Does Cooper still use the Starfire name?

[tommygunn]

I saw Starfire tires advertised at Pep Boys, but I thought Starfire tires hadn't been made in years, and that they are/were a Cooper private label, most likely Chinese.

They have the RS-C 2.0 which I've heard of the RS-C line in the past.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Yep - They are still coopers.

 

[stephen9666]

Yes, as noted above. You can even see it listed on the Cooper corporate website where it lists their brands.

http://coopertire.com/

 

[daves87rs]

Still see the SF 340s floating around here lately..and the ones mentioned. I thought Starfire was a dead brand too, but it looks to be their economy line now, and it looks like it's going to grow too..heard truck tires were coming too.

Catch being they won't be made here....

 

[NHGUY]

Would be great on an "Oldsmobile"...

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Would be great on an "Oldsmobile"...

Thinking the same thing. But it would need to be one like this

or this

Not this

 

[Jarlaxle]

I'll take that silver one...

 

[mrsilv04]

It appears that Cooper is concentrating their marketing efforts more on the Mastercraft line, than on the Starfire line.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
It appears that Cooper is concentrating their marketing efforts more on the Mastercraft line, than on the Starfire line.


Because more chains sell those....

 

[CapriRacer]

I have always puzzled over the use of private brands. It would appear to be counter productive for the tire manufacturer.

I can understand a small tire dealer trying to compete with a WalMart or a large chain. Those large buyers can get significant discounts because of the volume. So I can understand why a dealer group might want its own brand - sold strictly on price.

But I don't understand why a tire manufacturer would encourage this - or why this even works.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
I have always puzzled over the use of private brands. It would appear to be counter productive for the tire manufacturer.

I can understand a small tire dealer trying to compete with a WalMart or a large chain. Those large buyers can get significant discounts because of the volume. So I can understand why a dealer group might want its own brand - sold strictly on price.

But I don't understand why a tire manufacturer would encourage this - or why this even works.

Someone posted here that the second line is normally sold without a good warranty. And also allows the manufacturer to compete in the low end while preserving there main brands reputation. Maybe also it allows them to keep producing the previous generation in tire technology?
My Focus came with practically new SF340's, and they are OK. A little noisy, not great wet traction, softish sidewalls. Ride smooth though. A good tire to put on before you sell a car I guess!
Putting some more air in them sharpens up the handling quite a bit and they do suprise me sometimes how well they grip in the dry. I'll run them until they lose all their wet grip though and probably get something better, or maybe not if I'm selling the car.

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
I have always puzzled over the use of private brands. It would appear to be counter productive for the tire manufacturer.

I can understand a small tire dealer trying to compete with a WalMart or a large chain. Those large buyers can get significant discounts because of the volume. So I can understand why a dealer group might want its own brand - sold strictly on price.

But I don't understand why a tire manufacturer would encourage this - or why this even works.


Probably a combination of marketing and history.

Marketing: The company can sell Cooper tires to retailer A, Mastercraft tires to retailer B, and Starfire tires to retailer C... and all three retailers can be in the same town, yet they're not in direct competition with each other... as they would be if all three both sold Cooper branded tires.

Also, "positioning". Michelin is a good example. Uniroyal on the low end, BFG in the middle, and Michelin on the top end. This way, Michelin can sell a cheaper/lower technology tire (as a Uniroyal), yet not risk tarnishing the established Michelin brand.

Cooper is doing this as well. They're using Mastercraft as their middle tier tires, and Starfire on the low end.

History: Somewhere along the line, they acquired/bought the Starfire brand, and then they created(?) the Mastercraft brand (apparently in homage to the company being known as the Master Tire & Rubber Company prior to being renamed Cooper).

As with Olds and Mercury, it would be a fairly large effort just to kill off one of these brands.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

There's a Starfire tire I see on a lot of trucks that seems to be pretty close in design to the Cooper Discoverer AT/3 or Cooper Adventurer.

I considered a set of the SF-340 but the treadwear rating was low compared to others with a similar price.