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Cooper STT pro...

Jimbo4x4

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Some will know I've been a lover of the STT since the year dot. Imagine my anguish when I find they have changed the design once again and I now know nothing about them. The last change must've been 11 or 12 years ago now, and I admit that change was for the better, they were just as good off road yet streets ahead for on road traction. However i believe this change is purely to reduce road noise and I don't know what adverse effects this brings.

My question is, does anyone have experience of both the late model STT and the new STT pro and can compare for me? I'll be looking for a new set of muds soon..

Thanks in advance, Jim.
 
I understood the pro to be an alternative choice to be sold as well as rather than instead of .
 
Tom brought some and loves them. He is in indo surfing at the moment so he may not reply.
 
Now on my third set of STT's. I've been using them for many years now and I recently bought the third set as I thought, like Jim, that the Pro's were being introduced for road noise reduction and the old ones could soon be retired. Will be good if they stay in production.
I did have a stray into BFG's but the road grip couldn't compare with the STT's so I swapped back, BFG's were good in the mud but no better than the STT's I think.
 
4x4tyres.co.uk have them listed in the right sizes still, but currently out of stock. Can't find the two most popular sizes listed anywhere else now (265&285/75R16), just the newer "pro" model. I could go for the narrower 235/85R16 which gives a similar height to the 265, might look a little silly my 16x8 steels though..
 
Adding OWL to search might help .

I got my last lot on ebay they came from Germany and i still saved a few quid over the best price i could find online at the time .
 
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4x4tyres.co.uk have them listed in the right sizes still, but currently out of stock. Can't find the two most popular sizes listed anywhere else now (265&285/75R16), just the newer "pro" model. I could go for the narrower 235/85R16 which gives a similar height to the 265, might look a little silly my 16x8 steels though..
I am tossing up about coopers in an all terrain (90% sealed road use) or the next one up for some traction. Biggest issue for me is the noise. anyone got some experience as to rough track/rocks grip as compared to a road pattern noise wise and will they (road pattern) grip in these conditions?
Pic perth.
 
Hi Pic, I am running Cooper Discoverer STT at present and although there is a little more road noise, I am surprised at how little more there is. I have a set of road tyres and intended swapping back and forth but TBH the road ones have been sat in the garage for most of the year. The extra grip from the STTs off road really is the difference between getting stuck and getting traction. They are wearing pretty well too but it's early days yet.
Hope this helps. I run probably 95% tarmac if not more.
 
Another vote for cooper stt . I do 90% on road but nothing deters me off road and the trucks tuned to abuse tyres wherever it is , i believe coopers are the better tire rivaled only by bfg for a highly rated aggressive tread tyre . Cooper stick better BFG last longer - but we are talking years from both .

Never heard road noise complaints about either .
 
I could never make the Cooper STT work for me, they always seemed to "slick up" in any mud conditions, even when aired down. It was almost as if the 80 was too heavy for them. Shame because the road manners and price really are on the right side of things.

Recently I was offroading with a mate who has a LWB Nissan Patrol (very similar to the 80 in weight, size, wheelbase etc) - He was wearing ø35" Goodies BFG, it was surprising how little advantage I had with the Maxxis Trepadors - it was only really aggressive mud or grass hill climbs that made the difference yet the BFG's must be 99% better on the road.
 
What pressures are you running in the Treps Roger?
 
I tend to run them at 30psi on the road Tommy and around 18psi off road.
 
Try running them at 30 psi off road. I keep saying that airing down off road is a mistake. Rock crawling, sand and rock desert are different, but airing down big tyres off road does not give a floatation effect. It just stops the tyres working properly.

I tested this at Lincomb one year where I could not cross one particular obstacle aired down. I returned to road pressures and went up in one. Give it a go.
 
I agree Chris - my 4x4 ownership has predominantly been because of trialling over the decades - I see it all the time, people air down for the sake of it and not really understanding what they are doing it for - I air down as when I feel the need to.

For instance, the site this weekend was very rocky - air down was necessary for traction (compliance of the tyre over some quite harsh steps) and comfort! - with the pleasant side effect of giving the bushes a slightly easier life.

Going back to the STT's - I tried them at all pressures - just could not make them work for me.
 
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Roger, I have the same tyre and frankly I would not describe them as being particularly good. I think the best description would be 'widely available'. Other than that I didn't find them that good in mud. On damp roads I find they tend to break away without warning and are moderately noisy. Also having not done too many miles, I think they're looking as though wear isn't that good either.

I couldn't get the tyres I wanted at the time.
 
Try running them at 30 psi off road. I keep saying that airing down off road is a mistake. Rock crawling, sand and rock desert are different, but airing down big tyres off road does not give a floatation effect. It just stops the tyres working properly.

I tested this at Lincomb one year where I could not cross one particular obstacle aired down. I returned to road pressures and went up in one. Give it a go.

I agree too Chris. I do a lot of grass and surface mud tracks and the only time I experimented with airing down, I found myself side slipping on wet grass after a muddy section.

That's with 305 bfg muds and it wasn't nice at all.

Back up to 32lbs pressure, they spun the mud out nicely and gripped the grass better.

I run them high on asphalt too, usually close to 40lbs, they roll easier, quieter and I'm sure the grip is optimal.
 
I got bogged down in a soggy field when shooting on the farm once, airing down the tyres a bit got me unstuck, do it can help in some situations
 
Not saying that airing down isn't a valid technique Andy, just that it seems to be the default setting for people coming off roading. Sometimes the car par at a pay and play is packed with vehicles all hissing before they go out. Tyres need to bite and if they're flat they can't. If I were in an Arctic truck on a glacier id' be running about 5 psi. but I went round Lincomb this weekend with my STTs at 45 psi. I never even used a locker.
 
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