I was headed to the Autobahn in Joleit Ill. for a track day last Sunday when I had an incident with my front Michlein Pilot. A sizable chunk got tore out and I was forced to stop at a no name tire shop to get a replacement. The only performance tire they had was the Firestone. It is a Ultra performance tire not a Maximum performance. They were about $140.00 each.
I was shocked at how well they performed. It was about 90 degrees and tires were sticking very well. So I do not know how they will do on a cooler day. I would rather have replaced them with the Goodyear Eagle GS-D that I have on the rear and really like. Does anyone else have any experience with this brand and model?

 

How long and why have you been running mismatched tires?
Mike

 

I wouldn't put firestone tires on any of my cars if you paid me(thinks back to all of the wonderful Ford Exploder issues). But hey; if you like them then that's all that matters.

 

I have ran the stock michliens on the front since I bought the car. The goodyear eagles have been on since I wore out the rears. Tire rack customer service as well as the president of the local track stated different brands from front to rear would not hurt a thing. They both stated that the only concern is puting mismathced tires on the rear (meaning one kind on one side and another brand on the other side). I have ran 6 track events with the goodyear on the rear and the michliens on the front with very good results. Again the Firestone firehawk wide ovals were an emergency purchase only. I do now see that both Tirerack and 1010 tires list them as the #2 highest rated tire in the Ultra performance series.

 

Your 100% right, as long as the tires on the same axle match on a rwd car, no problems at all!! And Firestone sells a fine tire, they got a bad rap from ford with the explorers because of **** poor engineering on fords behalf, they did not fail on other vehicles. Ford should have specified a different spec for their explorer. They where also on rangers, no rangers flipped!

 

That is just flat wrong........I had a set separate and fly apart on an S-10 pickup and a neighbor down the street had them come apart on a Buick sedan. Firestone investigated and replaced our tires with our choice (we definitely didn't choose Firestone). But after their cost-cutting measures were costing people their lives, Firestone went back to reinforcing their tires and probably have one of the safer tires on the market now. But I will never trust them again.

 

I did not know they put Firestone Wilderness P235/75R15 on a Buick, as this was the only tire in question? You must be confused! I have sold thousand upon thousands of Firestone tires and nearly zero complaints!
ROLLOVER PROBLEMS CONTINUE TO PLAGUE FORD
Rollover ratings issued in August 2004 by the National Highway & Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) placed several popular Ford vehicles at the bottom of the list in terms of rollover safety. The two-wheel drive Ford Explorer Sport Trac received a 35.8 percent rollover rating in tests, more than twice the rate of any car and the worst rating of 68 models tested. Additionally, the four-wheel drive Explorer Sport Trac, and the four-door and two-wheel drive versions of the Ford Explorer and Mountaineer, all placed in the bottom six of the SUV class. Moreover, two 2005 Ford vehicles, the two-door Focus and the Ranger 4x4 pickup, were the worst performers in their respective classes according to government crash and rollover test results.

 

Ford wanted to soften the ride of the explorer so asked tire manufacturers to deliver a tire that would run at 26 lbs air. Firestone is the only one that would, everyone else said NO. The problem came when pressure would drop a few lbs the tire would overheat and blow out. The short wheel base on the explorer made it prone to flipping. The truck only flipped when a tire blew and the Firestones were sold to Ford with a factory approval for 26 lbs but they were marginal at best. The tires WERE failing when inflated to the factory spec of 26 lbs.
Ford now says to disregard the pressure label on the door and go by the tire mfg's rating of the replacement tires. Guess they decided 'ride comfort' wasn't so important in the long run . At least this is how I understand it (I own a 1998 Explorer and inquired about tire pressures at a Ford dealer).
U-Haul has a company wide policy to NOT rent trailers to Ford Explorers but will rent to Mercury Mountianeers which are dimensionaly the exact same vehicle.

 

I switched to Firestone Firehawks on my 97 Audi Cabriolet - had some sort of Goodyear before that were scary in the rain. I thought they were fantastic - quite; held the road; great in the rain. Went thru 2 sets before I traded the Audi in - My wife's Audi wagon has a set now - they ride softer than anything I can remember. Never had an issue with them and I liked the ride.

I didn't think they made them for Crossfires?

 

Not sure about fitment for the rear, but they do fit the front in the OEM size. I was told they were completly redesigned as of late. I think they ride quite and a little smoother than the PS2's. The rating given by Tirerack rank them very good in wet and dry. And as I posted, they did very well on the track at speed.