Very mixed opinions on Coopers - I would say of those that I have spoken to , there is a slight leaning away from them - particularly from those who have actually had them on a heavier type of 4WD ............... very surprised!
Chris
Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
Teach him how to fish
& he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
TEAM MOJIKO
Its not that suprising. They are total garbage, and have been in the 4x4 community for a long while. Those who have had them swear they will never ever again. Like many hear who have them have even said. Chucks fall off, they delaminate causing massive wobbles and weak spots, crack in between the treads and seem to punture easily for no apparent reason. And this is from road use... Not anything hard offroad.
Chris, I had a set of ATR's on my Prado ('05 V6) and were surprised at how well they travelled on the tar and the sand towing a 1t CT. If I rotated them more often I dare say they would have reached 100k kms - I replaced them after 84k due to lack of wheel alignment when it needed it. The issue I had and still have is with the "warranty" - if you take them off the bitumen, technically you have voided the warranty. My tyres also had chunks of rubber missing. At the time of purchasing (at the right price), they were recommended from a friend who had been on a 6 months trip around/through Qld and NSW - they had no issues .
Would I buy another set?? --> probably not. I travel close to 50k kms/year for work in and around central Qld and impressed with the tyres I have now - Procomp A/T's and will be buying these again.
Each to there own when it comes to buying tyres for your car/4wd.
Just joining in a bit late here, my current 100 series had Coopers on it when I got it, and they have been OK, mind you i do not go off road, the 'cruise is just a family car/tow vehicle, but I will say about 3 months ago i ran over a survey peg (you know those white and yellow things) and it went straight through the tread and snapped off, this was just out of Sydney, and I got home (about 100K) before I realised the damage that had been done, the tyre was still inflated, but had a piece of wood about 20mm diameter flush with the tread, I took the car to my local tyre service, he removed the wheel and had a good look, then said I will have to remove the tyre to fully check it out, when he removed the tyre, the piece of wood was resting right on the inner part of the rim, and flush with the outside tread, he yanked it out, put a patch on it and said, it will be fine with that brand! I took his word for it, and so far it is fine, no seperation, no "lump" and unless I told you, it would be near impossible to pick. Now would this have not even happened with a different brand? would another brand be stuffed if it did happen? cant say for sure, but I would consider Coopers again, but then I am a tight arse and maybe would go for something cheaper.
The old Cooper tyres debate........I'll throw in my 2c as I've had three sets on different vehicles, so I'm not relying on any 2nd hand info or campfire talk for this post.
I originally had a set of the real old Cooper AT on a Mitsubishi Triton single cab ute. 205R/16 . Did 40,000kms on them without a drama, including a trip up to "The Cape" (that for some reason everyone seems to use as some sort of yardstick for testing tyres). They did plenty of fishing/shooting trips out western NSW. They would have lasted another 40,000kms easily. No punctures or dramas.
I then changed tyres and rim sizes and got another set of Cooper ATs. This time they were a wider 15" tyre. They did a year rattling around up in the NT without drama. Lots of towing. They were a bit skatey on the bitumen in the Wet season, although they were on a ute which doesn't help at all. The vehicle was sold with those tyres after they had done about 40,000kms and again they would have gone through to 80,000kms. No punctures or dramas.
Next vehicle was a kitted out Toyota HZJ105 series wagon fitted with brand new Dunlop Roadgrippers. Still living up in the Territory and doing a heap of towing on corrugated roads. Vehicle weighed 2.8t empty. The Roadgrippers lasted 40,000kms before they were shot. Got another set of Roadgrippers only cause they were really cheap at the time. Got 45,000kms out of them before they were worn out.
Then decided to go for a set of the "new" Cooper ATRs. Got 105,000kms out of them. Balance and rotation at every 20,000kms. I never bothered with the warranty and regular wheel alignments etc. No punctures or dramas.
As they got older they did get skatey on the wet bitumen but so does any tyre really. They did chip a bit but considering the weight, the amount of towing and the roads I spent those 3 years driving on, I would consider it fair wear and tear. Nothing to really worry about. Tyre size was 235/85R16. Run at 45psi.
12 months ago I bought another Toyota 105 Series wagon. Weighs 2.8-2.9 t unloaded. Fitted it with Mickey T ATZs for no other reason than to give them ago after I had heard so many good stories about them. Now done about 30,000kms and I reckon the tyres are about 1/2 worn. IMO they are still a good tyre on dirt and bitumen. Pretty quiet too. Tyre size was 235/85R16. Generally run at 45psi. Did a trip over to Weipa earlier this year and they are now cracked and chipped. Staked one tyre on a sharp rock not far out of Lakeland. Will be doing another Weipa trip next week, so it will be interesting to see how they look after it. I still rate them as a good tyre but probably won't get them again next time. Some people say they come out of the same factory as Mickey Ts. Who really knows? All I know is that they are not going to last anywhere near as long as the Cooper ATRs that they replaced on my vehicle.
Trouble is everyone drives differently, runs different vehicles, with different sized tyres, with different loads, at different tyre pressures on different surfaces. I personally have had a great run with the Coopers, however what suits one person's vehicle and use may not suit another. Good luck with your choice.
Cheers,
Roo.
Roo, Id like to note again that I am refering to the st's. Just so people dont get confused.
What have you heard about the new ST Maxx?Originally Posted by BenDover
Cheers,
Roo.
Nothing as yet. Dont know anyone willing to buy coopers again.
Took a set of Coopers off a Patrol yesterday. Had a blowout and done some damage to his car. Balanced a set of 4 on a hilux that look more like a 50 cent coin. Both customers won't be putting them on again.
Spoke to someone i know on the weekend and he has the cooper atr's. Reckons he got 120K out of them and is throwing a new set of the same on again.
Mitch, nice to hear something positive for Coopers. Everyone's uses are different - whether it be all tar, tar/sand, tar/gravel or all sand/gravel. I'd rather hear how one brand of tyre has performed better than people telling how sh!t this/that brand is.
Cheers.
But he asked about coopers...
BFG KM2's. In the mud tyre range, ahead of the rest by far (if you want a great onroad and offroad tyre). Ive sold my offroad tyres after putting these on, as they do both convincingly. But $$$$. Mine cost me from $415 - $475 per tyre, and I personally dont care about how many k's I can get out them. I dont even look. Its all about road noise and smoothness, grip and toughness offroad.
Having said that, they have been on for 2 years and arent even half warn yet. 1 is screwed and noisy, but thats my fault for buckling the rim.
One of the good things to come out of the replies is that there is differing opinions .......... If I went by the hype / ads etc - I would have probably already fitted them & be going down the path of finding out for myself. With all the negative reactions - i've started to ask people that I know & have even spoken to drivers that I see using them ........... very mixed responses .
Like everything - you have to sift through the chaff - particularly when it come to claims of massive Kms ....... 120,000km- hell the compound would have to be hard as , which means that there would probably be poor wet weather performance. Big tread (bad road noise) ......... either or that the person drives like Miss Daisy.
And there is no real point speaking to a dealer! ........
anyhow its been good to hear the opinions
Chris
Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
Teach him how to fish
& he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
TEAM MOJIKO
to be fair (according to the advetising) the reason they last soooo long is the tread is way deeper when new than any other tyre on the market, true or not, I dont know, but the man on the add says it so, it must be true!
Combine that with a hard compound and no wonder some say that chunks are torn off the tread
Chris
Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
Teach him how to fish
& he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
TEAM MOJIKO
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