Does anyone like Firestone?

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nowadays, a firestone tire is a tire that was released by bridgestone 3 years ago. same company, same production lines as I understand, same technologies. Just the newer tech starts on the bridgestone line and is later sold on the f'stone line.

i had a set of destination LEs on a recent jeep and they were great.

just like with any brand, i avoid the lower tier products. i think all of the manuf's have entry level tires that generally sück.

M
 
Originally Posted By: 67Customs
I don't think you should judge a brand based on the tires that come on most stock vehicles.


Yeah you should, otherwise they'd mold "General Motors" on the sidewall.
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They're hoping you'll blindly buy more of the same. If you're an idiot, maybe.

Tire naming is pretty stupid, you have the Michelin MXV4+ Energy or somesuch then the MXV4+ Touring, one is awesome, one is a walmart private label. (Just an example, not real.) Then of course so is having a fleet of cars called the Cutlass supreme, cruiser, ciera, and calais.
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Michelin is smart having Uniroyal for a second tier.
 
I think Firestone tires themselves are OK, but the local Firestone dealer has hideous service; they once changed my oil and I caught it two quarts low. Fortunately there was no damage, but I will never trust or use them again. There was a Firestone dealer in Glendale, CA that was great a few years back, but the shop got sold.
 
Some folks do.

I think my Protege5 came with Dunlop SP5000M's
I think the M stands for Mazda OEM specs. The previous owner purchased two sets of the same tire before selling the car.

So in some cases, it does work.

Of course, there are not many choices in P195/50-16, so perhaps that's what the tire store pushed.
 
The Firestone Steel Radial 500 was the tire that was recalled around 1975 and hurt their reputation. I had a set of FR680 tires that were fantastic. I've also seen some of the Steeltex radials have thread seperation problems on vehicles at work.
 
I have never had firestones before, but 4 years ago bought a set of winterforce snow tires for the XC, and they have held up wonderfully and still ore better than 1/2 tread after 4 seasons (mid dec to early march) and are unstoppable (4 mounted on steel wheels on an AWD wagon).
 
My last firestone experience was a "Firehawk" that fits the 16" Focus wheel. One of the few tires that does. There's not a huge tire selection for that car.... at least in stock.

They got a bubble in one sidewall at about 15K miles and didn't ride so well. The goodrich I replaced them with had a whole other set of issues... and I won't be going back to either of those anytime soon.

Personal experience would cause me to lean toward Cooper.. mostly for treadwear... Grip in winter is Par.. but long life is the selling point for me.
 
Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
The original Firestone radials that almost did them in was the 721.

IIRC Firestone's ads stated that 721 referred to the steel belt's as 7 strands around 2 wrapped by 1.
And didn't the steel corrode and break apart?
 
In over 45 years of driving I have had one set of Firestones and it was a bad experience. The tires were bad and the service at the Firestone store was bad. I now only go to Discount Tire. I have a set of thier house brand (Arizonans) on my 01 Escape and high performance Kumho's on my 06 Mustang GT. I have become a Kumho fan. I have Goodyears that came on my 09 Acadia and I took it to Discount to buy thier rotate and balance policy.
 
Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
The original Firestone radials that almost did them in was the 721.
the 721 is what they replaced my 500's with ... neither was worth a darn. 3 of 4 of my 500's had blisters larger than a silver dollar in a few months; the 721's lasted 2 or 3 months too.

Crooked dealer selling junk ... never cared for Firestone since. My wife has a set on her Fusion (225-50/ZR17) which were new when we bought it used ... noisy but otherwise ok. Bridgestone corrected most problems. Read Capri's discussion on the Explorer situation ... not all tire quality issues ...
 
Bad dealers really bite. I bought at the wholesale club twice, and after they couldn't seal a bead, I took my father's old advice (from years ago) to visit an indie tire store a city away. The tires there were less costly, and lasted longer. I'm sure they were fresh. That place sells lots of tires.

I bet that "New Old Stock" is a big problem in tire places.
 
I've had good luck with firestones.

I had a pair of 721's on the rear of a Dodge 400.One lasted 3 years before a screw/bolt took it out.The other one was on the car when I sold it 2 years after that incident.
I ran Firestone all-terrains which were decent and mud terrains which were great for traction but very noisy.Goodyears on the other hand have almost killed me a couple of times.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr_Joe
Firestone & Bridgestone fan here. My most recent buy was the Destination A/T for a truck.


Me too although I have to say, as a disclaimer, mainly for truck and suv tires. Haven't bought a Bridgestone or Firestone tire for a car in 2+ decades. Not any recent experience with them so can't really say too much. I would say I would probably lean towards Bridgestone for a car tire over Firestone. For light truck tires though either.

I am a HUGE fan of the Firestone Destination line for trucks and suv's. The LE especially is in my opinion one of the top 2-3 if not the actual #1 in all season tires. This is my 3rd vehicle with them and they are hands down one of the best truck tires I have ever had bar none. I would rate them higher even than the Michelin LTX M+S's.

I like both companies.
 
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My kid brother has the Firestone AT radials on his '99 Chevy 1/2 ton. He liked them so much, he is on his 3rd set. The truck has 220K miles on it...each set of 'stones has lasted 80-90K and I can tell you that they are quiet, ride well and handle well.

Depends on which model you get...these are good tires...check the reviews at www.tirerack.com
 
Very satisfied with my Firestone Destination ATs.

By the way, Hercules is a tire distributor. They may have some tires made by Cooper for them, but they are not one of Cooper's brands; those are Dean, Avon, Mastercraft, Starfire.
 
I have had four sets of FS Destination tires. Three sets were A/Ts and one was H/Ts. I have zero complaints about them.

The Destinations came out after the Wilderness fiasco and I think FS made a real effort to build a quality tire. Mine have worn evenly, held up extremely well, and lasted at least 35K miles. I have had FS patch nail punctures three times at no charge. Rotations are also free, though I kind of neglect that. I think with this particular FS line, you definitely get a good tire for the money. I don't have much experience with their other tires.
 
Got a set of the original Bridgestone Revos that have over 70,000 miles on them, and I have a set of Firestone Transforce A/Ts with 35,000 that might make it to 40K. You generally get what you pay for.
 
The Firestone name has had a stigma for some time due to some quality control issues over the years.

In todays age, a tire company needs to put out a good product. It's just way to easy (like it should be) for a class action lawsuit over death and injury due to poor design to bankrupt a company.

It makes no sense to the profit margin for a company to put a dangerous tire out in todays market.

Now, ride comfort, handling (to a limited extent), and tread life differ with models and brands. But price differs aswell.

I have used CHEAP nanking, Kumoto, goodyears, firestones, ect. . . on my cars and have never had any issues or complaints.

My VW came from the factory with OEM Hancooks.

Tire tech and quality is at a all time high and Firestone would work more than fine for you.
 
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