Best tires off of Fords "approved" list?

[imq707s]

I few weeks ago I got a letter in the mail saying that Ford was finally going to replace my Firestones with a new set of tires. They gave me a list of "Ford approved replacment tires" that I could choose from. I'm sure many of you have got the same list in the mail. Out of all of the tires I can get for my explorer, which ones would be best for on/off road traction? I don't want an all road tire, but I also don't want somthing so aggressive that I have to hear it down the highway all the time. Thanks.

 

[ExploderOne]

Ford's money = Michelin LTX M/S (And they rate well with The Tire Rack's customers - http://www.tirerack.com/tires/michelin/mi_ltxms.jsp )

My money = BFG AT KO's

 

[kvo]

Or you can purchase whatever you want and wherever you want and get reimbursed from Ford, it takes about 3-4 weeks to get your money back. A number of members have done it that way.

 

[imq707s]

I thought you had to do that through Firestone. Do I just give the reciept to Ford? What is the limit per tire ($100)? If I go that route are the BFG AT KO's the best?

 

[98greyxlt]

you only have to go through a ford dealer or a approved tire retailer if you don't want to have to put up any up-front cash for your tires.

you can conceivably go to any store to buy your tires and have them mounted on your truck. just bring your receipts and old firestone wilderness ats (or just the DOT code part of each tire) into your local ford dealer and they'll process your reimbursement.

they give $110 per 15" tire, $130 per 16"/17" tire. as kvo said, it takes a few weeks to get your reimbursement.

 

[Jim F]

Just a couple of notes:

If you just bring the DOT codes to Ford, the tire retailer will charge you $2.00 per tire (price may vary) for disposal. Since you have to go to Ford anyway and 5 tires will fit in the back, save the $10 charge and bring the whole tire. You have to tell and convince the tire retailer that this is what you want to do. They will look at you funny, but hey $10 is $10.

The Ford recommended replacement list has been updated many time with deletions and additions. Check this link to see the lasted PDF version of the list:

http://fordfirestonewildernessatprogram.ford.com/Approved_Tire_List_522_4pm.pdf

The main tire replacement webpage is:

http://fordfirestonewildernessatprogram.ford.com/

Needless to say, I had my 5 tires replaced at a tire retailer. I put them on a credit card, but I took the billing closing date into consideration as to when to have the tires replaced. If you time it right, the price of the tires can be on a card interest free for almost 2 months. Within that time, the check from Ford will come in the mail. Mine came from the dealer in about 2 weeks. I think I was lucky. I was able to get the tires replaced on Sat morning and dropped off the tires at Ford on the way home. I think I was the only one there at Ford, except for the service writer. They will keep the original receipt for the new tires and give you a copy.

Regarding which tire, I wanted to go with Michelin, but I did not like the tread of the M/S or Cross Terrain. I did like the tread pattern of the A/T, but was concerned about road noise. Once I got them, there is no noticable noise and the drive and handling is much better.

Here are a coule of useful tables from Tirerack.com

All-Terrain:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/orat.jsp

Highway All-Season:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/highwayas.jsp

Hope this helps

Oh one other thing, I was holding out for the XL version of the Michelin LTX A/T's (the 108S) but from what I can tell, Michelin is not making them right now. I contacted a number of places and they told me that "Michelin does not have a production date for them".

 

[fixer]

i bought my 31" BFG ATs from a independent vendor and took the fireslicks to Ford, with the reciept. they filled out all the paperwork and had my check in about two weeks.

i shopped around for the best local deal and got the shop to include a much needed front end alignment FREE with the tires.

funny thing is that Ford changed the refund from $115 to $110 per 15" tire.

somehow the shop's distributor sent the older style AT, instead of the newer AT/KO, which i didn't realize until the next day when i went to clean the rims and armorall the tires. they said they would exchange them, but the diferences seem to be sooo minor (no white letters and the sidewall pattern is slightly diferent, perhaps they are "transitional" since they have a 2001 date) so i left them on, relieved to have real tires at last.

now i just need to get a full size spare.

 

[Jim F]

The refund for the 15" tires has always been $110 per tire. I have been on top of the Firestone story on Ford's website and others since the beginning. Their recommended tire list keeps changing, but the refund dollar amount has never changed.