Cooper Tire has launched the new Pro Series Long Haul Steer 2 tire to help drive down tire costs for fleets, replacing its predecessor, the Cooper PRO Series Long Haul Steer tire. It is available now in size 295/75R22.5 (load range G and H), with additional sizes available in October.
According to the company, the tire builds upon the solid foundation of its predecessor, and features a patent-pending shoulder decoupling rib, providing added toughness on the edge of the tire to minimize irregular wear and damage caused by curbing.
Featuring Cooper’s ECO (Energy Conservation Optimization) technology, which combines tire design, compounding and construction to provide an ultra-low rolling resistance tire that exceeds SmartWay standard requirements by 15%, the new tire also offers lower rolling resistance than EPA greenhouse gas (GHG) standards set for 2027, the company said in a statement.
“This is a premium steer tire designed to lower costs for our customers through fuel efficiency and long miles to removal,” said Gary Schroeder, executive director of Cooper’s global truck and bus tire business. “We’ve built on the success of this new tire’s predecessor and continued to innovate with improvements made on this new product. Cooper has made this high performing tire even better with the new decoupling rib, which has a unique size and shape that adds to its rigidity, allowing irregular shoulder wear to be minimized, which results in added durability in highway applications. Another unique feature on this new steer tire is a patented stone ejector design with a stepped groove wall in the tread pattern. This feature helps prevent stone drilling to ensure the integrity of the casing for multiple retreads."
Helping improve tire maintenance is Cooper’s Wear Square on the tire’s shoulder ribs, a visual indicator that shows tread depth through five different evolving image icons. A “square” shape indicates full tread depth, while an “L” shape shows only half the tread remains. An icon also shows when the tire should be pulled for retreading or replacement. Since the Wear Square is placed on both sides of the tire, it also serves as an alignment indicator. If the icons on each side don’t match, the technician knows there is an alignment problem or an uneven tire wear issue and can take corrective measures.
The new steer tire also provides 18/32nds of tread depth and features a wide footprint to help distribute weight more efficiently, promote long and even wear, and enhance traction. The tire also features a four-belt steel design construction, a seven-year, two-retread warranty, and is warranted for full replacement value for the first 50% of treadwear, the company said.
