New 18" tire on the market

[nwoods]

I haven't tried these out personally, but I will be soon as an experiment (got a nice deal on them). Anyway, the Cooper Zeon LTZ is now available in "light truck" sizes similar to my beloved Nitto Terra Grapplers. 286/60/18 - Discount Tire is the only place carrying them currently (as a special order item) but retail is only $160/tire, which is pretty darn good.

Sadly, not available in 19" rim sizes yet, though I spoke to the MFR and they agreed that there appears to be a market.

Cooper is a pretty major producer of tires around the world, locally, they manufacture ProComp, Mickey Thompson and ...one other off road brand that I can't recall.

 

[duckdive]

Nathan, I see a set of your sliders in the background there. I have GOT to get a
pair of those. Just a few more pennies to save before pulling trigger.

 

[nwoods]

Yeah, we had a booth at the National Rally last week. Sold quite a few sliders. All of our stock in fact! Sadly, the last pair sold to a guy who had just bent his door. Sigh....

 

[dugedug]

ProComp, Mickey Thompson and ...one other off road brand that I can't recall.

**** Cepek maybe?

These look like they may have potential...

 

[nwoods]

**** Cepek maybe?

These look like they may have potential...

Yeah! That's the one I was forgetting. **** Cepek, Mickey Thompson, ProComp, and of course Cooper Tires.

As for potential, we will see. Have to confirm the load rating, stiffness, handling, and sidewall puncture resistance. The www.OffRoving.com group that is out on the Great Divide right now (along with jbiriam from this forum) are testing the tires for Cooper. Should get some preliminary results in a week or so.

 

[jimbiram]

Hi all, just on way back to CA from Great Divide Challenge using the new Cooper Zeon LTZ tires. They were fantastic! Good traction on slippery rock, strong on the sharp, broken shale/rock of Pearl Pass, and yet ride was quite good from LA to Ouray and back. One person on the trip had taken his Nittos off and replaced with the Cooper and he could not stop talking about how impressive the Cooper's perfomed, and that he wasn't going to put his Nittos back on.

I bought 18" rims for my tires, and put my 19" with Synchrones in storage. Going to be tough decision on whether to go back to the 19's. The Coopers are a squishier ride than the 19 Synchrones, but they are still very comfortable for the long road trip as well as around town. Can't wait to try them in snow this winter.

Adam blew a hole somehow in his sidewall on Poughkipse during the rally, which was almost impassible, so we did not tackle that as some of us did not have rock sliders or bottom protection.

It was a great trip, with only one night/morning of rain, and that was the last day.

So "Hurray" for the Cooper Zeon LTZ's

Jim

 

[umbertob]

Jim, would love to see some pictures of your trip, if you have any. I am still monumentally p*ssed that "family duties" kept me from attending both National Rally and Great Divide events. Sounds like you guys had a great time, it's always fun when Spiker is involved.

 

[schafari]

Just say these at Discount Tire. They look extremely well designed and built. Impressive tire on the rack. . . Makes me think about trading out my 19's. . .

 

[bgsntth]

What do folks think of this tire in the 275/45-20? Not a rock crawling tire per se, but I really only need traction on dry/wet crushed granite (Coastal Central CA) and the occasional ski trip.

This is almost the same diameter as the OE 18" and would presumably weigh less than the 285/60-18 when matched with a 20" set of Redbourne wheels. Anyone confirm?

My wife is dead set on an RRS, so this combo would have purpose when I turn in the LR3 in 23 months.

 

[jzk]

Yeah, we had a booth at the National Rally last week. Sold quite a few sliders. All of our stock in fact! Sadly, the last pair sold to a guy who had just bent his door. Sigh....

And just who might that be?

I defy you to find the dent in the door just above my brand new set of sliders...

(when we put the plastic trim piece back on, it turns out that the dent is completely behind it and not visible whatsoever. How lucky is that?