Rkammer
10-20-2011, 09:55 PM
I thought I'd start a new thread to report on the first 100 miles on my new Cooper Zeon RS3-As. Here is the original thread:
http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=74418
I had them installed on Monday. OEM sizes 235/50 X 18 fronts and 245/55 X 18 rears. They look great and cleaned up nicely. They are W rated tires and have just slightly more sidewall bulge than the original BFGs did but not much.
Since I've heard that these tires can take a bit more weight than some others I asked to have them indexed on my wheels for minimum weight. With this method, the lightest weight was about 2 ounces and the most was about 3. They have no runout.
I had the front end checked and aligned using the same specs from this forum that I've been using since I bought the car 7 years ago. The previous BFG KDWS fronts went just under 30,000 miles and the General UHP Grabbers on the rear went a little over 40,000. I could have pushed both front and back another 5,000 or so but was very anxious to finally get a matched set of tires on this car.
So, how do the Coopers ride? Great! I run a lot of air in my tires (40 lbs in front and 35 in back) so to some it might feel a bit harsh but, I like to feel the road. There are no vibrations or imbalances and they track nice and straight. Cornering is nice and flat compared to the BFG fronts and General Grabbers in the rear. It's been a while since I had BFGs all around so I can't say exactly but, I think the feel is similar to the OEM tires.
One difference I noticed has to do with the one/two shift. My tranny has been reprogrammed to shift hard at full throttle. With the previous Genreal Grabbers it would squall going from 1 to 2 and with these Coopers it's just a chirp. I hope this means that traction (and mileage) is better even though the treadwear rating is 500 on these Coopers vs 360 on the Generals. We'll see.
Overall, I'm very happy with the Coopers Zeon RS3-A and would recommend them highly. The price ain't bad either as they ended up costing me just over $600 installed out the door (not including the alignment) but after the $75 rebate. There is only one disappointment. They are made in China. :D
http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=74418
I had them installed on Monday. OEM sizes 235/50 X 18 fronts and 245/55 X 18 rears. They look great and cleaned up nicely. They are W rated tires and have just slightly more sidewall bulge than the original BFGs did but not much.
Since I've heard that these tires can take a bit more weight than some others I asked to have them indexed on my wheels for minimum weight. With this method, the lightest weight was about 2 ounces and the most was about 3. They have no runout.
I had the front end checked and aligned using the same specs from this forum that I've been using since I bought the car 7 years ago. The previous BFG KDWS fronts went just under 30,000 miles and the General UHP Grabbers on the rear went a little over 40,000. I could have pushed both front and back another 5,000 or so but was very anxious to finally get a matched set of tires on this car.
So, how do the Coopers ride? Great! I run a lot of air in my tires (40 lbs in front and 35 in back) so to some it might feel a bit harsh but, I like to feel the road. There are no vibrations or imbalances and they track nice and straight. Cornering is nice and flat compared to the BFG fronts and General Grabbers in the rear. It's been a while since I had BFGs all around so I can't say exactly but, I think the feel is similar to the OEM tires.
One difference I noticed has to do with the one/two shift. My tranny has been reprogrammed to shift hard at full throttle. With the previous Genreal Grabbers it would squall going from 1 to 2 and with these Coopers it's just a chirp. I hope this means that traction (and mileage) is better even though the treadwear rating is 500 on these Coopers vs 360 on the Generals. We'll see.
Overall, I'm very happy with the Coopers Zeon RS3-A and would recommend them highly. The price ain't bad either as they ended up costing me just over $600 installed out the door (not including the alignment) but after the $75 rebate. There is only one disappointment. They are made in China. :D