Alright. About 35K miles ago I decided that I would replace my 2nd set of Cooper AT3's with Nitto Terra Grappler G2 tires. Both were stock size and P load, or SL as they call them now. Why? Well, Toyota was offering a by three get one free sale and they were OEM on the Pro and they looked good and I had read no negative reviews on them so why not. I spend a lot of time on the highway but for work and a bit of play I do have to go off road so an AT tire is fine for me.
I immediately noticed the Nitto tire did not get as good wet road traction as the Cooper. When pulling out into traffic on wet roads, I would now want to break traction where the Coopers had a higher level of adhesion. No real difference in heavy rain as far as hydroplane goes as both tires did fine in that respect.
The icy slush of winter driving was just the same as wet road traction. The AT3'S win here by a decent margin. When the snow got deep both tires performed admirably. Not as well as a dedicated snow tire of course but much better than an all season tire. So a wash basically. Dirt, mud and rocks I actually preferred the Nitto's. Why? They did not hold the small pebbles as much as the Coopers.
Road noise, when new, was the same. Of course over time every tire gets louder as they wear. Tire wear was also about the same as well. Both tires are around a 50K tire. What was really annoying with the Nitto, and the reason I went back to Cooper was the shake. I know that tires don't have nylon or polyester belts in them anymore but during cold weather or even cool weather the Nitto would seem to "flat spot" a bit after sitting overnight. Not much individually but when they all synced up it would shake. Also it seemed the more they wore the worse the problem would get. I rotate them every 10K and I had them Reba landed twice. After considering every tire from the BFG to the Michelin I decided to go back to the Coopers.
I now have around 2K miles on the new Coopers and they are a very good compromise tire. Just wanted to get this out there.
This is my 3rd set of AT3'S now and, at least for me, there are no balance issues. I was in the shop watching them balance mine and it was quick and painless with very little weight added. Truck is smooth at all speeds, if I can find a smooth road...