Cooper vs Milestar Tires
Cooper and Milestar are both tire manufacturers… but that is where the similarities end. Cooper has a history of making high-quality, durable tires spanning well over a century. Milestar, on the other hand, entered the tire manufacturing business in the 1970s.
Another difference is affordability. Anyone who has ever compared the prices of both these manufacturers’ tires can attest that Cooper tires are pricier, mainly due to Cooper’s use of the latest technologies and materials in their tires’ construction.
All of this explains why Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is the 14th largest tire manufacturer in the world. What it doesn’t tell us, however, is whether you’d be better off with a set of Cooper or Milestar tires on your vehicle. Which is why we have prepared this guide.
This article will compare Cooper and Milestar tires on various counts. We’ll discuss these tire brands’ histories and tire lineups in detail. Next, we’ll juxtapose their tires on three key metrics – performance, price, and availability – before announcing the winner.
Cooper Tires History
Cooper Tire and Rubber Company was founded in Akron, Ohio, in 1914. Back then, it was called M and M Manufacturing and didn’t have tires on its product assembly line. Things pretty much remained the same for the first seven years of the company’s business operations
It was only in 1921 that things began to take their current shape. That year, the company’s founders decided to acquire the Giant Tire & Rubber Company. The acquisition of the enterprise was followed by the shifting of the headquarters to Findlay and a name change.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company thus came into being. Right from the start, the company’s goal was simple to explain but difficult to meet: producing high-quality tires on a budget. The balance was difficult to strike, as quality and price often go wherever they go together.
Yet Cooper managed to do it. How can we be so sure? The company’s 2021 balance sheet, which shows the US tire manufacturing raking in $2 billion in sales, gives a pretty good clue. As is the fact that multiple tire brands currently operate under Cooper’s umbrella.
Cooper’s Tire Families
Seven families complete Cooper’s tire lineup. These include Endeavor, CS, Zeon, Discoverer, WeatherMaster, WM, and Evolution. Cooper’s tire lineup is so wide that you can find all-season, performance, winter, all-terrain, and any other type of tire here.
Endeavor
All-season touring and ultra-touring tires populate Cooper’s Endeavor lineup.
There are three members of this family, including the Cooper Endeavor, Endeavor Tour, and Endeavor Plus. The first two are available in sizes covering passenger cars. In contrast, the Endeavor Plus is designed to enhance the road driving experience of SUVs and CUVs.
Unfortunately, despite their excellent road manners and extended treadwear warranties, Endeavor tires aren’t as popular as their cousins belonging to the CS family. Still, if lack of fame doesn’t bother you, there are plenty of reasons to admire these models
CS
The Cooper CS family contains all-season touring and grand touring tires.
Two models serve as the face of this family. The first of which is the CS5 Ultra Touring, an all-season touring tire with excellent road manners, dry and wet traction, and high-speed stability. A long treadwear warranty (up to 70,000 miles) further enhances its reputation.
The CS5 Grand Touring is another popular member of this lineup, mainly because of the 80,000-mile tread guarantee it comes with. That said, this tire’s plush ride quality also makes it a winner. If you use your car mainly for everyday driving, here’s a tire you may want to check.
Zeon
Budget-friendly, high-performance tires populate the Cooper Zeon series.
If you’re looking for suggestions, the Zeon RS3-G1 is our favorite member of this family. This high-performance tire offers superb high-speed stability, steering feedback and response, and cornering performance. Best of all, it comes with a 45,000-mile treadwear warranty.
WM and WeatherMaster
Cooper’s WM and WeatherMaster families cater to the demands of harsh weather.
Members of both these families are designed with super-flexible tread compounds. They also have aggressive biting edges to plow through snow and ice. Plus, a combination of circumferential and lateral grooves helps them with water evacuation.
Evolution
The Cooper Evolution series is probably the most diverse of all of this brand’s tire families.
It comprises all-season, all-weather, touring, summer, winter, and even off-road tires. It isn’t only the conditions that these tires can go on that are diverse. Members of the Evolution family are also pretty generous when it comes to the vehicles they can go on.
Most members of this family can be installed on compact cars, sedans, SUVs, hatchbacks, and light trucks. The sportier ones can even go on muscle cars and coupes.
Milestar Tires History
It is impossible to talk about Milestar’s history without discussing Nankang Rubber Tire Corporation. That is because the Taiwan-based company, which is the country’s biggest tire manufacturer, produces almost every Milestar tire you see online and in tire shops.
Nankang Rubber Tire Corporation doesn’t just manufacture Milestar tires, though. It is also the manufacturer of Geostar and Provato tires. However, as a mere glance at the other two brands indicates, Milestar tires are the company’s most famous product.
The history of Milestar in the North American market began in 1972. It was in this year that the company was incorporated by Tireco, a US-based tire distributor and marketer. To this day, Tireco retains the sole rights of selling and marketing Milestar tires stateside.
Over the last 60-odd years, Milestar tires have created a market for themselves in drivers who are always searching for high-quality tires at dirt-cheap prices. If you want great savings on your next set of replacement tires, Milestar is a brand worth considering.
Milestar Tire Families
In contrast to Cooper and other well-known tire brands, Milestar categorizes its tires by vehicle. The tire manufacturer lets you choose from a wide range of car, CUV, SUV, light truck, and UTV tires. Let’s take a detailed look at the various Milestar tire families.
Car/CUV Tires
Milestar offers seven tires for cars and compact urban vehicles.
These include the MS932XP+, MS932 Sport, Weather Guard AS 710 Sport, Weather Guard AW365, Street Steel, MS 775 Touring SLE, and MS70 All-Season. You can thus get all-season, winter, street/performance, and winter car/SUV tires from Milestar.
Light Truck/SUV
Milestar’s light truck/SUV tire lineup is populated by six models.
Among which are different categories, including mud-terrain tires (Patagonia M/T and M/T2), all-terrain models (Patagonia A/T Pro and A/T R), and highway tires (Patagonia H/T). The distinguishing feature of all these tires is their asking price, which is pretty low compared to rival models from premium brands.
Commercial Light Truck
Milestar’s Steep Pro series is populated by pocket-friendly yet high-quality commercial light truck tires.
Every member of this series features steel-belted construction, stiff solid shoulders, and ultra-strong sidewalls. They are also formulated using heavy-duty compounds and circumferential traction ribs to help them provide an incredible load-carrying capacity.
UTV Tires
The Patagonia SXT and SXS are the entire range of Milestar’s UTV tires.
Both these tires have their fair share of similarities, DOT-approved design, the ability to offer consistent traction in the silt, sand, and rocks, and deep wide grooves for quick self-cleaning. However, the SXT tire is available in more sizes (7 vs. 5) with a wider diameter range (28”-34” vs. 28”-32”).
Cooper Vs Milestar Tires: Differences
Here are the major differences between Cooper and Milestar tires:
Performance
Cooper tires perform better in the performance department.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise. As their relatively high asking prices enable Cooper to use the latest technologies, high-end materials, and state-of-the-art engineering designs in their tires, making this brand’s tires much more controllable at the limit than Milestar’s.
All in all, if you’re the sort of driver who prioritizes performance over everything else, Cooper may be a better choice.
Availability of Options
Cooper tires eke it out on this front too.
The US-based tire brand offers models for passenger cars, SUVs, light trucks, and commercial vehicles. You can also get specialized Cooper tires for all-terrain, off-road, and winter driving conditions. Plus, the brand’s range of all-season touring tires is also quite extensive.
Sure, Milestar offers tires for multiple vehicles and road conditions. But its range of tires is quite small. To give you an example, Milestar offers just seven tires for cars and CUVs, whereas Cooper spoils you with options, regardless of the type of car you may be driving.
Price and Warranty
Milestar tires may be a better pick for those looking for a pocket-friendly option.
That said, not every budget-friendly tire offers excellent value for money. Sure, Cooper tires asking prices seem astronomical when compared to Milestar’s. But their extended treadwear warranties and long road lives justify the added cost in the long run.
Advantages of Cooper
- Offers tires in multiple categories
- Equips tires with the latest technologies
- Backs its models with generous warranties
Advantages of Milestar
- Offers budget-friendly models
- Provides dedicated UTV tires
- Has excellent mud-terrain models
Cooper Vs Milestar Tires: Which One to Choose?
Unless you’re looking for dirt-cheap tires, Cooper tires are almost always a better choice.
The only exception is when you’re looking for affordable mud-terrain tires. The Milestar Patagonia M/T and M/T 2 have what it takes to keep any vehicle safe during off-roading. Their flexible tread compounds, aggressive shoulder blocks, and various other design elements are reasons why.
However, if you’re looking for a reliable set of all-season touring, grand touring, performance, or even winter tires, Cooper tires will almost always be a better option.