Review and photos by Paul Williams
If you want to test a winter tire, then January and February in eastern Canada is the time and place to do it. The winter of 2013-2014, however, is extraordinary; extreme even for Canadians. Here in Ottawa we’ve seen sustained night-time temperatures of –30 degrees and daytime highs struggling to reach –25.
Then it’s above zero for a day – a 30-degree increase! – allowing everything to melt into a slippery, greasy mess. This followed by rain and a plunge in temperature to freeze everything into slick surfaces that resemble an ice rink (add 60 km/h winds and you might be amused to see Canadians inelegantly blown down sidewalks and across roads… it’s actually not that funny!).
In other words, this is a place where you don’t want, but need winter tires. In fact in Quebec, right next door to Ottawa, their use is mandatory from December to March.
   Cooper Discoverer M+S Sport. Click image to enlarge |
Cooper Tires Discoverer M+S Sport is a new tire that’s designed to handle all of the above conditions. The Discoverer M+S Sport is Cooper’s premium studless SUV/CUV winter tire; engineered, according to the company, “for drivers looking for excellent traction on snow and ice.” Cooper advertising presents this tire fitted to vehicles like an Audi Q5, for instance, emphasizing its suitability for use on higher performance and/or luxury SUVs or crossovers.
The Discoverer M+S Sport features a directional tread pattern to “more effectively evacuate water from the contact area,” a central rib designed to provide “crisp, responsive steering,” and “snow groove” technology designed to “help you plough through snow and ice.” The tire’s tread design incorporates “biting edges” that enhance grip, according to Cooper Tires.
The company’s UK website says of the Discover M+S Sport that its silica compound, “capitalizes on the higher traction characteristics of ‘snow on snow’ versus ‘snow on rubber,’” and I asked for clarification about this. Turns out this is the above-mentioned “snow groove” effect, explained by Cooper Tires as follows:
Water/Snow/Ice (any H2O combination) make a great lubricant for rubber but a very poor friction enhancer. Snow sticking to snow: now that’s the snowball effect. [It] sticks together and that’s the concept of Snow Groove; try to retain as much snow in the tire as possible to improve traction on snow. The snow in the tread sticks to the snow on the road surface which allows for better grip when accelerating or braking.
The Discoverer M+S Sports replaced a set of Gislaved winter tires on my Honda SUV that had seen two winters of light use. This vehicle is not heavily driven (as an auto writer, I’m usually driving test vehicles, so my personal vehicle does only about 10,000 km per year, maximum) and its winter tires were in excellent condition, although granted, not new.
After having the 215/70-16 (original equipment specification) Cooper tires mounted at Nepean’s Clyde Avenue Frisby Tire Centre, the change in vehicle dynamics was surprising and obvious. The first observation was that when cornering, the vehicle felt more stable, less inclined to slide. Handling, in other words, was improved, making even the humble Element feel more responsive, and its driver feel more confident when changing directions.
 Cooper Discoverer M+S Sport. Click image to enlarge |
Starting from a standstill on a snowy surface was also markedly improved; I know this because the traction control system is now rarely invoked when moving away, as opposed to my experience previously. Likewise when braking, the anti-lock system is activated less, indicating that the tires are doing a good job maintaining grip in slippery conditions.
This is, of course, what you want. And while winter tires are demonstrably more effective than all-seasons (or should I say three-seasons?), it is when stopping that you are likely to experience the greatest improvement. The Rubber Association of Canada points out that winter tires can provided 50 percent more traction than all-season tires, and my experience is that you will stop up one to two car lengths before vehicles equipped with all-season tires.
The same improvement was evident on ice as on snow, although no tire is able to prevent a loss of traction if your speed is excessive. Nonetheless, with prudent driving on icy surfaces, your vehicle will maintain its stability and the driver his or her control when equipped with a dedicated winter tire like the Cooper Discoverer M+S Sport.
My opportunities to experience the Discoverer M+S Sport tires on bare surfaces were initially limited by the road conditions – it’s mostly been slush, ice and snow. But eventually the roads have cleared and I’ve been able to drive on clear highways. My sense is that they are not quieter than other winter tires; and may in fact be louder than some. My Frisby Tires contact suggested this might be the case due to the rigidity of the Discoverer M+S Sport’s sidewalls and its specification as a “handling” tire.
You shouldn’t be surprised, however, if you don’t experience the type of smooth, quiet ride associated with all-season “touring” style tires. Winter tires are typically louder on dry surfaces; their specialized tread patterns and rubber compounds geared more to traction than quietness (and your vehicle likely has more sound insulation than my boxy Honda
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Element, with its acoustic properties emulating that of a speaker enclosure…).
Overall, I felt as if my Cooper Discoverer M+S Sport-equipped front-wheel drive utility vehicle could handle anything this winter could throw at it, and indeed at one point I was able to successfully climb a steep, ice-covered hill that left others stranded at the side of the road.
Big sigh of relief!
The Discoverer M+S Sport is available in T, H and V speed ratings to cover 16 to 19-inch rim diameters. Pricing ranges from between $150-$250 per tire, depending on size and source. The M+S Sport is ideally suited for CUVs, SUVs and performance geared SUVs, according to Cooper Tires.
