Cooper sidewalls cracking

Ugh. Dudes. Broskis. I bought these Cooper Adventurer A/T (PepBoys specific AT) after reading good things. 265/75r16 with aftermarket FN Wheels and a 3"/2" level. They've been on my truck for 8 months and maybe 10k miles. Mild off-roading. I mean like, putting around the farm at 5mph or treking across clay fields to dirt tracks. I keep them between 40-42psi.
I run through a drive-thru Carwash once every 5-8 weeks getting the basic wash with no wheel additives. I spray Armor-All tire shine on them every 3 months when I detail it. The cracking is minimal but it's there on three of four tires. I didn't notice it until rotating tires and detailing today. Should I be concerned?

New:

Now:

 

ive seen alot worst,, i have cooper at3's with 12000 miles on them, they are about 2/3 worn down, 4 ply tho,, you have way more tread then mine ,, they are coming off today , and a new set of 265/75/16's 6 ply ,,toyo open country at's, are going on, cant wait, getting it done today, got them for 570. delivered to my door,,,

 

That appears bad for tires used for only 8 months.

What is the date code of those tires? Maybe they were setting in a warehouse dry rotting for a few years before being sold to you.

 

I had something similar on old set of ATRs. They cracked about 1" off the rim, all the way around, all 4 tires. It started like yours, just looking superficial, but it got worse as time went on. Cooper ended up warrantying the tires, prorated them based on tread depth and gave me that amount back on a new set of Coopers. I had about 60% tread left when it happened, so quite a bit more miles than you have on yours. I'd keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't get worse.

 

That isn't good for them being so new. Maybe they sat on a shelf in the warehouse for a long time before you bought em.
I have heard of Armorall supposedly being linked to cracking in some cases.

 

I felt bad after only getting 40k out of my AT3, before going to the Michelin MS/2...

 

Toyo is a quality tire. Just the overall appearance looks better than the Coopers. I swapped the ATP's for the AT2's and glad I did.

 

I wish the AT2 was still in production, that was a great front tire for 2wd trucks with the ST traction tire on the back.

Howard

 

Was thinking of the manufacture date too. Check that.

I have heard that Armor All dries rubber out also.

Doesn't look like it is anything to be concerned about but is a bit ragged for a "newish" tire.

 

I've also heard that the armorall interior wipes lead to discoloration and sometimes cracking.

 

How much tire shine do you use?

 

It's been known for decades. Armoral is the worst thing you can use on rubber. So are a lot of other "rubber preservatives/cleaner's/conditioners" Then you have the mud issue. Mud prevents the tire from releasing various additives that prevent cracking. It also sucks the moisture and additives out of the tire. Now that I know what I know about a mud soaked tire I'll be rinsing them off, on both sides every time I plow through the mud. Also, not driving on a tire regularly will also cause premature cracking because as the tire flexes it releases the additives that prevent cracking. Then there is the soap you are using at the car wash which washes away the additives. High elevations also can cause premature cracking because there is more ozone at higher elevations. Parking near generators also cause an increase in ozone in the area. I have no idea why.

Then there is "blooming". When a tire turns brown right after you bought them the worst thing anyone can do is scrub off the brown and coat them with something loaded with petroleum distillaates so they can look "cool". That brown is "Blooming" which is the tire releasing it's anti-aging/cracking additives. Michelin's and a few others have the most "blooming". I may have contributed to the premature cracking of my Michelin's because I scrubbed off the brown stuff. When I get my new set of Cooper ATW's this weekend I'll let them "bloom" if they do. Using anything but very mild detergent like baby shampoo isn't good for tires. Pure water is what I"ll use in the future unless they get really dirty with baked on mud.

I have a set of Michelin MS2's which are cracking prematurely with only 50,000 miles on them. They have been on the truck 5 years. I haven't checked the "born on date" but these Michelin's were subjected to high altitudes and sitting for a year before I bought the truck from my dad. Then they suffered through two very frigid winters. I'm replacing them this weekend with Cooper ATW's only because of the winters we have here. If I lived in a warmer climate I'd replace with the newer version of M/S 2's in a heartbeat unless I was going to start doing hard core off-roading and the M/S 2's worked quite well for the type of off-roading I do anyway. They actually shocked me at times when it came to what they would climb and what they would power through. Never even had a sidewall slice in quite a few sharp "rock beds". I was always VERY careful what line I took though.

We can't blame tire manufacturers for everything.