By Norm NeedhamArticle from WhichCar

The Cooper AT3 LTs have notched up 20,000km.

I have clocked up more than 20,000km on the Cooper AT3s now, which made me realise I’ve been slack performing their second rotation. At their 10K rotation, they showed a measured wear of 1mm; boding well for their longevity. The first rotation also saw me make a pair of locating studs so I could refit the Amarok wheels with much less swearing.

While a big share of the distance travelled so far has been on blacktop, there were some sojourns into the red and rougher outback. The AT3s have been to Lake Gairdner and environs, for Speed Week, the Barrier Ranges for the Outback Challenge, and the drought-ravaged Far West NSW for the Cliffhanger 4WD Event. There’s also been some beach work and track exploration along Australia’s East Coast.

It was at “Cliffy” that the AT3s suffered their first and only (thus far) puncture. In rocky terrain that was tearing apart the competition cars’ tyres, and which was plenty lumpy enough to mask a deflating tyre, my aftermarket TPMS warned of the slow leak and saved the tyre. I remain amazed at where one finds those damned tek screws!