Cooper st-c or stt?
Submitted: Tuesday, Aug 01, 2006 at 21:17
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1KZ-Mick
Went to local Cooper reseller today for qoute on some ST-C's for our Prado. Anyway to cut a long story short the sales guy was really pushing me to consider the STT's. His main point being that the small increase in wear and road noise is a small price to pay for a massive increase in off road performance and
puncture resistance etc. He also said we could expect "around 40k to 45k km " with our use (80% road 20% off road)
So guys what do you think ... truth or BS? How do the STT perform on road?,How's the noise, grip and wear?
I was really thinking the STC's would suit our needs but this guy really talked up the STT's.
Thanks
Mick.
Reply By: Member - Willie , Epping .Syd. - Tuesday, Aug 01, 2006 at 21:42
Tuesday, Aug 01, 2006 at 21:42
Hi Mick ,
I went through the same process this week . The dealer actually let me borrow his STT shod Nissan to go for a run and
check out the tyre noise . He was very truthful and said I would get much less mileage with the STTs than the ATRs and the STTs would get noisier than what I had just tested , as they wore down .
I cannot see how the STT tread could perform as
well as an ATR in the wet on the blacktop , but they would certainly be better off road . I guess it just depends on your useage
As 90 % of my use is on the blacktop , I thought the noise would get me down and I opted for the ATRs which is an improved AT. I have twice gone up the CSR and north and south into
the desert with AT's . Their sidewalls are just as prone to staking as all the other tyres on the market . I had 10 ply ATs , but I think they are only about 2 ply in the sidewall . I staked 1 on the first trip and 2 on the second . I was not happy with that at the time , but I stuffed 5 tyres this year ( Bridgestones , but the going was very hostile ) so now I think that maybe the ATs weren't so bad after all !
The STs ( you say ST-C , this may be a new improved model I have not heard of ) are out of the question because of their big problem of lugs tearing off . I have seen a set of STs with half the lugs missing on a couple of the tyres .
My last two sets of AT's also suffered some lug damage , but I guess that happens to any tyre used off road .
Sorry - this is a bit disjointed !
Cheers ,
Willie .
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Tuesday, Aug 01, 2006 at 22:00
Tuesday, Aug 01, 2006 at 22:00
G'day Willie,
I think the ST-C is a similar pattern to the ST, but the "C" is meant to indicate "chip resistant" AFAIK. This makes me laugh, cos who would then want to buy the "ST" (which, by definition, much be prone to chipping..........I can definitely attest to that fact as my ST's were bloody horrible; great lumps out of the treads and a few lugs ripped right off).
I now run MT/Rs and couldn't be happier......not too noisy either and have about 40,000klm on so far.
Cheers
Roachie
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Follow Up By: 1KZ-Mick - Tuesday, Aug 01, 2006 at 22:30
Tuesday, Aug 01, 2006 at 22:30
Yeah the St-c is the improved compound... but no km guarantee. They still sell the ST with the guarantee...
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Follow Up By: Member - John (Vic) - Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 00:43
Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 00:43
My BFG Muddies have performed very
well.
From
Vic High Country tracks to the outback including cross country in WA with no tracks and no punctures.
No lugs torn off and almost no chipping from
rock climbing.
No hesitation with buying them again.
The Cooper STC shod vehicle had 4 side wall punctures on my recent trip, not very impressed with them at all.
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Follow Up By: Brad, W.A. - Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 09:59
Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 09:59
I have STC's on my 80 Series, they have done about 20 000K's over all sorts of terrain without fault and without chips, rips or anything. I trhink the important thing is to adjust tyre pressures according to the terrain then you won't have any problems.
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Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 22:39
Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 22:39
My ST-C's chipped like mongrels on the stone around
Broken Hill, add to that I sliced thru the sides of two of them I would go STT's every time
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Reply By: Redback - Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 08:16
Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 08:16
OK my view on this as we have just been through the warreny thing with our Coopers, we started out with STs they lasted 6000ks before chipping that bad they were dangerous, got them replaced with the ST-Cs (clean swap under warrenty) these lasted 25,000ks before the tread blocks seperated from the carcus down and i mean the big blocks as well as chipping too, they have now been replaced under warrenty by the STTs (we had to pay a quarter of the cost Ks and wear factor) so far they are good there is some small chipping but not enough to worry about.
Offroad they are great and not to bad onroad either time will tell whether they will last but one thing is for sure these will be my last set of Coopers.
One last thing the Cooper rep said that because of what we do he said that the STTs were more suited to us, not because of how much offroad we do but because of the type of offroad we do. (ie) hard offroad and touring 60%on/40%off
The other thing was that because the Disco has traction control this was another reason they said that the STs and ST-Cs were not recommended for us, don't know if this is a fact or BS.
Here ya go one of the blocks coming off
This white area is the whole tread block that came off
Baz.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Redback - Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 08:24
Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 08:24
One more thing after 25,000ks the ST-Cs looked like they had done 80,000ks the damage was amazing they just looked really old and as for the so called anti chip techknowlegy, WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP.
Remember the Disco at 2125kg is a bit lighter than the prado too i think.
Go the MTRs or something else!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Baz.
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Follow Up By: Landie - Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 12:51
Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 12:51
Hi Baz
This is timely, was looking at the STCs. I think I'll go the same as I had on the 110...BFG MTs. Road noise not so much an issue for me...
Regards
Baz
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Reply By: Member - Andrew W (SA) - Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 08:24
Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 08:24
Hi there 1KZ-Mick,
I put 285/75R16 STTs on about five weeks ago. I've done 7,000ks of really hard work - 100 odd k's of beach and dunes, 400 k's of nullabor tracks (mostly rock but interspersed with sand), too many k's to count on the Connie Sue and Anne Beadell, and plenty of highway
miles beginning and end.
Some of these tracks had not been travelled on for 5 years. Lots of fallen and encroaching mallee and mulga. Nothing staked, and nothing except superficial scratching - like the paint work unfortunately.
Grip - they are wonderful, even on the road, and the car seems to track better than the ATs I had.
Wear - well it is probably too early to tell, but I am surprised that there is zero chipping at all - quite a surprise, and no evidence of wear - although I've not measured it.
Noise - frankly, I don't think they are much worse than the 80% worn AT's were, although my 1HZ is not the quietest engine at 3500RPM ;-)
I am very happy with the decision.
If you want a look or a drive and you're in town drop me an email.
Ciao for now,
Andrew.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Redback - Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 08:28
Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 08:28
I'd agree with what you've said, so far the STTs are quite good and very good off road like you i've only done about 6000 or 7000ks so to early to tell but i do have some slight chipping but nothing to talk about.
Baz.
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Follow Up By: Member - Andrew W (SA) - Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 09:50
Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 09:50
Another thing ... I am very aware of inflation issues.
The truck is usually heavily loaded with 4 or 5 adults plus their luggage.
On the highway I run at 40F/45R, on the dirt 30F/35R, rocky down to 28F/30R and beach/sand whatever it needs - sometimes 12 or 15 but usually 20 is fine.
I think being sure to constantly adjust the pressure to conditions is important in tyre life. My previous Cooper ATs had done 72,000 k's and were 80% worn, although I had staked a couple so they probably only did 2/3rds of the k's each on average.
Ciao for now
Andrew.
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Reply By: GoneTroppo Member (FNQ) - Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 08:31
Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 08:31
Been going throught the same process over the last month or so.
Also came to consider the Mickey Thompson FC-11.
I could'nt get a straight answer as to whether or not they are a Cooper carcase or not.
I've ended up ordering Good Year Silent Armour 265/75/16 10ply
More AT but I want less noise on hwy and am willing to sacrifice a bit of wet mud traction.
I run BFG MT's an another car and the noise after an hour or two just wears me down.
Ultimately you're best to have a critical look at what sort of driving you'll be doing (surprising how much blacktop this ends up adding up to) then get a tyre that's biased toward that sort of driving.
AnswerID:
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Reply By: raunchy - Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 08:36
Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 08:36
Hi Mick,
My observations. I have just been up to the Simoson and surrounds from Melb on STTs on my IFS cruiser. Been on all sorts of roads, wet, dry, gibber, sand etc. The STTs had about 5k on them when we left, now 10k. They handled the wet bitumen very well, although I didnt have the need to do anything drastic on them. The road from Arrabury to
the dig tree had some seriously large sharp rocks in it and we travelled about 90-100km/hr. No Chipping, a few tiny cuts in the tread in
places, nothing out of the ordinary.
We spent some time on a gibber cattle property, they go through LOTS of tyres, cheap chinese ones are lucky to last 5k. He was just on to his second set of ST-Cs and said they look like they are going to do the job well.
The ST-Cs and STT are the same tread compound. It is a softer compound than the STs this is why they do not chip as much and wear a bit quicker. The STTs have the extra sidewall ply. There is no real increase in noise over my old STs, and they seem to be wearing really well. As with all tyres, pressures for the situation is very important. On my trip I had 34 back 30 front for high speed gravel, 20 18 for the desert, 12 all round for playing on
big red, although I got up the easy track at 20 18 no problem, 12 got me up the steepest climb on the
hill.
Yes very happy with the STTs
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Reply By: JR - Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 20:07
Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006 at 20:07
Seem to see the same comments and photos whenever this comes up?
So Ill say the same thing I do regularly, Ive had three sets of ST last two ST-C, all in 10 ply rating. Since changing havent had any issues I wouldnt expect for the area I travel.
Done in excess of 250'000 km on them with a few punctures, one delamination and the ST-Cs lasting 90+ km, best record yet from any brand Ive used.
Basically we all want an MTR style which we can use everyday, quiet and comfortable, but ts all a trade off. So go for the ST-C, very good touring all round style. ST-C are only availiable in 10 ply.
Someone somewhere has a photo of a wrecked tyre of all brands, warranty is against manufacturing flaws so dont take it too seriously, all tyres have some sort of warranty mostly avoided by suplier if asked to honour it. Any tyre can fail in really tough situations or unlucky events.
The reason they still sell ST type is ST-C is only availiable in a few sizes to suit commercial fleets and the C compound is supposably softer so less milage which I disagree with based on my experience.
JR
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Follow Up By: Redback - Thursday, Aug 03, 2006 at 08:35
Thursday, Aug 03, 2006 at 08:35
Yeah but most of the above go offroad
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Follow Up By: JR - Thursday, Aug 03, 2006 at 08:43
Thursday, Aug 03, 2006 at 08:43
Um, are you saying I dont?
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