Cooper vs Nitto

wayoflife said:
So nice that you let your daughter drive your Jeep at the mall. If you let her take it out on a real trail, there's no way those tires would have held up :cheesy:
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:cheesy: That was a run to the local Buckle store. You should see her trips to the makeup place! WIcked curbs there :crazyeyes:


Edit: And ditto on the no pull with the Coopers. Interestingly I'm running 35" Nitto Ridge Grapplers on my JL and there is no pull on them either.
 
As has been noted earlier in the thread I've run both... Love my Nitto's..

Maybe if you end up with the 37X 13.5 and load E you won't have the sidewall issue I had...
Although looking at it the 35's also are load E from what I can see so who knows?

There's enough people that wheel hard here to justify getting the STT's if you want them... Eddie, Casey and a whole host of others.

See how they work for you
 
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HighwayTrout said:
Do the coopers tend to have the same radial pull the Nittos have?

I need new tires too
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So far zero pull for me and I’m just past 35k on my set. However, they are getting a bit harder to balance but that may also be due in part to my wheels so it may have little to do with the tires. Just something to note.
 
Nitto is made by Toyo. Both are really tough casings. If you put them and the Coopers side by side you can feel the difference in the sidewall. So as far as sidewall strength goes I would give Toyo the edge. They are a little notorious for pull. Usually to the right. Traction wise I would give the edge to the Coopers. They flex a little more and a better tread design and molded siping so they should grab a little better on the slick rocks. A sharp stick or rock can/will puncture pretty much any of them. Some just have worse luck than others I think. I have never run the SST PRO personally but have almost everything else Cooper made at some point. All good tires overall. The old EXT was one of my favorites in mud. They used to make them in a 31x13.50-15 super popular on Toyota’s back up in the 90’s. It will be interesting to see what happens to pricing and availability with Milestar going after some market share. Those things are popping up everywhere. [emoji16] lol! I still think Toyo has the strongest casing though. Well built tires.


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Exodus Jeeps said:
I sell and install a LOT of Nitto Trail Grapplers and never have issues with them. I’ve run them in all sizes in the past and never once had an issue with them. I have run the Coopers in 37’s before and didn’t have any issues with them. That being said, I have personally seen sidewall failure on STT Pros and I’ve wondered the same thing. I guess if you aren’t comfortable with the choices, stick with what you know works for you.
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Thanks... Have you seen an unusually high number of unexplained failures or could you attribute them to poor choices on behalf of the driver?



fiend said:
See Post 19390

Talk to Don and Jake about their experience. Jerry is currently running them, so talk to him too.

Toyo makes a 37x13.50
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That recent post is what made me ask this question. I had almost convinced myself that the failures were on 35s and 40s bypassing 37s. I've considered Toyo as well due to your experience with them.


Seahawkfan said:
How about this to put your mind at ease.
In a nutshell, if a tire that is covered by Discount Tire's “Certificate for Repair, Refund or Replacement” fails for any reason – whether it's due to a factory defect or a non-repairable road hazard and still has legal tread (3/32nds of an inch) remaining across the tire, and it has been in use for less than 3 years,
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The certs don't do shit when you're out on the trail unless Discount Tire delivers by drone now.


wayoflife said:
Obviously, I don't do a whole lot of wheeling let alone anything hard but I now have about 30,000 miles on the 37x13.50 STT Pros that I've been running on our JL. As I'm sure you've seen, I've had all kinds of problems with them. Same goes for the 40's I run on Moby and the 37's and then 40's I ran on Rubicat.
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Obviously your high regard of the Coopers, video, and real life proof since I've been with you in person is a big reason I'm even considering them at all.

Trying to overlook at least 4 cases of sidewall failure or at least a better explanation of what I've personally seen is tough, though. If they had come out and admitted a manufacturing defect that was corrected would be a lot easier for me to swallow.



TrailHunter said:
The Coopers seem to be better in Snow, Weight, Cost and Gripping the Rocks. I’m guessing it’s a softer, lighter tire than the Nitto because of the rubber compound and a slightly thinner sidewall... which allows for more flex and traction.

But lets talk about the Elephant in the Room.... You’re buying NEW tires!!? [emoji23]
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Other than not making 13.5, this is the thing that has me looking. I love the Trail Grapplers when it's dry.

I figure it's time. This is my 2nd set of used tires... Other upgrades were more important at the time. Just think, I'll have new tires before you install your lift. 😂


Ddays said:
I've never run the Nitto Trail Graps but I've had my Coopers for 3 years now. If memory serves me, the 12.50 width is load class C, but the 13.50 width is load class E, so the sidewalls are different on the widths. I regularly run 8-10 psi in mine and have had no problems in sharp rocks. In fact, they've held up remarkably well.

My daughter tried to pinch the shit out of them a couple years ago...

View attachment 326063
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I was thinking that may be the case until I saw the recent post with the torn 37.



Clearskies said:
As has been noted earlier in the thread I've run both... Love my Nitto's..

Maybe if you end up with the 37X 13.5 and load E you won't have the sidewall issue I had...
Although looking at it the 35's also are load E from what I can see so who knows?

There's enough people that wheel hard here to justify getting the STT's if you want them... Eddie, Casey and a whole host of others.

See how they work for you
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As you know, I'm very familiar with your issues. I've never seen a toothpick destroy a tire before. 🙄



A.J. said:
Nitto is made by Toyo. Both are really tough casings. If you put them and the Coopers side by side you can feel the difference in the sidewall. So as far as sidewall strength goes I would give Toyo the edge. They are a little notorious for pull. Usually to the right. Traction wise I would give the edge to the Coopers. They flex a little more and a better tread design and molded siping so they should grab a little better on the slick rocks. A sharp stick or rock can/will puncture pretty much any of them. Some just have worse luck than others I think. I have never run the SST PRO personally but have almost everything else Cooper made at some point. All good tires overall. The old EXT was one of my favorites in mud. They used to make them in a 31x13.50-15 super popular on Toyota’s back up in the 90’s. It will be interesting to see what happens to pricing and availability with Milestar going after some market share. Those things are popping up everywhere. [emoji16] lol! I still think Toyo has the strongest casing though. Well built tires.
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I don't notice the pull since I installed the hydro, so it doesn't bug me. The sidewalls are almost bulletproof and the tread life has been amazing on the Nittos.


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Build Thread - Adventures of Fiona - https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=47407
 
BaddestCross said:
Thanks... Have you seen an unusually high number of unexplained failures or could you attribute them to poor choices on behalf of the driver?
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It may have been poor choices by the driver but I wasn’t spotting him so I can’t say for sure. Now on the same run I had other guys running STT Pros and did NOT have failures.


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BaddestCross said:
Obviously your high regard of the Coopers, video, and real life proof since I've been with you in person is a big reason I'm even considering them at all.

Trying to overlook at least 4 cases of sidewall failure or at least a better explanation of what I've personally seen is tough, though. If they had come out and admitted a manufacturing defect that was corrected would be a lot easier for me to swallow.
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How long ago were the failures you've seen? Have you heard of any since? I don't have a direct line with Cooper and so I couldn't tell you if they had problems in the past but NONE of the friends I know who have been or are still running STT Pros have had any. :idontknow:
 
wayoflife said:
How long ago were the failures you've seen? Have you heard of any since? I don't have a direct line with Cooper and so I couldn't tell you if they had problems in the past but NONE of the friends I know who have been or are still running STT Pros have had any. :idontknow:
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A year or two maybe? Like I said, I want to believe it was a bad run and a one-time deal. It was 3 35s and one 37 or 40 (not positive which) all in a short span - like a month or two - when the guys purchased them which would lead me to believe it was a possible defect in manufacturing that they solved since it appears that the majority of folks here that run them haven't had a bad experience.

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Build Thread - Adventures of Fiona - https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=47407
 
I think it’s fair to say that just about every tire is prone to sidewall failures especially given the fact that a lot of us play in some harsh environments. Reports of coopers failing can be found right next to the posts about the Nittos failing as well. JLX saw failures from Nitto as has members here where they got a little too touchy with a creosote bush. That’s why we carry spares and tire plug kits. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with just how well they work and not at all disappointed. I chose my coopers based on what I’ve seen from the WAYALIFE channel. Few people wheel as consistently and have as many trail miles as Eddie and Cindy hands down. Rubicat, Moby and their JL have put to rest any concerns I may have had about the durability of the coopers.
Give them a shot. If you hate them Nitto ain’t going anywhere.
 
RESURECTIONJK said:
I think it’s fair to say that just about every tire is prone to sidewall failures especially given the fact that a lot of us play in some harsh environments. Reports of coopers failing can be found right next to the posts about the Nittos failing as well. JLX saw failures from Nitto as has members here where they got a little too touchy with a creosote bush. That’s why we carry spares and tire plug kits. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with just how well they work and not at all disappointed. I chose my coopers based on what I’ve seen from the WAYALIFE channel. Few people wheel as consistently and have as many trail miles as Eddie and Cindy hands down. Rubicat, Moby and their JL have put to rest any concerns I may have had about the durability of the coopers.
Give them a shot. If you hate them Nitto ain’t going anywhere.
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No tire is safe from creosote bushes. I've seen pencil sized creosote sticks stab through 11R22.5 Load range H semi tire side walls. You'll never see me intentionally put my tires in one. They are natures spike strips. When I was being taught how to drive our fire engine for mobile attack, I was told that if you have to drive over one to take it down the center of the truck not with with the tires. Also never back up or drive the opposite way back over it.
 
Red Knight15 said:
Took a bad angle and hit a sharp tree stump snag. Stupid on my part.


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Clearskies said:
I think you're exactly right about the pinch rupture. Also if you notice, the rock has a bit of a knife edge at exactly the right/wrong angle... I was running about 9lbs of pressure and the rock ring saved the wheels. All in all, even though it cost about $600 bucks it was a good experience.


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Those are hardly cooper specific issues in those two posts that account for three of the failures.

I’ve seen multiple Nitto failures and had a share of my own (3 and counting). This is not including the blowouts I’ve personally witnessed on company trucks that destroyed the bedsides and did thousands in damage to which Nitto said they couldn’t prove it was an issue with their tire. It was clearly an issue with their tire. You can find issues with anything you want.


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Thanks guys... It's definitely fair to say that any tire will blow out under the right circumstances. My opinion of Cooper was based on several that went at about the same time so I got spooked. It could all have been happenstance and bad luck.

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Build Thread - Adventures of Fiona - https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=47407
 
IMG_6658.jpg
If i can nail a jagged rock hard enough to break the end off and jam into my bead, without it slashing the sidewall, I think you’ll be fine lol

You can even see the white mark where it drug along the sidewall

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I’ve had a new set of Coopers on Brute since last Nov...during EJS, I aired down to 10 psi on a Sat morning...ran seven trails, ran in and out of town and to the trailheads (some pretty far away) and didn’t air up until the following Sat evening a week later...no problems...not to mention a 2400 mile round trip to Moab from Seattle. I thought the traction on the rocks was excellent. Also did a round trip to Jean, Nevada from Seattle in January & 130 miles in the desert (some of it with you behind me...sometimes driving or being towed).

I got no complaints...
 
Brute said:
I’ve had a new set of Coopers on Brute since last Nov...during EJS, I aired down to 10 psi on a Sat morning...ran seven trails, ran in and out of town and to the trailheads (some pretty far away) and didn’t air up until the following Sat evening a week later...no problems...not to mention a 2400 mile round trip to Moab from Seattle. I thought the traction on the rocks was excellent. Also did a round trip to Jean, Nevada from Seattle in January & 130 miles in the desert (some of it with you behind me...sometimes driving or being towed).

I got no complaints...
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I tried to cruise around all week in Moab without airing up from 8 psi. I couldn’t even maintain 50 mph.

Coopers 1, Toyos 0?

Or hemi 1, 3.8 0?

[emoji848]🤣


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