Firestone observation

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I never hear of anyone buying Firestone tires and it's rare when I spot them on a vehicle anymore. I realize Bridgestone owns them, but the Firestone brand
seems to have declined quite a bit over the years.
 
My wifes rav 4 ran two sets of Bridgestone, and presently on firestone, all bought from Firestone.


for me firestone is fairly convenient , for tire repair and tire purchase. Lots of firestones around in my area, and in the state, for flat repair.

Have no loyalty for firestone, more of a convenience thing.
 
I just bought a set of Destination LE2s for my old Dakota pickup on Friday. DT doesn’t normally stock them, but could get them for me w/in two days. With the Black Friday rebates, and a credit on the Goodriches that only made it 46K out of the 60K warranted, the Firestones were $330 for the set, mounted, lifetime balanced & rotated, with DT’s “certificates”/insurance. My Dakota still has 15” wheels, so all tire options are pretty cheap. I see these as OE tires on lots of new Jeeps (not that that is a ringing endorsement) but they’re warranted for 60K too, and, with the low annual mileage I put on the truck, a set of Michelin’s would probably age out of DT’s willingness to service them.
 
I put Firestone Affinity tires on my wifes Santa Fe. After about 20K, they have a vibration. Rotated them, re-balanced them and it was better, but still there. I would not buy again. They were fairly inexpensive so I guess you get what you pay for.
 
I like the A/T ~ both on/off the road = pretty short runs in the mud … back in my waterfowl days I’d of had something more aggressive though:
 
It probably something to do with all those people in Explorers dying, and Ford helping to cover it up with non-disclosure agreements on every lame cash settlement.

Or maybe it has to do with the Decatur IL plant making bad rubber for decades, leading to... people dying on sudden sidewall ruptures.

I know that's all pre-Bridgestone, but some people actually try to defend this awful company, or deny the obvious, that all this actually did happen.

My family had one of those infamous Firestone sidewall blowouts at 55MPH on a highway. I shudder to think what would have happened if my Mom was behind the wheel, and not my Brother who wrestled that car back into control like a Boss. Entire sidewall blown out. All 3 other tires perfectly fine. Car meticulously maintained including regular tire pressure checks. No leaks leading up to blowout.

But people still excuse, deny, and lie that all this never happened.
 
Firestone tires were hit or miss even in the 70s. My dad used to like the brand and purchased a set of their aramid belted radials for our 1972 Catalina. As I recall, 2 or 3 of them failed in blowouts. The 79 Bonneville my parents purchased new came with Firestone 721 radials. 2-3 of them also failed (blowouts). The local Firestone shop gave my dad decent credit to purchase new tires. Maybe in the older days of steel belted radials (or kevlar) other brands weren't the greatest, either, but it was enough for me to never consider the purchase of Firestone tires. There are more than enough good brands out there so why take a chance?
 
The issues of the 70’s put a permanent black spot on Firestone. Never again. There are so many good brands out there.
 
Originally Posted By: HangFire
It probably something to do with all those people in Explorers dying, and Ford helping to cover it up with non-disclosure agreements on every lame cash settlement.

Or maybe it has to do with the Decatur IL plant making bad rubber for decades, leading to... people dying on sudden sidewall ruptures.

I know that's all pre-Bridgestone, but some people actually try to defend this awful company, or deny the obvious, that all this actually did happen.

My family had one of those infamous Firestone sidewall blowouts at 55MPH on a highway. I shudder to think what would have happened if my Mom was behind the wheel, and not my Brother who wrestled that car back into control like a Boss. Entire sidewall blown out. All 3 other tires perfectly fine. Car meticulously maintained including regular tire pressure checks. No leaks leading up to blowout.

But people still excuse, deny, and lie that all this never happened.



During the period of the Explorer issue … I had a 2500 GMC with some E rated Firestone tires. I checked around best I could and could not find anyone having issues with the HD tire on a GM vehicle … I ran them 59k and took them off with lots of rubber. I replaced them with Goodyear tires … but no regrets running what I had paid for …
 
There are tons of firestone tires, and they make plenty of house brands also.

There are tons of firestone service centers around here, there are two on the main street near my house, probably 3-4 on the way to work alone.
 
My sister and her ex-husband had an Explorer. It blew a tire on the interstate and flipped. They and their son were buckled in, and weren’t seriously hurt. This was a year or so before the problem was known. They could have sued, but the vehicle was already scrapped.

I remember the unions had a fit when Bridgestone took over, and closed the plant. I’m glad they did. The Japanese taking over was probably the best thing for them.

I have Destination LE2’s on my Ranger and they’re great tires. A coworker has them, too. Firestone has a new tire line called Champion Fuel Fighter, and I got a set for my mother-in-law’s car. Good tire; they don’t cost much more than the Chinese tires, but much better ride.
 
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After the Firestone 500 debacle thirty some years ago, I never considered purchasing that brand again. And I wouldn't let Firestone work on my wheelbarrow.
 
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