Check your Coopers

[ntp Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close ntp]

But I was told that because they had a previous repair that the warranty would have been void anyway. They did want to find out why the tyre had failed and all I had at that point were photos to show him.

What was the previous repair for? This is a pretty relevant point to the issue. And how long ago was the repair prior to the blow-out?

If these were previously repaired (ie damaged and therefore weakened), and you appear to have got three years use out of them, it was always a possibility that this could've happened. That said, no one wishes a blow-out on anyone as any tyre deflation can be scary, let alone when travelling along at highway speeds.

It would have been helpful to know the actual manufacturing details of the tyre in question. Do you have any other photos of the side of the tyre?

I don't think it is fair to simply say don't trust Coopers in these circumstances. For the record, I don't use and don't prefer Coopers in any event.

[Dueler120 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dueler120]

As I have just put a new second spare tyre on the back wheel carrier I had a chat to the tyre guy today regarding this thread. He basically has said the same thing Bear63 did, that old tyres no matter what brand have been found to do this. Im no tyre expert but I guess everything has a use by date and it makes scence. Still you dont relly expect this to happen but on the same page its also not happening every day. I have Cooper's ST Maxx on mine and the new spare is a BFG. I like my Coopers and have been impressed at the BFG alternative for tread and price. No product is full proof and if a positive can be taken from this, its that the entire tyre did not fail and potentially hurt the occupants.

I would have expected Cooper to at least investigate this failure even if the tyre is out of warranty. You would think that they would be keen to add data to thier knowledge bank to improve against this into the future. Anyhow the main thing is no one got hurt. Thanks for the photos it serves as a reminder to all to check the tyres when you check your oil and coolant. Its why they make us pre start check everything daily at work. Ill be keeping a keen eye on all my tyres no matter what the brand.

Cheers,

[Bear63 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bear63]

This isn't limited to the Cooper brand, any tyre that is over 5 years old since it was made(not bought) is suspect , there is usually no visual signs that a delamination may occur , sometimes when i have spoken to the customer they have been chasing a strange vibration , almost every time they own a vehicle that toddles around in the city for most of the year, they then load up the car , look at the tyres (yeah they look ok plenty of tread), then once they get out on the highway the tyre tread delaminates , Bridgestones, BFG's , Banglops,Kumho's,Michies i have seen them all do it , and every single one has been over 5 years old, they simply perish, i try to educate as many people as i speak to but tyres are a purchase that a lot of people don't like spending money on when they look fine

I should mention that at last count i had changed around 35000 tyres so i have seen the odd flatty

[JoshF Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close JoshF]

interestingly a friend had some Geolanders on his car and slashed a sidewall offroad...tyre was replaced under warranty without question. In fact the dealer noticed it on the back of his car and told him was going to replace it

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

Bear agree with you but if that is what happens then what the hell are they doing selling them in the first place ??? They should be scrapped from the shelf. In other words have a shelf life like our grocery stores do. I would also been hitting them up for the damage to the prado as well. So now not only is he up for excess but also they will up the policy next year as well. Load of crap been taken off road so you void any warranty, what a complete load of shit. I would be nailing those arshole's big time. I would also be placing a sign on the rear of the prado while driving it around till you get it fixed advertising the damage done by shit cooper tyres with a big arrow pointing to the damage then send a photo/tex/email the lot to their head office till they offer some form of $$$ for the damage and the replacement of tyre. I'm not disagreeing with you it happens to other tyres but again if its a know factor then they should not be sold in the first place, that is so dangerous. And if its a known fact then they should be fresh so based on average klms they would be worn well with in the 5 years and also customers should be warned that their tyres will need replacing after 5 years based whih ever comes first, 5 years or warn out.........There lucky its not me I'd be up there arse like a rat up a drain pipeCheers Steve

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

Yep spitfire had one of his replaced as well due to a slashed side wall, again no questions asked.....Cheers Steve

[Bear63 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bear63]

Yeah your right Steve about telling the customers, its something i would do on a daily basis , there have been attempts to put a use buy date on tyres , but that got slammed pretty quick , its the dealers that hold stock for years and really don't care , if i had a tyre that was old or getting to say 4 years old because it couldn't be matched up or a weird size , i would destroy it so it couldn't be used
I recently had a Toyo that was bout in Alice that delaminated , it was over 5 years old , the people had the receipt from the dealer , they went off theirs nuts when i explained to them what they had been sold , but i mad a call to Toyo and they covered it under warranty (which they all should do)
Also look at what the firestone fiasco cost Bridgestone , they should be worried
But try dealing with BFG or Michelin the same way --- forget it

[Dusty74 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dusty74]

I've also got ST Maxx tyres on my rig, and as some of you may have read, I've had issues as well. Three tyres were splitting radially which was picked up while inflating at the end of a day's 4wding. They had done about 4000k's by this stage. Bear might be able to confirm, but my local dealer was calling it "stock folding" and assured me it was cosmetic but would email the Cooper rep. Cooper's, to they're credit, replaced all three tyres without charge, including fitting and balancing. I then had one of the new ones do exactly the same thing, this time I picked it up straight away at around 400k's, due to me keeping a close eye on them. Again it was replaced, fitted and balanced at no cost.
These tyres weren't all the same batch and I've since had no problems. I will add the dealer, and no doubt the Cooper rep, were well aware that I'd used these tyres off road. Also I noticed that both the examples of the delaminating tyres were ST's not ST Maxx's but I certainly take onboard what bear has said about tyre age, not brand being the issue. It stands to reason if every other rubber component on our car wears out/ perishes, than why not [B]rubber[B] tyres!

Cheers,
Dusty

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

DOT Codes and the 6-year shelf life

As part of the DOT code (G in the tyre marking above), there is a tyre manufacture date stamped on the sidewall. Oddly this code is sometimes only one one sidewall so you might need to get under your car and look at the inward-facing side of the tyre. Take a look at yours - there will be a three- or four-digit code. This code denotes when the tyre was manufactured, and as a rule-of-thumb, you should never use tyres more than 6 years old. The rubber in tyres degrades over time, irrespective of whether the tyre is being used or not. When you get a tyre change, if you can, see if the tyre place will allow you to inspect the new tyres first. It's not uncommon for these shops to have stuff in stock which is more than 6 years old. The tyre might look brand new, but it will delaminate or have some other failure within weeks of being put on a vehicle.
Reading the code. The code is pretty simple. The three-digit code was used for tyres manufactured before 2000. So for example 1 7 6 means it was manufactured in the 17th week of 6th year of the decade. In this case it means 1986. For tyres manufactured in the 90's, the same code holds true but there is a little triangle after the DOT code. So for this example, a tyre manufactured in the 17th week of 1996 would have the code 176
After 2000, the code was switched to a 4-digit code. Same rules apply, so for example 3 0 0 3 means the tyre was manufactured in the 30th week of 2003.


Read more: http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html#ixzz2JXq2k1p6

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

http://www.lets-getaway.com/tyre-markings.htm

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

Your pretty write there Bear, just looked up a few websites and all were saying 6 years. I reckon that's why my front ones are out of balance/round due to their age.........Cheers Steve

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

This isn't limited to the Cooper brand, any tyre that is over 5 years old since it was made(not bought) is suspect , there is usually no visual signs that a delamination may occur , sometimes when i have spoken to the customer they have been chasing a strange vibration , almost every time they own a vehicle that toddles around in the city for most of the year, they then load up the car , look at the tyres (yeah they look ok plenty of tread), then once they get out on the highway the tyre tread delaminates , Bridgestones, BFG's , Banglops,Kumho's,Michies i have seen them all do it , and every single one has been over 5 years old, they simply perish, i try to educate as many people as i speak to but tyres are a purchase that a lot of people don't like spending money on when they look fine

I should mention that at last count i had changed around 35000 tyres so i have seen the odd flatty

It seems to be either or a combination of heat and age.
You have seen it on tyres that are over 5 years, I note that, everyone should. (I will throw my tyres away at 3 years if they ever lasted that long).
I have seen it on tyres not so old 2 yrs even, the delamination had occurred due to heat, cooking the tyres.
Load, speed, low pressure........ Makes the heat to kill it.

[Madkore Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Madkore]

Good points - its just a bit disappointing when you spend big $$$'s on 4wd tyres.

So which tyre brand do you run Bear? And do you stock Coopers?

Might have to make a trip down to Port Denison when I need tyres.

[Hendo66 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hendo66]

40Psi! What does manufacturer say Toyota & Cooper to run the tyres at, seems high for everyday use? With out knowing age of the tyres it's wrong to make judgement on Cooper. I have just replaced my 7 yo Coopers as I think they are getting too old. OP says they were 3 years old when put on? We're they new, used?
Hendo66

[yowie Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close yowie]

Hendo66,

Have run my tyres (Bridgestone, Coopers, Dunlop) at 40 psi over the last 20 years for town and country driving, more for carrying loads and less off road. Remember that the larger 4WDs are heavier than general vehicles, and some of the 4WD tyres are rated up to 60/65 psi by the manufacturer.