Rediscovered

The new Discoverer S/T combines Cooper's proven tread
design with the latest technical advancements

Way back when, I ran a set of Cooper Discoverers on my Series 60 LandCruiser.  They were a good tyre - no problems in most terrains - but the salient point in the memory is that they lasted forever. They were Cooper Discoverer LT's, but the range has expanded radically since those days.

Now you've the choice of Discoverer A/T (an all-terrain), the H/T (predominantly an on-road 4WD tyre), the STT (biased towards dirt and mud), to name but a few.  The 'newie' is the Cooper Discoverer S/T (Sure Trac); a rather radical tyre.

First, here's a little information on the Cooper company. Established in 1914, Cooper took its name from Ira Cooper, an entrepreneurial gent with a nationwide chain of auto-part stores, who took over the company in the early '20s.  The first involvement with off-road tyres came in WWII, when Cooper supplied the right rubber to the US military.

In 1997, the company bought British firm Avon tyres, giving it a sales gateway to Europe via Avon's existing distributor network.

The 8th largest tyre manufacturer in the world (in contrast to the way many of us think of Cooper as a 'boutique' manufacturer), the company has factories from northern Ohio to way south of the Mason-Dixon Line.  It also turned over US$3.6 billion last year, and is still a US company - only one of two.  Of the original 134 American-owned tyre manufacturers, Firestone is owned by Japan's Bridgestone, BFG has been taken over by France's Michelin, Armstrong is a subsidiary of Italy's Pirelli, and the General marches to the beat of Germany's Continental.  For Statesiders, the list is patriotically depressing.  Only Goodyear joins Cooper on the survivors' podium.

Also significant is that Cooper has not pursued the OE market, preferring to remain purely an aftermarket tyre manufacturer, now sold throughout the world.

So, what's special about the new tyre?  Well, in the parlance of the motor trade, it would appear to have a few 'USPs' (Unique Selling Points).  Many tyres, especially high-performance ones, have 'siping'; tiny cuts in the tread blocks to assist water dispersal.  Usually, they run across the block, but the S/T's sipes are longitudinal, the rationale being to reduce chipping on harsh, gravel roads.

Australian 4WD Monthly
WORDS BY IAN GLOVER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAT CALLINAN