Freelander 1 Cooper tyres ??????????????

Hi all you good folk..
I recently fitted Goodyear wrangler tyres to my FL 1... basically they are total cr$p off road in ANY conditions.

Anyway, I can exchange them for Cooper AT tyres - (195 - 80 - 15) - They look great and I believe are part of what was the AVON tyre group ?

Any good or bad remarks ?

Main use has changed now (due to 'other' car for 'normal use') - (FL is now a wanderer vehicle not main use - so limited motorway)- now about 50 : 50 off road and on road - off road is virtually always dry conditions. (Portugal - fairly warm - bit wet in winter for 3 months - no snow or freeze !)

Many thanks

Joe

I used to swear by Cooper discoverer AT tyres on my Ford Maverick. They went everywhere I wanted including mud plugging. They lasted about 50K miles too. I'd have them on my Freelander too if they came in a size I can use. Sadly they don't.
I'm surprised that you have problems with the wranglers as they a good compromise. They aren't for heavy off roading though.

+1 for Cooper Discoverer AT's which I had on my Jimnys and were a good on/off compromise. Nuffin wrong with 'em.

Nodge68 said:

I used to swear by Cooper discoverer AT tyres on my Ford Maverick. They went everywhere I wanted including mud plugging. They lasted about 50K miles too. I'd have them on my Freelander too if they came in a size I can use. Sadly they don't.
I'm surprised that you have problems with the wranglers as they a good compromise. They aren't for heavy off roading though.

Click to expand...

Hi Nodge,
I think the wranglers would have been not too bad on totally dry surfaces, but I used them on a small incline on a farm track, longish grass and wet under- surface - totally no grip - the wet grass simply filled the small tread gaps and made them like slicks - I had to abandon it halfway up the track. My mate with a freelander with some cheapo AT type tyres (not coopers - I can't remember the make) just hooked up and towed my up the track. Also, on very dry fine dirt I had a similar problem. I presume not my driving style, I was trained in off road by the Ambulance service on our discos (in the UK) and also my mate had same issue when he tried mine and he has been a freelander only garage and off road club organiser for 4 years.
I really miss a low gear select I must confess.....

It's odd for Wrangler HP to get you completely stuck. They were the factory fitted tyres and the Freelander's at the LR experience were shod with them. They had no problems dealing with the off road conditions there.
I've always found then ok too.
I even had them fitted to my V6 when I used it to pull my friend's TD5 Discovery out of mud, that my Freelander didn't notice. I wonder if the tread has been changed since I had them on my last Freelander.

Hi Nodge, I have just found a site with the full range of Wranglers - Jeez, I didnt think there were so many ! - I thought there was only 1 DOH ! - mine are the HP ! (there is also an ST that looks even worse !!)
http://www.camskill.co.uk/m26b0s243p104997/Goodyear_Tyres_SUV_4x4_Goodyear_Wrangler_HP_All_Weather_-_195_80_R15_96H_TL_Fuel_Eff_:_F_Wet_Grip:_C_NoiseClass:_1_Noise:_68dB
https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tires/wrangler-st?cta=BBCardTireImage

Seems like I made a major boo boo when I ordered them - I was reading reviews of wranglers and they sounded just what I needed - but again thought there was only 1 type. I thought the treads looked crap for offroad, but tended to believe the glowing reviews...
Here is a list of the different wranglers that I did not know existed.... I do now... DOH again...
https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tires/family/wrangler - I am sure some of those would be totally excellent !
Wot a plonker I a lol

I went via this site and the wrangler had only 1 listed - possibly the only 1 in my size maybe ??
http://www.camskill.co.uk/m26b0s243..._195_80_15_195_80R15_R15_inch_-_195_15_195R15

Actually Nodge -- on more research - I think the ones I have may be the ONLY goodyear wranglers available in my size which is where I went wrong ! I think that is why I only found the one type and presumed they were the ones people were raving about.... ah well, live n learn eh ......

You'll find the Coopers ok so all is ok in the end.

Cheers mate.
Here are the ones I ordered

http://www.coopertire.co.uk/tyres/off-road-4x4/summer/discoverer-a-t

I like the vehicle picture for this site / tyre by the way !!!

At least the tyre place is taking the goodyears in part x and giving me a damn good price back on them.. What size are your 'boots' by the way ?
Joe

If I could get the Cooper AT in my Freelander's size (215-65-16) I would fit them. They are more noisy on the road but that's to be expected with an AT tyre.
When I fitted them onto my Maverick I was shocked at just how much traction they gave in mud. They never let me down even in axle deep mud holes. They were very good for a basic AT tyre. Cooper STTs are even better off road but are noisy on the road and wet grip on tarmac isn't so good. Life is just as good as the ATs though.