Cooper CS4 vs. Goodyear Viva Authority

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onion

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Any opinions on these tires?

This 2004 Accord I bought back in October came with a nearly new set of Riken Raptor tires. I was pretty happy about that at the time... I assumed that this meant I wouldn't have to spend $500 for tires for at least a few years. But I was wrong. These tires have the absolute worst wet traction that I've ever seen in a tire- they're just plain dangerous. If this was my vehicle, I'd probably just drive it and be careful in wet weather... but seeings how this is the Wife's Car, I think I'd better put some decent tires on it. I'll probably sell these Rikens to some poor [censored] on Craigslist.

So in the research I've done so far, it looks like the Cooper CS4 is a reasonably priced tire with good wet traction, a high tread wear number, and it's available in the V speed rating that this Accord requires. I'd be interested to hear if anybody has any experience with or opinion on these tires.

I've also heard good things about the Goodyear Viva Authority- which is available at Walmart for a pretty similar price (slightly cheaper). I know that the Viva 2 is the single most reviled tire in BITOG history... but I seem to recall that the Viva Authority is a different tire entirely. Can anybody confirm that?



Opinions? Comments? Suggestions?
 
The two Viva models do appear to be different. The full name of the newer one is Viva Authority Fuel Max, and it appears to be a private label version of the Assurance Fuel Max tire. They're supposed to be OK tires.

The CS4, especially in H or V ratings, is a more upmarket product. I have V-rated CS4 tires (no H in my size), and I find the wet traction to be pretty good.

I think it's a bit much to say the Accord "requires" a V-rated tire. H-rated would be fine if the tire meets your desires.
 
A vote for the Cooper CS4 - we have them on several vehicles in our fleet and are very pleased. Good wear characteristics, excellent traction in rain and light snow, quiet, good ride, etc.

If I'm not mistaken, the Viva Authority is ONLY available at WalMart, and I'm leery of any product that is made to WalMart specs, even if from a "good" company like Goodyear...
 
Originally Posted By: NEOhio_Bob
I'm leery of any product that is made to WalMart specs...


Although I don't know this, I think the only thing specific about the Viva Authority Fuel Max is the name and slight tread pattern tweak. You see this situation a lot, from a number of tire manufacturers, and indeed, in a number of other industries as well. A good example is consumer printers (and I'm sure there are others). Kodak might sell the ESP-1234 at Best Buy, the ESP-1243 at Walmart, and the ESP-1240 at Staples, but they're all essentially the same printer. Back in the tire industry, consider the Michelin X Radial, sold only at warehouse clubs, like Sam's, Costco, etc. When Consumer Reports last tested the tire (in 2005), they found it to be one of the best of the test, and it placed 2nd, behind the Goodyear Assurance TripleTred. It's a modification of the Harmony tire, and indeed performed BETTER than the Harmony in CR's 2005 tests.

The Viva Authority Fuel Max may very well be a poor tire, I don't know. But I wouldn't expect it to be much different from the Assurance Fuel Max. Goodyear has the Assurance line out there in a number of places. Sam's Club sells the Assurance Touring (which is a modification of the base Assurance), and Sears now sells a new Weatherhandler, which appears to be another modification of the base Assurance tire (I don't think it's a Fuel Max version).

I believe this is all done in the name of price-matching; or that is, taking price-matching out of the equation. You and I might know the Viva Authority Fuel Max is darn-near the same as the Assurance Fuel Max, but Walmart won't have to match the price because it's not the "same" tire. The same is true of Goodyear's own Gemini dealers: they don't necessarily have to match Walmart's price, because it's not the "same" tire.
 
Well, between the 2 tires that you mention, the CS4 would be the better choice. But, there are better choices still and at a good price too! I speek from experience with Good/Year and Honda's. I have had similar G/Y Viva's, Allegra's, WeatherHandlers, Regatta's on Honda Accords and there are better tires for the money. The CS4 are better but, like I said, there are even better tires for your Accord at similar prices.

And most likely, you can buy online and still have W*M install them for little money IMHO! And if your talking about VIVA tires, then you must have a W*M in your area that installs tires.

Our local W*M stores that sell tires will install anyones tires, and they don't care where you bought them. $12.00 per tire. Includes, dismounting and mounting of your new tires, valve stems, 1x balancing and tire disposal. $7.50/tire for life time balance/rotation. You may have to ask your W*M if they'll do this for you and how much? And too, you will have to purchace your own RHW

And as far as the "V" rating tires go...I agree with 100% with Stu_Rock, that an "H" rated tire would be fine for your Accord unless you can only get a "V" in your size or you just want them.

Otherwise, **** the "V's"
 
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I'm driving H rated tires on my Accord. I have BFG Advantage T/A and I like them, in the same price range as the others. They're a new~ish tire so probably not a lot to read about them. Also available in V, but it was another 60 bucks I didn't feel I needed to spend.
 
I don't particularly WANT to pay for V-rated tires- but lots of the independent tire shops around here will not install tires of a lower speed rating than what the car "requires".

I'd have no problem with installing T-rated CS4's if it would save me some money. But so far the only shops I've found that will install T-rated CS4's on my Accord are charging the same or a higher price than the rule-stickler who wants to sell me V-rated tires. For the same price, I'd might as well go with the sturdier tire.

Based on what I've read so far, I'll probably go with the V-rated CS4 tires at this point, unless I find a better deal.

Char Baby- you mentioned that there are better tires for the same price. Got any specific suggestions? My priorities are wet traction, durability, road noise, and smooth ride- roughly in that order. I don't care about handling so long as the wife can keep it between the ditches.

I hadn't looked into TireRack... but maybe I'll call Walmart and see what they have to say about it. But I don't see any Coopers on TireRack.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
What tire size do you need for your Accord ?


205/60/R16

Char Baby suggested that I look into the Hankook H727 tires. I've looked at those before. Going by specs and reviews, they look pretty impressive... but I can't find them at a reasonable price here in Wichita. I could get them through Tire Rack and have them installed at Walmart for slightly less money than the Cooper CS4's would cost me at a local tire shop. Haven't decided if i want to go to that much trouble or not.

I looked into the CS4 tires a little closer, and it turns out that the V-rated CS4 is only warrantied for 60,000 miles. Whereas the T-rated CS4 is warrantied for 80,000 miles. So the decision may hinge on whether or not I can convince a local tire shop to install the T-rated CS4's on my vehicle.
 
I had 3 set of tires installed on my cars the last 4 months, Continental DWS on E430, Yokohama AVID Touring-S on LS400 and Hankook Optimo H727 on Mercury Tracer.

Hankook Optimo H727 and Yokohama AVID Touring-S on different cars so hard to compare, but I must give a node to Hankook Optimo H727 for good ride and quiet.

I think DiscountTireDirect.com has lower price than Tirerack after shipping is included in the total price on Hankook Optimo H727.

Another place you can buy Hankook Optimo H727 is Pep Boys if you have it in Wichita. They may have buy 3 get 1 free, or print a copy of the price from DiscountTireDirect.com to ask for matching price.
 
Originally Posted By: onion
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
What tire size do you need for your Accord ?


205/60/R16

Char Baby suggested that I look into the Hankook H727 tires. I've looked at those before. Going by specs and reviews, they look pretty impressive... but I can't find them at a reasonable price here in Wichita. I could get them through Tire Rack and have them installed at Walmart for slightly less money than the Cooper CS4's would cost me at a local tire shop. Haven't decided if i want to go to that much trouble or not.

I looked into the CS4 tires a little closer, and it turns out that the V-rated CS4 is only warrantied for 60,000 miles. Whereas the T-rated CS4 is warrantied for 80,000 miles. So the decision may hinge on whether or not I can convince a local tire shop to install the T-rated CS4's on my vehicle.


If your Accord requires V-rated tires, you'll have a similar battle with the shop on installing the Hankook Optimo H727s. They're T-rated only if I recall correctly.

For what it's worth, CR noted the H727 to be notably better than the CS4 in almost every metric. The CS4 edged out the H727 in the "wet braking" category. But in every other metric, the H727 was the same as or (usually) better than the CS4.
 
Hokiefyd,
Yes, your correct in the fact that the H727 are only "T" speed rated. I have had "T" rated tires that were better than some "H" rated tires of another brand and I have had better "S" rated tires that were better than some "T" rated tires of another, and on and on! I just depends...The surveys say alot!
Also, PepBoys often doesnt' carry all sizes of the H727's(I couldn't get 205-55-16 for my daughters Mazda3) and they didn't show a stock/order#. I was also told at 2 of my local PB's that they may discontinue the H727's, IDK. PB's would be the place to get the H727's at B3G1 FREE plus the lifetime balance/rotation and RHW.
Otherwise, discounttiretirect has them for $91.00 each free shipping($364.00 delivered) for the 205-60-16 and whatever price that W*M wants for installation at ONION'S location.

Onion,
By the way, how much money does W*M want for installation?
It would be $52 tax/everything(mount/balance/valvestems at my local W*M and they'll throw away my old tires. Lifetime balance/rotation is $7.50 each($30 for 4...$32.40w/tax) and the Hankook Optimo H727 already carries a 4 yr RHW from Hankook. My local SEARS wanted $120.00 more total for everything that I paid for by getting them online and W*M installation. It was worth the running around for something that we'll have for 4-5 years.
 
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Originally Posted By: onion
I don't particularly WANT to pay for V-rated tires- but lots of the independent tire shops around here will not install tires of a lower speed rating than what the car "requires".
Yep, it's all about liability. And that's the same "hurdle" you will find at Walmart TLE as well.


Here's how to "circumvent" it.

Bring in your 4 rims, and tell them the tire you want on the rim. They don't need to know what VEHICLE _you_ will be mounting the tires on; since it's out of their "liability" - since _you_ will then be taking the tires home, jacking up each side of the vehicle your self, and tightening those lugs onto the vehicle
smile.gif



Problem solved.

My grandfather had the exact same problem with a similar car as yours. lol. And this is the method he had to go through with Walmart...he brought all 4 "empty" rims into the shop, and they mounted his tires fine.....Walmart liability is now out of the question, since they did not place the tires ONTO the vehicle.

But the kicker is this, when it comes time to rotate/balance the tires, he's going to do it this way again, jack up all 4 corners, toss the tires in the truck, take the tires to WM, balance them, then take them home and rotate them himself, since they won't be able to "touch" those under-rated spec'd tires that are on his vehicle.

Ts are designed to go MAXIMUM 118mph while the Vs are capacble of 149mph.....

So basically, don't go 149 mph if you don't put those V's on there, now Speed Racer
wink.gif




Really dumb on the car makers part too...but everything is going bigger/bolder....faster, stronger Lol.


Edit:
Last time I was at WM, here in FL, it's

$5 per time to mount
$2 per valve stem
$5 per time for balancing OR $7.50 for the "Lifetime" Balance and Rotation program.....obviously, if you opt for the lower speed rating tires, you won't get your rotations out of the deal, but you can bring in the loose tires at any time (every 6k or whenever) and have them balanced, then just rotate them yourself (tire chalk may help lol).
 
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Originally Posted By: jrenkas
Have had a lot of problems with defective Viva Authorities.
Granted, there's bound to be one bad apple in the bunch. But they replaced them right? At least, they should have if they were indeed "defective" and not just driver error-wear (i.e. out of balance, bubble in the sidewall from riding the tire low on pressure, or blown out due to bad alignment/suspension).


Got a buddy that works at WM TLE, and people come in all the time claiming a tire is defective when it blew out, but when they look at the tread, it's all choppy, worn out on the inside edge usually, and simply "shredded apart" because their camber (or is it toe? lol) was "off" and they were basically "riding" the tire on the soft inside-rubber of the tire - and not the tread - since their alignment/suspension were all out of whack.
 
Originally Posted By: ahoier
Originally Posted By: jrenkas
Have had a lot of problems with defective Viva Authorities.
Granted, there's bound to be one bad apple in the bunch. But they replaced them right? At least, they should have if they were indeed "defective" and not just driver error-wear (i.e. out of balance, bubble in the sidewall from riding the tire low on pressure, or blown out due to bad alignment/suspension).


Got a buddy that works at WM TLE, and people come in all the time claiming a tire is defective when it blew out, but when they look at the tread, it's all choppy, worn out on the inside edge usually, and simply "shredded apart" because their camber (or is it toe? lol) was "off" and they were basically "riding" the tire on the soft inside-rubber of the tire - and not the tread - since their alignment/suspension were all out of whack.


I work at one as well. It's an easy job in a high-stress environment LOL.
 
Our Wal*Mart allows you to bring in your vehicle when they're installing the tires that you bought from somewhere else. I would ask though!

They have certainly made my life easier. Buy your tires on line at a really good price for an even better tire than you might localy, have W*M install them at the W*M price. Life is good! I only dread the day that W*M stops doing this for people.

I have taken in 5 vehicles thus far for installation. The only place that I ever brought in my wheels only was, at SAM's Club because I was also buying tires from them and I didn't want to here it...
 
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After a little more research, I decided I'd go for the Cooper CS4's if I could find them locally in the T-rated version- which has an 80,000 mile warranty as opposed to the V-rated version's 60,000 mile warranty. The Hankook H727 is by all accounts a very nice tire, but only available to me at a reasonable price via Tire Rack. When I added up the price of the tires, shipping, and installation, the Hankooks would have cost almost exactly the same as the Coopers. And there would of course be extra trouble dealing with shipping, finding somebody would would install these T-rated tires on my car, and potential hassles if I need to use the warranty.

As far as specs go, the two tires are very closely matched. My priorities are wet traction, tread life, smooth ride, quiet... roughly in that order. I really don't care about handling in hard corners, nor do I care about speed rating. I'm not road-racing this car (and I would've bought a Buick if the Wife had been willing to drive one). Both tires get rave reviews by consumer reports and at various websites. The Hankook has a 100k mile warranty, whereas the Cooper has an 80k mile warranty- but the Coopers have a higher tread wear rating (780 vs Hankook's 700). The Cooper is rated slightly better for wet braking. Don't know about ride or road noise- but both are top-o-tha-line offerings... so I'd assume that either would meet my mediocre standards.

In the end, it came down to convenience. I had an epiphany on the way home from work today. A few days ago, I got a pretty reasonable price quote for the Coopers at a local tire shop- and the woman on the phone was unnecessarily friendly and made a point to give me her name. That means she's paid on commission. I know how commissioned salesmen are- they want a quick sale with minimal effort on their part... including minimal research and 'due dilligence'. She hadn't asked what vehicle these tires were for- just asked what size I wanted. Furthermore, she lacks a Y chromosome- which means that she likely neither knows nor cares much about things like speed ratings. So I called her up and asked about the quote she gave me- confirming that these were in fact the 80,000 mile version of the Cooper CS4(that means they're T-rated... which I didn't bother to mention to her). So I made an appointment and had the tires installed- no hassles. The price came to $486 including tax.

My initial impression of the tire is that they're a huge improvement over those [censored] Riken Raptors. Much better traction, more stable at highway speed, less tire-squirm on take-off, quieter, smoother ride. Granted, the Rikens aren't a difficult act to follow- but I didn't realize just how bad they were until I drove the car with these tires. I pity tha fool who buys those things from me via Craigslist.

I'll post a review of these tires once I've put a few hundred (or maybe a few thousand) miles on them, and tried them out in some nasty weather.
 
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