Cooper AT or ST?????

St are a great all rounder , good for mud , Sand & not to noisy on the road , Otherwise , get at AT , they are more a road tyre than a AT , and get some seconhand muddies for weekend play

Oddy,

We use ST's and have so far found them great, Excellent off road traction and so
far been fine on road,are noisier than AT's though.

Greg

Since you spend no time offroad, there is not much point having something as aggressive as an AT.

Since 90% of the time you are on the road, you would be better served with HT's.

Depending on the 'bush' you travel too..

Is it deserts and dirt roads,
or
up the muddy high country area?

Oddy, bought a set of 285/75/16 AT's for my GU wagon. After 30,000km's they were shot. Went back to dealer and no problems at all - pro-rata replaced on warranty straight away.

Decided to go for the 305 ST's due to advertised quietness, grip, toughness etc. Week later went back and swapped them back for new AT's (BTW these new ones have gone 45,000km's and are on track for 80,000km's at least). ST's are noisy and rough but look cool. They are more of a mud tyre and like any muddy, they can scallop out with road work after some time.

Being honest about real usage is the key when making your decision. Sounds like you've already done that. Go the AT's.

Hi oddy,

I have the Cooper AT in 265/70R17 on Factory Alloys on the Prado and am happy so far after 6500 kms. I got bogged in some clay the other week but I don't think that was down to the tyres. It was more inexperience in tackling clay tracks with pools that did it and I (and the bloke that rescued me) think that having more agressive tyres may not have helped much. I hit a hidden rut at a bit to high a speed and got shot of into the really mushy stuff. No chance!

These have been quiet in road running but have also been over some really agressive stones on the tracks in the Flinders ranges with no drama. I think the A/T would be better than a dedicated Highway pattern if you DO spend your 10% off road. Sidewall damage to the weak road tyres is the biggest worry.

Remember, you can only walk at the speed at the slowest member of the party, the chain will snap at the weakest link, and you will only get a short way down a track before a H/T tyres lets you down!

A/T is a good compromise for mainly on road use with some ability if you tackle the occasional challenge. Having siad that I may go up to S/T next time round IF they are available in 17". Bit more security off road.

Cheers
Steven

Would love to have two sets (keep michelins) but bl....y LR prices (for rims) are a joke as usual. Even steel rims are 650 each amd alloy 800!. any suggestions here?. Would then go the ST's.

Oddy,

I have Cooper AT's on a LC100,. Trucksters comment "not much point having something as aggressive as an AT" would lack practicality when if that 5% or even 1% of off roading you want traction! Given that Cooper "waranty" AT's for 80K AT' would seem a practical compromise. From Grantreks to Cooper AT's, that is 3 punctures in 30Ks to zero in 10k, AT's seem a good bet for someone who spends a high percentage of travel on the road but wants and traction and durabitity when called for. I must admit that I may do 90-95% on road.... but I fear a lack of traction and an adversity to changing tyres. Note also handling is as good as Grandtreks wet or dry. YMMV.
Regards Shane

ummmmmmm....................

seems to be leaning to the AT's?????
but then again......

BL.....Y TIRES!!!!!!!!!!

Oddy,
Had Cooper HT's on my previous Pajero. Took me all round the inland (Plenty highway, Merinee Loop Rd, Oddnadatta track, Birdsville track etc) with no problems. Have put AT's on the new truck (NM Pajero) as they are a LT construction and should handle heavier loads, and find them quite a bit noisier on road.
If your bush trips are hilly country I'd go for the AT's. If it's just dirt roads I'd get the HT's. HT's are also better in sand.
My $0.02
John

Oddy,

I too have a disco and run 255/85r16 cooper ST's as road/touring tyres. They are noisy on the blacktop but bought them for there load carrying capacity.

For your use an AT does seem most appropriate, but get light truck construction in 8 or 10 ply rating for carrying all that camping gear.

If you want a second set of rims, series 1 disco wheels come up in the trading post all the time for about $100 each or you can get them for series 1 & 2 i think from Procomp in Melbourne for about $150 each.

Cheers

John D - '93 200 Tdi disco

I'm running Cooper AT's on my Patrol at the moment and they have done 40k. If you are only 'offroad' for a short period of time over the year go the AT's

gday oddy.
i used to have s/t great tyre for grip in mud ect.
good on the road not to noisy .
but since we do 90% on the road.
a few trips up the bush.
a few trips in the snow.
and a couple of weeks on the sand.
i sold the s/t and went h/t.
unless its pretty slippery/muddy they havnt let me down(yet)
just done 30000k rotation still look like the day i put them on.
when i was selling coopers it was as simple as do you do much mud work.
no h/t
yes s/t i didnt like the a/t.

Hi,

I put Cooper At's on (not LT construction) for a trip to Kimberley & Pilbara & had lots of problems, including 4 punctures & ruined one tyre. Coopers indicated that AT's were not appropraite for that trip & did me a deal to upgrade to ST's.

Have now had ST's for over a year & they are great. Not too noisy on the black stuff & great in the wet. The best tyre I have used on sand (Stockton - Newcastle) & have never let me down in any situation.

Trust that keeps up as I leave on Friday for Cape York,

Willy

Oddy

I had Grandtreks on the hilux up until January this year. Swapped them to the Cooper AT in a 10 ply. On the first day of a trip to Birdsville, 3 weeks ago, I noticed splits appearing in the tyre between the sidewall and tread. It looked like a peeling retread. Had a cooper dealer at Roma check them out and he gave them the Ok to proceed. After travelling to Birdsville, down the track, up to Innamincka and then home they were chopped up a bit but not one puncture. Once home I took them back to the dealer ( last Tuesday) and he immediately organised a pro-rata warranty replacement ( 15000 Km total travel distance since new). All I have to decide now is also whether to stick with the At or go to the ST. The dealer said it was the first of this type of problem they had seen. After reading all these threads I am still undecided.

Glenmac