Founded: 1914
Founder: J. Schaefer, C. Hart
Headquarters: Findlay, Ohio, USA
Website: https://us.coopertire.com/
Copper Tire & Rubber Company is amongst the most important car tires manufacturer in America. They have a lot of subsidiaries not just in America, but also across the world. It’s quite likely that a tire you bought recently has been created in part by Cooper, even if it doesn’t say so anywhere.
Who owns Cooper tires? Here’s a pickle: Cooper is a big company and a big brand, but they are, in turn, also owned by Goodyear. This huge enterprise is ruled by different American companies on many levels of control.
Naturally, Cooper has their own line of tires, and that’s what this article is largely about – their brand. The collection isn’t as rich, surprisingly. Still, you can find a few options for every type of tire. Moreover, they aren’t exactly homogenous when it comes to price and quality.
Who makes Cooper tires? The majority of Cooper tires are manufactured by Cooper, but they don’t really have the amount of facilities to make that many tires, so it’s safe to assume Goodyear helps them with their own manufacturing sites.
Cooper tires vary in several characteristics, but they are all pretty similar. They are either pretty soft or very hard. Moreover, there are only pricy and cheap tires, no happy medium. In other qualities, they are very much alike, although sometimes a new peculiarity sneaks in, because Cooper likes to experiment ever so slightly.
Firstly, Cooper tires have good traction. Some heavy tires can be challenging, especially if they are also hard, but they still behave well, even if a little awkwardly. The only real issue they got is pure ice. They hold onto it, but you have to be cautious while driving over it with these on. They can slip and lose control if you aren’t focused.
How good are Cooper tires? Cooper generally has a reputation of making good tires, but they aren’t flawless. In fact, they got several very prominent problems. Overall, they are good, yes.
Where are Cooper tires made? Cooper-made tires are assembled on one of the 10 manufacturing facilities. The majority is located in America, a bit fewer – in Asia. A few are also in South America and Europe.
Some of them are very cumbersome, but it’s not the only convenience-oriented issue. A lot of them are also pretty noisy (and not just the heavy ones). The sound escalates especially during acceleration, but the range of speeds in question is unique for every car.
As for durability, Cooper tires are pretty confident in this department. Obvious, the exact mileage can be different: people drive differently, and some Coopers are just more enduring (like the off-road variants).
The usual mileage is about 75,000 km, actually. If regular Cooper tires are still alive by this time, they are going to be completely bald quite soon. That’s a good result. Moreover, for the charged price (about $80 for standard passenger tires), they are decently cost-effective.
It means you’ll be using them for several years (obviously not as much if you chose one of the many all-season tires they offer). You can probably find more cost-effective tires, but Cooper is guaranteed to give you about 70,000 km, while less-known brands pose risk.
Overall, Cooper tires are a good deal, but buying costlier Coopers doesn’t really improve your chances or comfort. They are pretty similar in their decency when it comes to comfort and effectiveness when it comes to actually driving across various roads. Buying them would be reasonable.
