Are you gonna get the Yokohama, the Toyo, Pirelli or the Michelins? __*NO*__, I ain't.

Cooper RS3's??? What are those?

Well, I just don't like crowds ... not even abstract ones. I am inherently driven to the stuff that isn't rabidly popular. From what I've seen, the Cooper tires are definitely going to be more quiet with a less stiff, harsh ride then the foreign-made tires I've got (Michelin PS 3+ A/S ZPs.) And ... it doesn't hurt that the Coopers are also rather affordable. A fellow Corvette owner at the High Plains Raceway sold me a new set of wheels for only $400! So now I don't have to wait until the Michelins are worn out.

I have been looking at the Cooper RS3 tires on CarID.com too often lately. I'm not saying I was slobbering over them, but ... Anyway, they were the same price at Amazon. Today, both of those sources suddenly indicate they are sold out ... just as I was ready to order?!!?!! So I went to ebay, and got them for $50 LESS !! They will be here in a week. I'll have them mounted on the wheels, and balanced. But I will put them on my Corvette, since Dan0523 taught me to wrench on my car myself.

Cooper RS3-S Summer Ultra High Performance ... 'cuz, Murican.

 

I'm happy for you.

 

Coopers suck put a set on the front and could not take them off fast enuff, wandered all over the road like a drunk, replaced them with sumitomos can't say enuff good!

 

My '13 GS came with a new set of the Coopers on it when I bought it 3 years ago. I was fully prepared to hate them but was pleasantly surprised. Handled well, low noise, didn't tramline, good in the rain. I've pulled 1.11 G's with them according to the DIC driving in the mountains. The wear was reasonable. The only downside I found (and others here have posted the same) is the traction is low until they get up to temp. I could easily light up the rears just rolling into the throttle in second gear. That's in decently warm (80's) weather. They seemed to get worse as they got older but I think most tires do.

Anyway, I decided 3 years & 15,000 miles was enough and put Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires on a couple of weeks ago. No noticeable difference in ride or noise. Haven't gotten a chance to really push them yet but hoping to improve on my personal best 1.11 G's this weekend.

 

I have seen few products which have the varied reviews of Cooper tires. For the Corvette, there are apparently the RS3-G1s, RS3-As and RS3-Ss, perhaps others. Corvette tires are not truck tires, but I really like the Coopers on my Silverado. And like many, I'm making an effort to NOT BUY products from countries that have taken criminal advantage of America for so many decades. This includes primarily Japan and China. *** tires did not start out high quality. Manufacturers were given the opportunity to develop their products through government subsidy, tariffs, non-tariff barriers, currency manipulation, product dumping below cost, etc. The only way that Cooper tires will have even a chance to become the best is if WE. BUY. THEM.

edit: I'm a veteran. When I was young I signed what they call "a blank check" to help defend THIS country. I think I can do my part to help that cause now.

 

I love that "get up to temp". 90 degree day get on the highway go 30? 60 miles at highway speed or better. Get out put your hand on the tire, what do you expect 150 degree's? It ain't a racing tire, probably gets hotter sitting in the sun

 

Thank you for your service, doubly so on this Memorial Day weekend.

The Cooper RS3-S is the only one in GS sizes and it's the only one that is a performance tire. The RS3-A & G are all season tires. The RS3-S is also what the OP said he is buying. And for the money it's a surprisingly good tire.

 

Got a good 6 hour drive through the mountains today with the Michelins. Going up the Saluda Grade where I'd done my 1.11 G best with the Coopers I got 1.26 G in only one pass, sure I left something on the table. So yes, there is a substantial difference in performance.

 

That is a very good comparison, and "good data" on the situation. My question is: "Why?" Why are the tires made by the country that landed on the Moon not THE BEST?

And with a degree in Economics, along with a study of history and other relevant areas I think it is this: European and Asian governments spend public funds and arrange industrial policy to support industrial firms. The U.S. government uses taxation and regulations to cripple or destroy American industrial firms. There is nothing inherently better about Asian or European companies or people.

 

Cooper spends approximately zero on promotion and sells their tires as the cheapest on the market. They are not going after being the best. Being the best at anything requires serious R&D budget, something I doubt Cooper has. At one time Goodyear was a dominant force in F1 racing and had very good street tires (the C4 Gatorback's) but at some point they decided it wasn't worth it to stay at the forefront of tire tech. Remember that they probably sell 100 light truck tires for every ultra high performance summer sports tire.

 

Interesting. And yet for the Summer types for Corvettes ... BFGoodrich, Sumitomo, Nitto, Toyo, Hankook, Falken, General and Kumho all have Summer Performance tires which are less expensive than the Cooper RS3-S tires. Also, I doubt that most people here own Apple Mac computers like I do. Because unlike their tastes in Cars, many Americans DO NOT prefer the best quality in personal computers regardless of the higher price. Like I said ... Interesting.

I contacted Hoosier Tires and asked about high performance street type tires for my Corvette. A very prompt reply stated that Hoosier does not make a street-legal high performance tire for Corvettes. They recommended looking at Continental tires. Not surprising, seeins' how Continental just bought Hoosier. And also, interesting ... Continental Extreme Contact Sport tires are priced almost exactly the same as Cooper RS3-S tires.

edit:

The Michelin Pilot Sport 3+ All Season tires that are currently on my C6 (and my wife's Mustang GT C/S) say "Made in U.S.A" on them, because a foreign-owned company has a factory in America. And as I mentioned earlier, I am interested in the Cooper tires because they are American. Are they ... really?

I ordered my Cooper RS3-S tires online, and had them shipped to my home. The first pair, for the front, arrived today. And among other things, what does it say on the sidewall?

Made In China.

 

bullshit.....their tires work very well...I've had several sets on cars and trucks and they all were better in every category than oem good/craps.

 

Had 3 sets on my old C6 base coupe. The things I liked about the RS3-S was they were non directional, meaning I could swap sides or flip tire on the rim/wheel. Plus they were great in the heavy rain when new (they have a deep tread block). Downside a Non-Runflat tire.
The OK not great part was track duty. They needed to be scuffed in (at least 1 whole track day with new tires) and heat to provide good grip. Tread wear was ok all so. The RS3-S is has a wear rating of 300.
I can only compare this tire to the Firestone wide oval run flat and non run flat.

FYI from Wiki: In October, 2005, Cooper announced an agreement to obtain 51% ownership in China’s third largest tire manufacturer, Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Passenger Tire Company Ltd., and Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Truck Tire Company Ltd., to produce truck and passenger car tires for mainland Chinese and export markets.

It's a world economy now days.

 

Guy named David offered me a set of wheels when I was at Track Day at High Plains Raceway. Couldn't pass up THIS deal: nicer than what I have, all 4 for only $400!

I talked to a coupla tire places, and they weren't too sure about mounting tires this size ... my regular Service Manager at McCaddon Cadillac said no way could they do it. He said I really should take them to a place that sells Corvettes, or a place that works ONLY on Corvettes. Seems like pretty good advice, actually. So I have a day set at a local Chevy dealer. I made sure to get the TPMS stems, and Dano523 got me started on doing work on my Corvette myself. Changing tires is now no big deal.

 

Century Chevrolet (Denver West side) is not really enthused about the job of simply mounting a set of tires on a set of wheels. And bringing the tires in "loose" without the Corvette (hauled 'em in my Silverado.)

The service manager is also not pleased that I'm putting Cooper tires on a Corvette. Contrary to popular belief, it is apparently not possible to put any brand except Michelins on a Corvette.

And so there is no indication of how long it will take. They will call later today, at their convenience, when the tires are mounted. And I can drive back down to pick them up.

I might start looking at buying my own tire mounting machine ...

 

Just to finish up this thread: I REALLY LIKE my new Cooper tires. Perhaps the Michelin Pilot Sport 3+ A/S tires were worn more than I thought, but these Cooper tires are better in just about every way. The Michelins on the rear are worn out, but the Michelins on the front (the ones that were screaming on the race track) are still perfectly good. The rears were Run Flats, the Fronts are not.

The Cooper RS3-S tires are quiet and smooth riding. Cornering is VERY MUCH BETTER, although I have not yet approached 1 g with them. For only $837 I am very glad I bought them. And the new wheels I bought are better looking than what I already had. Now I need an Alignment ... the steering is a little bit squirrely.







.

 

Can't compare a high performance summer tire to an all season tire. Like comparing steak to chicken.

 

That's a good point. And I've decided that in probly late September or early October ... I'll spring for a pair of Michelin Pilot Sport 3+ A/S for the rear to use in winter. It's nice to have two sets of wheels.

 

I have a set of cooper tires on my 2012 G.S. Corvette and their great. absolutely 0 complaints and the price " discount tire direct" where the best in the country.

 

Of course a matched set of brand new Coopers handles and rides better than a non-matched (fronts non runflat, rears runflat) set of Michelins, one of which was admittedly worn out.