Cooper Tire has announced that two of its products from the U.S., the Discoverer STT Pro and Discoverer SRX, and two from China, the Discoverer UTS and Weather Master Ice 100, have earned 2015 Good Design awards from the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies for their design excellence. The winning tires were selected from several thousand entries from more than 47 countries.
The Good Design Award is one of the world’s most prestigious and longest-standing design award programs, recognizing new consumer products designed and manufactured in Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America. The award is based on criteria including innovative design, new technologies, form, materials, construction, concept, function, utility, energy efficiency and sensitivity to the environment.
“To have four outstanding products achieve the Good Design Award is a testament to Cooper’s commitment to providing high-quality products,” said Chuck Yurkovich, Cooper’s senior vice president – Global Research and Development. “Our products are continuing to receive very positive reviews, and this is further validation that the work Cooper has been doing to create innovative products that perform is being recognized.”
The Discoverer STT Pro is the next generation of Cooper’s most popular off-road tire line designed for those who revel in outdoor adventure, according to the company. The STT Pro delivers serious traction, toughness and treadwear for the most challenging off-road conditions like the thickest mud and rockiest terrain. Delivering superior reliability and durability, the STT Pro’s Armor-Tek3 construction adds strength to the sidewall and tread area, and mud release dimples and scoops prevent build-up and improve traction in extreme off-road and mud conditions. Drivers using Discoverer STT Pros will see improved everyday road experiences because the STT Pro is equipped with a new silica-infused tread compound that improves wet traction in day-to-day traffic and the tire has lower rolling resistance for improved fuel mileage, the company says.
Cooper’s innovative Discoverer SRX is a premium sport utility and crossover (CUV) vehicle tire designed to provide dependable all-season highway traction, superior handling and a quiet, comfortable ride. The SRX features Cooper’s innovative Wear Square – a visual tread wear indicator that gives consumers a convenient way to gauge the amount of wear on the tread of the tire, which is one indicator of when a tire should be replaced. The SRX also boasts a new generation silica tread compound, with increased road-gripping performance and reduced rolling resistance. This tread compound, combined with patented Stabiledge technology and specially developed 3-D Micro-Gauge sipes, delivers more road surface grip for increased traction in wet weather conditions and light snow, resulting in superior handling and improved stopping distances. Boosting snow-on-snow traction, this tire’s winter-edge feature creates a snow grip tread area to help drivers conquer the winter elements. Collectively, these elements complement each other to ensure a smooth and confident ride for everyday road trips, Cooper says.
The Cooper Discoverer UTS is an ultra-high-performance sport utility vehicle (SUV) tire designed specifically for China’s growing luxury SUV market. The Discoverer UTS was designed and developed by the team at the Cooper Asia Technical Center and is Cooper’s first ultra-high performance SUV tire to earn an A grade according to the EU 1222/2009 labeling standard for its wet grip performance. In addition to its superior performance on wet road conditions, the UTS also achieved a C grade for rolling resistance performance according to the EU standard. The UTS tread pattern was designed with unique features such as four-wide circumferential grooves to reduce aquaplaning, chamfered edges on the tread blocks to reduce noise, wide-lined shoulders to provide lateral stability and spring vents for a clean appearance.
The Weather Master Ice 100 is a high-performance tire designed for maximum traction on ice and snow and is aimed at drivers of sport coupes and luxury sedans who require performance in severe winter conditions. It features a specially textured tread surface for added grip on ice, 3-D sipes in specific parts of the tread pattern, and a newly developed tread compound that provides maximum traction on ice and snow while maintaining wet and dry performance. The tire meets all EU legislation and labeling requirements and is the first Cooper product to achieve the “Severe Snow” designation according to EU Regulation 117.
