Cooper Tyres have reinforced their legendary status for performance and durability in the harshest of outback conditions, after being used by 14 four wheel drive vehicles on the latest L.O.P.E.

So what is L.O.P.E?
It's the Legendary Outback Products Expedition, where leaders in the 4WD industry test their products for two weeks in some very tough country indeed - and the Cooper Tyres have come up winners.

The vehicles, including Landcruisers, Hiluxes, Patrols and a Discovery, were all heavily laden with supplies of fuel, water, food, products, camping equipment and the frequently-used recovery gear. They travelled for a week in the rugged Flinders Ranges, then up the western shore of Lake Eyre and across the lower Simpson Desert to finish in Birdsville.

Led by 4WD journalists and tour guides, Ron and Viv Moon, the participants this year included Cooper Tires, ARB, Bushranger, Kaymar, 4WD Interior Accessories and Hema Maps.
The drivers had a wide variety of off roading experience, but Ron Moon was setting them extra challenges.

The Flinders section featured sharp, rocky 4WD tracks with some spectacular climbs, and the route then transversed Leigh Creek Station and very rough, rocky sections west of Arkaroola.
The L.O.P.E. travellers then headed north west to William Creek, with the second week's route mostly cross country, using maps and GPS points. The vehicles tavelled over gibber plains, sand dunes and some treacherous muddy creek and river crossings.
Some days the going was so difficult, the vehicles covered less than 25 km before making camp.

The Cooper tyres, in both ST and STT patterns, proved outstanding. Ron Moon was astounded at the small number of damaged tyres over the fortnight, with only five tyres being unusable.
He praised the strength and traction of the Cooper product and the entire L.O.P.E. team proved that Cooper Tyres are essential for 4WD travellers in Australia.

The popular Cooper S/T Discoverer tyres have beaten 16 other brands in a comprehensive all terrain tyre test conducted by a national 4WD magazine.

In the comparison, three 4WD experts tested the tyres for "Australian 4WD Monthly" on a range of surfaces, including bitumen, gravel, sand and fire trails.

Based in Newcastle, NSW, for eight days, the drivers used the nearby freeway, Watagan mountains and Stockton beach.
Their test vehicle was a current model 3.2 litre Pajero turbo diesel, and the test team worked "blind" so they did not know which brand of tyre they were using at any time.

At the finish, Cooper Sure Trac tyres came out the winners, rating five out of five for gravel roads, and four points in the categories for fire trails with rocks and mud, as well as for sand and beach driving.

Product manager for Cooper Tyres in Australia, Steve Vickers, said the test was proof that American research and development, combined with input from Australia and South Africa, had resulted in the Cooper Sure Trac being the market leader in both performance and value for Australian 4WD owners. "Unfortunately, they couldn't test for 12 months," he said, "but if they had, Cooper's reputation for extended mileage would have further consolidated their top position."

The 4WD tyre test comparison was in the March issue of "Australian 4WD Monthly".