New 17" Cooper tires - budget performance?

[wayner]

These just arrived in my garage.

Aside from my grooved slicks, these will be my new track rain tires/longer road trip tires.

Any good? I'll find out and report back this summer.
They are Cooper RS3-S

(The "S" is the important part. STICKY - not to be confused with the all season RS3 version which is a different tire).

$143.00 for 17x275/40
(The smallest size they make is 17" diameter).

[wayner]

side

[rattlsnak]

the latest rage in a good street / track tire has been the new Primewells, but these sound good! What are the treadwear and traction numbers?

[wayner]

They are listed as ultraperformance and have a 300 rating, but I couldn't find other numbers off hand

[ky911sc]

These look similar to old Kuhmo Rs3 tires....I tracked on a 914 with a V8 for 2 years on them. They were not too bad, sucked in the rain or damp.

[wayner]

Here is a picture of my brand new khumo race tires vs. the new cooper performance tire.

[wayner]

Finally back with a Cooper RS3-S report:

I bought the coopers as an inexpensive tire to test fit, realizing that I may have to sell them off if my flare and wheel setup didn't fit.

I also reasoned that they could be my distance street tire for trips, and my rain tire at the track.

WHAT I LIKED
On the street I don't have a single bad thing to say about them. They grip very well, and I am VERY happy with them in the rain!

On the track, I kept pace with boxsters running PS2 s without much effort. Obviously with a rating of 300 I'm not in the running with the R compound guys, but they worked quite well. If you are a serious track driver, you'd want something stickier, but having said that, I was turning some pretty good laps.

They also wear really well for this range of tire.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
One thing that bothers me at the track is that at initial turn-in, the rear seemed to move around a bit before taking a set and sticking quite well. I don't have a reference point of this car so it may be the nature of the beast, or it may be the tires, I don't know.

As a frequent track tire, if I never had to worry about rain, I would likely get something more aggressive in compound, but at this price point and traction level they do well enough. They also let go very progressively.

CONCLUSION:Nicely competent track tire but fantastic street tire!

As a track tire I'm happy, but ready to try something else. Other than price nothing sets them apart.
I want something that I can push harder, but they are great for mainly a street tire that you can take to the track if you wanted to.

As I said, as a street tire I quite like them and don't have anything bad to say about them. They work well on cold days and warm. They work well in the wet and dry. .In the wet I am a huge fan of these.

Given that they did well in my two days of hard track use, they obviously are a much better tire than you need for the street, so as a street tire I'd recommend them highly if they come in your sizes.

[rbogh901]

Originally Posted by wayner

These just arrived in my garage.


Any good? I'll find out and report back this summer.
They are Cooper RS3-S

Thanks Wayner. That was a real long summer I guess.

[wayner]

Life got in the way and I ended up getting a sunburn but I'm back on track

[Hendog]

I'm curious to know if anyone else has run these tires since this post came up years ago. A guy I know has put them on his 4.6 Mustang and really likes the way they stick. I'm reading good reviews on the Cooper RS3-S and would consider a set for street use.

[wayner]

On the street, compare them to a Yokohama S drive

The S drive take few miles to start sticking well. It is a known quantity if you have concerns, but if your shopping price the Cooper RS3-S stood out, but now that they are getting more popular they may not be as good a deal as they once were, which may make the yokohama look better.

Having said that, I have zero complaints with either tire on the street.

Competent is an excellent description

On the track I'd be more choosy but likely be giving up some of the things this tire does on the street.

Way better tire than anything that was available when our cars were new.
(I like their round shoulder profile on our cars)

[Sooner or later]

Not a fan of Cooper in general.

[wayner]

I have to say that I have always viewed coopers as a real budget tire and worried about quality
but I've had this model tire for quite a few years now and none of that seems to be a concern.

I think that these are the byproduct of Cooper having bought Avon tire.
(but if the price was the same as Yokohama just buy that)

[tdw28210]

I've been told by a tire engineer friend that Cooper is making their tires based on older Michelin formulations. I put them on my wife's 5 series wagon and I think they are really good. So much so, I am going to run them on my RSR tribute project. All street, no track.