I just had a 265/16 Firestone steeltec blow out a sidewall at 6000 miles on the truck. The dealer is replacing any blowouts but they wont recall or replace the others. Has any body else had any sidewall blowouts??
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2001 SD F-250 V-10 4X4 Supercab White
No blowouts, but very large bubble in sidewall right under the raised white letters. This was on LT265-75R16E Firestone Steeltex R4S on 99 F-250. Firestone dealer would not do anything, no road hazard warranty, and they called it "impact damage". When you say the dealer replaced it - was that a Firestone or a Ford dealer?
P.S. Be sure to file a VOQ on the NHTSA website, will help build case for recall
No blowout but did have them rebalanced under warranty because they vibrated so bad at 70+mph. I still have a slight vibration at those speeds but it is much better. This is on the Steeltex 265 AT's. For $400 upgrade you would think you should have a choice of what tires go on the truck.
We had a z-rated sliptstone on my wife's 96 Mustang GT that blew out on the side and a local dealer said it got punctured which caused the blowout and wouldn't warranty the tire. $180 later and we have another crappy slipstone on there. We swapped the Wilderness tires off her Explorer at 20k miles for Michelin Cross Terrain SUV tires and it was night to day the improvement in handling, noise and ride quality. Luckily Ford came back and recalled them so we got our money back. They weren't on the original recall list.
If you haven't noticed I HATE FIRESTONE TIRES. I wish I could afford to swap them off my brand new SD right now but will have to wait a while. [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img]
FYI, BE CAREFUL!!!! if it won't balance, it is caused by TREAD SEPERATION!!! replace them asap, watch you speed, I have seen it to many time and you would be suprised about would not know this but what you are experiencing is VERY DANGEROUS. Just thought that someone should warn you, I sold tires with my dad for many years and we learned that if it won't balance right, then you need to replace it, because the tread is seperating and it does take awile for it to come loose and cause a blowout, and it will happen in time if you run them enough, but what you are experiencing is definetly the first symptoms of tread seperation. I am not selling you on certian tires, I know the only 16" tire I recomended was the cooper c120/c140 line, but they quite making them in 16" acourding to there website. Hope all is well, Mason
Of course I got the LT265's on my F250SD CC this year. Went to Sam's Club to replace them and they did not have Michelin's in an E Rating (which is on the door sticker) and they would not sell me anything less. They told me that they would sell them to me but I had to take them else where to have mounted. I thought this was strange as I really wanted to get rid of the Firestone's.
I then drove the truck to Alaska and I must have gotten one of the few good sets because they have been a great tire so far. Been out on the desert at 115 degrees and haven't noticied anything. Made sure though that I keep the right air pressure in them at all times. Will change as soon as I find a good set of E rated tires that will last 60000 miles.
Still love the Ford.
Frank K.
[img]images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]
Even more blow-outs..... We've had two new ambulances from this region with Firestone blow-outs already. One ambulance had a blow- out on the front while the other had a blow-out on the front and one on the rear as well!
The department with the first ambulance has switched their rigs over to something else to be safe. It was on an emergency call when the blow-out happened. Luckily, they had another unit available to take the call.
Firestone investigators say the front-tire blow-out was caused by a puncture. The puncture part was true...it looked like a nail-hole. I don't think a nail-hole should cause a tire to explode!!
I got about 45k on mine now...maybe they'll have a recall or maybe I'll get a blow-out too
[img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] !
I should quit playing and get a different brand. [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
I have got less than 2000 miles on my Steelcrap and I'm replacing them. I have a 350 and there isn't too many load E tires out there. I figured out not to look at the load rating (C, D, or E) of the tire, but the actual weight rating of the individual tire. BFG T/A KO load range D in a 265 is rated at 3000 lbs., which would cut down on my max GW by 800 lbs. The same tire in a 285 weight rating is 3300 lbs., so I'll only lose 200 lbs. I'm buying the 285 BFGs next week.
Anyway, Frank, I don't think you need a load range E for a 250. If you still want a good load range E, consider the Michelin LTX M/S. It's a good all season for mud and snow, but unfortunately, the tread isn't very aggressive for rough off road.
$400 to go from a Steelcrap R4S to a Steelcrap A/T??!! OUCH!!
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Mark
2001 F350 SRW CC, V10 4R100 3.73LS, Lariat, 4X4, Off Road Pkg, Camper Pkg, LB, Manual Hubs, TT mirrors, Island Blue, A-pillar gauges
Word is that Ford is going to use Continental Tires. I got this from a pretty reliable source. Apparently the Firestones being used are leftover inventory and deemed to be alright. I wonder.
Tom
__________________ 1999 F-250 XLT PSD SC/SB,, Oxford White, Gray Cloth, 4x4,Cab Clearance Lights, SOF, Bilstein shock absorbers, Michelin LTX M/S, DPPI (MBRP)Stainless Exhaust, 7.3L AIS Severe Duty Filter, Warn Front Hitch/Winch Mount (Tow and Pull???)
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