REVIEW: LT245/75/16C Mastercraft AXT

[ouroboros]

So I bought a set of Mastercraft's AXT's in a 6 ply recently and so far so good. I've been selling these tires from the notion of my co-workers using them on their trucks/SUV's and had decided to go ahead with them on my Lib due to the very low amount of consumer complaints I've heard about them.

So far, I've got about 700 miles on them, mostly pavement with mixed weather (Hot/humid, Rain). I live off of gravel roads and the traction has been pretty exceptional. I've tried a few dead stop to the floor take offs and have noticed little wheel spin from them. The tires don't seem to want to hold rocks which is part of the reason I got them as well. Did some light off roading at a buddies with a few hill climbs and didn't have to even put it in 4wd (biggthumpup), so I'm pretty impressed given the little time I've been running them.

The ride quality is good for an LT tire and for a decently aggressive tread they ride fairly quietly. I did notice the difference going from a standard load tire to a load range C tire was a bit bouncier but, hey.. It's what I wanted!

The Lib responds well to these as well, she got quite a few new front end parts tossed on her when I did the tires (2 outer tie rods, 1 inner, LF UCA, LF wheel bearing along with an alignment) but I've noticed no radial pull from the tires whatsoever. Even if radial pull is an issue, we've got Hunters road force balancers that can help correct that. She'll be getting pulled back apart in the near future once my OME stuff on order get's here arty36:

Overall, I'm glad that I recommend these to people. I've been nothing but happy so far and I think that this will be that way for years to come. I'll update once I get more miles on them as far as wear goes (Rated at 50,000 miles) but I've seen a lot of people I sell these to beat the hell out of them and they just keep on taking it.. Once the snow flies here in Michigan I'll update on that as well. Any questions ask away!

 

[ftaa]

im just oiver the border and ive been running these sentinel AT's and they sound like a very similar tire ... kudos on finding something you like... what was your cost on them ? i paid 450 (canadian)

 

[ouroboros]

im just oiver the border and ive been running these sentinel AT's and they sound like a very similar tire ... kudos on finding something you like... what was your cost on them ? i paid 450 (canadian)

They're a Cooper tire if you want to get technical... I don't know if I should be making my cost public :-# I know of some local hole in the wall tire shops around here that have those Sentinels and I've never dealt with them myself, I know retail is somewhere around the tune of over $600 USD for the Mastercrafts. I've gotta wonder if you're running the load range E's oh what a rough ride that would be...!

 

[ouroboros]

And here's the Lib with the new shoes... White letters out of course!

 

[ftaa]

looks good... i had prospector suv's on it which is a cooper as well . the sentinels are working very well for me and im just in windsor.. but i often visit the kitchener are (in the snow belt ) and deal with feet of snow also .. not unlike michigan.

 

[ouroboros]

looks good... i had prospector suv's on it which is a cooper as well . the sentinels are working very well for me and im just in windsor.. but i often visit the kitchener are (in the snow belt ) and deal with feet of snow also .. not unlike michigan.

I don't even know if they make those Prospectors anymore... Don't mind me though I am a bit of a tire snob! :gr_grin: Thanks for the compliment! I ALMOST bought Duratracs, but I couldn't pass up the deal I get on these..

 

[Birdman330]

I've had a lot of mixed reviews on Mastercrafts line, and the fact the wife had them on her car and they were noisy after a few thousand miles leaves me a bit weary in general. And scary is when somebody asks for a set of awful tires that was discontinued a decade ago....

 

[M38 Bob]

Been selling tires for over 40 years. Cooper, and all their red-headed step-children are unpredictable. When they are good (often for years at a time) they are VERY good. When they are bad(separations, out of round, puncture prone) they are VERY bad. Unfortunately, often for years at a time also.

My favorite Cooper house brand was "DEAN" until they were discontinued.

Bob

 

[ouroboros]

I've been a Cooper fan-boy for a while now.. The Mastercraft AXT's I sell the shit out of and very rarely do I see an issue that was the actual tires fault. I'd say 75% of the time if I get a tire failure it's due to a customer abusing or neglecting the maintenance on their own vehicle. IF I were to buy another set it would most likely be the 6 ply Duratracs.

I do, however, agree with you Bob. When Cooper is good, they're great. When they're bad (The old ST Coopers and Mastercraft AT2's are horrible) they're absolutely awful. I think with the newer Mastercraft lineup they're stepping it up. The Avenger LSR is a great passenger tire and competes with the Michelin Defender as far as treadwear and all season traction goes. The truck tires coming out now-a-days from Mastercraft have been pretty exceptional, was going to get some HSX's put on the girls car but ended up with a Toyo instead.

You will definitely get what you pay for in the tire world, been in the business for 4 years now and can tell you that from first hand experience.

 

[M38 Bob]

I endorse, brag up, sell, a brand most have never heard of; "Falken". Sumitomo is their parent Japanese company. Most are built in Japan with a few lines coming from other Asian countries (NONE from China). TOUGH! Quiet, long tread life, and priced down near some of the entry level crap. Their Wild Peak A/T, and Wild Peak H/T lines are great PU, SUV equipment, and the SN211 Touring will run with anybodies high end passenger tires.

Bob

 

[ouroboros]

I endorse, brag up, sell, a brand most have never heard of; "Falken". Sumitomo is their parent Japanese company. Most are built in Japan with a few lines coming from other Asian countries (NONE from China). TOUGH! Quiet, long tread life, and priced down near some of the entry level crap. Their Wild Peak A/T, and Wild Peak H/T lines are great PU, SUV equipment, and the SN211 Touring will run with anybodies high end passenger tires.

Bob

Falken makes on OK tire dependent on the model. I had the Ziex 950 A/S' on my Grand Am which I was decently impressed by. The Wild Peak A/T I've seen some horrible wear patterns on, the H/T is a better tire as far as wear goes IMHO. The SN211 I believe is rated for 80,000 miles and priced very competitively. The Sumi's make a great mid-grade tire as well. Ride's a little rougher but you can kind of get over that with the price point and mileage warranty. Can't forget the Ohtsu's! LOL

 

[twowings]

'a brand most have never heard of; "Falken" '

Is your statement meant to reflect the demographics of this forum only ?

Because I can assure you, several MILLION inhabitants of Planet Earth encounter this on a regular basis:

You must be registered for see images

In additional, Falken owns a quite respectable 5.5% market share of the 32.1 billion-dollar annual tire sales...

 

[M38 Bob]

Guess I'm used to dealing with my clientele. Most common thing I hear is "WHUT??? Never heard of em!":emotions34:

Bob

 

[Birdman330]

Falken is a wild card and I say that because I sold their tires when I worked in Auto Retail Sales. The issue with them is, like Sumitomo they pick and choose who sells what line of tires they produce. So naturally, we had the Ziex 912 which was a sport tire that came in every size you can think of for cars, CUV's, small SUV's and Mini-Vans. It was the most worthless tire out there, inch of snow you couldn't go anywhere. Shortly before I walked out, we got the Wild Peak A/T's which I sold a few sets but I got bland reviews from the buyers. Now they have a new replacement for the Ziex 912 which my buddy tells me they're better but that's about it, nothing spectacular. Then again nothing could be worse than the Primwell PA 100 aka the Enduro MT's that were anything but an MT. You got what you paid for with them, a noisy tire that was fine for pavement and only pavement, snow, mud, you'd just dig yourself into a hole.