Firestone Destination A/T - Anyone use these?

[MythX]

I'm looking at the Firestone Destination A/T (30x9.5) for my 1994 Sport. Has anyone used these? My concerns are ride quality on highway & handling on icy roads. As far as offroad,, I don't do it much, but if an occasion arises, I'd like to be ready to say yes.

Thanks

 

[Limited02]

I had them on mine and they did a very good job on the ice/snow and were quiet. Only issue I had was they couldn't get them balanced. After going back 8 times in 7 months, they started to dry rot and I ended up getting a new set of Bridgestone Dueler A/T's for free but sold them the next day (I had my 20's by then).

My experience was just a bad set and everyone else I talked to had no issues. Good set of tires for the money IMO.

 

[2stroke]

You can't have tires that are soft and quiet on the highway while performing great offroad. Most off road tires do not perform well on ice either. I would look for an aggressive A/T, and buy a set of winter tires as well. Bridgestone Wrangler authority's perform ok off road, but do howl on the highway. I would look into the hankook dynapro atm. They are ok for off road as far as "highway" tires go, but also ride smooth and don't howl much. They are also softer, and are ok in the winter.

 

[2TimingTom]

These tires ranked #1 on Tire Rack for a long time b

 

[MythX]

Thanks for the responses. Unfortunately, 2 sets of tires is out of the question right now. I'm not looking to climb rocks or do any serious off-roading, I just don't want to be completely unprepared for an opportunity to leave the pavement.

 

[zukman]

Have them on my Expedition good tires

 

[2stroke]

Ok, so you are really just looking at going on some un-maintained roads, mud puddles, plowed fields (although I didn't see much of that last time I went to colorado), etc. One tire I have really come to like is the basic Goodyear Wrangler radial. The one you can get anywhere, even walmart, and is often about $80 a tire or less. I have ran 3 sets, and liked them all. Some are made in china, some in USA. I always requested the USA made ones, and walmart always complied. I got over 50k out of a set. They run quiet down the road, perform as well as you can expect in the winter, and do just fine for light duty off road. The only negative I see is the sidewall is very weak, which might be a problem in Colorado with rocks.

 

[natenkiki2004]

The Cooper Discoverer AT/3's aren't noisy on the highway, handle water-filled ruts (hydroplaning) nicely and while they won't compare to a studded tire on ice, they are the softest non-winter tire that Cooper makes. The snow cleans nicely from the tread and lays down tracks like nobodys business. If I peel out on hard-pack snow in 2wd with limited slip, these tires make a pile of tread chunks. These are my second set, the other is on a 2wd Suburban which have about 10,000 miles on and they look great still.

One of the things that sold me was watching this dude's videos on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/MachineCrewChief/videos?view=0&shelf_id=0&sort=p
It doesn't say in every video but his Subaru has a set of Discoverer AT/3's and he does offroading and driving during snow storms on his channel.

This video shows the tread clearing in snow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj-qLUeNgXc



I personally went with the LT which are 6-ply because I see a lot of gravel roads and just wanted some extra protection. The LT also have a little bit thicker tread on them so you should get a bit more life out of them.


Make no mistake, the Cooper Discoverer AT/3's aren't a mudding tire, they're not a snow tire, they're not a rock-climbing tire... They are, in my opinion a great all-around tire. The one consistent thing everyone who owns them says that they are great in slick and wet conditions. I'm finding them on more and more vehicles in my rural area that sees a fair amount of snow. I drive in all types of conditions and I personally couldn't be happier with them. If I can't get where I need to with my set of chains, Coopers, limited slip and 4x4... I don't need to be out on the road.

 

[murkinstock]

Ok, so you are really just looking at going on some un-maintained roads, mud puddles, plowed fields (although I didn't see much of that last time I went to colorado), etc. One tire I have really come to like is the basic Goodyear Wrangler radial. The one you can get anywhere, even walmart, and is often about $80 a tire or less. I have ran 3 sets, and liked them all. Some are made in china, some in USA. I always requested the USA made ones, and walmart always complied. I got over 50k out of a set. They run quiet down the road, perform as well as you can expect in the winter, and do just fine for light duty off road. The only negative I see is the sidewall is very weak, which might be a problem in Colorado with rocks.

Those are what I have at the moment and they seem to perform very well in mud. (Though I don't have much experience with other tires except my old worn ones which somehow also did pretty good in snow and mud. lol) But they kept the truck moving.

I am very pleased with them other than (like you said) the sidewalls. You can see that they are weak because they're wavy, but I have noticed plenty more tires have wavy sidewalls. I think it's kinda creepy. But I haven't had one issue!

 

[MythX]

Thanks for all the info, this site is a great source of answers, especially for those of us only moderately mechanically inclined.

I'd like to add that I'm thinking of slightly larger tires (30x9.5). I understand this will raise the truck only about 1/2", but I'm hoping to get a bit of a more aggressive stance out of it. I suspect I won't experience much difference in the way of handling/mpg. Does anyone know if this size will fit in the spare tire well, or will I need to store it elsewhere?

2stroke, I think you nailed it, as far as what I'll be doing off the highway.

Thanks

 

[natenkiki2004]

30x9.5 should fit the spare. I almost went with that size but it didn't make enough of a ride height difference and would just lower MPG and cause more stress on the driveline (granted not much of either but my Ex needs all the help it can get).

 

[2stroke]

30x9.5 is 1.1" taller and .25" wider than stock 235/75/15. You won't be able to tell the difference in stance, power, or mileage. Get which ever is cheaper. You would be better off with new front coil springs, and helper spring shocks in the rear.

 

[91notAho]

I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted to say that the Destination A/T's are the best tire I have ever owned. I had those tires put on my 91 Navajo in 2010 and they are still on the truck now, with nearly 100000 miles on them they still have legal tread left. I have been in snow up to the doors and never had a traction issue. Simply incredible tires.

 

[CreepingNet]

I just bought the newer Firestone Destination AT/2s for my 93' Explorer Sport. Seem to be great tires thus far. Looking forward to seeing how they handle the snow in the winter. The Michelin M/S I had on there for 11 years did great despite feeling like gummy bears at proper pressure late in their life.

 

[FR-425]

I use them for planter boxes

 

[AGodlyCanuck]

ive looked at them, they look like a pretty good Summer tire.

JUst make sure you don't inflate your tires to 26psi... for... reasons...

 

[alaskan155]

have them on a 2000 jetta, seem to work good....

 

[smegun]

destination A/T only reason I think ive kept the truck I put new tires on it then sucked a valve thought my ball joints were bad they cleaned that problem up (let go steering alignment straight) and they are much much quieter than stock wranglers …. ok tires but im not overly impressed with sidewalls of tires for that year of 15 …firestones pro generic brand was using a the newer process and had even more sidewall but I stayed with the original raised letter

I was looking for a different purpose at tires sportier tires for a Lincoln only one I seemed to like available mich defender but now I cant find it ...there are defenders but ??? carry the slime youll need it eventually off road the guys i see here are buying old military MT tires but since im in florida i don't see hard terrain and wonder why they dont use a half paddle :/