Cooper Tires on Enclave Question

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[wv2win]

I've read many of the threads on the forum about which tires work well on the Enclave considering the limited options.  I also read reviews of most of the tires listed as options on tire sites like Tire Rack.  I basically decided it would have to be the Michelins or the Coopers based on the reviews here and on some other sites.  (If anyone thinks I should really consider some of the others, I'm all ears) The best price I can get on the Michelins locally is $243 per tire.  The best price I can get on the Coopers is $158.  I'm obviously leaning heavily towards the Coopers considering they are $340 less overall than the Michelins.  Drive out for the Coopers with Road Hazard, lifetime balance and rotation, install and tax is $775.  Considering the price difference does anyone see the Michelins as being worth the extra money or is there another tire that is better than the Cooper but still less than the Michelins?

I forgot to mention, the OEM Michelins have 45,000 miles on them and are down to 3/32's on all four of them. When I got the car it had 35,000 miles on it so I can't say for sure that they were rotated and balanced every 5000 miles, which is the schedule I follow without fail.  But my tire guy stated they had no unusual wear patterns which would lead one to believe they were rotated at least somewhat regularly.  I expected better milage out of Michelins which also is swaying my thinking away from them.  Thanks in advance for any comments.

[bocoogto]

Tread depth on my '09 with Michelins at 48,000 miles was about 3/32" also.  I bought my Enclave new and rotated the tires every 5,000-8,000 miles.  I don't think the rotation improved tread life, but I can't say for sure.  Price for replacement Michelins was about $1,200, Coopers $785.  I've now got 61,000 miles on the clock (13,000 miles on the Coopers) with no regrets.  The Coopers perform much better on wet roads than the Michelins--hydroplaning was really noticeable with the Michelins, but none with the Coopers. 

[BadAV]

That's good info on the Coopers, as one of my complaints on the Michelins is a tendency to hydroplane. The other is sub-par snow traction.

The wife has started talking about getting rid of the Enclave and getting something smaller; right now she's talking a 4-door sedan of some kind. If we are going to do it, I prefer to do it before we have to purchase new tires. We have just over 50k miles on the E right now, with at least another 10k mile's worth of tread.

[wv2win]

Thanks for the information, bocoo.  With such a steep price difference, the Coopers would have to be really inferior to justify the sigficantly higher money for the Michelins.  I'm assuming the ride smoothness and quiteness of the Cooper tire have also been on par with the Michelins??  Based on living in GA, I'm not concerned about performance in snow but definitely want tires that perform well in wet conditions.

I am concerned with one comment on another thread that getting Cooper to stand behind their wear warranty might be problematic.  I am going to ask the manager at my tire store about that.  Hopefully it won't matter.  If I can get 50K out of any tire, regardless of the wear warranty, I basically consider that a good result.

[amaze11]

I can't comment on the wear, as I've only had my Coopers on for a few months, but the ride quality/smoothness/quietness has been on par with the Michelins that I replaced.  And they are great on wet roads.  I had the E out on the highway this weekend in the pouring rain...on a highway that is notorious for tire ruts that collect lots of water.  It was very surefooted...no hydroplaning at all.

I never found the Michelins to wear well in any event.  Based on reviews here and elsewhere on the internet, I went with the Coopers even though there wasn't much of a price difference here (under $100 difference I think).

[goochman]

I am a big Cooper fan and have always been happy with the tires Ive gotten from them............except on the Enclave.  I got a set of CS4's for like $700 out the door with rebates.  They def rode as quiet as the Michelin's and wet weather was good also - however, at 15k miles they had significant wear on them.  In some respects I feel lucky that 2 of the tires had tread failures which lead to a warranty exchange for the Michelin's.

I think at 30k miles the Coopers would've been shot - maybe 25k.  I cant recommend the Cooper CS4's on the Enclave unless something has changed the last 1.5 years.

I got 42k out of my original Michelin's.

[silvervettes]

I think at 30k miles the Coopers would've been shot - maybe 25k.  I cant recommend the Cooper CS4's on the Enclave unless something has changed the last 1.5 years.

I got 42k out of my original Michelin's.
[/quote]

My Michelin's were shot at 40k, but my rack went bad and i didn't rotate them much, the second tires i went with were the Bridgestones in a 20". I now have 37k on them and they have been religiously rotated and always properly inflated and they are looking well worn. Looking for a good suggestion in a 20"size , but seems like it's either the Bridgestone again or the pricey Pirelli. I think the AWD cuts some life out of them.

[JerseyDevil]

After considerable research I just changed my original Michelins for another set of Michelins.  Had 51000 on them and about 3/32 tread left but winter is coming and I wanted better tread.  Probably could have gotten 60000 out of them before they reached the wear bars.

[iowaenclave]

We have >53,000 miles on our original Michelin's and 5/32" of tread at the last oil change last week. They have been rotated about every 10k miles. I think we'll make 60k miles before replacement. 

[deacon_blues]

I am a big Cooper fan and have always been happy with the tires Ive gotten from them............except on the Enclave.  I got a set of CS4's for like $700 out the door with rebates.  They def rode as quiet as the Michelin's and wet weather was good also - however, at 15k miles they had significant wear on them.  In some respects I feel lucky that 2 of the tires had tread failures which lead to a warranty exchange for the Michelin's.

I think at 30k miles the Coopers would've been shot - maybe 25k.  I cant recommend the Cooper CS4's on the Enclave unless something has changed the last 1.5 years.

I got 42k out of my original Michelin's.

I want to echo this post. On our CX (18"), the original Forteras HLs were good for about 49K. I replaced them with CS4s - which I loved at first - great ride, quiet, good wet-weather handling. Now the Cooper's are at ~20,000 miles and are as loud as the OEM tires were at the 49,000 mile replacement. They just are not holding up as well as I would have liked. They might be great on a lighter vehicle, but I will not be purchasing them again.

For the record, on the CXL (19") I just traded, the OEM Michelin tires were good for ~68,000 miles. I was looking to trade the CXL, but picked up a nail in the sidewall of one of the Michelins. This forced me to replace the tires, even with the thought that I wasn't going to be keeping the car. I replaced the OEM Michelins with a set of Bridgestone Dueler H/L 422 Ecopias at a total "out the door" of $1050. I really liked the ride of the Ecopia tires as well as the handling, but can't comment as to wear because I traded the Enclave with about 2,000 miles on the new tires. 

[GoldEnclave]

I have about 16,500 miles on a set of Hankook Ventus AS RH07s, and they seem like a good performer overall. Based on the wear pattern so far, I would expect to get about 50,000 miles out of them. Some have reported that the tires become noisy after the first 15,000 miles, but I have not found that to be the case to any significant degree. The price for the Hankooks was about the same as the Cooper CS4s, maybe a few dollars more.

[wv2win]

Just an update on my Cooper replacement tires.  I've got 9000 miles on them and they are doing fine.  They definitely handle well in wet conditions.  They are quite and smooth riding.  I hope when they reach the 15k-20k mile marker they are still going strong.

[GoldEnclave]

That is good to hear. The limited tire options for our Enclaves has been a bit frustrating, but at least most of the tires available in the Enclave's rim sizes are good to excellent designs.

As for my Hankooks, which now have about 21,000 miles on them, they are very good performs all around. However, as per the other reports that I had read, they have become a bit noisy. Too bad, since they are a well rounded and affordable tire otherwise.

[comp]

The Coopers Suck.  I am looking at the Continentals next

[Ottawan]

i came on the forum looking for tire infromation as i am star4ting to think about new tires.

I've got 5 / 32 left on all four tires. How far down do you think these can reasonable go? I figure by fall i will have to replace them because they'll not have enough traction to go thru another long winter

[GoldEnclave]

Optimal snow performance is achieved with at least 6/32" of tread depth. Based on your description, I would consider replacing the tires next Fall, too.

[wvuguy]

I think at 30k miles the Coopers would've been shot - maybe 25k.  I cant recommend the Cooper CS4's on the Enclave unless something has changed the last 1.5 years.

I got 42k out of my original Michelin's.
 

My Michelin's were shot at 40k, but my rack went bad and i didn't rotate them much, the second tires i went with were the Bridgestones in a 20". I now have 37k on them and they have been religiously rotated and always properly inflated and they are looking well worn. Looking for a good suggestion in a 20"size , but seems like it's either the Bridgestone again or the pricey Pirelli. I think the AWD cuts some life out of them.

Not that anyone cares about my opinion......and obviously, some drivers are experiencing better tread life than others (and I think those getting a legitimate 60K are incredibly fortunate).....but I think a vehicle the size and weight of the Enclave means extended tread wear, especially on a tire like the OEM Latitude designed primarily for quiet operation, is something that's simply more the exception than the rule;  regardless if the subject is FWD or AWD.

Said another way, I find myself thinking that most Enclave owners simply need to adjust their expectations from that standpoint;  and be prepared to buy tires more often (regardless of make) than might be typical for other crossover-type vehicles.  With that in mind, I still struggle with the notion of paying premium prices (and enjoying the corresponding driving attributes) for Michelin or Continental versus saving real money and going with other brands under the assumption nothing is really going to last.