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Ron at the testing track.
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Deep in the Heart of Texas - Cooper Tires
Deep in the heart of Texas, in the good ol’ USA, in the semi desert country south of San Antonio (where Davie Crocket and Jim Bowie died fighting the Mexicans at The Alamo) you’ll find the high wire enclosure of the Tire and Vehicle Test Centre (TVTC), Cooper Tires restricted and well set up tyre test arena.
We scaled the wall there recently to bring back a story for 4x4 Australia magazine about the latest tyre Cooper is introducing to Australia.
The Cooper STT features what they call ARMOR-TEK3 as part of the tyre carcass’ construction. The tyre is constructed of two radial polyester plies made from 1500 denier cord and one angled polyester body ply made from 1000 denier cord. This angled ply carcass construction is called Armor-Tek3 technology and it’s unique to Cooper.
There’s also a new tread design, which employs a combination of features including a super traction, computer-designed, non-directional tread, deep sidewall lugs and an integral stone ejector rib. Each row of the new STT’s aggressive tread blocks are strategically siped to squeeze the water out from under the tyre on hard wet surfaces.
Importantly for Australian uses, the new STT has a specially developed tread compound that helps resist the cutting and chipping commonly experienced on our outback roads.
The new STT will be available in a full range of 16, 17 and 18-inch rim diameter sizes.
We spent most of our time in a range of Jeeps and a brand new F150, all running for the time we were there, the new Cooper Discoverer STT. The Jeeps we thrashed through the 4WD test track, giving them curry in and over all the test sections. In fact, I was so boisterous in one of the rock gardens one of the Jeeps, with both front and rear lockers engaged, spat a rear axle! The tyres though for all the grief, just showed some scuff marks.
The Australian challenge with its outback tracks still awaits the tyre but after being behind the scenes and discovering the effort that has gone into this new rubber, I’m pretty confidant that it’s going to be a winner. It may even swing me away from the Cooper ST’s or the Mickey Thompson FC-11, I currently run.
Want to learn more about Cooper Tires, then check out their web site: www.coopertires.com.au/
See you in the bush.Ron and Viv.
