Cooper Tyres,,, 100,000 km's

Bucky.

Sorry, too early in the morning "Wait for it"

What drugs you on Laura ?

Cheers
Bucky

Bucky,

Kiwi was just reminiscing about all the sheep that she has dived for as well as missing out on getting the 80 series chopped into a Dual Cab LOL

Cheers Darkie

Oh how I miss those bludy sheep!! aaahhh....ohhh the thought of them...!!

Good ol' Bess would have been chopped if she was diesel...and would have been done a long time before darkie came to be!! add a new turbo diesel into her and the chop and a few other things sorted out and it would have cost the same as mahindra so no regrets Kev!! HAHA!! We got a car that cos thundering up hills even when she loaded!!!!.......ah have fun driving darkie up the hills loaded!!!!

just havin' some fun with ya as usual....Jonty up...gotta go!

Laura

I love these tyre claims.

They get better by the day...almost as good as that Free Fuel ad in a post above.

Some of these poeple need to go back to school to learn their maths again....hahahahaha

Have one the same ! Never been off the carrier

Cheers
Bucky

So you haven't rotated your tyres Bucky and still managed 100,000km. The spare may now be unservicable due to its exposure to the elements.

Tell me. How long have the tyres been on your vehicle?

Cheers

Willem, I'm with you, I really struggle to believe that any 4WD could do in excess of 100,000kms of normal driving on a single set of tyres.

I hate rotating tyres, but religiously every 5,000 km they get a swap over, and not that Bridgestone spare. As I said never been on vehicle
Cheers All
Bucky

I have found my ATR's perform extremely well on wet road, even though they have over 100K on them like the OP. They do not slip or slide like the newish Cooper ST's we have on a rescue vehicle (they are terrible in the wet) though i'm not sure why that is the case.

For an AT radial tyre they seem a good balance.

Andrew

sounds like you need to learn about tyre pressures! Chipping means (generally) you have them up to high. Your high failure rate wouldn't be because of crappy build quality tyres (there are standards set before then can be sold anywhere). Anything will break if treated incorrectly.

Put it another way. If one person says a product is great but another person has a completely different result using the exactly the same product, then I guarantee the person with the bad results is using the product incorrectly. A faulty product would have bad results for both people otherwise in this scenario.

Just my humble opinion.

Chipping has more to do with compound than pressure.
I will back up Jeepthing as my set of STs were hopeless too.

Gossy, With the greatest of respect to you I have travelled the bush for many years and I am well aware of tyre pressures and have always followed coopers guidelines to the letter. My vehicle was loaded and I was towing a Jayco Penguin off road camping trailer at 70k average.
All tyres were set at 34psi cold and coopers confirmed that would have been correct pressure!! The tyre that punctured was the only one that was chipped. It was the right rear which according to coopers turns differently to the other 3, which I don't agree with as the transmission on my WH runs in constant 4wd. This was their reasoning for that tyre chipping when the others didn't.
I have had lengthy discussions with Coopers about tyres for my vehicle the issue for me is that there is a limited range of tyres in 245/65R17. Coopers advised me that the ATR's compound is NOT the best tyre for stone country.
One thing I don't do is abuse my vehicle or tyres and I would suggest that you have little experience in travelling the stone country of the Kimberley or the Pilbara!! I am certainly not going to abuse anything when I am a million miles from anywhere and travelling on my own.
You say I had the tyres too high that is nonense for the road I was travelling they were perfectly set. The fact of the matter is that the locals of the Pilbara and the Kimberley run their tyres at max pressure, they do NOT agree with the philosophy to air down. I was advised by the tyre dealer at Newman to run the tyres at max pressure for the ATR's which is 41psi cold. The fact of the matter is that I did that from then on, the tyres did not chip and in particular there was no sign of chipping from the right rear tyre, which should have according to coopers because of that wheels different action.
It is interesting to note that during a recent tyre test conducted by Coopers in the Flinders Ranges, which was attended by a senior manager of Coopers America, one vehicle was run with tyres set at , from memory, 50psi cold.. no problems. When I spoke with Coopers advising them that the locals in the west do not agree with lowering tyre pressures, instead they should be run high.
I would suggest that you spend some time reading some of the discussions about Tyres on this website not only Coopers but some of the other brands. You will note when reading the Coopers blogs there are many complaints about them chipping and it has nothing to do with abuse!!

I did the GRR and Mitchell falls in July 2006 on a set of new Cooper ATR 10ply 265/75/16

Very stiff ride, had to deflate to 24psi so the patrol didn't fall to bits!

Not one problem except for chipping and would expect most tyres to do that up there.. I sold the car with them still on after about 20,000k and they still looked like I just bought them when nice and clean...

We all have our stories. Having said that, I had ST's initially and didn't like them that's when I tried the ATR's. They were much better on road (quieter) but very stiff.

I'm not saying that I do not have problems with the tyres,
ie the bloody ride, and the way they tramline down the road, following the contour of the road,

But when you consider what kind of country we have been in with those tyres, and only ever had 1 slow puncture, ( caused by a nail at home !) ,,

That tells me something, that maybe by dropping pressures to 25 on dirt and gravel roads, and for sand 15 psi. I must be doing something right. Not to mention the 15,000 kms on outback roads, and they are still going strong. Maybe I'm lucky, or just that I dodge rocks as much as possible.

Sure there are a couple of bits missing, so what !, the tyre is good

Cheers all
Bucky

and that is my point exactly. Everyone has their own opinions in regard to tyres, fridges shockers etc. The point that I was trying to make in my comments is that unless the story is consistent with a product then you can't assume anything. Having tyres pumped up on full on rocky roads is crazy. Rough ride and no give for the rocks. Any tyre brand will perform well if treated correctly. Notice that I haven't even said what tyres I currently have. My point is that my opinion is just my opinion. If someone has a bad experience from a product that has performed well for someone else then be critical of yourself (none of us are perfect) and ask yourself why the product did not exceed expectations.

Cheers,

34 cold is too high :(

Gossy, get hold of Cooper Tires 4WD Drivers Guide there is an excellant section in there on Tyre Pressures which I have followed to the letter and change according to the road conditions. The road I was travelling on was fast smooth gravel. Coopers say 32-36psi; they qualify that by saying higher pressures are required when carrying heavy loads. For slow rough gravel 26-32psi; again higher pressure when carrying heavy loads.

I set them at 34 for 2 reasons I was carrying a heavy load and I was likely to encounter a bit of slow rough gravel. Coopers didn't have a problem with the tyre pressure they say it was perfect for the road conditions.

It seems to me that you have done little travelling in the Kimberley or the Pilbara, running lower pressures than I did would have caused too much bulge in the side walls of the ATRs exposing them to sharp edged rocks. The ATRs are passenger constructed not light truck. Again Coopers agreed with my pressures for this reason as well.
One thing I do agree with you on is that having hard pressures on rough gravel is not the way to go. But the fact of the matter is that the locals in these areas run them hard and have little trouble. Their theory is that having hard pressure flicks the rocks out of the way whereas lowering the pressure tends to have the rock held by the tyre making it more suspectable to penetration. I've seen Coopers demo with the balloon and in theory agree with it.
If you ever get to Newman go and see Newman tyres and get him to show you their supply of destroyed tyres, 99% from tourists who he says have been running pressures too low in what they refer to as their iron country. Then get him to show you the tyres used by the locals and mining companies whilst there is a bit of chipping which is expected you won't see any that have been destroyed through sidewall rips and cuts.
Anyway he convinced me to give higher pressures a go and I had no problems in the rough sections I simply slowed down and the ride was fine.
I understand from my discussions with Coopers that they are aware of the views in the west by locals hence their testing at 50psi.

yep fair enough if Coopers said the pressures were fine. Yes agree that if carrying more you need to pump them up more (or the sidewalls will get hot and blow out on you which is probably what has happened to those tourist tyres). I have actually done a fair bit of driving around all types of Aust. My webpage is
www.gossadventures.com but hasn't been updated in about 2 years. I am by no means an expert on this! Done two crossings of the Simpson since then and another this June (going to Tassie tmw for 4 weeks also doing 4wding). The last trip across the Simpson involved being a support veh for 5 motorbike riders. I was carrying their camping gear, food and water plus my 165 litres of fuel. I drove all the way up from Adelaide (thru Mt Dare), across the dunes and back down from Birdsville without 1 puncture. Pressure was everything. One of the other veh's was a newcomber to 4wding and would not listen to me about letting down his tyres. He got a puncture on the 3rd day just short of Mt Dare. Once he let his tyres down he didn't get another one. He went from 50psi to 30psi (hot temp), so they locked fairly flat in the cold mornings!!

I have driven around that part of Australia a fair bit as I was in the Army for 11 years including 3 years in Norforce (unit based in Darwin) with an operational area of Nthn WA, all of NT.

There is no perfect answer to tyres but from my experience anything above 40 on dirt roads (remember that 32 would have gone much higher by the time they got hot) is too high. Yes you protect your sidewalls more but I work on the theory that there are more rocks on a high speed dirt road than sticks so I play with the odds and protect myself from the sharp rocks (hence lower pressure; depending on the load I am carrying). If I get a stick in the side then my theory to life gets mentioned to the wife " bleep happens!"

cheers,

Gossy, now we are getting in tune with each other. A high speed dirt road doesn't have too many sizable sharp rocks that are likely to reach the sidewalls..it's those rougher ones that contain them. Some tyre brands tend to have too much bulge at normal pressure letting them down really gets one in a high risk situation.

I found that Coopers test they recently conducted it's in the January 08 edition of 4x4 Australia pages 99 to102. They ran a Toyota with Cooper ST's at 50psi cold and they reached close to 60psi at speeds of 100k. Inspection of the rubber didn't show any serious problems just a few nicks here and there. Bit dissappointed in the article as there is no mention of how the other ST's running at 30 cold on bitumen went, no mention of what their gravel road pressures were either.

Maybe they didn't go as well and maybe a few punctures, chipping etc eh that they didn't want let out of the bag!!!

The Coopers tyre guide also mentions the 4lb rule which I follow when travelling the blacktop. I find it works extremely well particularly when loaded and towing otherwise it's guess work. I find that 40psi cold is the magic figure any lower and they heat up too much as well as gaining to much pressure. If the ambient temp creeps up in the high 30's I run them at 41psi.

Anyway it's been great fun challenging you, enjoy your weekend

That's the way Lance.
Been wondering if I would ever catch up with you ?

Hows the Navara ? Still going strong no doubt.

I have got 2 ST's on our camper, and they will never wear out , looks a bit daggy though.

Cheers MAte
Bucky

Hi Jo,

Was there a hugely noticable difference in noise going from AT to Muddies? Enough to be a pain?

Andrew

Obviously there is noise, but to be honest it isn't as loud as thought it would be, it isn't annoying at all. Have noticed need to give myself a bit of extra braking time, and obviously the ride isn't quite as smooth but again not enough to annoy me. (actually feel much safer) It has definately increased the vehicles speed, I mean even from a stand still she just has more gutz now. And definately changed the revs so where I would normally have to go from 3rd to 4th it is very comfortable to stay in 3, and where I would normally have to go from 4th to 5th it is very comfortable to stay in 4th.
I'm not as adept at all the lingo talk about the changes tyres can make as what you lot are so don't laugh at my description!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love you all you bunch of forumite trippers!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers
Jo

That's a good description of the differences....thanks for that.

I am still deciding if i can justify upgrading to MTs or just stick with ATR......and it is frustrating listening to dealers etc explaining which way to go, when they have a vested interest in selling their brands.

Thanks again

Andrew

What you have to look at is weather you can justify "muddies".

I do not have any real big intentions about going into the Bush on rainy days, digging my way up a steep incline. But I would give it a try, just to see what the Navara could do ,, or couldn't !

If I had the $$$$ I would have 2 sets of tyres, I suppose that is the ultimate, just ask Kiwi & Mahindra, they had a set of cheapy run around tyres on their old 80 series, then this set of Cooper STT's for the mud and playtime .

Cheers
Bucky

You're right Bucky, i should just stick with something less agressive and maybe buy another set later on IF i really see a higher need.

Andrew