Fireston Destination A/T

[Hopman]

Last year, I treated my Ranger to a new set of shoes (tires), and after some serious searching, I can up with the Destination A/T.

The truck: a 1994 Ranger 4x4, 2.3, and a stick. It's primarily used as a daily driver, with the usual load hauling. The truck DOES NOT tow a trailer.

Well, after a year and about 15,000 miles, I can say the following:
-When you first put them on, they can be a bit noisey, but after about 5,000 miles, the quiet down.
- Wear is excelent. They have about 70% of the tread still remaing. I expect to get about 50K - 60K miles out of this set.
- They are pricey. My truck wears a P215-75/R15, and they went down for $125 a tire.
- In snow, they are a dream. I live in southern New Hampshire in an area with a lot of hills. I can do more with the truck in 2WD than I could with the old rubber and the truck in 4WD. You can actually feel the tires dig for a sec before you go forward. They bite like a tiger onto a t-bone.
- They have a classic look to them with the raised white outline letters on the sidewall.
- Even without rotating them, they've worn very evenly.

I'd think about getting another set when these eventually wear out. They might've been a tad agessive for my driving, but live and learn I guess.

 

[strvger]

that's good to hear about the snow. still waiting for the first real snow here in northern MN., one of the mildest Novembers on record so far. i like the looks of my Destination's, but wasn't sure about how they will work in snow. thanks for the info!

 

[daniel3507]

this pleases me. these are the tires i have been looking at

 

[JohnnyO]

Glad to hear that. I got the same tires for my Sport Trac a couple months ago, mostly looking for better snow performance than the Goodyears it came with, which was awful.

 

[Ranger44]

I got em.

Haven't had them in the snow yet.

Fine so far though.

 

[JackLikesTrucks]

+1

Best installation was by Sam's Club but they don't carry (well noone does carry) Firestone.

So I took my TireRack.com printout to my local Firestone dealer and they matched the tire + ship price.

I'd rather give the local guys the $$$.

Wear even and grip like hell. Even in deep rain at highway speeds.

235/75/15 look nice and big with only 2-3% speedo offset.

 

[TheTopher]

I had a local Firestone install mine...I couldn't be happier with them.
$621 for four of them, mounted balanced and installed with an alignment.

Glad to hear about the snow, that's what I was most worried about them.

 

[Hopman]

My local mechanic also does tires. In fact, he was the one who made the recomendation. He happens to use them on his personal truck (a Duramax'd 2500 Silverado), which sees a fair amount of plowing as well.

These tires have some wicked good grip in the white crap. Plus, I've had my truck up to 70 in the rain with ZERO signs of hydroplaning.
Disclaimer: Just because the tries grip well in the snow DOES NOT mean you can go any faster.

 

[JohnnyO]

Disclaimer: Just because the tries grip well in the snow DOES NOT mean you can go any faster.

That was basically the problem with the Goodyear Fortera HL's that came on my Sport Trac. Going in snow was fine but stopping, or the lack thereof, was downright dangerous.

 

[Hopman]

No, I was talking about the "nut behind the wheel." You can go as fast as you want, but sooner or later, you have to stop.

 

[strvger]

ok, got the first real snowfall here in Minneapolis over the Christmas holiday, about 12-14 inches. so, here is the verdict:

compared to my TreadWright AT's, the Firestone's were disappointing. i didn't have near the confidence driving on them compared to the TreadWright's.

they slipped and slid around more, and didn't self-clean nearly as well. even after adding some additional weight in the bed (250#+) along with the 175# fg topper already on it, traction improved some, but still not up to the level of the TreadWright's.

i'll be moving up to TreadWright's before next winter to be sure. just my $.02

 

[Hopman]

Say what you will, I'm still happy with my Destination's. I figure i've got a soild 40,000-50,000 left in the tread.

 

[strvger]

didn't say they won't get you great mileage. just saying traction is way more important to me.

 

[Hopman]

I get great traction, but I try to find a balance. If I'm gonna drop good money on a set of rubber, I want to get the best bang for the buck. I'm willing to trade a bit of noise for traction like Spider-Man and good treadware. Besides, it's not like I'm gonna burn rubber with my 2.3 anyway.

 

[P.McKenna]

I decided to cash in on Firestone's buy 3 and get 1 free deal and go with the Destination A/T's for my 87. Its all stock so I decided to go up from a 215/75/15 to a 225/75/15 for good DD and mild trailing. I've heard only great things about this tire and with the outside reviews and warranty I'm sure it will last for some time.