Just cuz theres 1 bad apple, does that mean the whole basket is bad?

[Charlie H]

I just got my BFG KO's today.

I went to 4 tire dealers to find the BFG AT KO's. The last stop I made had them in stock. I can't believe the price difference. One stop I made was at a BF Goodrich dealer in Connecticut (where I live) and he wanted $126.35 each and it would take a week to get them. The other 2 places couldn't get them for about 3-4 weeks and they wanted $115.00 each. I finally went to a tire dealer that has many locations throughout the state and they had them in stock for $95.00 each. I'm glad I shopped around. I almost paid $126.35 each at the BF Goodrich dealer but I knew from reading this board that the going price should be around $95.00-$100.00

These tires look really great on my explorer and I'm looking forward to getting a lot of miles out of them.

 

[95ExplorerLtd]

I was just scrolling thru some old posts here, I havent read this in a LOOOONG time, because the Firestone fiasco is behind me. Yes 2001ExpSport, we did get the KO's, in case you havent already seen my signature, for 96 apiece Just had to let you know because I saw that, hehe. We've got about 2.5K miles on them now, and I love them.

Geez this is an old thread..

[Edited by 95ExplorerLtd on 01-13-2001 at 08:10 PM]

 

[Big Poppa]

Grant
What size KO's did you get? How much better than stock do they look.
And also to add to this old fire, I had my one of my ATX's blow out driving down I75. And one of my good friends was killed when a firestone blew out. I hope Firestone goes under.

 

[Tim K]

when I returned my radial AT's to the Firestone store in October, I looked through the piles of returned Wilderness and Radials they had stacked up...There were maybe 150-200 tires stacked up...and with just a brief lookover I would estimate that 1 out of every 10 tires was showing cracking along the tread line. I was glad nothing bad ever happened to me or anyone I know....but I know Firestone is to blame.

I will not buy another Firestone tire. Why would I? I'd rather drive on a tire I KNOW is safe instead of one that MIGHT be safe. Besides, performance-wise the firestones sucked. I hydroplaned on every little puddle I hit. My Goodyears are so much better...and I feel better with them on my truck!

 

[Anime]

quality

Firestones DO suck...just looking at the UTQG on even the NEW Wilderness ATs ..traction "B" temperature "C"??? Its a really low quality tire and they try to sell it at the same price as much higher quality ones.

Just for a comparison, I had Firestones on my rice rocket way back when, and when I got different wheels, I went with a "new" import brand..Nitto. The difference wasnt just night and day..it was INCREDIBLE...and the tires have such a high speed, traction and temp rating for a LOWER PRICE.

My "T" speed rated(118mph) Firestones had a traction rating of "A" and "B" for temp...about $50/ea. The larger and wider Nittos were "V" speed rated(149+mph!), and had "A" in all categories...for LESS. Plus they look killer..

Firestone and other major brands eventually got tired of this and tried blasting Japanese brands like Nitto and Ohtsu(famous for the Falken line)as being cheapo imports and low quality. These companies were not big by any stretch of the imagination..they were pretty unknown in the US until a few years ago when they were the only ones making specific tire sizes for the rice burner aftermarket.

Some ppl still would rather pay more for a name, but if Nitto made a size for my Explorer, I'd buy it in a heartbeat..the quality and value of what you get for way less is unbelieveable.

What am I saying? Firestone isnt concerned about performance or quality...just sales based on a name. These little tire companies are now high sellers not because of a name or just a low price, but because they make a top-quality product thats an unbelieveable value in comparison to other brands...Firestone and any other tire company under the sun culd do this if they wanted to. They have zillions they could devote to quality improvement, research, millions of ways to make better tires..and safer tires. Instead, they keep things the same for years at a time to cut costs and make more money. I will not support this kind of company or its thinking. My money is better
spent on an innovative company dedicated to making ultra-high quality tires..that wont get me or anyone else killed.

 

[Peter Weber]

Let's keep one thing in mind. Firestone exists now only as a brand name. As we all know, the Firestone company was bought years ago by Bridgestone and all the major decisions are made there.

 

[95ExplorerLtd]

Big Poppa,

They're the stock 235/75R15, I doubt Sears would've gave us a larger size since we chose them thru the recall. They look absolutely AWESOME. I especially like the white lettering and those neat looking grips along the outside edge. I like whenever I pull into the shop the treads pick up the dirt and dust on the floor and outlines all the treads and it looks really cool, its a nice looking design. These will defineatly be my next tires, just in a slightly larger size.

 

[shooter_1000]

Well I don't know about the quality of any other Firestone product. Well maybe 1 other, I bought a set of Bridgestones for my old Taurus and they were twice the tire then the Goodyear Invicta's the car came with. Now I don't recall if that was before or after Bridgestone bought Firestone.

Now on my 92 Explorer, the Firestone AT's that came with it, I managed to wear them out, or should I say till there was very little tread left. What finally made me buy new tires was that I could not keep air in the Firestones any longer. They were rotten, sidewall became pourous. What was a good thing was that I managed to drive on them for 180,000km (116,000mi). High milage...yes, but I suffered with the poor traction of the tire. The rubber was a pretty hard compound that wore well but had poor traction. And in winter when the temperature dropped below -20 they were like riding on boards....rough and slippery.

Another bad thing about the tire was that it had no sipes out the side. The outside edge was solid and would not let the water out on rain soaked roads and the truck tended to hydroplane. Now I am not saying that is Firestones fault, I beleive that Ford wanted a tire like that so it would last longer because of the I-beam type suspension. The tire probably would have been fine on a heavier vehicle but not on the Explorer.

I replaced 4 tires with Michelin AT's. They will not last for as many miles, but they sure grip a whole lot better. Last month I went and had my Firestone spare replaced with a Michelin AT as part of the recall.

just my 2 cents



[Edited by shooter_1000 on 01-22-2001 at 12:44 AM]