Cooper Zeon RS3-G1 

These tires have amazing grip for my LS Camaro. When new, I had to really try to get them to break free. The Cooper Zeon has the best rain/wet traction of any tire I've ever driven.

A few months after I got the Zeons, I had an emergency situation on the interstate where I was about to get sideways at close to 70mph. The Zeons held. I didn't lose traction and was able to drive out of the situation. That was one of several times where I was certain, without a doubt, I'd have been in serious trouble on the Toyo Extensa's that were on the car when I got it.

The trade off for all that grip is that it's now a year later, maybe 45-50k miles on the Zeons and I'm shopping for new tires. I'm sure my driving style and the atrocious condition of the highway I have to drive are contributors to the relatively early wear.

There it is - amazing tires with less than average life span with "spirited driving" (lol) .

So far, I am very impressed with this tire. Handling in both dry and wet conditions has been exceptional, and my car is pretty heavy. I had to wait a bit for my size to be available, and I considered going with another brand, but I'm glad I waited. I have not experienced snow yet, but I will as winter sets in the northeast. I had a set of Dunlop Touring tires before these, but these are just as quiet and, as I said, tuned up the handling as well. Excellent price and service from Tire Rack!

For the price, it’s a good long lasting street tire that performs really well in dry conditions, but does show its weaknesses when driving through standing water or accelerating on wet roads.

Live in Vancouver Cda. Executed a great deal on these tires (set of 4 x 245/45/R20 @ $770 cdn installed, tax incl.). Stk tires are 235's but I've always upsized for better tire selection and stance. For half the price of competitive tires, I decided to try Cooper. Previous tires were Bridgestone Potenza & Michelin OEMs. So far, can't beat it for the money. Wet and dry performance is solid. First winter on them, 25cm snow dump, no issues. Note, I have AWD. Fresh A/S tires + AWD = no change over to my dedicated winters until next winter. No trouble on ice, slush, deep snow. Again, I would only do this on fresh A/S tires and an AWD vehicle. Other reviews mentioned flat-spotting, which may be a problem in severe cold. I've noticed they need to warm up to perform but I wouldn't define it as flat spotting in my case and geography. Guessing tire has a higher rolling resistance than competition as mileage has decreased 5% since install, all else equal. Knew this was a possibility so its a non-issue for me given the price. Slight reduction in handling but its an SUV, not a track car. Noise is on par with other tires I've owned. Too early to comment on treadwear. If pricing was similar to Michelin A/S 4 or Bridgestones, I would go with one of those b/c they are slightly better but not 2X better. Overall, happy with this purchase.

So far very pleased with these tires. Handled surprisingly well in light snow. Have been pleased with wet and dry conditions. Overall, very happy with them so far.

These are the best tires that I have ever driven on, this is the second vehicle that I have installed them on- the first was a Toyota Rav4. Handling, cornering, wet, dry, highway, city, the car feels like it’s on rails in every situation. I absolutely love them and will continue to buy them as long as they are available.

I'll quickly summarize my review of the Cooper RS3-G1 for those not interested in reading a lengthy review.

If grip and only grip is your number one priority, and you've got money to burn, you will not be disappointed. They're incredible for keeping the car on point, especially during warm/dry days. But, if longevity or MPG is your number one concern, DO NOT BUY THIS TIRE.

I purchased 4 Cooper RS3-G1 for my Hyundai Tucson SUV, size 245 45 19. I've got 20k miles on them, hoping to get a few more thousand miles, but they are essentially ready for replacement. Rotation completed every 5k by yours truly. I do all my maintenance on the vehicle and rotate religiously.


Expanded Review:
For me, 20-22k is crazy low for the asking price Cooper wants. These tires, new at 245 45 19, are $173 each.

Now, to be fair, this tire isn't built for longevity. It's made for people with fast/muscle cars who can't resist the temptation to corner or drive at high speeds. This tire is built for fun, not economy.

Would I buy them again? Sure! But not at $173 a tire.

Personally, I'm not upset at the short life span since I purchased all four tires for $150! If I had paid the retail price, I would have been angry. I never buy tires retail prices for tires.

All four were purchased from a major tire retailer, DTD, on eBay. I'm assuming they were a 30-day test return. At the time, Cooper let you drive most of their tires for up to 30 days, and if you didn't like them, you could return/exchange them no questions asked.

I'm assuming that was the case for this set of RS3-G1s I picked up. The original buyer decided they didn't like them, and DTD threw them up on eBay and sold them as is.

The tires were still basically brand new, less than 2k miles driven. These tires have VMI (visual wear indicators) in the tread, and for each tire, the VMI was still reading 98% tread remaining. So for $33 a tire and free shipping, it was a no-brainer.

What I Learned - Good vs. Bad

Good:
The Cooper RS3-G

Great comfortable, smooth riding tires

Happy I chose these tires. Great traction and comfort , most importantly it's smooth and quiet.

This the second set of the Coopers on this car. Was very happy with the first set so got them again. For the price they can't be beat. Tread wear has been excellent. Have dedicated snow tires so can't rate the snow performance. Comfort and handling of tires meets all my needs.

Excellent value tire. First time purchasing Cooper tires and based on these I would definitely buy again. Treadwear is very good considering AZ heat. Smooth, low noise ride is a plus. Solid cornering and traction. Would definitely recommend purchasing these, and will buy again when these finally wear out.

I hit a square concrete curb and killed the RF tire. It and the remaining LF tire had about 35,000 miles on them and still wearing well, approx 40% to 50% remaining. The two rear tires (which are a larger +1 size) have about 25,000 miles on them and are starting to show the wear bars, from the occasional WOT 1st gear burn-outs. Tires are rotated side to side at each 5,000 mile oil change. This is my second set of Cooper tires for my Mustang GT. Dry and wet traction are above average, and very little road noise on the highway. Note: this one replacement tire I just bought had a odd grey stripe on about half of the sidewall. It would not rub off so I "painted" it with some black liquid shoe polish for a recent car show.

They wear fantastic. Compared to the stock Pirelli's, which wear out about 16000 miles. These are at about 12k and still look new.