Split walls on Cooper ST Maxx

[areyonga]

In September last year I put on six 285/70/R17 Cooper ST Maxx on my 200 Series, with two spares on the back. Since then I have covered only 17,000km and have rotated the tyres several times.
Coming east over the Simpson towing a trailer a month or two ago, I dropped pressures to 16/19 hot and kept an eye on tyre temperatures, which stayed under 60 degrees. I was not overloaded.
Arriving in Birdsville I found that both rears had split walls around the white lettering. Coopers have offered to replace them. But I am concerned about maybe a bad batch and what about the other four?
A tyre dealer I spoke to said that he was always getting Coopers back with split walls and Coopers just keep replacing them and keep quiet about it. He said there was never a problem with BFGs or Mickey Thompsons.
My last set of the same Cooper tyres were fine, but I did not do any sand work and they never went below 24 psi.
Can anyone tell me whether these Cooper tyres are in the habit of splitting?
Cheers
Keith

Coopers are rarely used in the topend for that reason, they have an aggressive advertising campaign but poor quality in the outback.  A mate put 6 new Coopers on in Sydney to go to the Kimberly and by Alice had shredded 3 of them, he changed all them to another brand to complete the trip with no further troubles.  They would be the last on my list of considerations and are waaaayyyyy overpriced.

[dazzler]

If they were rippling, Dazzler, wouldn't the cracks be axial rather than radial?
Keith

From the inside radiating out whichever that is. So straight lines not a circle around the outside. God that's hard to describe.

Just for context. You may have a crook batch just thinking of other reasons.


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[allan.kidd]

I have now done 30K with ST Maxx - tracks include Anne Beadell, Simpson desert, Abandoned Gunbarrel, Googs track and Connie Sue. These are the best tyres I have had - no issues at all and includes running at pressures less than 20psi in sand.

[KeithB]

Allan
I think they are great tyres too. Can I ask what date is stamped on your tyres?
There will be a two digit number (for the week in the year) followed by the year.
Keith

[nab]

About 4 years ago my Mickey Thompson 4-rib ATs (made in the same factory as Cooper apparently) started to split around the bead after aproximately 15,000km. The MT rep checked it out and replaced all 5 the next week.

According to the rep it wasn't a structural issue as such, the issue was that they put too much wax (or similar) in the tyre mould during construction. The wax was there so the rubber didn't stick to the mould.

May be a similar issue??

[gronk]

Coopers are rarely used in the topend for that reason, they have an aggressive advertising campaign but poor quality in the outback.  A mate put 6 new Coopers on in Sydney to go to the Kimberly and by Alice had shredded 3 of them, he changed all them to another brand to complete the trip with no further troubles.  They would be the last on my list of considerations and are waaaayyyyy overpriced.

As said before, Coopers ( and MT ) are a tyre with plenty of hype,,,but fail to deliver !!!  You blokes with good stories to tell are far outweighed by the bad stories !

[allan.kidd]

Keith - the DOT number is 3112.

As to reliability, there are horror stories about any tyre.

There are many members of the 4WD club I belong to that are using them and I have not heard one complaint.

[Dueller]

I've had the exact same problem with 3 out of my 4 ST MAXX's on the prado. I too went to 2 different Cooper outlets and both told me it was just cosmetic and had no impact on the structure of the tyre. Mine would have been lucky to have done 10,000km before they split around the bead area. To the credit of the tyre its performance since then I haven't had an actual failure at all. I've opted for BFG's on the new tug for price and availability reasons now.

Cheers,
Matt

[Team Evil]

As you say Allan stories about all brands.

While I was outback, I was told some companies were switching to
Coopers as other brands were dying with 12000 km on them.

In the horror stories there is usually a common denominator.

Too much speed, and wrong pressures.

[fishfinder]

some one is now a tyre expert - the knowledge of this person is outstanding

[Team Evil]

Common sense.
Too much speed, and wrong pressures.
Suprising how common sense does not exist in the real world.

[dazzler]

some one is now a tyre expert - the knowledge of this person is outstanding

??

[KeithB]

I went and saw the selling dealer today. My six Cooper ST Maxx each have 11,000km on them. Two are split and the other four will probably follow suit.
Anyhow, the retailer has agreed to buy the six back, four of which are as new, at 7/8 of the original price PROVIDED that I buy a new set of BFG AT's from him.
I agreed and will end up with six new BFGs and be out of pocket just over a thousand bucks. I think he was very fair and a nice bloke to deal with.

[Fathom]

I went and saw the selling dealer today. My six Cooper ST Maxx each have 11,000km on them. Two are split and the other four will probably follow suit.
Anyhow, the retailer has agreed to buy the six back, four of which are as new, at 7/8 of the original price PROVIDED that I buy a new set of BFG AT's from him.
I agreed and will end up with six new BFGs and be out of pocket just over a thousand bucks. I think he was very fair and a nice bloke to deal with.

I might be misunderstanding... Sorry if this is the case.
It seems this bloke sold you dodgy tyres branded Coopers... But he didn't buy them from Coopers? (From an earlier post in this thread of yours)
It just seems the stories of refunds/replacement seem better than what you have been offered? Most above suggest they got the tyre replaced? Not a 7/8th refund.
Although I do believe the cooper warranty is pro rata.?
Either way... It seems oldmate sold you some sort of fake/ grey import? And didn't tell you this initially but sold them to you at genuine prices...
I am not sure I would continue to trust this bloke...  Let alone get more tyres from him. He doesn't seem fair and nice the way I read it.
Again.. Sorry if I am misunderstanding.
Cheers

[Swannie]

The bloke should be paying you for your wasted time dealing with a faulty product

Swannie

[KeithB]

They are genuine Cooper tyres from the Cooper Factory. It's just that someone has imported a container load or two directly from the States, rather than from the Australian Cooper Distributors. This happens all the time with all sorts of products.
I got them at a very good price and the retailer has stood behind them.  It was probably cheaper for him to warrant them himself than to pay a premium by sourcing them from Coopers in Australia.
I am happier going off with a new set of six BFG's than having to worry about continually splitting tyres. I think this retailer was very genuine, gave me an fair shake and I would definitely buy from him again.
The Australian Cooper warranty is pro rata and has all sorts of strings attached.https://www.coopertires.com.au/media/1432/warrantyfaqpage.pdf
Keith

[slydar]

It seems this bloke sold you dodgy tyres branded Coopers...

that's interesting - an rta inspector I know said this was believed to be happening particularly up around the top end - so it sounds like a bad batch of coopers were imported?

[KeithB]

I agree
Keith

[gronk]

- so it sounds like a bad batch of coopers were imported?

Been happening for 10 years !!         

[chillipepperz]

Coopers anyone?

[jr]

Direct imports carry no warranty EXCEPT that under Aus law which is pretty solid. Depends if seller/importer will help you
Dont be fooled direct imported ones are the same as local supplied ones, could be made for lower priced markets or be seconds etc.
Also can be lower ply rating or not LT rated, maybe different compound

Ive been runing cooper ST and ST -C and ST maxx for six sets, never had an issue.
One delaminated after plug repair
averaging ~80,000km plus on each set.
Too expensive but on work Patrols downtime costs more.

Had a few sets of BFG, had to replace them all due to damage to sidewalls

[Chris.]

So 2 years on from the start of this thread, do people still have issues with the S/T Maxx or have Coopers sorted out the splitting problem? I ask because I'm considering a set.

[Big D]

Mine have been faultless on the Triton, including Simpon east to west, Birdsville and Ooodnadatta track high speed, SA Far West Coast, Flinders, plus a stack of 110 km/h highway driving towing a  Camper Trailer.  Not a hint of cracking.  They have done 45ooo kms, still heaps of tread and I trust them enough to go from Adelaide to Cape York OTT and through the Qld national parks including Lakefield in July this year.  They are 245/75r16.  Not had a single puncture yet in all that outback travel. 

[KathyL]

My husband and I have had Cooper ST Maxx 285x70R17 tyres for just over two years on our 4WD and for almost 18 months on our camper trailer.  In that time we've driven approximately 70,000kms and towed the camper trailer approximately 40,000kms - we have the wheels rotated every 10,000kms and have not had any issues except for a slow leak caused by a nail (the leak was reported by our TPMS and the tyre was repaired). 

Over the last year we have travelled almost 40,000 with both the car and the camper trailer - we did a six month trip around Australia (including Fraser Island, Cape York, Gibb River Road and Cape Leveque), a few weeks in Tassie and a Victorian High Country trip (our second on this set of tyres - first was in 2015), and have run tyre pressures ranging from 8PSI to 36PSI.

Based on our 4WD/camper trailer setup and our experience we would have no hesitation in buying Cooper ST Maxx again.

[Jasjul]

Coopers are a funny thing.  I've had 4 or 5 sets and never had a problem over 15 years.  I know people who have had cracking and tread blocks torn off and hate them.  Although no recent issues.  My ST Maxx I did 70,000kms with no issues.  I now have STT  Pro with 25,000kms, no probs.  265/75/16 and mostly High Country work.