If you’ve got a light truck, Jeep, or SUV that’s equipped with four-wheel-drive and you live in a rural area with rough roads (or if you just like to go off the pavement from time to time for a little adventure), you know that all-terrain tires are the only option to successfully get you where you need to go and back without getting stuck or stranded.

The good news is that now you don’t need to clean out your checking account for a set of premium-quality all-terrain tires, and you don’t need to put up with a rough ride, squirrelly road manners, or lots of highway noise either. The Starfire Solarus AP delivers a great compromise of durability and dependable traction in mud, snow, gravel, or dirt along with road manners, ride quality, and handling that won’t wear you out on a long trip or errands around town.

So what is it about the tire that makes it such a standout performer and a great value? Let’s go in for a closer look with this Starfire Solarus AP review:

Features and Benefits

There’s a lot to like with the Starfire Solarus AP:

• Large sharp-angled tread blocks and aggressive all-terrain lug tread for dependable traction and handling in mud, snow, sand, gravel, and loose dirt
• Wide zigzag circumferential grooves toward the tire’s edges evacuate water from the contact patch for enhanced resistance to hydroplaning in wet weather
• Notched shoulders boost wet-weather traction, handling, control
• Full-depth sipes boost traction in wet or wintry conditions
• Deep tread depth for long wear and aggressive traction
• Tread grooves are designed to disrupt airflow around the tire for lower noise
• Tread pitch computer tuned and randomized to help keep road noise low
• M+S rated for mud/snow traction
• 50,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty
• High ply rating for durability and load capacity
• Damage-resistant tread compound
• Polyester casing with twin steel belts and nylon cap layer

Pros and Cons

With the Starfire Solarus AP, the Pros outweigh the Cons:

PROS:

• Durable construction
• Reliable traction in rough conditions, including mud, dirt, gravel, snow
• Decent ride quality with low noise on the highway
• Generous treadwear coverage
• Easy to balance

CONS:

• Not good in deeper mud
• It can’t be used aired-down for rock crawling

SimpleTire’s view on Starfire Solarus AP tires

Starfire is a private brand from Cooper, and the Solarus AP is a great value in an all-terrain tire at an affordable price point. The Solarus AP gives you the kind of durability and tenacious grip you need for the occasional offroad foray or for getting around on ranch roads and rural roads. Traction in mud, snow, and dirt is consistent with great control and handling, and its tough 10-ply rated construction means it resists cuts, punctures, scuffs, and chips.

Tire techs report that wheel balance is easy with the Starfire Solarus AP; that’s something that’s often a problem with bigger, heavier all-terrain and mud-terrain tires. Wear properties are excellent, and a 50,000 mile manufacturer’s treadwear warranty is pretty unusual for an all-terrain tire at this price point. While road manners, steering feedback, ride quality, and noise levels aren’t what you’d expect from an automotive Grand Touring tire, this isn’t a tire that will wear you out on long Interstate trips with excessive drone and road noise. On pavement, the Starfire Solarus AP is capable and pleasant to drive, with ride quality and handling dynamics that are on par with all-season light truck tires.

As for the Cons listed above, no, the Starfire Solarus AP doesn’t do well in deeper, stickier mud but that’s not what it was designed for. The Solarus AP is an all-terrain tire, not a rugged-terrain or mud-terrain design. What you can expect with this tire, though, is great quality at a surprisingly affordable price, and performance that goes far above expectations at its price.

Vehicles the Starfire Solarus AP is a good replacement tire for

• Chevrolet Silverado 1500
• Dodge Durango
• Ford Expedition
• GMC Acadia
• Jeep Wrangler
• Honda Ridgeline
• Nissan Titan
• RAM 2500
• Toyota 4Runner