Cooper Tire has expanded its Work Series line of tires with the introduction of three new tires.
The Work Series All-Steel Drive (ASD) tire is an open shoulder steel-belted drive tire, while the Work Series All Steel All Position (ASA) tire is an all-position, steel-belted tire with a less aggressive tread pattern. The tires will be available for order beginning in June in 19.5-in. sizes (225/70R and 245/70R) for Class 4-6 trucks and vans.
The tires are targeted toward the final-mile marketplace, where smaller vehicles—requiring 19.5-in. size tires—are used.
Gary Schroeder, executive director of Cooper’s global truck and bus tire business, says the Cooper Work Series ASD and ASA tires can withstand punishment from constant curbing. They are engineered with an extra strip of rubber on the sidewall—a curb bar—which helps ensure the integrity of the sidewall. The tires also will perform well for vocational trucks such as utility vehicles, bucket trucks and ambulances, he said. To work well with EMT and ambulance operations, the tires, in size 225/70R, have an N-speed rating.
Work Series ASD
This all steel-belt constructed tire features 18/32nds of tread depth in a four rib, open-shoulder design. “It’s a tough tire with shoulder tie bars for stability, and it’s designed to be very responsive, for outstanding driveability,” said Schroeder. “Often, drive tires will react slowly to turns in the road—giving a squishy and floating feel. But through advanced engineering and thorough testing, we’ve developed a tire that has crisp handling with a great connection to the road for added driving confidence.”
The tire’s compounding allows the tire to withstand damage and tread loss from scrubbing, curbing and rapid starts and stops, Cooper says. For added performance, chevron grooves provide biting edges for excellent traction, while the tire’s 3-D zig-zag siping interlocks to provide exceptional wet weather grip.
The Cooper Work Series ASD tire is Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certified and is retreadable, the tiremaker notes.
Work Series ASA
The Cooper Work Series ASA tire features 17/32nds of tread depth in a five-rib pattern. Designed for the steer position, the tire can also be used as a drive tire for those running in operations where extra traction isn’t required.
Like the Work Series ASD, the Cooper Work Series ASA tire has scrub-resistant compounding and all-steel casing construction for long life. A specurb bar and stone ejectors combine to resist hazards commonly found in urban deliveries, while aisle sipes, near the edge of the tire, help in controlling irregular wear, Schroeder says.
The tire also features Cooper’s unique Wear Square treadwear indicators—squares on the tire’s shoulder ribs that show the tread depth through five different evolving image icons. A “square” shows full tread depth, while an “L” shape shows half the tread is left. An icon also shows when the tire should be pulled for replacement or retreading due to the remaining tread depth. Since the Wear Square treadwear indicators are placed on both sides of the tire, it’s also an alignment indicator. If the icons don’t match, the tire technician knows there is an alignment problem or uneven tire issue and can take corrective measures.
Work Series AWD
For fleets requiring extra grip and traction, Cooper Tire has introduced its Work Series All-Weather Drive (AWD) tire for regional fleets. Available for order in June, the Work Series AWD tire comes in three sizes – 295/75R22.5 LR G, 11R22.5 LR H, and 11R24.5 LR H, the company says.
The Cooper Work Series AWD has an open shoulder design with tightly-packed center tread blocks that are highly siped. The full-depth 3-D sipes enhance traction while interlocking to maintain tread stability while cornering, Cooper says.
Featuring 26/32nds of tread depth and a wide footprint, the tire has wide snow groves separating the three inner tread blocks with the outside ribs, the company says. Cooper says the tread blocks are also staggered and zig-zag to promote traction in all weather conditions, while shoulder pockets provide additional traction.
To ward off irregular wear and enhance performance, the new tire features shoulder tie bars to provide stability to the shoulder ribs, allowing for a good balance of traction and irregular wear resistance. Stone ejectors, located between the tread blocks, help resist stone drilling while helping to maintain casing integrity, Cooper says.
All three tires offer a full replacement value warranty for the first 50% of treadwear.
