American made/owned tire company?

I need new tires for my '99 Explorer Sport.
Old tires are Michelin 255 70R16 and they have done well.

I want to look at an American owned/manufactured tire this time...might go for a smaller ratio and a more highway type tread...maybe a 245 70R16.

Any brand/model suggestions?

Sure do thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[kevinspann]

I'm not sure why all the online places insist on a 255/70/16, unless Ford changed the spec in the later years. Should be a 235/70/16

Michelin are pretty much always a good choice, but it will come down to what you want to spend.

 

[colintrax]

Actually it's a 235/75r16 not a 70

 

[FIND]

I'm not sure why all the online places insist on a 255/70/16, unless Ford changed the spec in the later years. Should be a 235/70/16

Michelin are pretty much always a good choice, but it will come down to what you want to spend.

Because 255/70R16 WAS an optional tire size on Explorers. It is what my 99 came with stock.

 

[colintrax]

^really? Didn't know that

 

[obie]

Goodyear Tires, Cooper Tires, BF Goodrich, Interco, Firestone, and Hoosier Tires (if you want to race your explorer at a track, haha) are American made. I'm pretty sure that there are plenty of others too.

 

[boominXplorer]

235/70/16s came on the 02+ explorer. All explorers 98-01 that came with 16s came with 255/70/16.

 

[BigBlackMerk]

All explorers 98-01 that came with 16s came with 255/70/16.

this is true. thats what my mounty came with factory

 

[dt98]

Just got back from Thanksgiving meal w/all the trimmings...

Ok back to tires for my '99 Sport...

Thanks for all the info/replies...

This Explorer Sport must have been an optional model...leather interior, etc... and the Ford sticker inside the driver side door says 255/70/16 so that must be the stock/recommended size for this one with the (I guess) optional alum rims which I think are the best looking rims IMO Ford ever put on the Explorer...

Anyway, from what I can find, there are a lot of tires manufactured in the USA but only a couple are USA owned and that still doesn't mean all their tires are manufactured in the states. So I'm wondering which is best for us...buying from a USA owned company and buy a tire from them which might have been manuf overseas or ...buy a tire model that is manuf in the states but owned overseas.

Looks like Cooper and Goodyear/Kelly are the only American owned companies.

I'm still researching/thinking but if I had to buy today I'd look at the Cooper CTS... And I want a more highway type tire and slightly less wide. I'd look at the CTS in 245/70/16 maybe.

On the other hand I'm wondering if we're too far gone and if it really matters anymore...say it ain't so!

 

[swshawaii]

All the reviews I've read on Cooper street tires have been very positive.

http://mysporttrac.com/shared/msgboard9e.asp?BOARDNAME=MSG&VIEW=1282334&SUB=1282339

 

[Tbars4]

...This is a good honest read before you make a decision..
http://madeintheusabyamericans.blogspot.com/2008/06/stimulus-check.html

 

[DkCopper]

I'll put in my vote for Coopers. I just put the new Discoverer AT-3's on my Ex, and so far, they're great.

 

[obie]

Wow, I didn't realize BF Goodrich was a French company. And apparently Firestone is owned by the Japanese. It's sometimes difficult to figure out exactly who owns what companies though.

 

[Anime]

Michelin (French company) bought the BF Goodrich name long ago. They do make a lot of the tires in the USA though, including Michelins. Those that aren't made in the US are usually made in Canada or Mexico, not France or something.

Firestone is owned by Bridgestone (Japanese company), though sometimes it seems the other way around from the marketing in the US. Lots of Firestones are made in the USA, as are some Bridgestone truck tires, but most Bridgestone passenger tires, especially the performance ones, are made in Japan.

Sticking with USA-made stuff is good, but tires made in Japan are excellent quality. Goodyear and Cooper may be USA-owned, but Michelin and Bridgestone are usually better in terms of quality. My current Michelins are made in Canada, but they're still better than the USA-made offerings of Goodyear, Dunlop, Cooper, etc. I'd rather have my old USA-made Michelins though, those were the best.

 

[Flag Gibby]

I run the Cooper Discoverer ATR on my Mountaineer which has been replaced with the Discoverer AT3 line. I have no complaints with the tire at all. It has been a very reliable tire responding great in all variety of situations including deep snow and mud. In fact I like the quality and responsiveness of the tire so much that all of my vehicles have Cooper tires on them now. F150 plow/work truck = Discoverer M+S (Mountain Snow rated), Fusion SE V6 = CS4 H rated (different tread pattern from the T rated), and the Mountaineer = Discoverer ATR. You will lose some MPG with the all terrain tire, but the highway treads still hold very well in the snow/ice. My only suggestion is to make sure that you balance and rotate the tires every 5000 miles if you go with the Cooper brand.

 

[OffTrac]

Recycle and reuse and do the most good by also supporting a company owned and operated in the U.S.:

Treadwright

 

[dt98]

Lots of good tires out there but I've made up my mind to buy an American owned brand this time...

1st step completed today...I took my Sport to a family owned auto center and had the front end aligned. I wanted to be sure it would align before putting new tires on. They showed me the before and after readings/numbers. It was out of alignment pretty bad and they said it would cause the inside tire wear I was experiencing. Before the alignment, I put the rear tires on the front since they were wearing pretty evenly. Next time I will rotate every 5K and keep the alignment checked.

These Michelin's have around 60K on them now so I will put new tires on very soon.

Thanks for all the suggestions/feedback!

 

[Tbars4]

..Sooooo...:scratch:...What tires did you go with?

 

[dt98]

Well, I just got the front end aligned today and it is good to go. It was out of alignment and probably caused the inside tread wear because I didn't rotate as I should have and I didn't check the alignment as I should have...my bad!$

I've narrowed the next tire down to American owned companies but I have not made the final selection yet. I do want something more in a highway type tread to hopefully reduce the tread noise. So I have been researching the Cooper CTS and I'll start looking at some of the Kelly Springfield and Goodyear tires. I'd like a 70K mileage tire like the CTS and this time I will rotate every 5K and keep the alignment checked...along with air pressure.

Is there any advantage to the 100% nitrogen tire fills?? I've been hearing about this and somewhat still skeptical...regular "air" is 80% nitrogen so is the other 20% that helpful? I've heard it helps with temperature/air density in the tires...is this snake oil or good medicine?

 

[obie]

...Is there any advantage to the 100% nitrogen tire fills?? I've been hearing about this and somewhat still skeptical...regular "air" is 80% nitrogen so is the other 20% that helpful? I've heard it helps with temperature/air density in the tires...is this snake oil or good medicine?

Not worth it unless you're a race car or a jet. Also, the very design of a tire means unless it's specially mounted or uses dual valve stems, you'll never have 100% nitrogen anyways. The air used to seat the bead stays in there. There are advantages to nitrogen though, but you'll never see a difference under normal road conditions.