Cooper ST's - 255/85/16

[jim65wagon]

You're obviously doing it correctly. I have heard of similar high mileage from BFG ATs, but have also been told that BFG changed the rubber compound (a year or so ago?) and that people aren't getting the same mileage out of them as was common before. I would not be surprised if this is simply hearsay from a dealer that doesn't sell/like BFG, but I also think many drivers want more miles and more traction out of the same set of tires than is chemically possible. Add to this a lack of maintenance and careful driving and it’s hard to establish a baseline.

Were the BFG ATs the tires on the Tundra immediately before the STs? Are you going for another set of STs or are you thinking you would like to try something different?

Yes, the BFGs were on the truck right before switching to the Coopers, they were a 265/75r16 in size. I put them on in December of 2003. I've heard of people only getting 20some thousand out of the ATs and others getting into the 60s and 70s. I don't think the Coopers will quite reach the AT's longevity but for the increased traction in mud I would have been happy with 40,000. I'd love to try out the Toyo MTs, but I will very very likely buy another set of Coopers, they're just an excellent all around tire, a true All Terrain.

 

[Redline]

If you don't mind the noise they make (and obviously you don't) the longevity you have proved possible with Cooper ST is impressive. The traction is certainly better than a BFG AT in most wet conditions because of the higher void ratio. And the Cooper STs are much less expensive that the Toyo MTs you mentioned. The Toyos are certainly more rugged, but they are much stiffer and I would wager they offer less traction in many circumstances when a more flexible tire like the ST grips better than a less conforming tire.

Going for another set in 255/85?

Did you have the STs rebalanced regularly? Did someone else rotate them or did you and at what interval?

 

[jim65wagon]

If you don't mind the noise they make (and obviously you don't) the longevity you have proved possible with Cooper STs is impressive. The traction is certainly better than a BFG AT in most difficult conditions because of the higher void ratio. And the Cooper STs are much less expensive that the Toyo MTs you mentioned. The Toyos are certainly more rugged, but they are much stiffer and I would wager they offer less traction in many circumstances when a more flexible tire like the ST grips better than a less conforming tire.

Going for another set in 255/85?

Did you have the STs rebalanced regularly? Did someone else rotate them or did you and at what interval?

Nah, the noise is no problem; I'm about half deaf anyways...

Definitely going with the 255/85s again, I think it's a great size for the Tundra and it limits our choices in tires so we don't have to think so long about new shoes.

Balanced? Um, yeah, believe it or not they've only been balanced one time, 40,000 miles ago! They still feel round, no major vibrations, so I never bothered.

Rotations are another story, usually done every 5000 miles, sometime every 3000, depending on wear, and mood. I've always crossed the front ones to the back (drivers side front to passenger side rear) and rolled the back ones straight forward (drivers side rear to drivers side front). I do this with every vehicle I've owned and have no problems. I've been told by more knowledgable people this was the wrong pattern for a 4x4 (and a FWD car) but I do what works, if it didn't work, I'd try something else.

I'm the only person who has ever rotated the tires, changed the oil, trans fluid, radiator fluid etc on this truck. The only thing I've ever had to have someone else do is the timing belt, alignment and someone to mount new tires on the rims. But then again, I've got the time, tools and ability to maintain our vehicles.

Yeah, new Cooper STs that's what I want. They've proven effective in every situation and they're cheaper than the Toyos....Thanks James.

 

[Redline]

While there are other rotation patterns that work, and any tire rotation is much better than none, for the last 12-years I've used the same rotation pattern for my trucks; fronts crossed to the rear, rears forward. It has worked very well for me. My owner's manual for my F350 is not at hand but I'm certain this is one of the suggested patterns listed. It is also listed as the primary rotation pattern for rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive vehicles on The Tire Rack's website (linked below).

For front-wheel-drive cars the suggested rotation pattern is different; rears crossed to the front, fronts to the rear, essentially the reverse of what you are doing with your Tundra.

Regarding balance... My STs only have a few miles on them currently but they did balance with little weight and they are not a heavy tire. It is certainly possible that they won't need much rebalancing. I purchased my STs as "carry out", a cash sale with no future service or warranty included. If the STs need periodic balancing, or just to keep them perfectly balanced, I'm considering adding the Dyna Beads to them like AShooter did for his new Toyo MTs.


http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=43

 

[ashooter]

...I'm considering adding the Dyna Beads to them like AShooter did for his new Toyo MTs.

So far so good with the Dyna-Beads, but I probably have less than 2500 miles on these tires with the beads so far. Also, it's kind of hard to be really sure if the beads are working perfectly because the pavement out here is kinda "wobbly" from a lot of heavy truck traffic. I will say that on the 2 or 3 occasions where I was on really smooth pavement, the truck was riding VERY smoothly at 70-75 mph though. Also, I'm not seeing any uneven wear on the treads yet either.

 

[Desertdude]

I put on approx. 10K miles on the set of Cooper ST tires I had on my '04 Tacoma - they really seem to wear quite well. I did not have a chance to measure the actual rubber. Mostly highway miles... The Tacoma is a bit on the heavy side.

I did have issue with the steel wheels not being able to keep them balanced and found the front tires wearing unevenly. I eventually sold the truck so I was not too worried about longevity at that point.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Wow, I think I'm actually doing much better than that with my ST/C's. I would have to estimate they're only 10-20% worn.

 

[soonenough]

Wow, I think I'm actually doing much better than that with my ST/C's. I would have to estimate they're only 10-20% worn.

How many miles have you put on them so far?

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Duh, thought I had put that in there. I think I've got something approaching 20,000km on them.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I recently tried to purchase a set of S/T's for a trailer up here in Canada, and I'm told they're discontinued. Is this really the case? I'm surprised.

 

[Redline]

I sure hope not. I talked to my local independent Cooper dealer this week about the STs and he mentioned nothing about this, though he didn't make any phone calls to confirm availability.

I'm giving some thought to buying another set of ST treads, but in the LT285/75R16 size. I'm considering both the regular tread compound and the chip/cut resistant ST/C like you have. The ST/C treads are much more expensive; my price $182.00 vs. $148.00 for the regular ST compound in 285/75R16. Interestingly, the less popular Cooper STs in 255/85 are $10.00 more at $158.00 each.

In my mind 285s are wide for both my preference and the '06 4Runner, though the sidewalls are not nearly as exposed (tread width to section width ratio) on the Cooper ST 285s as on the 255s. As noted elsewhere in this thread, the Cooper ST and Dean SXT MT in 255/85R16 have close to a typical section width but a very narrow tread width. Only 7.2-inches of tread instead of the more common 7.5-8-inches for a 255/85.

Cooper ST 255/85R16 Wear Report:

I just did some quick calculations on my 255/85R16 STs this morning. They have 10,000-miles on them and are down to 15/32" from the original 18/32". If the tires continue to wear at the same rate of 3,333 miles per 1/32" of tread, they would be down to their minimum legal tread of 2/32" after reaching 53,000-miles. This is not hard to believe but Jim is getting some crazy wear out of his 255/85 STs.

Of note is that the 285/75 STs come with 20/32” of tread ! ☺

 

[4Rescue]

I'm REALLY liking the look of the Cooper SST-C's... My damn no name AT's are wearing like Iron so while I've been "looking" at new tires for about 2 years I really think I'm going to get another year out of these burly babbies.

BUT, if I do get new tires sooner as opposed to later I think I now need to add the Coopers to my short list of intrest:

Cooper STT-C: New to the list, and I'm really liking these. However I'm still on 15's so I decide to go to 16in Rims but...

Dean/whoever - SXT. Available localy and widely in my typica ranging area (the NW and down south but NEVER too far east of the rockies ) Available in my dream 33x9.50 size...

Maxxis Bighorn MT - LOVE these tires but again 255/85/16 so I'd need new rims, but hey, I like new things


BFG AT - Great tires IMO and about as good "All Around" as they come. Buit I hear that I now cannot get the 33x9.50's anymore...

Cheers

Dave

 

[Redline]

Are you considering/referring to the Copper STT - it is a very different tread and design than the 'in-between' design of the ST. I think it is more rugged, and certainly offers more void, and it is more easily compared to other M/T treads than the "ST".

Agreed on the Maxxis Bighorn in 255/85, I'm going to mount my Bighorns later today for a 'snow run' tomorrow, but we have another thread for the Bighonrs .

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I might as well give a little update. My S/T-C are still wearing like iron, but I haven't measured them. I think I've got about 15,000 km on them, and they are just wearing past the chamfer on the stud holes.

Also, I did recovery duties for a rally up north, which meant blasting through the snow and ice covered rally stages as fast as I could. I was surprised by how much traction I had given the conditions. The rally drivers were complaining about how slippery it was, and it was... but I always had some control. (keep in mind I'm an ice racing champ so I know how to drive on this stuff). It almost seemed like the S/T-C's entered a different mode of traction. Instead of trying to have soft rubber gripping the ice, I think I had so much pressure on the hard rubber tread of the 245's that the tread blocks were mechanically biting in. It was all pretty surprising.

There were a couple scary moments and my co-driver screamed like a school girl twice, but we never really went off the road. I did put one side into the ditch throwing snow everywhere, but was able to power out.

Later at night when temps dropped the ice got harder. I had to pull a Subaru out of a mountain stage, and I had trouble even getting him going up a 20% grade. There were times when I'd give up pulling, step on the brakes, and the truck would just slide down the ice backwards for a few feet. I had no traction and the only way I could get the car out of the shallow ditch it was in was yanking it a bit.

Mind you, in the same conditions my father and I tried to drive some ATV's up a steep icy hill, and then did our best curling stone impression doing an uncontrolled 4 wheel spinning slide back down. Good times.

 

[jim65wagon]

Just a quick update here....I'm currently in shopping mode for a new set of Coopers. Yes, I like them that much. My current ones are just a tad under 50,000 miles and still have about 6/32s left. When I find an affordable set of replacements I'll fill in exactly how much tread is left at how many miles of wear. Finding a set locally (which I originally wanted to do) is going to be tough to do affordably. I've got one quote for 190 per tire, mounted and balanced. Shopping around for tires is always fun though; I hope to have a new set by the end of the month.