cooper tyres

Give em a break Haysie....I work full time with my nose in front of a monitor - some of the Cooper users might be hard at work.

who knows mate i am not familiar with the size but have used coopers and now changed to bfg the coopers were ok but nothing special. hope you get a response regards slydog

STs - depends on what type of driving you do, whether you have lockers and whether they have upgraded the design in recent times. If mostly on road then OK. The set I had suffered from unbelievable chipping around the edges. Actually chipping is the wrong word - that indicates small bits falling off - I was down to the metal in many spots with big chuncks coming off. Know of others with same problem. None of those I know who had problems had lockers which apparantly helps prevent the chipping due to less wheel spin. I've read plenty of posts where others have been happy with them.

Afternoon Haysie.

Its like this mate, everyone is sh$t scared to answer your question the way it is 'framed' because if they did it will attract every BFG V COOPER 'feral' out there who hasn't taken their pill/s for the day.

In fact you will wish you had never asked the question.

You are much better off asking

"oh my ! I have just crossed the Simpson and then done the CSR on BFG'S at 30psi and now they are buggered. Can't think why, however I am thinking of changing to COOPERS as I have been told they are a much stronger tyre. What do you boys think"

Maaaaate! you will illicit more 'opinions' than those given by a tax lawyer on tax schemes.

Have a good one

Ken Robinson

There has been a lot of discussion just recently on the pros and cons of BFG vs Cooper, it may not be about your specific size, but I don't think that really matters much. Try a search.

I have 305/70/16 Cooper STs. Just did 30,000 km rotate and balance today (for free every 10,000k). Wear is excellent.

I have heard of, and seen photos, of the problems that Moose describes. I have some minor chipping on a few lugs, and no wonder with what they have done, but nothing of concern . I have lockers so that maybe the reason. I know others with the STs and no lockers and they have had no problems.

They are very good in the mud/clay (not as good as muddies of course) and wet roads.

I wouldn't go back to BFG ATs now.

Larry

Haysie,
I bought 10 ply 265/75/16 Cooper Discoverers for my LC80 last year when we did the CSR and the WA deserts, a 20000km round trip, and had zero problems with them, although there was a bit of chipping due to running at 16F 24R on the rocky bits of the Canning. The tyres are surprisingly quiet on the bitumen.
DickyBeach

Hi haysie,
I'm currently running Cooper ST 285/75/16 on my Gu Patrol and I find them very good in mud and they hold very well on wet roads to date. I used to run Falken Landair TA Muddys(may have had a name change since) on my '89 Hilux 2.8 diesel with rear locker and I find that the coopers are every bit as good on the Patrol as the Falkens were on the Hilux, though I'm the first to admit that you can't compare the two vehicles it is just to demonstrate how I found the two to perform.

Having said that I used to get about 50,000Kms from the Falkens 31/10.5R15 80% highway driving running only 20psi(25psi loaded) on the rear and 25-28psi on the front. I know they sound like low pressures and probably are but I ran these tyres on the Hilux for 9 years and always got even wear that way.

Now for the coopers, I have only had these on the GU for about 15,000 and they have worn about 3mm from new tread depth all around running at about 38psi

I can't comment from personal experience on the BFG tyres but have known people who ran these for years of trouble free service.

So IMHO the two brands would be very similar and would come down to personal preference(Just like Cruiser Vs Patrol), one seems to be just as capable as the other.

Hope that helps

Peter

haysie,

I know a couple of guys who run them and they are relatively happy with them. Depends on use etc. The do alot of trips and haven't been excited about the wear or handling.

Personally, I've had a set of Goodyear Wranglers MTR's for 18 months and have done 60,000 k's on them. Great in the wet, great in the sand and mud and I have around 45% tread left. Around 70/30 on/offroad use. Only gripe: Bloody noisy once worn down to 70%. But I like the noise and the trucks pretty sound proof so with the windows up and the air on, you can hardly hear them.

Cheers,

Chris.

Hi Haysie,

If you had done a search, there is a HUGE amount on the BFG vs Coopers debate. But for your convinience, below is a copy of my previous response, I just happen to have run 33" BFG's and 285/75 (33") Cooper ST's.
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I have 285/75 Cooper ST's on my Nissan and previously had 33x10.5 R15 BFG TA KO's on my 80 series. I ran BFG's exclusively on the 80 series for 10 years and they were great. However, the last 6 BFG KO's were non-USA made and I had several problems with them. Thats when I decided to try the Cooper ST's.

I have found the COOPERS to be as good, if not better, on-road and much better off-road. I have had then for 18K now and am very happy with the change. But they are noticeably noiser when the window is down on smooth bitumen (but don't really notice if window is up) I tow a 1.6T off-road van and add a fully loaded GU and I would also be very heavily loaded (too scared to put on weigbridge!!!).

I have monitored the wear at 5K intervals and at last rotation they were down to an average 13.5-14.0mm (started 15mm). They have worn very flat (less than 0.5mm variation across the face) and my typical tyre pressure is 35/40 when touring and 35/35 general driving.

I had one issue with the LR tyre when one complete lug tore off, but it was replaced under warranty (15,500kms) with a new tyre. The tyre also had bruising where the lug was torn and was most likely caused by a large rock that did not give. COOPERS said to run lower (~30 psi) when offorad as the carcass is very stiff and too high a pressure will not allow the tyre to "mould" around say a rock. Given the bruising on the carcass, I was suprised I got given a new tyre, but they said they stand by their product!!! Could not complain at all about that.

So, while others will have different stories about the great BFG vs COOPERS debate, I am happy that I changed camps (just like my Toyota to Nissan change - gotta try for yourself, otherwise its just an opinion!!!)

Cheers

Captain

Haysie
I've got Cooper STs on the Disco and BFG ATs on the LX470. Equally happy with both. STs look the goods to my eye though.

thanks for all the input , advice , knowlage, experiance. the bfgs that i am running currently are usa stock have done the canning and many other trips around this great land of ours but the time has come to choose so thanks again and this is not intended to stir the pot but i reckon the coopers will get nod;

Guys
Ive had three sets of 275/ ST coopers and am very happy. There is a new model only availiable in STD sizes ST-C (Chip resistant). Yes they dont chip nearly as much.
First set did 90,000km, second bit less, 80000km, third set 30000km and now 70%. Recommend them highly. 50% fast dirt, 40% Highway, 10% Mud
You will find them common in West NSW and west QLD, and NT
Next set will be 285, 10ply not new compound though unfortunately.

JR

My current set of STs which are 265/75/16 have done 57000km and are currently at 8mm. The STC that JR refers to are a softer compound compared to the STs and wear a lot quicker.

Haysie,

I have run 225/75R16 Cooper S/T's on my Prado RV and got nearly 100,000Km's out of them - a lot of it on dirt roads around Oz. I don't do much rock crawling or hard core stuff - but they have worked hard with a fair bit of weight in the vehicle on many trips away.

I have had a couple of tires throw belts recently - but both were over 90,000Km's old when that happened. I've also experienced the 'chipping' that others have mentioned - though not severe and not so as it adversely affects performance. I don't run lockers though - maybe that helps...

I'm going from the 6.50 16J Rims to 7.00 16JJ Rims and a new set of 10 ply 265/75R16's within the next couple of weeks - on the strength of the mileage I've got from the first set. Very much looking forward to another 100,000Km's from the new set too!

I find they are great in all conditions from soft sand, dirt roads, bitumen through to mud and clay. Not as good as muddies of course - but probably the next best thing. They have got me to places where people with similar equipment and BFG A/T's couldn't get to - but maybe that comes down to the drivers concerned too.

I did get stuck at Ngala Rocks on Fraser last year - but that was my own stupid fault - no fault of the tyres...

Cheers,
PradoBoy

Haysie, the last few comments above are important. Th ST is designed as a mud-tyre, not a rock-tyre. The lug damage suffered by STs and frequently reported occurs almost exclusively (based on the reports) during rock-hopping or exended work in places like the gibber deserts. However, if you run correct pressures in the ST, which is a bit lower than most owners realise, you will have a tyre that will handle everything but the "extreme".

Try these pressures:

fast, smooth dirt - 28 to 30 psi
rough dirt - 24 to 26 psi
rocky fire-trails - 18 to 20 psi
sand and/or rock climbing - 12 to 14 psi

245/75/16 COOPER ST_C's
LUV EM
There famous too been in the OBC and are still good for many more clicks.

at $125 a tyre i was sold