Cooper Discoverer STT

Gidday,My Coopers done the same thing.Big chunks off the rear wheels travelling along the Plenty.From what I hear the tyre compound is too hard.
Just my bit.
Seeya Locallaw

Hi Willem, I am interested in your comments on Walkers Crossing as I am thinking of using that track in July 05 to get back to Innamincka from Birdsville.
Regards
Will

Willem. Interesting the rears where worn more. Was your car lightly / heavily / or over loaded? Craig...........

Hi Willem
Had the same problems with BFG All terrains.
Chipping of the lugs, it appears that the gibbers are just hard on tyres.
Spoke to the guys at Birdsville Auto when I was there in January, they said all brands will do it just hard conditions and the gibbers are as sharp as $hit.
The rear always due to them being under power / load when driving these tracks / roads in 2 wheel drive.
It has been said by experts that it is less of a issue with coarse treaded tyres like mud terrains as the bigger lugs are more resistant to chipping.

I now have looked at a range of tyres on other vehicles that have done these tracks and seen similar damage regardless of brand.

Tyres just aren't what they used to be I guess.

Willem - glad you are back safely and not caught in all the rain and mud and hailstorms. I can attest to the fact that Willem's "Ruby" was not overloaded in anyway. Very interesting about the tyres. Have had a number of people asking after you Willem, including Wayne from NSW who will no doubt put up his version of travelling in the last week when he returns home this weekend - very interesting trip. The hailstoms have ripped the flowers in the SD to pieces and also the flowering spinifex (the storms mostly on the western side). Temperatures climbing - reached 40 yesterday but nice overnight.

I notised that my rear STs had more damage than the fronts. I reckon if you checked the weight carried over the rear wheels it would be a lot more than the front. The other thing to consider is that with a bold lug pattern, there is less area of rubber on the road so the pressure on the lugs is roughly twice the pressure on the same size segment of a smooth highway tyre. I'm sure rocks get in bewteen the lugs and force them apart as well.

Sadly, I think we are still a long way from the perfect 4WD tyre.

Using the Smartire system I continuously monitor tyre temp and pressure. The rear tyres always achieve higher temps than the front, regardless of inflation pressures. I usually inflate the rears to a higher pressure on trips to allow for the increased load they carry. The temp in the rears is often up to 161 degrees F on bitumen in the tropics, while the fronts are some 20 degrees less. Slowing down lowers temps. I am sure at higher temps the rubber is more prone to damage.

Try Goodyear MTRs next time - quite amazing on rough rocky roads - barely a hint of damage and absolutely no chipping/torn lugs... They actually make you a bit lazy in not bothering so much about reduced tyre pressures and speed on dirt...

G'day Willem
I have STTs now, and have had them before. Never had any lugs break off completely despite some fairly decent 4WDing. There is one with a chunck missing but given what they've done that isn't surprising. I just rang the wife and asked her to check for any small cracks on surface between lugs because I couldn't remember seeing any. She says there are none. My tyres have covered about 20,000 kms. If you were fully loaded the weight would be over the rear more than the front so I guess some wear marks on the rear would be expected, but over that distance it shouldn't be much. On a trip to the Kimberley once my new tyres (not STTs) were severely worn on the rear, but with the two rows of seats occupied by the family it meant that I had heaps of weight over the back - I guess I should have rotated them before heading home. With my STTs I usually only run 32 psi on the tar and drop down to 24 or so off road (but really depends on the road condition). Hope you have a successful outcome. I am considering a second set of bitumen only tyres - how do you find the Kellys?

Hi Willem,

I have a set of ST's on my dual cab and on the next 10k service after they were put on (so less than 10,000km) I am missing a lug on the inside of one of my rears. I haven't looked for cracks but my mechanic's pretty thorough and he hasn't commented.

I haven't been in the gibber country either, Toolangi in the wet, the Wonnangatta back in April and a very wet trip in the Strathbogies.

Haven't asked the dealer yet but suppose I should.

I figured maybe they grabbed on something after a bit of slip and ripped it off.

Dave

Yes, Willem, I did miss your other Post but have just read it. Wow, what fun, should have gone with you and Uncle (would've been better than work) especially watching you float down the creek - and seeing all the EO people as well.
What adventures.

Seeing as the damage is on the rear only it may be the front tyres thoughing up stones and /or disturbing the road so the rears cop a rougher path

Regards Mitch

Hi Willem,

I have just returned from our trip in which we covered most of the same territory as yourself. Ruth told me you were out and about so I kept a look out but to no avail.

I have had similar problems with my new ST's. There is considerable chipping on the rear tyres and one lug has completely ripped off and a couple of others which have started to tear at the bottom of the lug.

I will be off to see my tyre dealer tomorrow to voice my concerns.

Cheers

Hi Willem
Just a bit of a follow up on the Tyre chipping issue you raised on this post.
I was in ARB Northern today and got into an interesting discussion with another customer who was in the store about this issue.

He owned a Nissan tray 4.2 with Cooper STT's on it.
He had just returned from a trip around the three corners, Birdsville, Innaminka etc and had experienced exactly the same problems as you and me with my BFG AT's for that matter, his tyres were virtually new before the trip and he was not a happy camper considering the state they were in on return.
Other trucks in his group had MTR's and BFG's and faired just the same.

His view was the same as mine, the Gibbers break up under the wheels and are a sharp as $hit, they tried playing with pressures, did not seem to make a difference to the chipping and cutting issue.

People who post on here saying they have no problems with these issues have not driven on Gibberd outback roads is my view.
High country rocky tracks, dirt tracks, mud tracks don't seem to have the same affect. It the Gibbers.
As previously said by me I have seen the same problem on all brands.
I don't have an answer for the cure, it would seem to be the price we pay for driving in these conditions.
I would be interested in any answer that Cooper or BFG or any other manufacturer would provide.