Cooper ATR - Latest Issues Nov,2008

[MickL Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close MickL]

Re: Cooper ATR - Latest Issues Nov,2008

There's a dealer here in Kal who supplies heaps of tyres to the mining fraternity, geologists, etc and he sells heaps of BFG T/As. Reckons they all go for the internal ballast.

I heard they sometimes do it for truck tyres but never heard of it for cars and 4WDs.

The stuff looks like shotgun pellets and comes in little plastic bags of varying weights. It's supposed to auto balance in a centrifugal fashion as your tyres rotate.

It was fine for a couple of thousand kilometres but then I got the front end wobble at 70 - 90kph. Front tyres had the internal stuff and rears had conventional balancing. No problems with the rears at all

Got Ian Diffens to balance with lead weights and problem solved.

Problem with internal balance is if you are out back of beyond and have to repair a tyre you'll have no way of ensuring proper balance.

Thanks, I've heard of the concept but never seen/heard of it done in practice. Not on cars/4wds anyway.

Mick

[Wags Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Wags]

Re: Cooper ATR - Latest Issues Nov,2008

I had Cooper ATR's 265/65/R17 fitted to my V6 prado in Feb of 07. I've done 85000kms and only had one puncture (screw) in that time. I live in Bris and work in and around the Bowen Basin central Qld.The majority of driving is on the black stuff and on the beaches, then spent some time on bush tracks.

Cheers,
Wags

[siva Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close siva]

Re: Cooper ATR - Latest Issues Nov,2008

I am just getting around to researching replacements for my Grandtreks and am having difficulty with how Coopers ATR gets such varied reviews.

Looking through their catalogue describing the ATR I noticed a section with the heading "Puncture Resistance" followed by: "A spiral nylon over wrap featuring in most light truck and selected passenger ATR sizes, is a continuous band of nylon that protects the steel belts from damage. This new technology means that you are even less likely to get a puncture, flat tyre or a blow out at speed".

Though the catalogue lists the sizes available under Passenger and LT construction, it doesn't list which of the sizes incorporates this spiral nylon over wrap.

Now my questions to those who have had issues with their Coopers is - did the size tyres you were using incorporate this feature ? It just appears that not all Coopers ATR's are made the same. I will ring Coopers on Monday.

Would value some guidance as I can't rationalise how varied attitudes towards the Coopers are compared to say the BFG's.

Siva

[bevwone Member Find all posts View Profile Close bevwone]

Re: Cooper ATR - Latest Issues Nov,2008

Siva,

If you are researching replacements don't forget to look at Pro Comp's at http://www.procomp.com.au/Default.asp?MenuId=MLS_HOME.

I have only heard great things about them for an A/T tyre.

Everyone I have spoken to personally about Coopers gives them a bad wrap, de-laminating, chipping etc.

I currently run Bridgestone D694's and have no problems but haven't worked them very hard.

Bevan

[mkh Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mkh]

Re: Cooper ATR - Latest Issues Nov,2008

You've hit the nail on the head when you said "not all Coopers are made the same". I think that may be part of the reason they get VERY mixed opinions. Even in the LT constructions, some are rated at 10ply (very strong) while the next size along may only be 6 ply. Even their tread depths vary between sizes and models. So customer #1 might get 90,000kms out of his STs and customer #2 only gets 60,000kms out of his and therefore gets peeved and gives then a bad rap. He might have had 3mm less tread depth to start off with. It'd be great if all tyre sizes in a particular model range were constructed the same. For a start it would make life for us (the consumer) a lot easier when choosing a tyre.

But the original reason I started this thread on the ATR was actually due to a suspected dodgy shipment that most likely had manufacturing faults. Which, at the end of the day if we're honest about it, can happen with just about any tyre brand. The original Goodyear Wranglers that came on my old Jeep developed little lumps and ripples in the sidewalls. All 4 of them!

But yeah let us know what the Cooper rep tells you regarding the extra nylon wrap. And if the ATR in 265/65/17 gets it.

Cheers.

[siva Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close siva]

Re: Cooper ATR - Latest Issues Nov,2008

So I rang up Coopers and had a chat about the different constructions within the ATR range with the rep. He explained that the 265/65/17 ATR is a passenger construction and would not have the Reinforced Nylon Over Wrap. You can tell which ones of the passenger ATR's have the over wrap on the catalogue they have an "RE+" or "XL+" superscript next to the size (though this is not explained)

For the same(1mm difference) tyre diameter as a 265/65/17 he recommended the ST 245/70/17 which though narrower has the same tyre footprint in sand (as it is measured lengthwise, not width wise). I asked whether the wet grip would differ due to the fewer sipes and he said that could be overcome by dropping the pressures to increase the footprint.

I explained that most people would assume that an ATR advertised as 70% Road & Sand, 30% Dirt & Mud would not vary in construction between tyre sizes and people are unwittingly comparing apples with oranges even within a particular model of Coopers when they share their experiences. He took seriously the comment that Coopers get a more varied review by customers than BFG's, almost certainly due to this marketing & manufacturing quirk not being explained to purchasers. He took notes and said he would escalate the matter to Marketing.

[Snowy FNQ Member Find all posts View Profile Close Snowy FNQ]

Re: Cooper ATR - Latest Issues Nov,2008

Spotted a second hand GX with 245/70/17 ST's in Pacific Toyota last week, I could not see any difference visually in size from a 265/65/17.
I may go down this route when it comes time to replace the Grandflops.

I have had Cooper A/T's and ATR's on my 95 series and they did the job, but I was never happy with the mileage, but to be fair I was not religous with my rotations either.

One thing I did notice with the A/T's was they started to handle like a bald tyre once they got down to about 4/5mm tread depth.

Cheers

[gavdan1968 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close gavdan1968]

Re: Cooper ATR - Latest Issues Nov,2008

I have the ATRs on my 06 GX Ltd - only done 7 k so far, no issues - 265/65 17 these are psgr construction & we use them for everyday stuff (& if the family wants to do a day trip to the nearby snow covered hills to throw snowballs at their dad) but I also have the STs - 245/70 17 - they are noisy (look at the tread pattern) but effective & use them for off road excursions. In terms of the width difference, it really is negligible - if you are driving in a manner that you notice the difference in width between the two, then you are probably going too hard & will break something. The STs have been excellent for the 5 k I have on them, did need to balance them again though after driving through a thunderstorm near Mungo National Park and taking half of the sand/mud home with me inside the rims - two rims lost some of the lead balancing weights. If you are considering the Sts in 245/70 17 don't let the width difference concern you, just consider what you are using the tyres for as the Sts would not be anywhere near as effective as the ATR on wet bitumen roads.