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 Way
back when, I ran a set of Cooper Discoverers on my
Series 60 Land Cruiser. They were a good tyre - no
problems in most terrains - but the salient point in
the memory is that they lasted forever. They were
Cooper Discoverer LT's, but the range has expanded
radically since those days.
Now you've the choice of Discoverer A/T (an
all-terrain), the H/T (predominantly an on-road 4WD
tyre), the STT (biased towards dirt and mud), to name
but a few. The 'newie' is the Cooper Discoverer S/T
(Sure Trac); a rather radical tyre.
First, here's a little information on the Cooper
company. Established in 1914, Cooper took its name
from Ira Cooper, an entrepreneurial gent with a
nationwide chain of auto-part stores, who took over
the company in the early '20s. The first involvement
with off-road tyres came in WWII, when Cooper supplied
the right rubber to the US military.
In 1997, the company bought British firm Avon tyres,
giving it a sales gateway to Europe via Avon's
existing distributor network.
The 8th largest tyre manufacturer in the world (in
contrast to the way many of us think of Cooper as a
'boutique' manufacturer), the company has factories
from northern Ohio to way south of the Mason-Dixon
Line. It also turned over US$3.6 billion last year,
and is still a US company - only one of two. Of the
original 134 American-owned tyre manufacturers,
Firestone is owned by Japan's Bridgestone, BFG has
been taken over by France's Michelin, Armstrong is a
subsidiary of Italy's Pirelli, and the General marches
to the beat of Germany's Continental. For Statesiders,
the list is patriotically depressing. Only Goodyear
joins Cooper on the survivors' podium.
Also significant is that Cooper has not pursued the
OE market, preferring to remain purely an aftermarket
tyre manufacturer, now sold throughout the world.
So, what's special about the new tyre? Well, in
the parlance of the motor trade, it would appear to
have a few 'USPs' (Unique Selling Points). Many tyres,
especially high-performance ones, have 'siping'; tiny
cuts in the tread blocks to assist water dispersal.
Usually, they run across the block, but the S/T's
sipes are longitudinal, the rationale being to reduce
chipping on harsh, gravel roads.
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Cooper 4WD Tyres and 7
reasons why you should choose them
Four Wheel Drive enthusiast and Australia's
distributor of Cooper 4WD Tyres, Terry Smith, explains
why Cooper is America's most trusted 4x4 tyre. He
summarises this into seven reasons that are important
benefits for the 4WD tyre buyer.
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Cooper 4WD tyres have deeper treads, up
to 30% more than some brands, which means you get
more tyre for your money, more kilometres, more
grip, more puncture resistance.
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Cooper 4WD tyres have deeper tread patterns.
Today many manufacturers are lowering tread pattern
depths. A cooper tyres lateral tread grooves are 67%
deeper compared to most original equipment tyres.
This is possible because of wider and stronger steel
belts under the tread.
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Cooper 4WD tyres stand up straighter.
Most non-American brands of 4x4 tyres have a round
or 'belly' shape in the sidewalls. Cooper, by
design, stands up straighter to deflect objects.
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Cooper 4WD tyres have see through treads,
meaning the latest tread designs have open straight
grooves for wet grip and self-cleaning - Cooper
tread designs are all the most current designs.
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Cooper 4WD tyres have round edge treads, not
square. The current trend in 4WD tyre design is
self-cleaning patterns with round shoulders, V
shaped tread grooves and deeper tread patterns,
Square edges track on the road, causing irregular
shoulder wear.
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Cooper are aftermarket producers. In tyre
manufacturing there are two types, original
equipment suppliers, and after market suppliers.
Cooper produce exclusively for the aftermarket so
they don't compromise on quality or performance to
meet a price or the criteria of a vehicle
manufacturer, which means you get more for your
money.
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Cooper 4WD tyres have high quality inner
liners. The most important characteristic of a
tyre is its ability to hold air. Cooper uses one of
the best quality inner liners (Halobutyl) combined
with the proper liner thickness to give excellent
air retention, where others may vary the quality and
thickness of the compound to reduce cost,
sacrificing air retention properties.
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Department of
Synthetic
