Rotating tires & Firestone

Good thought, but times change

I was told by two different tire mfg people that old radials would get a bias to the carcass as they broke in, so you dind't want to change their direction of rotation. My understanding of their explanation was that the belts would shift inside the carcass, not that the tread would separate, but anyway. Bias ply tires might have had the tread separation thing, I dunno.

On any modern bi-directional radial (made in the last 20+ years) it's not an issue, and the even the vehicle mfg recommend a cross-over rotation pattern to evening out of wear.

Considering Ford's recommended rotation on vehicles equipped with Firestone's is crossover, it better not be a problem or Ford will be in deep doo-doo.

Regardless, Firestone tires can kill you, or at least make you sad. What do you think of the Aquatreads?

Best,
Brian

Brian

The Aquatreads are great in wet weather especially when you hit a puddle. The watter is pumped out and very little or no hydroplaning. Now for dry pavement they do seem to be a little noisy. Not hollowing noisy just noisier than the Michelins I had before. The Aquatreads are on an 87 Mazda 626 so the weight of the vehicle and the suspension system is not all that great, but the Aquatread do stick to the ground nicely both wet and dry.

Regarding the tire rotation on my 98 Explorer with Firestone Wilderness AT's, if I was to rotate the tires crossing the front to the back and the front straight to the back, the teardrop rims would look different than the front tires. I encountered this dillema the first time I rotated the tires. I referred to the owners manual and it stated either straight front to back OR cross the front to the back. I opted for the straight due to cosmetic reasons.

I am still curious if tread separation and cross rotation can be linked.

Oh one other thing. I was not very concerned about my Wilderness AT's since all of the reports were calling out the ATX, ATX II, and Wilderness tires. I belived that the Wilderness tire was a model prior to the newer Wilderness AT's. Well I stand corrected. I saw a news report on TV showing a dark green Explorer on its roof wheels up. The camera zoomed in on the passenger rear tire without its tread. You guessed it, it was a Firestone Wilderness AT tire. Yes, up until then I was hoping there was a confusion as to which Wilderness tire had the problems, but once I saw that scene, my heart sank and I got VERY P**SED OFF. OK enough ranting. Thought I would mention what I saw just in case there is someone else out there still believing that there is hope for the new Wilderness AT's.

Tear drop?? I didn't look!!

Boy, I didn't even look, are the tear drop rims the cast aluminum 15x7's?? I need to look at my wife's truck, she has a 98 Explorer, too. It never ocurred to me to check that before I rotated her BFG's. Oh, well, she hasn't said anything...

What kind of tire wear do you get from the Aquatreads?? I need to put new tires on our T-Bird, and I *hate* the Pirelli's it has right now.

Best,
Brian in CA