Smooth and Comfortable Rides with Cooper CS5 Grand Touring: A Comprehensive Tire Review
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Pros
- Excellent dry handling and stability
- Very good wet traction and braking
- Supremely quiet and comfortable
- Outstanding 80,000-mile treadwear warranty
- Excellent value for money
Cons
- Could be a tad more responsive
- Snow traction is only average
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Given the variety of benefits they offer, it is not surprising that touring tires are gaining popularity on an almost daily basis. They do not cost an exorbitant amount of money, they operate exceptionally well in a broad variety of environments, they are exceptionally comfortable, and they appear to have an indefinite lifespan.
Having said that, the widespread use of touring tires also provided several low-cost producers with an opportunity to enter the market. Some of these companies have recently joined the market and are selling tires at extremely low prices. However, the performance of these tires frequently falls short of what was promised. This leads to a significant amount of misunderstanding among purchasers, particularly those looking for goods that are affordable.
However, if you want to buy tires that are both safe and trustworthy, we advise you to go with a company that has a good reputation and is well-known in the industry. That best describes the business that Cooper Tire is, in my opinion. They manufacture tires at a lower cost than premium businesses like as Michelin and Bridgestone, but they nevertheless provide the most advanced technologies and safety features available.
Simply because it is designed to perform well in touring competitions, the CS5 Grand Touring is their best-selling model of tire. This category includes a wide range of automobiles, such as sub-compact cars, compact cars, mid-size sedans, small crossovers, as well as minivans. To put it another way, if you use your vehicle to transport members of your family, you very certainly require tires designed for touring.
The product that Cooper is giving in this market is not inexpensive, but it is still less expensive than the premium products that are also available. In addition to being one of the newest tires in the touring category, the CS5 Grand Touring is equipped with a number of cutting-edge features that its immediate competitors do not have.
That does not necessarily guarantee that the tires will perform well in the conditions that they will be used in, which is why we have prepared this comprehensive analysis of the Cooper CS5 Grand Touring. In this piece, we will discuss every aspect that is important to people who drive passenger automobiles, including the performance in dry, rainy, and snowy conditions, as well as durability and comfort.
However, before we rush to judgment, let’s hear what Cooper has to say about the tire that’s proven to be their most successful overall.
What are the features of the Cooper CS5 Grand Touring?
The CS5 Grand Touring is an all-season touring tire that was designed to provide a smooth ride and reliable grip in a variety of weather situations, including moderate amounts of snow. In addition to this, a significant amount of effort was placed on the tire’s durability and treadlife, both of which compare favorably to comparable affordable choices.
Coupled Silica tread compound is a fairly high-end answer for such a budget-oriented tire, which is why Cooper used it to make the CS5 Grand Touring. This allowed Cooper to achieve all of those features in the tire. The tread compound is molded into an asymmetric tread pattern, which allows for simple rotation in both the left and right directions. This is highly important not just for preventing uneven wear but also for ensuring that the tires continue to function to a high standard over an extended length of time.
In addition to this, the tread has outboard shoulder blocks that are larger than the tread blocks itself and less void spaces. The design of the tires results in a significant increase in their responsiveness and enables safer high-speed stability. The bigger contact patch provided by the tread blocks not only increases traction and grip on dry surfaces but also contributes to an increased overall level of safety.
Cooper has taken steps to ensure that the CS5 Grand Touring may be utilized in both dry and wet environments. The tire has ribs and inboard shoulders that have a higher sipe density. These features were designed to divert water away from the contact patch and away from the tire.
In addition, the lateral grooves have more open space, which helps with the resistance to hydroplaning. Additionally, the 3D Micro-Gauge siping across the whole tread depth creates biting edges, which improves grip and traction on low-friction surfaces like light snow.
The interior of the CS5 Grand Touring is made out of a high-turnup, single-ply polyester casing that is supplemented by two steel belts that provide additional strength. The spirally coiled nylon reinforcing provides additional assistance with handling and stability while also contributing to the tire’s already impressive level of strength.
The CS5 Grand Touring is available from Cooper Tire in a size range that extends from 15 inches to 18 inches. This range of sizes should accommodate the majority of drivers that operate small cars, sedans, crossovers, and SUVs.
What are the maintenance indicators?
Indicators for when maintenance should be performed are included on the C5 Grand Touring, which sets it apart from many other budget touring tires. Because they display how much tread is still remaining on the tire, these indicators play an extremely significant role in ensuring the safety of the vehicle. The tread depth of any tire can be used to increase wet grip and braking performance. If the tread of your tires is completely worn away, your vehicle will slide all over the place whenever you round a curve. This tire, much like most others, has a minimum tread depth of 2/32 of an inch.
Wear Square Indicators is the name given to the maintenance indicators that come standard on the CS5 Grand Touring. Under the tread, namely in the circumferential grooves, one may immediately spot these signs for what they are. When the tire is brand new, the indicators will be set deeper within the tire; however, as the tire ages, they will rise to the surface and become more obvious. It is important to get new ones as soon as they are even with the tread of the tire; this indicates that the old ones are worn out. If you don’t do that, you run the risk of driving with very poor traction in the snow and the rain.
To our good fortune, it won’t take place anytime soon. The treadwear guarantee that comes included on the CS5 Grand Touring is good for 80,000 miles, which is better than virtually any other budget touring offering and is on line with the warranties that come standard on premium tires. Those who have purchased these tires attest that they have a very long lifespan, particularly if the tread is rotated as recommended. You will spend less money on tires with the CS5 Grand Touring because of its great durability and its low starting price, in comparison to the cost of tires with comparable models.
How does it behave on dry tarmac?
When people shop for new tires, they frequently pay less attention to the dry grip and traction than they should. The vast majority of people have the misconception that efficiency under dry weather is assured, yet this could not be further from the reality. We frequently disregard low-cost touring tires as being of any value because their performance in dry weather is so poor.
Thankfully, the CS5 Grand Touring does not belong in the same category as those vehicles. Cooper was successful in developing a tire that performs exceptionally well across the board, even when subjected to more aggressive driving. Naturally, just like with the vast majority of cheaper tires, you won’t receive the same level of performance as you would with more expensive options.
On the other hand, when it comes to the CS5 Grand Touring, the difference is only discernible under carefully regulated conditions, such as when one is driving on a track. When used for normal, everyday street driving, the driver will have a difficult time distinguishing between these tires and others that cost far more.
Even when the driver is accelerating quickly with the CS5 Grand Touring, the vehicle maintains an exceptional level of traction thanks to the innovative tread compound. Although we would not go so far as to recommend this tire to drivers of sporty coupes, the traction is adequate for everyone else.
In addition, we were taken aback by how much grip there is in the corners, which was a very pleasant surprise. Again, you shouldn’t anticipate sporty performance from this vehicle, but the CS5 Grand Touring will be more than adequate for everyday driving. However, the most crucial benefit of the tire is that it enables very small stopping distances.
According to the findings of our assessment of the Cooper CS5 Grand Touring tires, they also perform exceptionally well at greater speeds. When taking into account the cost, it is remarkable to see that the touring category’s straight-line stability is among the finest.
The level of responsiveness is the one category in which we believe the Cooper cannot compete with the premium choices. The Cadillac CS5 Grand Touring does not have the same feeling of precision when turning bends, nor does it react as swiftly to steering input. However, this is something that the vast majority of drivers on the road won’t notice, as it only becomes apparent when engaging in more aggressive driving.
How is it over wet and slippery roads?
On dry tarmac, the situation is essentially identical to how it is when the surface is wet. When it comes to overall performance, the CS5 Grand Touring does better than it should, but it is still unable to compete with the class leaders in any way.
You need to be aware of the fact that the CS5 Grand Touring has excellent resistance to hydroplaning, which means that it is perfectly safe to drive even in extremely heavy rain. Additionally, the tire has excellent performance characteristics on wet asphalt, as it is able to accelerate without any problems and brake in a commendable manner.
The Hankook and Kumho tires on the CS5 Grand Touring are just two examples of how the CS5 Grand Touring outperforms its more affordable competition when it comes to handling wet weather.
With that being said, how is it on snowy roads?
The CS5 Grand Touring is an all-season tire, and as such, it provides traction in winter and snow conditions. However, it is only true in very shallow snow — this tire will not provide you exceptional performance in very tough wintry circumstances because it is not designed for those conditions.
Because this tire offers only average traction in deeper snow and inadequate stopping power, it is not recommended for use on vehicles owned by people who reside in colder climates. In addition to that, the tire does not function very well over ice, which further restricts how often it may be used during the winter.
When the weather forecast calls for significant snow and ice, our team always suggests investing in a good pair of winter tires.
Is it comfortable and refined?
Should I buy the Cooper CS5 Grand Touring?
If you are looking for tires that are easy on your wallet but still deliver excellent performance across the board, we believe that the CS5 Grand Touring should be one of your top considerations. When it comes to performance on dry and wet asphalt, this tire is among the finest in its price category and ranks among the best overall tires. In addition to being exceptionally comfortable and silent, it also features an exceptional treadwear warranty that is good for 80,000 miles. In our estimation, one of the best deals currently available on the market.
