New Cooper Snow Tires Put to the Test

Cooper has introduced two new snow tires in time for what The Old Farmer’s Almanac is forecasting will be a tough winter season for many in 2015-16.

The Cooper Weather-Master WSC is a studdable winter tire designed for wet and severe winter conditions. We tested the Weather-Master WSC without studs and found it offered very good snow traction and braking on ice; wet grip is a notch higher than many other winter tires, but not quite as good as most all-season tires.

If you live in an area where roads are routinely plowed after a storm, then the Cooper WM SA2 is worth considering, along with several other tires in our Ratings. The WM SA2 is a studless winter tire, and we found it to be a better all-weather choice than the typical winter tire. It offers a good balance of grip on cleared roads, confident handling, and strong snow traction, but the downside was just average stops on ice.

Cooper offers the WSC in 38 popular sizes that are, or will be, available to cover a wide range of cars and crossovers. The WM SA2 comes in 19 sizes to fit mostly cars.

For more information on these Cooper snow tires and others, see our tire buying advice and Ratings.

More from Consumer Reports:
5 least reliable cars from Consumer Reports' survey
How to buy long-lasting tires
Best cars for making it to 200,000 miles

Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright © 2006-2015 Consumers Union of U.S.