New guy here (Helloooo!),

I was wondering if I could tap into the board's shared genius. Looking to replace tires on a 2013 Yukon XL (wife's car, I have a Duramax). Looking at the Cooper Discoverer AT3s. Had these on my wife's old Acadia, and loved them. Live in Central Oregon, and have modest amounts of snow & ice. Not going to tow much of anything (have a 19' inboard boat, but will typically tow it with my truck). We do travel gravel roads, often with some sharp rocks, and we were plagued by punctures with the old crummy stock tires.

So, my question is should I go with the C-rated or A-B rated tires (270-70-17)? Considering the balance of gas mileage / road noise / handling / puncture resistance.

 

I am not much help here, what I will say that unless I towed everyday I would go for the most quiet.
After years of owning subs and hoes, my ears have turned to being very aware of road noise. As I get older too. I have a three year old that makes enough noise and on road trips the DVD noise is enough then talking with my wife comes in second. Having to speak over all that is enough.


That being said on my Z71 I ran Mich LTX A/T2......about 165 each or less.

 

Thanks for the feedback. After doing a ton of research, we went with the C-rated (6-ply) tires. The reviews of the Coopers were all outstanding, and none noted road noise being a big problem. We were deciding between the Cooper Discoverer AT3s, Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure with Kevlar, and General Grabber AT2s. The one test I saw showed that the Coopers were best with on-road handling/breaking, as well as being top in snow/ice and being one of the few that passed a rock-climb test (not that we are doing that with a Yukon XL). Good test in the following link:

Where the Rubber Meets the Road | Expedition Portal

While the Grabbers seem like a hell of a deal considering their reported snow/ice abilities and price, we dropped them due to road performance. The Wranglers sounded great, particularly given their noted low noise and handling, but we went with the Coopers because of their road performance (particularly considering wet roads, and customer reports for snow/ice), off-road ability, and lower $$$.

A few reviews I saw between the C-Rated (6-ply) and A-B Rated rated (3- or 4-ply?, I believe), indicated that there was not a lot of noted difference in mileage or ride, and none in noise. With more puncture resistance and deeper tread (better for snow), we went with the C-rated (LT).

I will try to take some pics and post 'em.My wife picked up the rig last night with the new tires, and she said she did not note any increase in noise compared to the old crappy stock tires, and said it drove great. I'm guessing I will be able to feel the difference better than her, and will report back after my first drive. I'm looking forward to being able to drive on desert unpaved roads without worrying about punctures!