Hi guys,
I am looking for Cooper STT 165/70-17 tires in Cape Town. I tried some of the tire dealers here in the Southern Cape and that made me decide to go to Cape Town next week to buy my tires from there.
Some of the dealers I visited here promised to come back to me within an hour or so, well hours, then days and now a week has gone by, no callbacks!
Other dealers tried to bully me into buying some other brands which I don't want!
I am just looking for someone who can supply what I am asking for at a reasonable price, is that asking too much? If I had any interest in any other make of tire I would have said so, but I don't.
Anyway, please help me to find some tire dealer in Cape Town who can supply me with 5 or 6 Cooper STT 165/70-17 tires (quantity will depend on package deal price).
Hi Andre,
Understand your frustration - can however understand that garden route dealers may take a while to get hold of stock.
AFAIK Cooper used to be imported by Dunlop tyres. Then rumours went out that Dunlop has stopped importing them. (I think many dealers still believe this is the case, or still try Dunlop for stock).
The new Cooper distributers for the Western Cape is Hi-Q Milnerton. They also supply some Tyrenet outlets and probably other dealers, but at a higher price.
Best bet is to speak to Darryl Koffinas at Hi-Q Milnerton. He would be able sort you out on stock or alternatively arrange stock with a dealer close to you.
You can contact Darryl at 021 552 6012. Their address is 424 Koeberg Road, Milnerton. Bonus is there's a Mike's Kitchen next to them with a good beakfast special while you're having your tyres fitted.
I would advise you to arrange stock before you visit, their stock is distributed between branches and may take a while if you don't arrange in advance.
You mentioned 165/70 17 - should it not be 265/70 17 ??
I Had my STT's fitted by them about 7000km ago(265/75/16 and happy with them so far. Noise doesn't bother me, but some may be bothered. Had a chunk of rubber missing after virtually 300 km of tar road and a gentle sand outing. This was hopefully just a moulding defect and tyres seems to be doing fine.
Understand your frustration - can however understand that garden route dealers may take a while to get hold of stock.
AFAIK Cooper used to be imported by Dunlop tyres. Then rumours went out that Dunlop has stopped importing them. (I think many dealers still believe this is the case, or still try Dunlop for stock).
The new Cooper distributers for the Western Cape is Hi-Q Milnerton. They also supply some Tyrenet outlets and probably other dealers, but at a higher price.
Best bet is to speak to Darryl Koffinas at Hi-Q Milnerton. He would be able sort you out on stock or alternatively arrange stock with a dealer close to you.
You can contact Darryl at 021 552 6012. Their address is 424 Koeberg Road, Milnerton. Bonus is there's a Mike's Kitchen next to them with a good beakfast special while you're having your tyres fitted.
I would advise you to arrange stock before you visit, their stock is distributed between branches and may take a while if you don't arrange in advance.
You mentioned 165/70 17 - should it not be 265/70 17 ??
I Had my STT's fitted by them about 7000km ago(265/75/16 and happy with them so far. Noise doesn't bother me, but some may be bothered. Had a chunk of rubber missing after virtually 300 km of tar road and a gentle sand outing. This was hopefully just a moulding defect and tyres seems to be doing fine.
I had STT's on my previous vehicle and had the same problem with disturbingly big chunks coming off the corners in places. I got the tyres 2nd hand (but with 95% tread) and just assumed that the previous owner did some extreme rocky tracks. I had Cooper S/T's on before and got a good 80000km on them when a 6000km trip through Namibia got the best of them. A interesting thing of Rear tyre chipping shown on the Australian Cooper promotional Dvd is that it is actually the stones being flicked up from the front tyres that damage the rear tyres. Hence you mostly find chipping at the rear.
On my Hilux the noise did not matter, because it was generally very noisy in the cab. It made the old SFA Hilux unstoppable, so I loved them.
On my Hilux the noise did not matter, because it was generally very noisy in the cab. It made the old SFA Hilux unstoppable, so I loved them.
I got a good price from a guy called Stoffel(in CPT) some time ago(082 775 0084)
Just a word of caution: do take note of the low speed rating on the ST's(approx 130km/h if I remember correctly) I know its slightly higher on the STT's
I lost the complete outer tread of a ST fitted on my V6 Colt,(with serious cosmetic damage) and also noticed a Pajero at the salvage yard that rolled with a ST...minus the tread!
Make sure your insurance wont mind you fitting tyres with a lower speed rating than the vehicles top speed, but more importantly, make sure you stick to the tyre's speed rating!
Just a word of caution: do take note of the low speed rating on the ST's(approx 130km/h if I remember correctly) I know its slightly higher on the STT's
I lost the complete outer tread of a ST fitted on my V6 Colt,(with serious cosmetic damage) and also noticed a Pajero at the salvage yard that rolled with a ST...minus the tread!
Make sure your insurance wont mind you fitting tyres with a lower speed rating than the vehicles top speed, but more importantly, make sure you stick to the tyre's speed rating!
Hi Wessel, thank you very much. I bought 6 new SST's from Hi-Q in Milnerton. Will be in Cape Town later this week and then I can collect my tires. I hope to fit them before the weekend so that I can try them out.
I also want to thank all the others who replied, thanks guys.
Will post pictures when they are on...
I also want to thank all the others who replied, thanks guys.
Will post pictures when they are on...
I fitted the new 265/70-17 Cooper SST's today. Once fitted I checked for any problems, but they fitted like glove. I calculated the on road pressures, then inflated the front tires to 2.9 Bar and the rears to 3 Bar (included a screenshot of the pressure calculation program results).
I have not been able to test drive the tires today, because I had her on the lift all afternoon laying the cables for the rear and front mounted winches. Will test drive the tires tomorrow.
One thing I noticed driving home was that the tires are quite noisy on tar roads, but since I do 80% dirt thats not an issue for me.
I have not been able to test drive the tires today, because I had her on the lift all afternoon laying the cables for the rear and front mounted winches. Will test drive the tires tomorrow.
One thing I noticed driving home was that the tires are quite noisy on tar roads, but since I do 80% dirt thats not an issue for me.
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Thanks for these posts!
Im interested in how you calculated the pressures for the different conditions? Does it factor in the loading on the vehicle?
Also, could you send a pic of the front tyres at full steering wheel lock (left and right)? Id like to see the clearance with the front of the wheel arch.
Quite excited to see that the bigger tyres fit!
How does the drive differ ? Acceleration, gear changes and torque converter lockup at around 120km/h?
Im interested in how you calculated the pressures for the different conditions? Does it factor in the loading on the vehicle?
Also, could you send a pic of the front tyres at full steering wheel lock (left and right)? Id like to see the clearance with the front of the wheel arch.
Quite excited to see that the bigger tyres fit!
How does the drive differ ? Acceleration, gear changes and torque converter lockup at around 120km/h?
Karl
A very interesting Saturday to say the least. Left home at 6AM to test the new tires and suspension mods. From Oudtshoorn we took the tar road to Lovain where we took the old Voortrekker road (grading 3-4) over the mountain to where it rejoins the tar between Knysna and George. From George we came back to Oudtshoorn over the Montague pass and the dirt road past the Oudtshoorn experimental farm, thereby avoiding that dreaded old black top. Ok, this is not a trip report, so lets talk about the tires:
Today we did about 80km on tar road at speeds of up to 130km/h. The tires are noisy, no let me rephrase, they are very-very noisy on tar roads. Between 45 up to 60km/h they are at their worst, kicking up such a racket that you can barely hear the 3.2 purring under the bonnet.
On the road at a cruise speed of 120km/h I can feel that these tires are a little bit looser. The steering is much lighter and in the turns you are slowed down dramatically compared to the old tires. What is do notice is that the 10km/h difference between the GPS speed and the speedo has now been reduced to less than 2Km/h. Comfort, ja-well even at the much higher pressures compared to the standard tires the ride is amazingly soft. But then that noise drones into the cab and you have to raise your voice if you want to tell the passenger anything.
At last we get to Lovain and the dirt roads. The old voortrekker road over the mountain and the section through the forrest have caused some issues on a pervious trip with the Pajero still in standard trim. Today with the 50mm lift and the tires that are 17mm higher its an animal of a different kind. Traction control kicked in only twice in some axle twisters, but never because of the tires actually spinning. These SST's bite into the dirt like crazy. In a rocky section they also perform well above any of my expectations. For this first time since I bought the Pajero I feel that I can tackle a grade 5 route with confidants. Perviously I felt that grade 4 was the limit to where I could safely push the Pajero without doing any damage to her or the track, but this suspension lift and these new tires did the trick!
Then its back onto that dreaded tar road for 37km through George. Just outside of George we are back onto dirt roads. The Montague pass is beautiful usual, but this is not a test ground for tires and suspension. At Herold we cross the N9 onto the dirt road that leads to Oudtshoorn. On this road I engage the cruise control at 110km/h and for testing purposes I decide to leave the stability control engaged. The tires once again come into their own as the stability control never try to fight me for control. We could just as well have been on a tar road with road tires! I drive onto the middle man with both sets of wheels with the "tracks" underneath the Pajero like I do in places like Namibia where you have to try to avoid those dreaded corrugations or destroy your ride and still she feels rock solid.
Well, we did 428km and we mixed it up as well as we could. Other people may disagree, but my personal feelings about these tires are:
They are NOT built for tar road use. If that was where my vehicle would spend most of its time the tires would have been up for sale with immediate effect.
The tires are noisy, no doubt about that. They complain like crazy on tar and on hard packed dirt. The smoother the road surface the worse it gets, But, when you encounter sand, gravel or any other loose stuff that noise is turned into bite and a big time bite that is.
Off-road they are some of the best I have had in my 28 years of 4x4. I am very-very impressed with them for the purpose that I bought them for.
Cool factor: I have to mention this, because they do look very cool and they do stand out. In fact that look can make you buy them irrespective of any of their disadvantages.
The only good thing I can say about the on road noise is that it should be ideal to drown out the Swambo's voice when she gets verbal diarrhea because of something you did or did not do!
Today we did about 80km on tar road at speeds of up to 130km/h. The tires are noisy, no let me rephrase, they are very-very noisy on tar roads. Between 45 up to 60km/h they are at their worst, kicking up such a racket that you can barely hear the 3.2 purring under the bonnet.
On the road at a cruise speed of 120km/h I can feel that these tires are a little bit looser. The steering is much lighter and in the turns you are slowed down dramatically compared to the old tires. What is do notice is that the 10km/h difference between the GPS speed and the speedo has now been reduced to less than 2Km/h. Comfort, ja-well even at the much higher pressures compared to the standard tires the ride is amazingly soft. But then that noise drones into the cab and you have to raise your voice if you want to tell the passenger anything.
At last we get to Lovain and the dirt roads. The old voortrekker road over the mountain and the section through the forrest have caused some issues on a pervious trip with the Pajero still in standard trim. Today with the 50mm lift and the tires that are 17mm higher its an animal of a different kind. Traction control kicked in only twice in some axle twisters, but never because of the tires actually spinning. These SST's bite into the dirt like crazy. In a rocky section they also perform well above any of my expectations. For this first time since I bought the Pajero I feel that I can tackle a grade 5 route with confidants. Perviously I felt that grade 4 was the limit to where I could safely push the Pajero without doing any damage to her or the track, but this suspension lift and these new tires did the trick!
Then its back onto that dreaded tar road for 37km through George. Just outside of George we are back onto dirt roads. The Montague pass is beautiful usual, but this is not a test ground for tires and suspension. At Herold we cross the N9 onto the dirt road that leads to Oudtshoorn. On this road I engage the cruise control at 110km/h and for testing purposes I decide to leave the stability control engaged. The tires once again come into their own as the stability control never try to fight me for control. We could just as well have been on a tar road with road tires! I drive onto the middle man with both sets of wheels with the "tracks" underneath the Pajero like I do in places like Namibia where you have to try to avoid those dreaded corrugations or destroy your ride and still she feels rock solid.
Well, we did 428km and we mixed it up as well as we could. Other people may disagree, but my personal feelings about these tires are:
They are NOT built for tar road use. If that was where my vehicle would spend most of its time the tires would have been up for sale with immediate effect.
The tires are noisy, no doubt about that. They complain like crazy on tar and on hard packed dirt. The smoother the road surface the worse it gets, But, when you encounter sand, gravel or any other loose stuff that noise is turned into bite and a big time bite that is.
Off-road they are some of the best I have had in my 28 years of 4x4. I am very-very impressed with them for the purpose that I bought them for.
Cool factor: I have to mention this, because they do look very cool and they do stand out. In fact that look can make you buy them irrespective of any of their disadvantages.
The only good thing I can say about the on road noise is that it should be ideal to drown out the Swambo's voice when she gets verbal diarrhea because of something you did or did not do!
Thanks for some good feedback Andre.
Does Cooper have some less hectic off road tyres? More like 50/50 tar/off road?
Does Cooper have some less hectic off road tyres? More like 50/50 tar/off road?
Yes they do have a all terrain tire that also looks great. The tires are called the Discoverer S/T MAXX http://ca.coopertire.com/Tires/Light-Truck.aspx
They also have the same sidewall "tread" as seen on the SST tire. They will be less noisy, but should perform very well off road. Personally I would say that these will be in the 50/50 class.
A milder option would be the Discoverer S/T. These have normal smooth sidewalls, but still comes with quite an aggressive tread pattern. These I would rate as 60% tar 40% off road.
When I bought my SST's they had all the above in stock and on display.
They also have the same sidewall "tread" as seen on the SST tire. They will be less noisy, but should perform very well off road. Personally I would say that these will be in the 50/50 class.
A milder option would be the Discoverer S/T. These have normal smooth sidewalls, but still comes with quite an aggressive tread pattern. These I would rate as 60% tar 40% off road.
When I bought my SST's they had all the above in stock and on display.