Cooper Tires ?

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Guy's,

Anybody have any expierence with Cooper Commercial tires?

I'm looking at the Roadmaster RM 185HH  which are All Position Ribbed in 315/80R/22.5 at 20 ply

http://www.coopertire.com/html/products/tires_commercial.aspx?page=roadmaster_rm185HH&search=bySize&twtd=315&artw=80&rd=22.5

Thanks
Nick-

[luvrbus]

Nick, I checked with my friend at Arrow Stages Lines he said that was a good tire with a good price they are using them as replacements now hope this helps that is all I know about the tire but if it is good enough for his high dollar buses I see no reason not to buy it.
He is not one to jeopardize safety to save a few bucks



good luck

Nick he called back and said for you to check your wheel width they will work on a  8 1/4 inch wide but recommend a 9 inch for full benefit what ever that is has to do wide ride and foot print I guess

[Jeremy]

Not wishing to hijack Nick's thread, but I'd be interested to hear opinions on the wisdom of using tyres with this type of tread on the drive axles of our buses. Fine for highway use, but what about 'off tarmac' in campsites etc?

I bought some new tyres last year and eventually got ones with a ribbed tread because they were significantly cheaper than the block-treaded ones they were replacing - but I was never sure that I'd done the right thing and live in fear of getting stuck somewhere.

As well as grip, what about fuel economy and quietness - any noticeable difference between the two types?

Jeremy

[TomC]

Most all buses will use all position or steering tires all around-mainly for the quietness of the tires and the fact that most buses don't have enough power to be able to spin the tires with the high gearing (like buses with 6-71N or 8V-71N with 4 spd manuals).  Now with higher horsepower engines (like 8V-92TA, Series 60, etc) with Allison automatics, it is possible to spin out.  I know Sean likes open shoulder traction tires even though they do hum a but at highway speeds.  If you do alot of off roading in soft and muddy situations, an open should drive tire (the type with the tread pattern on the edge of the tire) would work.  I'm personally going to go with either the Michelin XDN2 or Michelin XDA3 (which is a closed shoulder tire with smooth tire on the edge, but traction pattern in the middle of the tire) since they are highway traction tires.  The XDN2 is the best tire made now for snow and water traction-and is a very long lasting tire-albeit also the most expensive at around $550.00 each.  Cooper tires are just fine.  Good Luck, TomC

[Sean]

Nick,

The FET on those is going to be sky-high.  Unless you really need the load capacity, or just want to run 10psi lower pressure for ride comfort, you might consider going with 12R22.5.  Usually a cheaper tire to start with, but also a much lower FET.

Also, I don't know if your particular coach was equipped with 315's from the factory or not, but you should check to see if you have 8.25" or 9" rims.  9" is the preferred riim for all 315's, and some tire manufacturers require it.  (The 12R's can go on either rim, and 11R's generally require the 8.25".)

FWIW.

-Sean

[luvrbus]

Funny Tom you say Michelins are the best made that is the brand he is replacing with Coopers to many sidewall failures for him and no warranty support according to him not me.
Just like he told me a 7000.00 charter and you spend 1000 bucks for 2 new tires on the drivers because when one goes it takes out the other and I can see his point with a 180 buses to buy tires for.  



good luck

[Busted Knuckle]

When I was trucking I had no luck with Michelins! They were almost always the tire on a new truck when purchased, but #1 I had too many problems from bad wear patterns to blowouts and even 2 tread separations, and every time Michelin found some reason lame excuse not to warranty them!
#2 they were so dad gum expensive and had the shortest tread life of any tire I ever bought!

I finally got fed up and when I bought a new truck the first thing I did was have the Michelins taken off and had different tires put on before I would sign the papers! I had one truck that I went thru three sets of steer tires on b4 100,000 miles and each time I had to shell out the $ for replacements and turn in a claim to Michelin for reimbursement (which as I said they always stalled forever and then weaseled out of anyway!)

My tire of choice for the trucks finally became Bridgestones or Coopers. Bridgestones on the tractors and Coopers (or what ever was cheap and available @ time needed > usually middle of the night in a truck stop or tire shop!) on the trailers.

FWIW  BK  

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Guy's,

Here is the low down on the tires...

Here is what they quoted me, 4 tires, picked up at my shop, mounted w/ new stems, and delivered back to my shop. $1528.66

As a matter of fact, they are here right now to pick them up!

Gotta go for now
Nick-

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

OK,

These tires are for my drive position.

Sean, all my rims are 9" and all the other tires are 315/80R/22.5 so I will stick with them.

Being 20 ply, I understand they will be a littel hard but, not much harder then the front 18 ply Firestone FS400's.

I usually run only 100 psi anyway and the tires have held up well there.

Thanks guy's
Nick-

[Busted Knuckle]

Pick up and delivery even? Wow, I'm impressed!

Oh and by the way Nick I don't know if you've noticed or not but we un's down here in TN is hav'n a Bus Nut Rally soon.

http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=12698.0

And I see baby got new shoes, sounds like a good trip to break them in on! Should we add y'all to the list?
  BK 

[Slow Rider]

I called the local tire shop here for a price on the same tire, 451.30 each (fet included) but another 25.00 each for mounting and an additional 25.00 if you want them balanced and that is if I take the bus to their shop.   

I can't wait to get away from the DC area.

Frank

[Sean]

Being 20 ply, I understand they will be a littel hard but, not much harder then the front 18 ply Firestone FS400's.

Just so everyone is clear, "PR" or "Ply" nowadays is a "Ply rating," which corresponds directly to Load Range.  It has nothing whatsoever to do with the actual number of plies in the tire.  Modern truck tires have at most five or six actual plies, many only four.

Ply ratings were introduced decades ago when tire technology moved away from cotton plies.  In those days, tires were compared by the actual number of plies.  When technology changed and tires no longer contained cotton plies, manufacturers needed a way for customers to compare the new tires to the old ones, and so the concept of "Ply Rating" was introduced.  Ply rating has essentially been completely superseded today by "Load Range," which is expressed as a single letter.  However, "old hands" who can't seem to get away from the old language continue to use it, and manufacturers continue to assign them for that reason.

Today's ply rating only describes the load capacity of the tire.  The only reason a 20PR would ride harder than an 18PR is because it is a heavier-duty tire.  However, the load and inflation tables call for lower air pressure in the higher-rated tire for a given load, so, in reality, higher-rated tires will ride softer than lower ones, when properly inflated.

Which is a good point:  You are all inflating your tires according to the load tables, right?  Don't guess.

Nick, if I were in your shoes, I'd weigh the axles, and unless I needed the heavier tires, I would go with the 12R22.5.  I went through this myself over the last few years, switching the coach to 9" rims and trying the 315's on the theory that they'd give a softer ride, and, more importantly, with the lower air pressure more flotation in soft surfaces.  What I discovered was that I was just throwing money away; between original price and FET, I was paying at least a $100-$150 premium per tire for the larger size, with no measurable improvement in ride or handling.  In fact, the 315's made it very hard to steer the coach at low speeds -- it took a lot more muscle to turn the wheel at a standstill.  I'm now back on the 12R's and much happier, plus I kept more money in my pocket.

JMO, FWIW, and YMMV.

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Pick up and delivery even? Wow, I'm impressed!

Oh and by the way Nick I don't know if you've noticed or not but we un's down here in TN is hav'n a Bus Nut Rally soon.

http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=12698.0

And I see baby got new shoes, sounds like a good trip to break them in on! Should we add y'all to the list?
  BK 

Hi Bryce,

It hasn't been such a great profit year so far so, that limits my trips.. "Bummer" but, look for me next march when we have the seminars..

Thanks for the invite
Nick-

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Sean,

Thanks for all the information you provided!

It's a big help.
Nick-

[WEC4104]

Nick:

I am pretty familiar with Cooper Tire, here in the U.S.   Their headquarters (and associated manufacturing plant) are in Ohio.  I've been there several times, along with each of their major plants in Albany, GA; Texarkana, AR; and Tupelo, MS.   All these sites manufacture passenger car and SUV tires.

I believe Cooper stopped producing commercial bus/truck tires at their domestic plants.  So, if it matters to you, the tires you would be buying would be manufactured in their China plant, or somewhere else overseas.  This can of course be confirmed by looking at the DOT stamp on the sidewall and decyphering the alpha plant code.

Wayne