Thread: Cooper ST (Sure Trac) tyres - good & bad experiences wanted

I ran a set of 235/85/16 ST's on my RRC for over 100,000k's and was very impressed with their off road ability. I did lose some partial side lugs earlier on, but this was through not airing down on steep, shaley surfaces causing excess wheel spin. On the same surfaces my mate running BFG MT's also lost lugs due to not airing down, so it is not necessarily just one brand of tyre. My only disappointment with the ST's was wet bitumen handling - or lack there of. I have just recently purchased a set of STT's for my D1 and am so far impressed with how they handle. They also cope a lot better with wet bitumen than the ST's seemed to.

Originally Posted by jmkoffice

It's a general statement for all tyres. "Typical chipping" also happened to a set of BFG's the first time I crossed the Simmo in 02. Unfortunately, I found BFG's couldn't take low PSI like the Coopers for sand use. I rolled two off their rims.

2 sets of silverstones, never chipped!
parents put 5 brand new coopers, AT's on there 100 series, they got to cairns (left from rockhampton) on their way to the cape and did both rears! on tar! with coopers recomender pressures, again top came off like a re tread! yeah! top quality tyres them coopers!
i told you so came up alot!

mark, just go 285 75 R16 you have a CHOICE then!

cheers phil

Originally Posted by discowhite

2 sets of silverstones, never chipped!
parents put 5 brand new coopers, AT's on there 100 series, they got to cairns (left from rockhampton) on their way to the cape and did both rears! on tar! with coopers recomender pressures, again top came off like a re tread! yeah! top quality tyres them coopers!
i told you so came up alot!

mark, just go 285 75 R16 you have a CHOICE then!

cheers phil

I agree. I have never seen any brand of tyre chip like Coopers do. I have first hand experience with BF Goodrich, Toyo, Michelin, and many others, but I have never had chipping the likes of which I have seen on Cooper tyres over and over again.

Originally Posted by BigJon

I agree. I have never seen any brand of tyre chip like Coopers do. I have first hand experience with BF Goodrich, Toyo, Michelin, and many others, but I have never had chipping the likes of which I have seen on Cooper tyres over and over again.

Fair enough. Maybe that's why they brought out the ST-C, marketed as more chip tolerant. Has anyone tried these?

Originally Posted by jmkoffice

Fair enough. Maybe that's why they brought out the ST-C, marketed as more chip tolerant. Has anyone tried these?

That might help with that one tread pattern, but what about the ATRs and STTs that chip badly as well?

Originally Posted by Redback

I couldn't help myself

You saw my experiences first hand and the state of the tyres after only a short time on the car, and i went through them all through there warrenty system, beginning with the STs, then ST-Cs and finally STTs, if they were the only choice Mark, the STTs would be the better tyre, but for how much they are, your better off going for the BFG MTs in 255/85/16s.

If your fender has traction control and i'm pretty sure it does, then i would steer clear of Coopers.

Baz.

Originally Posted by jmkoffice

Fair enough. Maybe that's why they brought out the ST-C, marketed as more chip tolerant. Has anyone tried these?

Yes i've tried them, 20,000ks they lasted, but they were knacked at 10,000ks really, Coopers just didn't want to change them under warrenty untill we realy insisted.

Baz.

Originally Posted by tombraider

Craig...

.........................................
They crack, allowing water into belt area (dangerous and writes off tyre)

Once they belts get wet you should chuck them, thats when they delaminate...



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I've been following this and other similar threads since I first heard of a few delaminations with STs with, I'll admit, a degree of nervousness mixed with "you only hear bad stories so don't panic". However, Mike's post which mentioned cracks made me check mine this evening. Now I'm not sure what's "normal" but I'm a bit concerned with what I found. These tyres have done two mainland trips (totalling about 15000 kms) and about another 10-15000 on bitumen. The chipping doesn't seem to me to be too bad (considering the tracks we went on) but there does seem to be an alarming degree of cracking at the base of just about all the outside lugs, especially on the rear tyres - so now I'm wondering if these are something to be concerned about. There are also a few cracks in between a few lugs. I've tried to take a couple of pics but not sure how clear they will be.
Anyone any suggestions on the best way to get some independent advice?

cheers, Andy

Originally Posted by Stevo_62

Done 10,000 now, They are quieter than BFG MT. Not evidence of any issues. They are mounted on a 16" RR Alloys. 2 of them constantly go down and I've not worked out why yet.

In the sand with 18 psi in them they are excellent, On e harsh gravel road they have been excellent too. They understeer a bit but I just figure I should stick the slipper into it a bit harder.

Cheers

Stevo

This is likely because of sand in the bead. I had this problem with my BFG Ats. Just get them reseated and cleaned.

Angus