Firestone AT all terrain?

[NSW Aussie Explorer]

HI,

In Dec/Jan we went on a trip over predominantally 2wd roads and managed to destroy 2 and hole a 3rd Wilderness AT/ 1 inch split in tread right thru casing. Am I alone or is this a US problem as well.

Love to hear

 

[Brett]

Aussie,

It looks like you are not alone. Check out these other threads.
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Brett Grooms
94 Explorer Sport

 

[Ray Lobato]

Hey Aussie,
Dump the firestones and get some BFG A/T KO's. I would like to ask you to please put your make and model when asking questions about your vehicle, this helps alot since different years require different things, and nakes it easier for us to answer your questions. Thanks.

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Happy Wheelin'
Ray L.
97 XLT 4X4 4.0L SOHC
Dead Link Removed

 

[NSW Aussie Explorer]

Thanks all,

Have already replaced all 5 with BFG AT KOs

98 XLT 4.0 SOHC

Jeff

 

[KSolo]

Hi, guys

I have to ask....what's with the BFG A/T KO's?? I see a lot of posts recommending them. Are they really that good? I have Firestone Wilderness A/T on my Ltd and I've put about 16,500 miles on it so far and I have not have any problems with them. BUT, after reading some of the post about blowouts...I'm considering getting rid of them to avoid any 'future' problems. But I really don't know what to replace them with. I don't do any 'real' offroading, but being here in MI we have our fair share of snow. So I need something with a good winter bite as well as being good enough for all season driving.

thanks, any/all comments appreciated

 

[Seth]

I got four bfg a/t ko's a couple of months before the winter. I loved how they perform during all weather conditions. They are great on dry pavement, wet, snow and offroad. Infact my explorer is at the doctors gettin a checkup and a few fixes right now so I am stuck right now driving a 97 sport with the wilderness at's. Well last night we got about 4 inches of snow. Driving home was not nearly as nice as it would have been with my explorer. I tend to "play" a little in the snow and I was sliding around a whole lot more than I would have with my explorer. So with a back to back comparison of wilderness at's and bfg a/t ko's in the snow the bfgs get much more traction and are an over all great tire. Also in my opinion they look real perty' too Dead Link Removed

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Seth M.
97 XLT 4X4 4.0L SOHC

 

[GJarrett]

I replaced my Wilderness ATs with new BFG AT ko's about a month ago. The difference is phenominal. I was worried about road noise but it's not an issue. Go take a look at their treads and those huge side lugs. I haven't had a chance to try them in snow but I have in mud and they bite like crazy. I went WAY up in size to 285/75r16s with a lot more footprint which should equate to more treacherous hydroplaning but I have not been able to get them to hydroplane yet even though I have driven them twice through torrential pull-to-the-side-of-the-road-and-get-under-an-overpass thunder/hailstorms. My Wilderness ATs hydroplaned easily. Laying aside the safety issues brought up with Firestones, they still way outperform them in every category.

And the BFG's look boss too.

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Gerald
"Nerves of Steel; Brain of Chipmunk"
~~~~~~~~~
'99 Eddie Bauer 4x4 4.0L SOHC aka "The Jeepeater"
Mods listed in my Explorer Registry post 7/8/99
Dead Link Removed "What the heck is he doing out here in that thing?"

[This message has been edited by GJarrett (edited 03-12-2000).]

 

[KSolo]

Thanks for the info guys...I appreciate it. Hey Gerald, I checked out your mods list in the Explorer Registry...pretty nice! I would love to see a picture of it. Can you post one or email me a pic? Also, since we have the same type of fender flares, what's the widest tire you think I could go with without lifting my Explorer?

Thanks again

 

[William Schumacher]

I have the stock size in the T/A ko's (255/70/16) and all I can say is WOW,what a great tire,a very strong sidewall,I have them at 38 psi,and they have stopped my wondering,sometimes with the firestones,it was a pain to just change lanes !!!,I had only 18,000 on them,but that was enough for me,the ko's are supposed tolast very long.
they look great and the truck stands more upright.(looks like more clearance)

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Bill
'99 sport,sohc,4X4
T/A,ko's (255/70's)
kkm-true rev,superchip
bilsteins

 

[GJarrett]

KSolo,
You said we have the same fender flares; I take it you own a 98-00 EB?

The 285/75r16 is equivalent to a 33x11.5 or a 34x11.5. I had to trim the fenders and move the bumper forward to prevent rubbing in the front tires at partial turn. I've got 1.5"-2" of torsion lift plus 1" body lift and even with that setup there is no way I could go to a 12.5" wide tire. With no lift, I am confident you could get 11.5" wide in as long as you stick with stock diameter tires. You stock 255/70r16 is a 10" wide tire to start with. You may have to do minor trimming on the front inside of the running board where it bells out at the bottom.

I can't say about wider than 11.5" or not, but I doubt it. If you are serious any good tire store will let you test fit one on the front before buying the whole set.

For a temporary picture of my rig, check out the "Clayton Summary" thread in the Serious Explorations forum. I just got my running boards replaced Saturday so my rig only just now got back to looking like it should. In about two weeks I will have time to buff and Zaino it back to new and will then take a digital pic and post it in my Registry so you can see it there then.

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Gerald
"Nerves of Steel; Brain of Chipmunk"
~~~~~~~~~
'99 Eddie Bauer 4x4 4.0L SOHC aka "The Jeepeater"
Mods listed in my Explorer Registry post 7/8/99
Dead Link Removed "What the heck is he doing out here in that thing?"



[This message has been edited by GJarrett (edited 03-13-2000).]

 

[RPheezy]

Hey Gerald, where did you get the 1 inch body lift from? did you buy it somewhere or did you fabricate it yourself?

the R

 

[KSolo]

Gerald,

Thanks again for your help. Dead Link Removed I'm convinced. BFG's will be my tire of choice when I replace the 'Stones in a few weeks. My 99 Limited has the load leveling rear supension setup. Would that prevent me from doing the 'hockey puck' lift? Also, getting back to those tires....did they throw off your speedo? If so, how much and did you have to recalibrate it?

Oh yeah, I have to ask...what is Zaino??

Thanks

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1999 Limited
no mods yet...but considering

 

[GJarrett]

I'm not qualified to say how your load leveling suspension would work with a one inch lift; I don't know how it's designed. If it was airbags you could buy two more pucks and space the airbags too. You should be able to figure something out no matter what the setup. I've already done several things to my '99 EB that I was told "could not be done". Dead Link Removed

Hoo Boy, did those tires ever throw my speedo off! Dead Link Removed Indicated 54 was really 60. Had to have the Ford house recalibrate the computer to read it right. $106.

Zaino is a showcar finish/polish of the finest calibre.

Have you tried the "Search Forums" feature yet on this site? Go there and search for "Zaino" and you'll learn all about it. You can also look up a post called, I believe, "Need For the Correct Speed" to learn about the speedo recalibration I had to have done.

Hope this helps.

the R,

They don't make any lifts -- body or suspension -- for my '99 yet. I cheated and bought ten hockey pucks. Cost me $15 + two new longer body mount bolts to replace the ones at the "D" location behind the back seats which were too short to reuse.
Hockey pucks are an old cheap J**per trick from long ago.

I am aware that since they are rubber they may deteriorate in a year or two; if so, I'll just spend another $15 and a Saturday to replace them then.

 

[ExplorerEB96]

well I thought there was a post on the website here somewhere that they now have a 4" suspension lift for 1996-2000 Explorers available from trailmasters...from what i understand it is very costly though... I have the torsion twist to the full 2" in front and 3" add a leafs in the rear (to relieve the Explorer sag) i replaced shocks and struts..put on some BFG T/A ko's and WOW what a difference in handling... off road its great and its real smooth h/w not much noise (i dont care if i had noise anyway)... I went through 4 sets of those damn Firestone A/T's I even carried "Roadhandler" well I used that damn warranty more than I ever used one before... last set they replaced free of charge...I noticed something .... i looked and looked could that be dryrot? ....hhhmm I was told I was imagining it... it sucks to be female sometimes guys...but he adamatly refused to replace it with a new one... i threw their warranty in their face and hussled my butt to the nearest NTB and bought the BFG's ...

[This message has been edited by ExplorerEB96 (edited 03-14-2000).]