Cooper Tire recently expanded its WORK Series line of tires with the introduction of two new tires in 19.5-inch sizes (225/70R and 245/70R) for Class 4-6 trucks and vans.
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, Cooper said.
The tires are targeted toward the growing final-mile marketplace, where smaller vehicles requiring 19.5-inch tires are used. “More and more vans and delivery trucks are on the road in final-mile deliveries, and those operations continue to grow exponentially,” said Gary Schroeder, executive director of Cooper’s truck and bus tire business. “These customers are looking for highly engineered tires that can hold up for long miles to removal, while providing excellent ride characteristics. That’s where our new Cooper tires come in.”
According to Schroeder, the new 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—the 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. To work well with EMT and ambulance operations, the tires, in size 225/70R, have an N-speed rating Cooper says is the highest in the industry.
Both tires were designed with low cost of ownership in mind. “We’re out to provide excellent performance, long tire life and retreadability, balanced with a very competitive price to give our customers the value they’re looking for,” Schroeder said. “What’s more, these two tires have rolling resistance numbers that will save our customers a significant amount of fuel over the life of the tires.”
The ASD 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,” Schroeder said. “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.”
Special compounding allows the tire to withstand damage and tread loss from scrubbing, curbing and rapid starts and stops, the tire manufacturer claimed. For added performance, chevron grooves provide biting edges for excellent traction, while the tire’s 3D zig-zag siping interlocks to provide wet weather grip.
The ASD tire is Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certified, “meaning, it was engineered and verified to provide outstanding all-weather performance,” Schroeder maintained.
The ASA tire features 17/32nds of tread depth in a five-rib pattern. Designed for the steer position, the tire also can be used as a drive tire for those running in operations where extra traction isn’t required.
Like the ASD, the ASA tire has special scrub-resistant compounding and all-steel casing construction for long life. A special curb 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, Cooper said.
The tire also features Cooper’s Wear Square treadwear indicators 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.