Cooper Tyres Good Result.

Hi Gossy.

Would have put on the STC but they dont make them the hilux size and dont want to go any bigger.Most of my work is on very soft sand and got to try the ST last weekend on a hill at my fav fishing spot and at 14 psi they were as good if not better than the ATR.

Cheers Graeme.

Um Craig. Graeme's tyres didn't fail.

Every tyre is a compromise and now the Cooper distributor and dealer have given him the compromise that better suits his use...

The ATR is a 70/30 compromise Road/Dirt ... the compound was too hard for Graeme's usage pattern...

All around good service and great product in my experience.

Try getting your whitegoods manufacturer to provide similar service.

"but the tyres were cut up quite a bit and they were brand new" (previous post) Technically I suppose the tyres didn't 'fail' but they did fail to handle the conditions & live up to the expectations they broadly advertise. Great to hear a positive warrenty story though as many have in the past had much heartache.
And yes my white goods supplyer has provided far greater service. He sold me a fridge 20 years ago & it's still going ;-)
Cheers Craig.............

Full page ads in the 4x4 mags boast about the Cooper ATR ability to go "coast to coast" and handle all sorts of terrain. Does not sound like they quite managed to achieve the claims but then I am sure the ads (i don't have one to hand) would be JUST worded such that at the end of the day they are not really making much of a claim at all!!!

I run these ATRs on my Prado and on bitumen and mild dirt they are fantastic and look like they will give a good long service life. I am however realistic about how much punishment tyres on 4x4's take, especially on harsher dirt and stone tracks, so I also run a set of Goodyear MTR's on a second set of rims for driving these sorts of roads.

The ATRs do show signs of damage here and there but as an all rounder they do very well. The MTR's are just in another class and have taken a pounding on some very stoney Flinders roads and there is not a mark on them.

Not everyone can afford to run two sets. Also it is a bit sad to be wearing out the MTRs on the long stretches of bitumen between the interesting bits. But hey - who said life was meant to be perfect!

Gotta pick the right tyre for where you are going.

Cheers
Muddy

My tyre dealer knows his stuff and we had a good talk about where i drive before putting on the ATRs.Most of my off road stuff is in soft sand and the trip across the Central Road came about because my eldest girl went to work there.One trip a year on roads like that and the rest on the black top good gravel and sand should mean the ATR is the best choice.As it looks like the ST will be good in sand they might be a good choice.

Cheers Graeme

agree. It's all about running the correct pressures. I have had ST and STC's and very happy with both.

Any tyre will chip, crack and puncture if the conditions are right (high load, high pressure, sharp rocks etc). Any tyre will also perform faultlessly if treated correctly! I do laugh when people rubbish other brands I must admit.

It's like saying that a peugeot will run better on no oil in the engine than a holden. Yer one might go an extra km or two down the road but both will blow up eventually!

Cheers,

They shouldn't have any cracks after 15,000kms!

Shaker, if you can show me an AT tyre that wouldn't suffer minor lug damage after what we put them through, I'll get them. My mate had Bridgstone 694s, they had similar minor damage.

D-JAck

If you call lugs ripping off as a minor problem, then I can show you plenty.
Cooper tyres are the product of a very clever but deceptive advertising campaign, & just don't survive in the Outback. I have never yet seen a station vehicle with Cooper tyres, funny that!

Shaker, Who mentioned lugs ripping off? It was minor lug damage, meaning a small crack through a couple of lugs on each rear tyre, just small cracks going into the tread, not across. There was no risk of them ripping off. Go and have a good look at your tyres and if you've ever been on rocky roads I guarantee yours will not be as good as the day you got them. All I'm saying is don't expect to put ANY tyre on punshing rocky roads and expect them to stay brand new.

You sound like someone trying to justify the purchase of your latest non-cooper tyres! Hope it made you feel better.

I have had failed Cooper tyres, as you can obviously read, do a search & you will find that many Cooper tyres have had lugs rip off as well as sidewall failure.
They would have to be the most discussed tyre here, due to their inherent weaknesses.

You will also be pleased to know that I not only feel better, I feel safer without them.

Ditto, just ordered 6 silent armour myself. Took some time to research it and came down to Goodyear Silent armour or the MTR. I figured the pattern of the silent armour suited my local area of driving better than the wider spaced pattern on the MTR

Brenton,

What size are you getting and are they LT's?

I went for the MTRs in LT265/70R17 but will be interested to see how you go with the Silent Armours.

Cheers
Muddy

Hi Muddy/Brenton,

Have just about decided to put MTR's on the Troopy, but living where we live
'tis not easy to get price comparisons, please tell where you ended up getting
your tyres from, 'cos I just know you would have got the best deal agoing.

Cheers
Michael

City Discount Tyres on Main North Road at Nailsworth - Ask for Craig.

My lease company pays pretty much list prices but this means the service is second to none and I have built up a good relationship with them. Free rotation and balancing every 5000 km for the life of the tyres.

They know how to keep customers!

Cheers
Muddy

Hi Muddy/Michael. The Goodyear Silent armour (which for here on in I will give the acronym GSA. While I dislike acronyms I also dislike typing long names) doesn't show up on the website as LT but in the goodyear book that the tyre shop has it is listed as LT265/70/R17 112R

Here's the break down of quotes that I obtained for a set of 6 GSA in 265/70/R17. I was surprised at the relatively high prices and expected about the $300 mark but it seems that the reputation and demand for the GSA and the MTR are holding prices up.
1. City discount tyres on Main Nth Rd $395. Craig was going to ring me back when I later queried this price but never did.
2. Bob Jane at modbury. $375. One of the chaps there recently put them on his patrol and was extremely happy so far. Had been on a 4WD trip but I can't remember now where he said they went but they apparently performed flawlessly. They were to get one in for me to inspect but they never rang back either.
3.Tyre power parafield-$350 plus a free wheel alignment.

And the winner is ...

4. Kmart Tyre and Auto ingle farm. $348, plus free alignment, plus free wheel rotation and balance each 10000km. They also washed my mags for me which I thought was a nice touch and completed the job in the promised time.
The MTR was generally about $10 dearer than the GSA however the wide tread pattern was not so suited to my requirements. The MTR is probably a good tyre for the Vic high country etc.
Have only had them on since yesterday and they certainly look a bloody nice tyre with white side wall lettering and a semi macho look. Despite haveing a deeper and more aggressive pattern than the D694's they replaced they are noticeably quieter. Also quieter than BFG and coopers I have had on other vehicles.

Hope this helps and when I have done a few trips and racked up a few KM I'll post a follow up.
Brenton

Thanks for that Brenton,

I may need to talk to Craig a bit more critically when I vist next!

Look forward to hearing further reports

Cheers
Muddy

Muddy/Brenton,

Thank you for your replies..

I spoke to Craig and he told me that Coopers were much better, suprise, suprise, in fact he said that most of the NT tour guides were using Coopers and were very happy ???!!!

Having said that he gave me a price on both MTR and Cooper STT.

Would you believe that my local bloke, with no prompting at all, was able to
undercut him by well over $100.oo.

Have yet to get a price from my other local tyre guru.

Horses for courses, one mans meat is another mans poison dah dah dah.

At this stage I am going to go with Cooper STT3, right or wrong ?????????

Hope I don't live to regret it...........lol

Thanks for your help.

Cheers
Michael

Sigh.............

Well I tried...lol

Might have to do some more aggressive shopping around next time!

Cheers
Muddy

You did well, thank you Muddy.

It is interactive forums like this that help us poor country cousins...

Seriously tho' I appreciate all the help I get from youse guys.

Nice bloke Craig, but comes down to the almighty dollar,,,,,,,and
keeping it local..if possible..

Don't be sad.....I may live to regret my choice..but I aint gonna tell ya..LOL

Cheers
Michael