Any informed opinions?
about what?
My favorite way to get the low down is to use the reviews at Tire Rack (http://www.tirerack.com/). Their selection is pretty big so you can find most brands/models with reviews.
For myself, I only remember hating one set of tires in my life, and they were Coopers. It was a long time ago though and I don’t recall the model. They were on a minivan - wore poorly with bad traction all around, and I keep everything (e.g. alignment, pressure, etc) in order.
Cooper Tire has been around for many years. If they made a poor product they wouldn’t have survived this long. They have a web site; Coopertire.com.
At the moment the only tire mfg I’m not happy with is Continental. My experience with Cooper was a set of snows many years ago. They were good tires.
Cooper makes dependable tires…
Cooper got themselves into hot water with NHTSA a few years ago because of their practice of “awling” tires that had bubbles in the inner liner. Employees were issued awls, and were instructed to “pop” any bubbles that they saw in the inner liner of the tire. As you can surmise, this is not a sound manufacturing practice, as pertains to safety. The outcome of this situation was that Cooper had to promise to “cease and desist” this practice henceforth.
That being said, Cooper tires are a decent value in the marketplace. They are usually reasonably priced, and while they are never at the top of the ratings, they are not usually at the bottom of the ratings either. Essentially, they make mid-rated tires for a price that equates with that type of rating. If you are not an “enthusiast” driver who makes extreme demands on his tires, they should be fine.
I have a great independent tire shop that handles Cooper tires, among other brands. I have used them on a 1990 Ford Aerostar, a 2000 Ford Windstar, a 1993 Oldsmobile 88 and I think I bought them for a 1988 Taurus that I used to own. I had good results. I replaced the tires on our 2003 Toyota 4Runner and was going to have Coooper tires mounted on the vehicle, but my wife was along and thought we should be Michelin tires. Since the 4Runner his her baby, we bought the Michelin tires–the tire dealer said that the Michelin would run a little quieter than the Cooper tires.
Another entry-level tire you might consider is “Prime Well”. They are sold buy Firestone outlets and give good service. As for the Cooper brand, I drove with them on my Mazda pickup for seven years and they did not show any wear. As with any tire, keep them rotated and balanced. Check the air pressure monthly.
They make decent tires. No real stars but decent is fine for majority of drivers.
I find them to be EXCELLENT tires…especially their truck tires. I’m now on my 5th set of Cooper Discover HT’s. Had two sets on my Pathfinder and now my third set on my 4-runner.
I’ve had the Michelin Cross Terrain and the Coopers are as good or better in almost every category…EXCEPT longevity. The Michelin’s last about 70k and the best I can get out of the Coopers is 60k miles…HOWEVER the Michelin’s cost about 40% MORE then the Coopers.
I’ve had Cooper tires. The cornering, wet weather, and winter traction were excellent, the tracking and noise level were good, but I was dissatified with the wear. Mine were Z speed rated, but I’ve gotten better wear from other Z speed rated tires I’ve had.
I chose to replace them with Hankooks and have been extremely happy with the Hancooks. I just put on another set. The ride, road noise level, and tracking are all superior to the Coopers that I had, and the cornering, wet weather and winter traction are all very good.
But checking out Tirerack as well as 1010tires are good recommendations. Both have good consumer rating sections. My input is a sample of one, not a good sample size.
Were they the Cooper HT ot HT plus that you had on? Some people say that the HT is poor in rain and snow. We live in South Dakpta, so a good tire is important.
The November issue of Consumer Reports has a section on tires. It’s on sale now.
Both…I’m currently running the HT plus. Never had a problem in snow or rain with either…