Cooper AT Beware!!! - Seeing is believing............
Submitted: Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 11:49
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Member - John L G
Last week whilst on one of my wanders through the
Pilbara, happened on a bloke with a newish F250 on the Skull Springs Rd on the way to
running Waters and of course we both had a chat about the weather etc etc during which I noticed the state of his tyres and missing blocks from the treads.
Yep!! Cooper AT's and he was not happy about them. Had literally been fitted new on his truck four weeks previously and now were in a state of definite "Un-newness". Up close it looked as if they had simply been plucked clean fron the tyre carcass and gaping holes where they had once been was the result.
Needless to say, I think the retailer was about to cop a visit upon his return to
Perth.
So be warned!!.
Having heard the stories before, there is nothing like having this reinforced when up close with the failed product.
Reply By: Member - Duncs - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 12:06
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 12:06
Hope he gets better treatment than I did when I approached the dealer when the same thing happened to my BF Goodrich AT's
Duncs
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Member QLD Steve & Lorraine Mc - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 13:04
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 13:04
Hi Duncs did u get that last reply on the members message, about the fuel needed on the CSR. I have found sometimes the messages dont go thru??? Re- the thread on tyres I destroyed a new set of Cooper A/Ts back in 2001 in 13,000 Ks going thru the GRR,
Pilbara,Gunbarrell, got back Coopers paid for half of a new set of STs and they chipped & suffered heel & toe problems. Been running BFGs for 135,000Ks so far so good. Wont be long before I have to decide again which tyres too??? No punctures, not bad wear Id say BFG again.
Cheers Steve.
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Follow Up By: Member - Duncs - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 16:10
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 16:10
Yeah I did thanks again.
Duncs
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Follow Up By: Member - Duncan W (WA) - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 20:01
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 20:01
Have to agree with you Steve we met a guy in El Q last year and said he'd had 9 punctures with his Coopers and wished he'd got BFG's. I've had no problems at all with my BFG's.
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Reply By: deserter - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 12:06
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 12:06
I just finished the painful process of trying to evaluate what new tyres to get. I wasamazed how much the Cooper's dealers simply discarded any reports of problems. It was always the user causing the problem. I simply read too many bad stories about them - even though plenty still swear by them. Just ordered a set of Silent Armour. Lets hope I made the right decision.
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Reply By: Member - Duncs - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 12:10
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 12:10
Hope he gets a better response from the dealer than I did when the same thing happened to my BF Goodrich AT's.
I have heard the stories and seen the damage on tyres from a number of manufacturers. I have had a good run from BFG and from Cooper. I have also had dissapointing experiences with many tyre brands including BFG and Cooper.
The only dealer who was less than helpful was arrogant, insulting and estremely rude. That was the guy from BFG and I did not even ask him for anything.
Duncs
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Duncs - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 12:16
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 12:16
Sorry for responding twice.
When I first put the response up and went back to look at it I could not find it.
Looked at a few other threads and then came back, same deal. So put it up again.
Looked at a couple more threads came and they are both here.
Sorry.
Duncs
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Reply By: Andrew from Vivid Adventures - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 12:11
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 12:11
I don't think Cooper have an AT tyre these days - was it an ATR?
Anyways, F250s are notoriously tough on tyres, and if he is driving on rough
pilbara roads over inflated or drasticly heavy loads, then that is going to happen with any tyre.
Whether or not the retailer gave him any or the right advice about his tyres is the next interesting question...
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Follow Up By: Member - John L G - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 13:18
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 13:18
Probably.
They were certainly Coopers and they had AT lettering on the side. The missing blocks looked as though they had been cleanly plucked out by hand.
As for his driving style, he seemed like a sensible bloke with family on board but "Who Knows"!!
Speaking of driving styles I'm often amazed at the mentality of some who because it's a 4WD think in terms of "indestructible" and give their vehicles absolute buggery. I'm often often puzzled on this
forum about the tales of mechanical failure, woe and doom with the blame given to some vehicle types.
Personally I must be blessed because nothing has ever really broken apart from fair wear and tear and at times my own stupidity.
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Follow Up By: brett - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 16:13
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 16:13
There is no AT listed on the coopers website, only the ATR, which is written on the sidewall. Cooper haven't had an AT for several years
The ATR is not much more than a highway tread, it's also not a very blocky tread, doesn't look the sort of pattern that would lose blocks. Unlike the ST which is a more blocky tread than the BFG and the loss of blocks is
well documented.
You sure you got the correct tyre?
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Follow Up By: Andrew from Vivid Adventures - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 16:22
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 16:22
They may
well be ATs which are slightly more blocky that the current generation ATR which has been around for at least 3 or 4 years.
They might still be "New" as they are for a pretty rare size, I would suspect, on the F250... and some dealer had a set sitting in his stock for ages.
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Follow Up By: Member - John L G - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 17:34
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 17:34
Brett & Andrew,
Just had a look at the web site and honestly don't recognise the ATR's as the ones this bloke had and certainly weren't the ST.
So maybe Andrew has hit the proverbial nail, so to speak, on the head.
Anyone got a picture of an AT???
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Follow Up By: Member - Andrew (QLD) - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 20:40
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 20:40
Andrew
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Follow Up By: Exploder - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 21:28
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 21:28
I brought a set of AT's 2 and a bit years ago so they only stopped making em recently
did 55,000 on em problem free then stuck on a set of ST's, these have done 20 or 30,000km once again problem free, They have chipping, but that's doesn't make the tyre unusable in my books and they are far from falling apart.
Might go a set of STT's next time round, see how we go.
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Reply By: montana - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 13:56
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 13:56
its sometime luck comes into getting a good run out of some products,as for tyres ive had 5 different tyre
places recomend different brands and sizes.its like will my toyota go better with coopers and weaco or bfg and ingel? but lets not go there.
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Reply By: Paps - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 14:11
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 14:11
My local bloke who runs a little one man outfit has reccommended Mickey Thompson FC-11's. They are certainly cheaper at around $180 each. Does anyone have any experience with these? Paps.
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Follow Up By: Graeme - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 16:13
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 16:13
You will not be surprised to learn that the Mickey Thompson Brand is owned by Coopers and manufactured in their US facility.
That said the curing formula and pressure/time curves for the curing process match the Cooper brand output volumes, so my view is you should not expect a different result from the FC II tyres that you can get from the ST or ST-C.
The heavier the vehicle the greater the torsional stress on the tread blocks. Combine this with lateritic stone roads and your tyre is likely to fall apart unless you slow right down and air down as
well.
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Follow Up By: Paps - Saturday, Jul 21, 2007 at 16:23
Saturday, Jul 21, 2007 at 16:23
Graeme, What a shame. He almost had me convinced. He actually doesn't like BFG's because he says they are poorly moulded and difficult to balance. It's hard to know where to spend your money.
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Reply By: Eric from Cape York Connections - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 15:28
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 15:28
Well you see the ads in the mags they say that coopers are best tyres to leave home with.
I suppose when you get a nice new set every time you travel its easy to say.
All the best
Eric
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 15:55
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 15:55
Its OK for Cooper to say the "best tyres to leave home with", but with my experience you won't return home with them!
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Reply By: Member - Barnesy (SA) - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 16:55
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 16:55
My Cooper ST also began ripping lugs off the first time i engaged low range. They are copping a pounding since I've moved up to the
Pilbara and doing regular jaunts through the bush. I won't get them again as they just aren't up to it.
Mind you I've only had one flat ever with them and the rock that destroyed the sidewall would have wrecked any tyre. But then are any AT tyre up to the
pilbara?
I have seen two ST blow out whilst driving on the highway. I'm getting some skinnies next.
Barnesy
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Member - John L G - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 17:29
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 17:29
Barnesy,
I'm inclined to agree with you about the roads up here being harsh on tyres. The
Newman -
Nullagine road is gaining a reputation for destroying rubber with blow outs and total failure the norm with locals putting it down to the constant grading and thus disturbance of the flinty rocks up here which rip up the sidewalls..
I'm half inclined to think a lot of tyre failure is also due to the uncompromising nature of some of the trucks we swan about in. All the machines are a good deal more powerfull and able to get that power to the surface a lot more efficiently than 10-20 years ago but don't know whether the evolution of the rubber tree has kept up in the race...LOL
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Follow Up By: keepingitreal - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 18:43
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 18:43
Have to agree with you Barnsey. I had a set of ATR's in 285/75r16 that did the same, plus two of the cases cracked around the beads. Still had a good 50% of the tread remaining and had to throw them. Went to BFG M/T in a 255/85r16, skinnier and a bit bigger. Heaps better handling and my big ship (100 series with 2" lift and always carriers a fair bit of weight), rides so much better, although tyres are a little noisier. (Don't hear them with window up!). My two bobs worth.
Regards Kirsten (NSW)
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Follow Up By: Parso - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 21:03
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 21:03
I've just returned from
Cape York, a total of 12,000km trip, including some real tough stuff. The Cooper ATs are as good as new. In fact this is the second set and I have not had a problem yet. Maybe tyre pressures?
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Follow Up By: keepingitreal - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 21:15
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 21:15
In my case Parso, definately not a pressure issue as i always monitor and adjust pressures to the conditions and have a 3.5cfm 12volt compresssor and 15 ltr tank on the go in my car and probably check pressures too often (if that's possible). I have to admit the gravel roads I travel are very harsh, but the ATR's just couldn't hack it, as too the ST-C's. BFG M/T stand up much better.
Cheers Kirsten (NSW)
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Reply By: stocky - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 21:40
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 21:40
Well - i would have to say on my travels with work throughout outback SA/NSW on many stations from the smallest private to the biggest corporate run stations - they all UNIVERSALLY say Cooper
tyres are cr*p - biggest waste of money out!
These are people whos lives rely on their vehicles day to day - needless to say I dont bother with Coopers either!
my $0.02 for whats its worth
BTW - quite happy with my Bridgestones D693's - I dont expect too much from them considering the ABSOLUTE flogging they get on station tracks - and they dont fail to dissapoint!
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Follow Up By: Member - John L G - Thursday, Jul 19, 2007 at 10:37
Thursday, Jul 19, 2007 at 10:37
Stocky
D693's are also what I use and whilst boring to look at and probably in every other way have had a similar experience to you.
I'm sure there are grippier
tyres but mine have delivered good mileage, are super robust and all the rubber is still where Bridgestone put it during manufacture.
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Reply By: ctaplin - Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 22:22
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 at 22:22
The
Pilbara is tough on
tyres and Cooper AT
tyres would not be my choice for that area. For starters you need an LT (light truck) construction profile with 12 ply sidewalls rather than the usual 4 ply sidewalls in passenger rated AT
tyres.
The ST-C is Coopers tyre designed for rough rocky areas and when run with proper inflation pressures, they are very tough and give good grip offroad.
I have travelled over 30,000km on rough tracks in almost all regions of oz in a heavily laden Prado in the past 18 months, including the Canning, the Cape, Gulf,
Pilbara, East Arnhem Land and numerous other areas with great performance and NO punctures. I also deflate my tires about 10 psi from what I use on the highway if going on dirt for extended periods so they roll over sharp stones instead of being pierced.
I guess everyone has their horror stories with
tyres but so far I'd be getting another set of Cooper ST-C
tyres...
Chris
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Thursday, Jul 19, 2007 at 11:20
Thursday, Jul 19, 2007 at 11:20
I had Cooper LT construction, reckon I would have been better off with wheelbarrow
tyres!
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