Firestone Wilderness AT in snow?

[Philp]

Hi , Where i live ( Québec, Canada ) there is a lot of snow during the winter. I wondered if it was wiser for me to buy 4 good dedicated snow tire or 4 good summer tires and keep the wilderness for the winter.

thanx

note: i already have 4 addititional rims.

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Phil
'99 XLT SOHC 4x4

 

[Paul Gagnon]

You are better off getting rid of the Wilderness AT altogether. They are a cheap tire. I have Goodyear Wrangler AT/S and they have worked great for me summer and winter here in Calgary.

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Paul Gagnon
"No Brain, No Pain"
Dead Link Removed

 

[Ray Lobato]

Hi Philip,
I totally agree with Paul, the firestones are garbage. Get rid of them. The Goodyear's are a GOOD tire, I have used them before. I like BFG A/T's myself. Either one will do just fine whatever season. Dead Link Removed

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

 

[Jim F]

Here are a couple of links that have me scratching my head about my Firestones on my 98XLT:

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Exploring CA
98 XLT 4X4 4.0L SOHC

 

[ExplorGM]

I have to disagree on one aspect of the Wilderness AT performance. The snow traction of my old tires, (255-70/16)was excellent. This could be due to the flotation of the extra width in deep snow. Most of the time though they ran on light snow and ice very well.In fact, in snow I preferred them to the 36" mudders on my CJ5 for snow traction.They did hydroplane, and my Mickey's have turned out to be better performers in emergency "S" turns.
I say keep them until you have the bucks, or they become unsafe or illegal, whichever comes first!
Rick

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Rick
95 Explorer Sport Expedition
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[Jim F]

I saw a report on MotorTrend TV where they were reviewing the new 2000 Subaru Outback. No, I am not looking to replace my 98XLT. I noticed that they have Firestone Wilderness on it. They said they were 60 series, but there was no AT indication on them. I have also seen other new vehicles (not 4X4's) that also have Firestone tires on them.
I see that there are two possibilites here. Either Firestone tires are really good and car manufacturers are using them for this reason OR Firestone gives them great deals they can't pass up.
Well I am still scratching my head regarding the Firestones on my 98. So far they seem to be good tires. I have had them in snow (about 6 to 8 inches) and were inpressed with their performance. Will see as they age and get harder.

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Exploring CA
98 XLT 4X4 4.0L SOHC

 

[alex]

I have a '97 XLT that came stock with the Wilderness AT's. since I've never tried any other tire, I can't really judge the way they handle relative to anything else. However, I do live in MN and spend a fair amount of time driving in snow and I think the tires handle pretty well. One thing I know for sure is that they are definitely the best looking tire out there. I don't know if it's the tread pattern, or the font, but they totally blow away the good year's when it comes to appearance.

 

[Chas]

Alex, I totally agree with you!!! I think they look much beefier and cooler than any of the other comparable tires that come on the suv's. I also found them to handle very well in the snow. So far they seem to be wearing very well also. I've put about 10k on them so far and they still look brand new.

 

[briantf]

I drive a 97 Ranger 4x4 and my wife drives a 98 Explorer 4x4 - both came with Firestones. They suck.

1)My wife had a puncture at 8K - a STAPLE punched through the center of the tread - NOT a nail, a STAPLE.

2)My wife used to drive a T-Bird (our new son made 2dr coupes impractical) and got her money's worth out of corners. On her Explorer, driven much more moderately, the Firestones howl and squeal inordinately in corners. Inflation is to factory spec (26 lb). These are decently large (235/75/15) tires for this size truck - they just suck.

3)Even in light mud on logging roads, they get packed quickly enough to cause sliding (forward and back, not side cornering - I'm being reasonable).

4)In a bizarre snowstorm (we get snow every 30-40 years) with two inches on a flat freeway, steering control was mediocre at best (see my basis for comparison below).

3)My Ranger wears the Firestones b/c I don't want to use up my 2nd pair of BFG's on the street - 215/75/15's on steel 15x6's (factory). I got a puncture through the tread as well, but at least it was a screw and not a STAPLE.

4)I have AR 767 15x8's and 31x10.5 BFG AT's for fun - I bought the first set at 1K b/c I got my butt stuck so bad doing a U-turn on a logging road, I couldn't justify leaving the stock tires on when driving off-road.

5) Trip from Reno to Sacto during a heavy snow in Jan-98, BFG's were fabulous including driving off the freeway to find a potty - 5-6" of packed snow with 2-3" fresh on top, didn't get too clogged and kept good directional stability even through tight (VEEERRRYYY slow) corners coming down steep hills. NO COMPLAINTS - I would have been very bummed with the Firestones.

6) Off-road in snow, there's no comparison. Even with terrible weight distribution in my Ranger, my wife's truck isn't as planted even though it has a much smarter 4x4 system and has an L/S (same as my truck).

If you have the 4 rims already, I'd look at the Goodyear's Paul has - he's a discriminating buyer!!

Gerald - I totally understand your $$ issues - that's why I quit running my BFG's on the street and haven't yet replaced my wife's tires.

I would say in the long run consider getting a good set of steel wheels cheap (I got mine for $29.95 a piece - Sears foolishly gave me a $60 off any set of custom wheels coupon) if you want to run offroad. Keep what you have and plan for the next 100K miles.

The Firestones are OEM equipment b/c they're hella cheap for Ford to buy and they look "tough." If you see them at Costco, you'll know what I mean about cheap.

I don't mean to wail on the folks that are satisfied with their Firestones - my perspective is a little wider, spanning two different vehicles and two different tires, constrained only by MONEY!!

Regards,
Brian in CA

 

[KyleC]

I bought my 93XLT used and it had Dunlop Radial Rovers on it (235/75-15). These are the worst tires I have ever owned. I cant wait until the day I can get them off my vehicle. These things are the SOFTEST tires I have ever seen, they roll 3/4 of the way to the rims on minor cornering and as a result scuffs up the sidewalls pretty badly. My father bought a 93XLT back in '92 and the Firestones that were on it were certianly better than these crap tires but I dont know how they compare to other tires.

 

[01EB5.0]

i have not personally had Firestones on my truck since I have owned it. the previous owner got 72K out of the origional Firestone ATX tires. He said they still had tread, but he replaced them beofre he sold the vehicle. It now has BFG Long Trails and I am EXTREAMLY happy with them. They are VERY quite and are EXCELLENT in the rain or snow. Have gone through 10" of snow and no prob. Get Long trails if you do spend the $$$ on tires. They also get longer wear. I have heard of 80K out of them!!! Good luck!

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TravisN1@AOL.COM
1995 XLT 4x4
80,000 miles
K&N Drop-in
Bosch +4's
BFG Long Trails
Have a nice day!

 

[95EDDIEBAUER]

I had my firestone wilderness for 60k and I heard how bad they were, at that time my opinion was that besides alot of road noise they were ok...UNTIL i decided to switch to the Michelin LTX ..WOW..what a diffrence..They are quiet and great in snow, rain and dry pavement. Only wish that i had swithched earlier..like from day one..

 

[DonL]

Hmmmm.... Got 60K miles out of my OEM Firestone Wilderness ATs on my '95 Explorer EB. Not too shabby. Switched to Dunlop Radial Rovers at the recommendations of a few folks. Haven't seen any change in noise or handling, but did notice my gas mileage went down, and the speedo reads 3-5 miles higher than I'm actually doing now. Won't be able to tell about mileage until the Dunlops show some wear.

Can't comment on off-road or mud/snow since most of my driving is here in S. California on the freeways and surface streets.

I remember reading somwhere that among other things, vehicle manufacturers are most interested in the "rolling resistance" of the tires. This specification influences them quite a bit when identifying an OEM tire to use, because it affects fuel economy. The manufacturers are bound by a law that says there average fuel mileage for all of their vehicles must be at a certain level or there are some consequences. Since the big trucks and SUVs are are at the bottom of the fuel mileage charts, they have to pay particular attention to the rolling resistance for their OEM tires.

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DonL
'95 Eddie Bauer


[This message has been edited by DonL (edited 04-22-2000).]

 

[David S.]

I bought my parents 92 XLT in 1997 with 49,000 miles on it. Had the factory Firestone Radial ATX on. Wife ran over a tent stake at 62,000 miles a few years later. Decided to go ahead a replace them even though there was plenty of tread left...tires had been on for 5 years anyway. Was thinking about the BFG A/T and the Wilderness A/T. Chose the Firestone since it was a better tread for highway driving. Have had them in Montana snow and Utah snow...have worked great for me. Have put almost 30,000 on them and there is still a lot of tread left on them. An earlier post said the factory spec on the 235/75/15 tire was 26 lbs. I thought it was around 35...don't get me wrong, I don't guess what the pressure is supposed to be - I check the sidwalls every time I fill the tires. Its just that 26 lbs. seems a little low to me. Just curious.

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Ogden, Utah
1992 XLT
Monroe Reflex
Autolite Platinum
Modified Airbox

 

[briantf]

Dave,
Check the driver's door for the factory recommended tire pressure. You almost never run tires at their max pressure - for truck tires especially, that's only neccessary for carrying the maximum payload.

BTW, I put 31x10.5 BFG KO's on my wife's truck, she's happy, they're great on and off road. Will put the Firestone's on my Ranger's street rims when I wear out the one's I have now.

Incidentally folks, the reason Ford uses Firestones (and probably the reason other car mfg's do as well) is that they're CHEAP!!!!!! Go to Costco, you'll find 235/75r15 Firestone ATX's for LESS than the Kirkland (housebrand) AT tire of the same size. THat is one cheap ass tire - not inexpensive, mind you.

Regards,
Brian in CA