Firestone winterforce stink big time

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Came with my camry. 8-9/32 tread all around. (I have four.) 205/65/15 for max sidewall squishiness. No ABS, traction, stability etc. No studs.

Ice... they're terrible.
Packed snow... they're bad.
Black ice (freezing fog)... they're loose.
Powdery snow, can handle up to my bumper. But so what?

If I start sliding sideways, they grab in about three inches. They do this 100s of times in my commute. Slide, grab. Slide, grab.

I've run many cheapish snow tires: Cooper Wx master, Arctic Claw, Champiro Ice, Hankook I-pike studded, Altimax Arctic (best). All out-perform these firestones.

Oh, and in the dry, they shimmy and thump. They weigh more than my all seasons as well. Like a clunky pair of boots that's a size too big you borrow when your own are wet, these are a pox on traction for all who dare buy them.
 
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I agree, although, they make my Element sound like have have monster truck mud tires when on dry pavement, which is almost cool.

I got a deal on mine with rims on Craigslist, so they'll be worn out and replaced with something else (Altimax or Blizzaks, likely), based purely on the noise factor. These are my first set of snow tires ever, so I can't compare the traction to anything but all seasons. I do think that they're still better than an average all season in the cold, would you agree?
 
Yeah I know a couple people who had them come included on their used cars..everyone around here drives so fast in bad conditions not sure what tires they are using..im using nokian hakka r2's and drive slower..surprised there arent more accidents. If you are looking to try something new, ive heard nothing but good things about michellin and nokian.
 
The Winterforces are one of the cheapest snow tires out there for a reason... They're an old design and they suck. They're good in deep, loose snow and dirt though, so they're popular for cheap rallycross tires.

Sadly, tons of people buy them because they're cheap, or they only buy tires from their local Firestone place (and Firestone doesn't make any other snows).
 
I'm glad I traded up to the Champiro Icepro! Seems to have much better traction , wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy quieter on the highway, no thumping above 55 and they get good fuel economy.

The studded winterforce did make my focus into a tank. But the studs were always tearing up parking lots and made it super loud.

Although, they should be called Champiro Icepro Slushmaster. Man, these things ROCK in slush.

The Winterforce are better than an all season tire and get the job done, but they are the bottom of the barrel for winter tires. If you get them studded, they do decent on ice and hard packed surfaces - that is why mine were studded.

I'm honestly quite surprised at how well the unstudded IcePros (they are pinned) are doing for me!

I may end up buying a set of studs and putting them in myself for next winter. But I don't see a reason to do so yet.
 
I have heard bad things about the Firestones as well. We run Yokohama ice guards on the Malibu and they do a great job. Road noise isn't bad for a snow tire and the traction has been awesome.
 
Mine work fine for me. Are you sure you are not overinflated? I wouldn't go over 29PSIG at 32+/-DEGF. Then, Your alignment ( toe and cross camber) will make the biggest difference in handling - most every car Ive driven has a bad alignment - and many unit bodys cant be brought in spec without extraordinary work. I do agree Winterforce dont balance laterally the best - but I didn't use them for high speed highway/interstate. Made my 08 Yaris go in the snow where it wouldn't move a foot on the M&S factories. Maybe certain batches don't have enough silica in the compound? IIRC mine were TAIWAN or Korean made.
 
Outdated trash I concur. Better then an all-season tires that is about it. The one set of winter tires I had the tire dealer let me return them for Blizzacks.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Like a clunky pair of boots that's a size too big you borrow when your own are wet, these are a pox on traction for all who dare buy them.

Ok, that made ma laugh.
laugh.gif
 
Originally Posted By: madRiver
Better then an all-season tires that is about it.

Bingo. Well said.

Shame Firestone can't make a cheaper version of the Blizzak from it's sister company Bridgestone. Heck, even re-releasing an old Blizzak design with Firestone on the sidewall at an economical price would be a hot seller.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
What's the date on the sidewall? Maybe they're old?


+1
 
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Originally Posted By: madRiver
Better then an all-season tires that is about it.

Bingo. Well said.

Shame Firestone can't make a cheaper version of the Blizzak from it's sister company Bridgestone. Heck, even re-releasing an old Blizzak design with Firestone on the sidewall at an economical price would be a hot seller.

That is great idea! The original Blizzak WS-15's were awesome! Much better than most of the cheap "winter" tires out there.
 
Date code 3511. I won't feel bad burning these up on my highway commute! Make this their final season, get a DTD labor day rebate trifecta again.
 
3511 shouldn't be too old for them to be effective - I think it's the lack of studs on them. They really suffer without studs.

I donated the two I had with bad belts to my friend's $300 PEON NEON and we used to random I-pikes that were on a junk car and it seems to do pretty well with them. Those should be about the same vintage.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Came with my camry. 8-9/32 tread all around. (I have four.) 205/65/15 for max sidewall squishiness. No ABS, traction, stability etc. No studs.

Ice... they're terrible.
Packed snow... they're bad.
Black ice (freezing fog)... they're loose.
Powdery snow, can handle up to my bumper. But so what?

If I start sliding sideways, they grab in about three inches. They do this 100s of times in my commute. Slide, grab. Slide, grab.

I've run many cheapish snow tires: Cooper Wx master, Arctic Claw, Champiro Ice, Hankook I-pike studded, Altimax Arctic (best). All out-perform these firestones.

Oh, and in the dry, they shimmy and thump. They weigh more than my all seasons as well. Like a clunky pair of boots that's a size too big you borrow when your own are wet, these are a pox on traction for all who dare buy them.
What...they're not a "premium" tire?
 
When I go to ski I always look at tires on parking lot,t o see what people drive. I saw Firestone only once that tire, and that was a few weeks ago on the car from New Hampshire. Some students drove to Colorado to ski and probably smoke.
Here 8 out of 10 cars have Blzizaks, 1 out of 10 is Michelin X-Ice and 1 out of 10 is Nokian. Michelin from what I got from those who own them is really bad in the mountains once heavy snow hits and in slush, but really good on ice, packed snow and dry. Nokian are probably best for all the worst winter can throw, but price is not justifying performance compare to Blizzak.
 
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I don't do studs. Cost/benefit analysis. Not the money, the annoyance.
smile.gif


Oh, and these tires have one final trick. They trap snow in their treads, say, from a side street. Then when I accelerate and grab 2nd or 3rd gear on wet pavement, the snow flies off and that wheel loses traction for 1/10 second.
 
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