drcook

Anyone have any experience with these (Cooper Tire Zeon RS3S). As far as ride quality, noise, etc.

I am going to have the Nitto NT5G2's I bought last summer replaced. They flat spot terribly. I called Nitto one more time today and their solution was to stick the car up on jackstands if I didn't drive it for a day or 2.

I have never in my life had a tire that would flat spot in a couple days. The customer service rep at Nitto said any tire will flat spot. Of course I told him BS, I could get in my truck which hasn't been out since November and it would drive fine. So a solution to stick the car on jackstands for 2 or 3 days, well he made up my mind for me.

Granted, the tires themselves could be bad, but they have been balanced 3 times, including the last time on a Hunter Road Force machine. If the temperature is in the 50's, I have to put quite a few miles on them before I can go out on the expressway. It feels like I have square tires on.

I am searching through the web for reviews, but the experience of my peers here on the forum is very important.

vette196

I love coopers! I have them on my truck, new performance tire for my Mercury Milan (RS3-G1) and my buddy has the Zeons on his '89 vette.

Good performance, priced well and MADE IN AMERICA!!

drcook

I was on an online chat with Cooper and they recommended the RS3-G1's to me.

QZRBLU

Did they also tell you that they do NOT stand behind their tires? I had a new set of tires installed on a 1990 Jag and the right front tire denigrated at 80mph on I-10. The tires had about 600 miles on them. The company had recalled tires in a different size for delamination of the tread. They would NOT do anything about my tire. I would never trust their tires again.
I recommend BFG G-Force Sport tires for your Vette.
Mick

drcook

The same as Nitto doesn't stand behind theirs. I talked to them again today, and their solution was to put my car up on jack stands for a day or 2, because all tires flat spot in the cold or after a day or two.

I told the guy BS, my truck has sat all winter and the tires are just fine. And that he had made up my mind for me. Never again will I buy or recommend Nittos.

Or that I had 3 bad Goodyears, out of a set of 4 ? Or a set of Kelly's that didn't last. Of the defective Firestone that came new on my wife's 2015 Cruze ?

There are horror stories about them all.

3JsVette

You can take a look at Continentals. They do everything well and usually finish very close to the Michelins in tire tests besides they are reasonably priced. Check out the reviews on Tire Rack.

drcook

Continentals were on the car as part of the purchase deal. When I bought the car, it still had the original Goodyears. 2 of them had chunks taken out of the sidewalls. I should have kept the other 2 for the NCRS folks.

Anyway, Continentals are horrible. They howled so bad on the x-way pavement around here we couldn't stand them. I took them off and sold them to a guy who put them on a Camaro. The noise was so bad, it would drowned out the radio.

84 4+3

Yea, that flat spotting isn't normal... mine gets flat spots after sitting for a month or two but they go away by the time I'm down the block.

The only experience I have with Cooper was on the the truck. For a highway tread they were noisy and didn't track well at all. I've heard their car line is pretty good though.

whitemj1948

I have the Cooper tire on my 89, have had them for 3 years do not have any problem with noise, wet weather performance including snow, yes I drive mine year round. I also have them on my Volvo XC70 cross country, I would not hesitate to recommend them to a friend or anyone else. As far as standing behind their tires, maybe the previous poster's problem is with the retailer. I have never had reason to deal with their warranty program. Bottom line go with what you are comfortable with.

1stVetteFinally

my response from a previous thread about these tires-

1984Z51auto

Eckler's has a plastic product you drive your car over, but they want $270 for the 4 piece set. These things have a shallow ramp and a radius on the bottom so the tire is not sitting on a flat slab. I have no idea if they work (at $270.00 they better!) but, they are the only answer I have seen.

drcook

I have looked at these and agree they would be good for storing the car over winter, but in the last 41 years of having some type of performance vehicle, I have never had tires flat spot in a couple days.

I thought it was moronic for the Nitto customer service rep to tell me to put my car up on jackstands for a couple days.

Don't they (he) understand horror stories get around ? Maybe I will send this thread to his boss.

One time some idiots at a Goodyear Tire Store (a corporate one, now shut down) tried to tell my wife she needed a complete friend end repair and the car had been wrecked and full of mud. He was trying to pull the "a woman doesn't know, let's soak her" routine. I showed up and set him straight and so did my wife.

Little did he know that my dad (retired from Goodyear, was a tire designer) was good friends with the director of consumer relations. I had a little chat with him. I also got a service writer fired for pulling some crap at a car dealership. I had a Bronco that had a bad front bearing. When I went to pick it up, she said nothing was wrong, blah blah blah. I took it straight to one of the other Goodyear stores I dealt with, they put it up on the rack. The wheel was going to fall off. I had it towed right back to the dealership and walked in and sat my a** down in the owner's son's office. I could have owned that place if I had wrecked. They canned her a** for that.

sprink94

Good read...and thanks for sharing. My Dad was a Store Manager and later a district manager for Goodyear in the 50's and 60's. I learned a lot from him about balance, alignment, tire pressure and "Roundness vs Out of Round".

Word to the wise...develop a personal relationship with who ever is taking care of your tires/suspension...your life may depend on it. I have a 2004 S500 that I have always run Michelines on. I bought a set a few years back from COSTCO...had a flat on a trip in the middle of nowhere and had to change a wheel on the road side. I could not break 2: of the 5 lugs loose. MB Road Side assistance couldn't either. Took it in to the shop I use for my 'vette and discovered those 2 lug bolts were stripped...had to be drilled out and the hub re tapped !! Took pics and presented the bill to the manager of my local COSTCO. He brought the Tire Manager in and confronted him with this disaster...got a bunch of BS and FIRED THE SOB right there on the spot. I got a $500 cash card from COSTCO for my trouble but I don't use them anymore...scared the $hit out of me!!

I agree...flat spot after 2 days is BS and unacceptable...worries me because I have Nittos on my 94 convertible....fortunately I have not had that issue. I have occasionally had a vibration in the front end about 90~95...but it's not consistent...makes me wonder if I have compressor condensation water in one of the front tires. I guess if it continues I best break them down and check...better to be safe than sorry.

MatthewMiller

There was something wrong with one or more tires in that set, then. That is not normal for any model of Continental tires that I've ever experienced.

H Watkins

Hey Dave, hope you and your wife are doing well!

Tires are on my immediate shopping list. Was leaning heavily toward the Nitto brand, but not now. So it's between Michelin and Conti.I like the look of my thin spokes, but not the fitment, so I'm going back to my sawblades.

drcook

Hey there H. How are you folks ? How's the new place ?

We are supposed to be getting snow again tomorrow, so no driving the Vette. NTB is putting these on the front rims today and the backs, tomorrow. I take the tires off so they don't have to mess with jacking up the car:

http://us.coopertire.com/tires/cooper-zeon-rs3-g1.aspx

I always purchase road hazard on my tires. I had an all but new set of Goodyear Wranglers on my 2500HD pickup. A truck or something dropped a 5/8" dia bolt and it conveniently fell straight up on some railroad tracks. It punched the cleanest 5/8 dia hole you ever saw right straight through the steel belts. No patching or plugging that one. The road hazard bought me a new tire. The cost on all 4 was less than the cost of 1 new tire.

I don't worry if they stand behind them or not.

H Watkins

Our new home is great. Thanks for asking. Before I commit, I'll check out the Coopers.
We just adopted a new doggy from our local shelter so she occupies our time and attention. She's a mess (in a really good way)!
Sorry to stray from your subject line.

drcook

Not a problem. I am still waiting on that phone call ......

rocco16

The last two sets of Ultra High Performance Summer tires I had on my C4 (Kumho and Bridgestone) would flatspot after sitting for 24 hours. So, I keep the car lifted so the tires are off the ground between drives.
Everything is a compromise.

If I don't want tires that flatspot quickly, I'll buy all-season tires and live with less grip.

drcook

The tires were replaced yesterday. No more Nitto's for me. This was a first time. On the '65 I had, I ran Goodyear Eagle GT's. Same as on the Z28 I had and the 2 5.0 Mustangs. I would leave them sitting all winter long and no flat spots.

I bought the higher end Eagle GT's as I worked for Goodyear Aerospace and/or my dad worked for Goodyear as a tire designer and years ago we got substantial discounts. Not anymore though.

I did notice the Nittos had indentations of concrete texture from sitting. The rubber was really soft. I would expect this in competition tires. But not tires for the street and I absolutely refuse to have to drive 8 to 10 miles out of my way before getting on the X-way which is 2 miles (if that) from my house.

Plus if I leave it sitting in the gravel driveway under the car cover for a day to 2, putting it on jackstands is not the best solution at all. They might be fine for a car down south, but not here in Ohio where I live.