Member Since: 28 Jun 2014
Location: Suffolk
Posts: 94
Cooper ST-Maxx review
After spending the best part of a year researching and deliberating tyres in preparation for the removal of my Goodyear Duratracs, I eventually settled on the Cooper ST-Maxx.
I found the feedback on this forum very helpful in making my choice, so I thought it's only right to feedback what I have learnt.
What I needed from a tyre:
- All terrain capability
- Mud terrain biased tread to cope with the occasional foray into more severe terrain, without being a full on MT.
- Long life span, hard wearing.
- Puncture resistance (or as much as one can expect from a tyre)
- Reliable and predictable performance for 4x4R duties.
- Good wet and snow performance.
- Noise levels did not need to be perfectly quiet. Just low enough that I can't hear them over the radio.
- Tyres will be exposed to road, mud, rocks, sand, snow in all seasons. Used 80% on road, 20% off road.
- Something for all occasions as I move more into expeditions / overlanding.
50 000 miles on the Duratracs:
- Cost: Just over £1000 in 2013. Size: 255/55 R19. Changed at 50k miles.
- Quiet for the first 35k miles, intrusive drone from 35k - 50k miles
- Never got stuck but I did feel the car slip around more off road from 40k miles onwards.
- Felt a little floaty at highway speeds after around 35k miles.
- 1 tyre radpidly deflated at 70mph. Side wall bulged and the tyre was written off. Oddly when the garage pumped it up to 40 PSI we couldn't get any air to escape after throwing it around a bit. We never did work out why it went flat so quickly.
- Smooth to start with but I could feel a roughness through the wheel at 40k miles onwards.
- Tyre experienced some minor cutting and chunking.
- Good in the snow but not perfect.
The ST-Maxx so far....
- Cost: Just over £1000 Sept 2019. Size: 265/60 R18.
- 2000 miles covered in a variety of terrain not including snow or sand yet.
- Yet to get stuck (we won't count a 4x4R training day where I drove it into a rather soft mud pit for recovery practice. I high centred. It was all for training purposes.....honest!)
- Low level droning at highway speeds. Can't hear it over the radio.
- Smooth feel and feedback through the steering wheel.
- Very good road manners, even in the wet. The Disco3 isn't exactly light, and pushing it around a round about in heavy rain should show up any slippage but I've yet to feel these tyres break free.
- Can't comment on wear rate but I am expecting around 50k like the Duratrac
- No evidence of cutting or chunking from off road use.
- Fuel economy has taken a hit by around 2 - 3 mpg. Currently seeing ~21mpg on the avg fuel counter (but I do also have a full D44 steel guard setup underneith, a FR roof rack, draw system, recovery gear, tools and other small additions. It's getting quite weighty).
Conclusion:
- If I wasn't doing 4x4R and planning to off road more, I would opt for something less aggressive such as the Cooper Discoverer AT3 or similar.
- Given how I use the vehicle, the Duratracs did their job well but I feel that the ST-Maxx does it better.
- Despite the drawback of increased fuel consumption, noise and cost depending on what size you get, I would take the ST-Maxx over the Duratrac for my purposes.
Picture of me 'testing' my new tyres...
30th Oct 2019 4:11 pm
Stumog
Member Since: 24 Mar 2018
Location: Bristol
Posts: 171
Best all round tyres I have ever had. Mine are 285 75 16.
Cant remember when they were fitted though so cant say mileage.
Do have a few chips missing
Only negative is the amount of small stones that stick in the tred
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