Cooper S/T Maxx

Submitted: Tuesday, Jul 12, 2011 at 08:11

ThreadID: 87512 Views:12485 Replies:5 FollowUps:6

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donk

Need a new set of tyres shortly for the Patrol (750-16 on split rims) and want something more agressive than a A/T but less than a M/T as i am doing lots of klms at the moment and in the future on steep,winding,wet sealed roads but still want something with a bit of lug

Have stayed away from Coopers previously because of what seems to ba a large amount of negetive feedback on the net regarding the S/T tearing lugs off and slippery in wet weather on sealed roads when partly worn but looked at the new S/T Maxx yeaterday (235/85 16) and it looks something like what i am after

Is anyone using these yet and any thoughts would be appreciated

Regards Don

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Reply By: donk - Tuesday, Jul 12, 2011 at 08:22

Tuesday, Jul 12, 2011 at 08:22

Site Link

Thought i would paste a link in for these

Regards Don

AnswerID: 459716

Reply By: Member Bushy 04(VIC) - Tuesday, Jul 12, 2011 at 08:49

Tuesday, Jul 12, 2011 at 08:49

I am on the second set of cooper ST and they are giving me better tan 90,000k's per set. Previously I would get a max of 30,-40,000k .
They are good on the black top and in the bush.
I have never seen alug torn off any coopers yet, its always my mate's mate had this happen.
Did a big lap last year towing a 1200kg van fully loaded and had no problems at all.

Bushy

AnswerID: 459717

Follow Up By: Mr Pointyhead - Tuesday, Jul 12, 2011 at 09:48

Tuesday, Jul 12, 2011 at 09:48

Unfortunately I have seen Cooper tyres with lugs torn off and heavy chipping. However, in fairness to the tyre I think it comes down a lot to usage. If you spend a lot of time crawling over steep rocky tracks you will naturally damage tyres more than if you are just doing general touring.

FollowupID: 733324

Follow Up By: Member - Tony V (NSW) - Tuesday, Jul 12, 2011 at 11:13

Tuesday, Jul 12, 2011 at 11:13

Donk,

I have a set of Coopers STT with around 70,00kms on them, I also run duelers on the road, as Pointyhead said there are a lot of tyres out there that are chipped and with lugs torn off, not just coopers, in my opinion its to do with laziness where the users will not adjust tyre pressures to suit the conditions.

Spinning 35" tyres on rocks or in mud at road pressures is no substitute for drivers ability and common sense in letting tyre pressures down.

Its the same with road damage where people used to road build to get through, nowadays people just buy larger tyres, then dig bigger holes and deeper ruts. Meanwhile complaining of road closures.

The new Cooper S/T Maxx and Mick ATZ are good intermediate tyres for most conditions.

Enjoy your trip, look forwards to seeing your blog.

FollowupID: 733328

Reply By: Matt H (NSW) - Tuesday, Jul 12, 2011 at 11:50

Tuesday, Jul 12, 2011 at 11:50

Hi Don, I have run 2 sets of coopers (265/75/16 ST's) on my 99 GU Patrol and had nothing but balance issues with both sets on the patrol. I do remember reading forums in relation to this issue, not sure where.

When I was trying to rectify my problem I was told that this was a common issue with patrols and Coopers. Not sure of the truth in this. I have since changed tyre brand and do not seem to have the problem anymore, however 1 experience is not evidence. Apart from this I was happy with the way the tyres held up.

I know that this was not what your question was about but thought you might like to ensure that you won't be troubled by the same experience I had.

regards.
Matt.

AnswerID: 459728

Reply By: steven1175 - Tuesday, Jul 12, 2011 at 20:44

Tuesday, Jul 12, 2011 at 20:44

I have had a set of Cooper ST Maxx for about 8 weeks now and are more than happy with them. Good on the wet black stuff and very good off road. We went up to the Big River when it was wet and they were great.

AnswerID: 459775

Follow Up By: Great Divide Tours - Wednesday, Jul 13, 2011 at 09:21

Wednesday, Jul 13, 2011 at 09:21

I've got a set of Cooper ST Maxx on a 100 series that has just done the Canning and is now at Mitchell Falls in the Kimberley after driving from Sydney, no problems and the driver loves them, please note I am sponsored by Coopers, but hopefully you can trust my word.
Vic Widman

FollowupID: 733425

Follow Up By: olcoolone - Wednesday, Jul 13, 2011 at 10:21

Wednesday, Jul 13, 2011 at 10:21

Sure we trust you Vic...LOL

Looking at the ST Maxx as well for touring and an every day tyre, we are a big fan of Toyo Open Country M/T's and will still use them on remote traveling due to there strength especially in the side walls.

We used Cooper ST/C's and found them to be a good all round tyre with outstanding grip and stability on fast dirt roads but the side walls were very weak and vulnerable to stacking when low pressures were used, we destroyed 3 x 7000 kilometer old ST/C's with in 200 Kilometers of each other in the Northern Simpson.

My question is are they much stronger in the side wall and do they bag out at the bottom of the tyre tread well ( the ST/C bagged out more on the side wall making them exposed to damage).... do the ST Maxx bag the same as a M/T tyres.

What are they like in muddy and rocky conditions and do they wander (move around on the tread) the same as the ST/C on sealed roads.

FollowupID: 733429

Follow Up By: Great Divide Tours - Wednesday, Jul 13, 2011 at 10:43

Wednesday, Jul 13, 2011 at 10:43

Ok, this is what i've found thus far, I have a set of ST Maxx on my 100 series also but only been to Stockton with them last week. They performed great at 16 psi, no excessive bagging, they have the armour tek construction same as the STT so I would not expect them to be soft in the sidewall. The set on the 100 that did the Canning (on my sister's Crusier which incidentlyweighs 4 ton fully loaded) had no problems on the soft sand of the Canning and no punctures or other signs of damage, as mentioned they are in the Kimberley now leading one of my trips, on their way to Mitchell Falls as we type. As for mud and rocks, truth is we havn't experienced that type of terrain on them as yet. At my driver training property though they easily climbed out 40 degree loose slope, most impressive.

Many of my other tour vehicles have used the older STC and apart from some lugs disappearing in places like the High Country we have never staked a sidewall, this includes trips up the Hay river track in the Simpson, you may have been unlucky.
Hope this helps, I'm doing a trip to Arnhem Land via Mt Ive station in 3 weeks, so will know more about the overall performance of the tyre when I return in mid Septmeber.
Vic Widman

FollowupID: 733433

Reply By: swainstm - Wednesday, Jul 20, 2011 at 17:34

Wednesday, Jul 20, 2011 at 17:34

I have just read a tyre review in latest 4wd Action (Issue 167). This was really comparo against a bunch of other AT tyres, and to summaries it, the S/T MAXX did very well in all tests except 1 test and came 2nd overall. However the thing that let it down in a BIG way appeared to be in the Bitumen Braking test where is appears to be done terribly, and come last by a long way and only scored a 1 out of 10. If had got even a mediocre score in the braking test it would have come 1st by a long margin.

In fact, if the test is similar to the previous comparo (and they appear to be exactly the same and the same tyres in the 2 comparos seem to have got similar results suggesting that they can be compared) they did in January (http://www.4wdaction.com.au/articles/tips-and-techniques/44314-tread-wars) which included H/T, AT and MT tyres, the S/T MAXX seems to have even performed significantly worse then even the most aggressive MT tyres.

To highlight my concern with the result, in 100km/h dry bitumen braking test S/T MAXX got 27.2m stopping distance, compared to :-
- entire rest of field being between 21.9m and 25.9m and this includes all the mud terrain tyres.
- even the offroad focused Cooper STT scored significantly better at 25.4m and the old ST much better at a respectable 22.9m.

All of this makes me wonder if this is the real performance of the S/T Maxx or has there been some issue in the testing which gave it an artificially negative performance in this area??

I am drawn to the S/T MAXX because in need something that can handle some challenging 4WDing without bogging down and not chipping on fast, sharp outback roads (which has been a problem for me on the previous Cooper ATRs), and it seems that the S/T MAXX has good chance of performing very well with this. However the reality is the vehicle also has significant duties on the bitumen, including needing to handle my 17yo son driving in on slippery Sydney bitumen roads where braking distances could be critical in the 3 ton truck with bull bar. Of course all tyres are a compromise, and I realise that to get the offroad ability, I am going to have to trade off some onroad ability. However, that comparo scared me a little because the breaking result seems to be so poor against the competition and even against the S/T that cooper seem to be claiming it should outperform.

So this brings me to the question, of what peoples experience on the bitumen with this tyre has been, and if they feel this area of performance is of concern for a vehicle that does have significant component of day to day city and bitumen driving?? Again, I would am not experting it to be up with the Cooper ATR or other more road focused AT, but would hope that it is better or not much worse than the old S/T I assume it will replace.

Cheers
Matthew

AnswerID: 460425