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Last updated 8/09/2024 - Originally published 8/09/2024
Written by SimpleTire
So, what exactly are highway-terrain tires? To oversimplify a bit, you can think of highway-terrain tires as being similar to automotive all-season tires in terms of performance targets and overall design features. As you’d probably deduce from the name, highway-terrain tires are for vehicles that put in most of their miles on the pavement and are designed with an all-season tread pattern for year-round performance. Like premium automotive all-season or grand touring tires, highway-terrain tires are designed to deliver year-round grip, long wear, a quiet and comfortable ride, and precise, predictable handling.
The biggest difference in design and construction is a beefed-up casing and an enhanced load rating that makes it a better fit for light trucks that might haul heavy loads or tow trailers. Today we’re going to take a look at two very good premium highway-terrain tires: the Wildpeak H/T02 from Falken, and the Discoverer HT3 from Cooper.
In the course of this head-to-head matchup between the Falken and the Cooper, you’ll see us make reference to SimpleScore. If you’re not familiar with it, SimpleScore is the rating method that our team developed to give you a quick at-a-glance idea of any tire’s performance and value. We look at a tire’s reviews, specs, and other data points, then take that information and process it into a 1-10 numerical score. For the Falken Wildpeak H/T02 and Cooper Discover HT3, the SimpleScore ratings shake out like this:
- Traction: 8.2
- Handling: 8.3
- Longevity: 7.6
- Overall average SimpleScore: 7.9
- Traction: 8.3
- Handling: 8.3
- Longevity: 9.1
- Overall average SimpleScore: 8.5
As you can see, the Cooper and the Falken compare pretty favorably and are a fairly even match in SimpleScore rankings, although both have their distinct strengths and weaknesses. As handy as SimpleScore is, though, it’s 30,000 foot view that doesn’t give you the whole picture and the real details you need to make an informed decision. Let’s go in for a closer look at this product line comparison:
Falken Wildpeak H/T02 tires
Let’s start off with the Wildpeak H/T02 from Falken. Technically, the Falken Wildpeak H/T02 is classified as an all-season highway-terrain tire, but make no mistake – this is a durable, tough tire for light trucks and SUVs, denoted with Heavy Duty LT designation that rates it with extra load capacity and durable construction.
The Wildpeak H/T 02 is tough enough for commercial-grade services such as heavy hauling and towing or trips to unimproved job sites; its design features include a rugged upper sidewall, damage-resistant tread compound, “support bridge” tread blocks that add extra rigidity and stability, and a 75,000 mile limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty (50,000 miles for LT-metric sizes). The Falken Wildpeak H/T02 also excels when it comes to year-round performance; its 4D Nano design package includes a silica-rich tread formulation and a tread pattern that’s designed around four circumferential and lateral grooves with 3D Canyon Sipes for dependable grip in dry, wet or light wintry road conditions. Steering response, braking performance, road manners, and cornering are all predictable and composed. SimpleTire’s price on the Falken Wildpeak H/T02 starts around $119 per tire.
Cooper Discoverer HT3 tires
Now let’s talk about another tough commercial-grade highway-terrain light truck tire, the Discoverer HT3 from Cooper. The Discoverer HT3 is designed with a 2-ply polyester casing and twin steel belts with a nylon cap layer, as well as a long-wearing cut-and-chip resistant tread formulation and continuous shoulder ribs that encourage even tread wear; Cooper covers the Discoverer HT3 with a 50,000 mile limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty.
When the weather turns wet or snowy, the Discoverer HT3 is equipped with a network of circumferential and angled grooves and lateral slots that help route slush and water from the tire’s contact patch to resist hydroplaning. Its system of sipes and biting zigzag edges multiply the tread’s surface area and traction for performance in snow and slush. The silica-based tread compound of the Discoverer HT3 is designed to enhance wet-weather grip as well as deliver long wear and resistance to scrub and abrasion wear for stop-and-start city driving. SimpleTire’s price on the Cooper Discoverer Ht3 starts at $168.99 per tire.
Falken Wildpeak H/T02 vs Cooper Discoverer HT3 tires on traction
Our first category to talk about is traction, and with SimpleScores of 8.2 for the Cooper and 8.3 for the Falken, these tires are pretty closely matched. While neither tire has the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification for severe winter service, both are pretty confident performers in light snow thanks to their sipe design and groove networks. When things are this close in terms of design features, specs, and performance but one tire has a slight SimpleScore advantage over the other, that’s when we defer to customer reviews and customers say that the Falken has traction in wet, dry, or light wintry weather that’s a bit better than the Cooper. Our decision:
ADVANTAGE: Falken Wildpeak H/T02
Falken Wildpeak H/T02 vs Cooper Discoverer HT3 tires on handling
When it comes to cornering ability, steering response, road holding, and braking performance, the Cooper and the Falken are both very capable tires. The design teams at Cooper and Falken put in a lot of time to design their tires around the weight, power, torque, center of gravity, ride quality, and overall driving dynamics of modern trucks and SUVs. The end result is a tire that may not have the handling of a top-tier performance tire (but then again most trucks and SUVs don’t handle like sports sedans either), but both tires are predictable and consistent in their overall handling. So consistent, in fact, that they’re dead even when it comes to SimpleScore rankings, with the Cooper and the Falken both registering 8.3.
ADVANTAGE: TIE
Falken Wildpeak H/T02 vs Cooper Discoverer HT3 tires on longevity
When it comes to longevity, things aren’t so close after all. Both the Falken and the Cooper are designed for durability, and both are the kind of commercial-grade tires that are capable and durable when it comes to long highway miles, heavy loads, or heavy towing duties, the kinds of service that would push other tires to their absolute limit. Even with that robust construction, though, the Falken is covered by a 75,000 mile limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty, vs 50,000 miles for the Cooper. That’s enough of a disparity to decisively tip the scales in the Falken’s favor, with a SimpleScore of 9.1 vs 7.6 for the Cooper.
ADVANTAGE: Falken Wildpeak H/T02
When to use each
So, what are your needs for a light truck tire? If you want to go off-road in mud, sand, or really rough backcountry terrain with a 4WD truck, then the Falken Wildpeak H/T02 and Cooper Discoverer HT3 are probably not really the right tires for you. If you live in a part of the country that sees several inches of snow that stays on the roads for days or weeks at a time, you might not be satisfied with these tires.
If, though, you’ve got a commercial truck or van and need the durability and robust construction of a commercial-grade tire, then you can’t go wrong with either of these. And even if you don’t and you just need a light truck tire that’s going to deliver a quiet, refined ride with long service, great road manners, and year-round performance, we’d say that the Falken Wildpeak H/T02 and Cooper Discoverer HT3 would both be a great choice. They offer the versatility that drivers love in an all-season passenger tire, but with the beefed-up construction and design of a light truck tire, that makes them a good do-all solution for most drivers.
Which one should you choose?
When it comes down to picking the Falken over the Cooper, there are a couple of tradeoffs involved. As we found out, the Cooper and the Falken are both really closely matched and compare well with each other when it comes to the SimpleScore categories of traction and handling. Where the big spread in SimpleScore rankings comes in is in the longevity category, with a score of 9.1 for the Cooper vs 7.6 for the Falken. There’s a difference of 25,000 miles when it comes to warranty coverage, and that’s pretty significant.
But then again, let’s consider the prices of the two tires, with the Cooper starting out at $168.99 per tire vs $119 per tire for the Falken. When you account for sales tax, disposal fees, and other charges, that’s going to mean a difference of well over $200 for a whole set of tires. We’d just put it this way: if you have the extra money on hand and you really put a high premium on warranty coverage, go with the Cooper Discoverer HT3. If you want to save a chunk of money and don’t mind compromising on that limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty, opt for the Falken. They’re comparable enough with each other in the other performance categories that you won’t really be making a mistake either way.
Still not sure which tire to buy? Fortunately, SimpleTire is here to help as our helpful agents are more than happy to assist you in selecting the right tire for your ride and budget.