features that made it unique to Cooper. To find out more we spoke with Mike Stoltz, product manager for the light truck segment at Cooper Tires.

The vision behind the tire is, “The Discoverer MTP is an off-road mud terrain tire, intended for light truck owners and off-roaders seeking a tire with off-road traction and handling on the highway. The Discoverer MTP was developed exclusively for Discount Tire, and launched in January 2016,” according to Stoltz.

Cooper has a wide range of tires, but this one is exclusive to Discount Tire. Soltz explained that, “Cooper has three products that are exclusive to Discount Tire. They include the Discoverer ATP, an all-terrain tire, and the Discoverer HTP, a highway tire, and now the Discoverer MTP, an aggressive mud-terrain tire.”

Looks aren’t everything in a tire. Some of the defining features on the Discoverer MTP according to Stoltz are, “The sidewall design and wide, deep tread grooves for traction in mud and snow. The scallops provide a mud-scoop effect while the traction edges on the alternating shoulder elements add additional biting edges for lateral grip.”

Built in stone ejector ribs in the base of the grooves provide added resistance to stone capture and stone drilling. A unique blend of enriched carbon black and natural rubber give the MTP great all-season grip on the highway and superior traction on off-road surfaces.

In addition to the aggressive sidewall, “The Discoverer MTP is a two-ply sidewall tire,” Stoltz continued. “We did on and off-road testing to develop a tire that would perform in challenging and muddy terrain. All of our tires go through FMVSS 139 compliance testing, which is a government-mandated standard, along with our own proprietary internal testing.”

Having reassurance on the trail is always a great thing, knowing that the manufacturer stands behind its product is even better. “The Discoverer MTP carries Cooper’s standard limited warranty, but does not carry a mileage warranty,” Stoltz said.

We can off-road as much as we can, but for most of us our trail rig is also our daily driver and having a tire that performs well on-road is just as important. “The Discoverer MTP was designed as an aggressive off-road tire. The shape and design of the tread blocks help reduce road noise, while the MTP’s siping and tread compound helps in wet and dry highway conditions,” explained Stoltz about the tires on-road capabilities.

“There are currently 14 sizes offered in the Discoverer MTP. We always evaluate our size offerings and assess feedback from our customers and consumers when considering additional sizes,” Stoltz finished. Knowing more about the rubber we just installed it was time to go out and see what this tire could really do.

Time To Get Dirty

We were in luck when we headed to the dirt. A recent rainstorm had passed through the area days prior, which meant only one thing – there would be mud! When we usually go out and test a tire, it is very hard for us to find any wet conditions, so we took full advantage of it this time.

On the way to the dirt, we had to take the pavement. The tire gave us plenty of traction on the road, although there was no water on the road to see how it would do in wet conditions. We did notice even leaving Discount Tire that the tires were louder than the previous ones.

We knew there would be some noise going from an all-terrain to a mud-terrain tire. It was a hum that was noticed with the radio off, but not loud enough so you would hear it with the radio on. It was now time to hit the local trail and do what we had been waiting all day for.

The tires, upon touching the dirt, applied traction that we expected with the tread design. The tires still let us break traction when we wanted to get the Jeep sideways, but would gain traction as soon as we started going straight again.

We continued down the trail to see what else the wet weather had left us to play around in, when we came across a section of soft sand and water. Sand can be an extremely difficult terrain to drive in, whether it be in two-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive, but with the addition of water it can be even worse.

Before we mustered up the courage to head directly into the extreme area, we played around in the dry sand. We put the Jeep in 4-Hi before taking it into the sand and the tires handled the soft sand great. While out there we noticed that the tires did fling a lot of sand up onto the Jeep.

It was time to ford our way through the water. After making it through the first time, we knew that it was just not going to be enough. We had to do it again and again. The Jeep began to dig ruts into the sand, but turning the steering wheel allowed the side of the tire to grab solid ground pushing us through with no problem at all.

• 
• 
• 
• 

Pictures do not show how much fun we had playing around in the dirt with these tires.

The tires handled exceptionally well off-road and exceeded what we thought they were capable of doing. They handled the different terrains and did not give us a problem out in the dirt.

Takeaways

This is a great all-around tire that can handle everything that is thrown at it. If you do not mind a little road noise on your daily commute, this could be a tire for you, and is a perfect choice for the weekend warrior.

The tire had plenty of features, but the sidewall design surprised us with how well it did in the wet sand. Equipped with a four-wheel drive vehicle, the tires had the traction and durability to know that no matter what the weekend had in store, we would be able to get to the office on Monday morning.

What features do you look for when you are picking out a tire? Tell us in the comments below!