Anyone Using Coopers?

[GQ10]

Just curious to see if anyone on this forum are using Coopers and what they think of them.

I have only done 25,000km's on mine already they are starting to wear thin.

I also took them up to some rocky hills a while back and they were torn apart like paper.

I used to have BF's and got over 100k out of them and they still had 30% tread so just wondering if anyone has experienced the same problem?

[Johnno]

Apparently there were some Coopers let into Australia that were made of a softer rubber compound and there could be a class action about it.

Don't quote me but i read it somewhere that they let in an inferior series of tyres and people we're shreading tyres and lugs like you wouldn't believe.

Apparently there was big article written up in the Australian 4X4 magazine discussing the rubber compund issue.

There's a letter on the side of the tyre by itself. If it has the letter C then they are the quality Cooper, any other letter then they are the cheap import.

I read that somewhere the other day, but again, don't quote me on this!

[Runt]

There was an issue in a magazine about that, 4x4 monthly Mag, i read that part and they were saying about a series of Coopers that were illegally imported and flogged off on the market.

[Mark]

Ive got Coopers on my Patrol and i agree with you guys.

Ive lost some lugs and they are now bald as a badger with not 4wding going on lately just main roads.

I heard about this dodgy rubber compound story as well and just checked my Patrol out and i have the letter D on my wheels.

This makes me now think I have the illegal imported series...Love it!

Money well spent!

Update mine are only the ST's.

[RustyNails]

I assume you guys are talking about Discoverer ST tyres.
I have the ATRs and love them, but then again I don't do hardcore off-roading and we in the west have different terrain to you guys in the east.
Only thing I don't like about the ATRs is their performance on wet tarmac, slippery as.

Paul

[GQ10]

Yeah mine are the ST's. I havent really done a lot of hardcore rock hills but even just general road use they wear down quick.

Never tried the ATR's but im glad to hear some good reports.

[CrazyDave]

I assume you guys are talking about Discoverer ST tyres.
I have the ATRs and love them, but then again I don't do hardcore off-roading and we in the west have different terrain to you guys in the east.
Only thing I don't like about the ATRs is their performance on wet tarmac, slippery as.

Paul

They are slippery as, I use ATR's and on the road they can get quite Knarly.

You have to make sure you take each corner in the wet nice and easy otherwise they get away from you.


(knarly.....such an 80's word...lol)

[the evil twin]

...I heard about this dodgy rubber compound story as well and just checked my Patrol out and i have the letter D on my wheels...

This makes me now think I have the illegal imported series...Love it!



Just to possibly put your mind at ease... Go back and check that you aren't looking at the Load Range which will be the letter "D" on a 285 x 75 x 16 Cooper ST... D means 8 ply.

The letter C is for 6 ply which is all the 15 inch Cooper ST's... 16 and 17 inch Coopers are either 8 or 10 ply

I think you will find that a lot of the C and D stuff is Internet myth from people who din't know how to read the tyre config codes

[Mark]

Cheers ET - Was just about to have Kittens after reading a story somewhere else.

I reckon i must have been reading load range as this guy told me to read the letter on its own in a circle but now that I think about it I recall seeing Load Range beside the Circle.

I'll have a look tomorrow and let you know as It's icey cold and raining outside and this is my spot for the night...haha

[the evil twin]

Cheers ET - Was just about to have Kittens after reading a story somewhere else.

I reckon i must have been reading load range as this guy told me to read the letter on its own in a circle but now that I think about it I recall seeing Load Range beside the Circle.

I'll have a look tomorrow and let you know as It's icey cold and raining outside and this is my spot for the night...haha

Yep, thats the one... it will be a large capital letter C, D, or E possibly in a circle with "Load Range" or something similar beside it in smaller letters.

C is 6 ply, D is 8 ply and E is 10 ply

It is an American tyre code they use for LT tyres and does not refer to rubber compounds or anything else and the story that "all tyres with a D are an illegal import" is not correct

[robsgq]

I have got a set of cooper st on my patrol for 3 years now with over 95000 k on them and have had no problems
cheers Rob.

[the evil twin]

I have got a set of cooper st on my patrol for 3 years now with over 95000 k on them and have had no problems
cheers Rob.

Had the calibration on ya speedo checked recently... :p

ROFL, sorry Rob couldn't resist... now I know why you were so keen to get those ST's I had for sale :D

[robsgq]

Had the calibration on ya speedo checked recently... :p

ROFL, sorry Rob couldn't resist... now I know why you were so keen to get those ST's I had for sale :D

haha yer i left it too long should have grabed them of ya. i have had a great run with the ones one the mighty gq hint hint.

[the evil twin]

haha yer i left it too long should have grabed them of ya. i have had a great run with the ones one the mighty gq hint hint.

Hint taken... saw the Doggy unload 'em

[Pegged]

Just thought i would let anyone know, my Cooper Discoverer STT's have been great.

Especially on the sand, sometimes don't even need to let the tyres down.

BUT!!!!

Having saying that, i havent done a lot of rock climbing or hard surface 4wding like some of you here may have been doing.

I havent ripped any lugs off and wear and tear seems ok ATM, but as i said no rough rocky roads as such...

Pegged

[Nizzo]

Can somebody please explain to me what is meant by "illegal import"?? I bet they have Cooper stamped on the sidewall and I bet they were legally imported into Aus by Coopers and they have been legally sold by Coopers so what's "illegal" about them??

Have heard so many bad stories about Coopers I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

Good question, I don't know the full story myself either but from ive heard they wernt an "illegal import" they are Coopers, they are stamped. They just bought in a soft compund that wasn't to Aus standards and some series of their tyres just could'nt handle it and lugs tore off and wore down quick.

Don't quote me but thats what I head.

If anyone else knows more then please let us know???

[4.2 shorty]

I heard recently that Coopers were in legal battles because their rubber is dodgey lately. Anyone else heard this?

For the amount of money you have to shell out for them, I'd much rather get a set of Maxxis. They are a fair bit cheaper and they rate pretty well for the price according to some mags I've read. I think 4wd action did a write up on some Maxxis not long ago.

[Stingray]

Me too, purchased 6 new ATR's to do a proper long term rotation. I will be lucky to get 40,000 out of the lot if the treads do not tear off first.

Steve

[gec]

Me, I'm on my second set, I have two brother's that run them and will be getting a second set when they wear out, one of whom has had em on for a couple of years and tows a fully loaded bricky's trailer around and does an average of 500 kay's a week and still has plenty of tread on em

[gec]

Personally I think there is good and bad in all, I know a bloke over here who got less than 40 000 out of a set of Mickey T MTZ's and another who got nearly a hundred thou out of the same tire so who knows.

[GQ WAGHOON]

Had my Cooper ST's for a while now, and put 40,000 km's on them. They are wearing great (about another 30,000 km's left on them) and for an all-terrain they are pretty good. When these wear out I'll be looking at STT's.

[Finly Owner]

I heard recently that Coopers were in legal battles because their rubber is dodgey lately. Anyone else heard this?

For the amount of money you have to shell out for them, I'd much rather get a set of Maxxis. They are a fair bit cheaper and they rate pretty well for the price according to some mags I've read. I think 4wd action did a write up on some Maxxis not long ago.

For what it's worth people I know are getting good results from Maxxis both on road and off. For the price against everything else available thet very good value. I am speaking of A/T normal 70%road use 30% off road to 50/50 of each. Standard type size nothing outragous like huge muddys etc.

[jpvm]

I'm running 35" Cooper STTs in my GU and , they are 15.000 Kmts old now and they still look like new (mostly long range travel fully loaded and trailering too) , really I'd say 1 or 2 mm down from a new unit ... my GU is not a DD so I expect a long life for them. Nice tires not too noisy for an MT style tire.

[jpvm]

here's a report I found on the US Magazine 4 Wheel & Off road

http://home.earthlink.net/~jandastavola/cooper-stt.jpg

[Butty]

I have ATR`s and I am very happy with them. Great in wet weather and vehicle handling is excellent on the bitumen. Offroad driving especially in sand is excellent a good all rounder. I suppose it is personal preference in the end and price.

[YNOT]

Good question, I don't know the full story myself either but from ive heard they wernt an "illegal import" they are Coopers, they are stamped. They just bought in a soft compund that wasn't to Aus standards and some series of their tyres just could'nt handle it and lugs tore off and wore down quick.

Don't quote me but thats what I head.

If anyone else knows more then please let us know???

About 6 months ago we had Brad from Cooper tyres attend one of our QNPC meetings to talk about tyres, and what he told us is what Nizzo has written. The dodgy tyres were not imported or distributed by Cooper tyres Australia, as they did not meet Australian standards. Cooper tyres Aust. is now copping a lot of stick because someone else imported these tyres with inferior ratings that are not standing up to Australian conditions.
If you want the good Cooper tyres, you must get them from one of the Cooper approved outlets listed on their Australian website.

Tony

[jacko187289]

Just done 40000kms with my STs and they are about 50% worn. I have not had any problems with them at all. I make sure you run the correct tyre pressures, rotate and balance regularly and all is good.

[Woof]

When I bought the 2007 GU I got the dealer to put ST's on, they were a great tyre but did not quite have enough grip for me so I got some STT's, the only thing I did not like is that I was taking chucks out of them (probably due to my driving style).
One thing that I did notice was that the STT's were quieter than the ST's.
The Q is running BFG mud/terrain at the moment, when they wear out will probably go back to the STTs.

[TURBOGU]

I have a set of 35" cooper stt's on my gu & theyve done 9000klms & there shagged. very dissapointed in them & they also were really hard to balance

[tkn]

I fitted 15 inch Copper STs to a Toyota 4Runner about 3 years ago and they have done well over 100,000Km - 70/30 on road driving. But they were hopeless in mud. In anything that looked like mud they clogged and quickly became like racing slicks. So, I looked around at what was available and decided on Maxxis 11.5 x 15 mud tyre for the Patrol - done about 25,000 Km now and they are wearing OK, good in mud and surprisingly (to me) hang on well on wet and dry bitumen.

[ilikedonuts_10]

about how many kms would an ordinary set of coopers get?

[Dmitrijs_Riga]

I have one set of cooper discovery winter tires. Normal tires, but not for offroading. Two seasons from December-April daily use. And this is the last season for them. I think they will last not more then 3 seasons.