Firestone Destination LE 2 for a Silverado?

[hattaresguy]

After 40k miles my Michelin LTX MS2's are at that questionable wear spot. IE if it was spring I'd run them until the fall, but its sadly not. So after the first snow flies I might be changing them. One thing I noticed with these tires just starting this winter is they must have gotten hard. I used to not be able to break them free now my V6 powered truck can spin them threw most of 1st in the cold rain and I can grab rubber at the 1-2 upshift as well!! LOL

I'm thinking about trying a set of the Firestones because they are a lot cheaper and I might trade this truck in next fall, and they have almost as high ratings on Tirerack.

Does anyone have any experience with both?

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
After 40k miles my Michelin LTX MS2's are at that questionable wear spot. IE if it was spring I'd run them until the fall, but its sadly not. So after the first snow flies I might be changing them. One thing I noticed with these tires just starting this winter is they must have gotten hard. I used to not be able to break them free now my V6 powered truck can spin them threw most of 1st in the cold rain and I can grab rubber at the 1-2 upshift as well!! LOL

I'm thinking about trying a set of the Firestones because they are a lot cheaper and I might trade this truck in next fall, and they have almost as high ratings on Tirerack.

Does anyone have any experience with both?


I have the LE2's on my Jeep and love them. Quiet, good ride, excellent in the rain/snow, and they are wearing very well( basically no wear to speak of so far in 12K+ ). I think you would be very happy with them.

I ran the original LE's on my last Silverado and Ram and really liked them. The tread on the new LE2 is very different but so far they seem to be doing about the same performance wise. I was worried but so far so good.

 

[Ramblejam]

http://www.michelinman.com/mediabin/Approved/Michelin/Visuals/Digital/limited_mileage_warranties.pdf

70,000 miles for your LTX M/S2

 

[mrsilv04]

Unfortunately, I simply find it difficult to overlook all of the questionable (recalled, and sometimes flat out dangerous) tires that Firestone has put on the road in the last 30 years.

Has any other tire manufacturer had TWO recalls that were the scale of the 500 recall *and* the Wilderness/ATX recall?

I live not far from Decatur, IL... where some of the most failure prone tires were made.

 

[Astro14]

So, on the basis of tire problems from the early 70s (40 years ago) and the early 90s (20 years ago), you're going to write off the brand?

Let me offer an alternative experience: my kid brother's '99 Silverado. With over 250,000 miles on it, it's been on Destination LEs the whole time. He's gotten 90,000 miles, on average, out of each set of tires, trouble free. They've done well in the snow/ice of a CT winter and hauling loads year 'round.

Don't be so quick to judge on what was primarily media hype and poor owner habits (under-inflation).

 

[OtisBlkR1]

Originally Posted By: Astro14
So, on the basis of tire problems from the early 70s (40 years ago) and the early 90s (20 years ago), you're going to write off the brand?

Let me offer an alternative experience: my kid brother's '99 Silverado. With over 250,000 miles on it, it's been on Destination LEs the whole time. He's gotten 90,000 miles, on average, out of each set of tires, trouble free. They've done well in the snow/ice of a CT winter and hauling loads year 'round.

Don't be so quick to judge on what was primarily media hype and poor owner habits (under-inflation).


I agree, although i have had the A/T'S not the LE'S my Silverado and my Yukon both 4x4 did well with firestones under them.. I would buy again.

 

[Keith_Stone]

I've got the AT's(31x10.50)on my Colorado Z71. Presently 11k miles, showing good wear potential, quite and smooth ride. Unless something changes, I'll buy another set.

 

[Jimmy9190]

I have run a set of 1st Generation LE's on my Dakota, they did fairly well. I now have a set of LE2's on my truck and could not be any happier with the tires if I tried. Excellent traction wet or dry, super quiet and the ride quality is smooth as glass and very comfortable. The LE2 has a different (softer and better) rubber compound than the LE did and the tread pattern was changed to increase traction and wet weather performance. The LE2 is an outstanding super quality tire, I will buy another set if/when these wear out.

 

[Hermann]

The Tacoma now has 66K on the Original Destination LE's. BEST tire I have ever owned. Have not needed to be rebalanced EVER. Have rotated 3 times at 18 to 20K intervals. Have worn pretty even. I have 3-4 32nd's of tread left. Don't think they are good for this winter, if it is anything like last year.

Want to buy the LE/2s, but don't want to deal with Firestone in my town. They are near worthless. Might have to drive to the one near where my girlfriend used to do business.

 

[hypervish]

I had the original destination LE's on my RX300 as well, it was a fantastic tire. I regret going with the General Grabber HTS that I have now, wish I got the LE 2 instead.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

Originally Posted By: hypervish
I had the original destination LE's on my RX300 as well, it was a fantastic tire. I regret going with the General Grabber HTS that I have now, wish I got the LE 2 instead.


I to found the General brand name less than desirable after a few years of use and a lot of warranty replacements.

 

[meep]

to the OP,

I have LE2's on our tundra, about 15,000 miles. they are quiet, smooth, track well, do very well in the wet, and show decent wear. they balanced well, not requiring a whole lot of weights. With my use I think they will reach 45-50k. I tow a 6,000 lb trailer regularly, so my rears actually wear faster than the fronts. I find them to transmit less road clatter to the cabin than the MS2's. They are also quieter than the original LE. When they go on sale they are a huge value. When I bought them, the tire rack surveys were ahead of the michelins by just a hair. This is not a "I settled for firestone because I couldn't afford the michelin..." so far, these are really good tires.

 

[kkreit01]

Originally Posted By: Astro14
So, on the basis of tire problems from the early 70s (40 years ago) and the early 90s (20 years ago), you're going to write off the brand? ...



It was late 2000 for the major Ford/Firestone recall. I had an Explorer at the time. But yeah, I do agree with you. I see many GY bashers as well, and many Michelin-lovers. I think all brands make some poor and some excellent tires, and all in-between. I didn't have any issues with my Wilderness AT tires, but I got a new set of Pirelli Scorpion ATs out of the deal. In '07, I bought Destination ATs, and loved them.

What surprised me most about this thread, is the lack of wear OP got out of the M/S2s. I thought they last 70-100K. I only got 23k out of my OE 65K warranty Michelin Latitudes (horrible tire) before they were worn past safe winter use (5/32nds).

 

[hattaresguy]

I want to try both since the tire rack surveys are so close. I have no problem spending Michelin money for tires but why spend the extra $80 a tire if I can get the same performance for less?

If I'm not satisfied with the Firestones when they are worn out I'll go back to the Michelins.

The weather is going to turn here soon so I'll have to see how they do, if my current tires really are as bad as I suspect they will be off to the tire store for a set of the Firestones.

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: kkreit01
Originally Posted By: Astro14
So, on the basis of tire problems from the early 70s (40 years ago) and the early 90s (20 years ago), you're going to write off the brand? ...



It was late 2000 for the major Ford/Firestone recall. I had an Explorer at the time. But yeah, I do agree with you. I see many GY bashers as well, and many Michelin-lovers. I think all brands make some poor and some excellent tires, and all in-between. I didn't have any issues with my Wilderness AT tires, but I got a new set of Pirelli Scorpion ATs out of the deal. In '07, I bought Destination ATs, and loved them.

What surprised me most about this thread, is the lack of wear OP got out of the M/S2s. I thought they last 70-100K. I only got 23k out of my OE 65K warranty Michelin Latitudes (horrible tire) before they were worn past safe winter use (5/32nds).


I do mostly city driving so I'm not going to get a lot of miles out of any tire. My last set of Generals lasted barely 20k miles.

If we were going into the nice weather I'd run another 10k on these tires but sadly were not and I might not get that luxury.

 

[Ken2]

Bridgestone euthanized the Decatur plant in 2001.

Agreed, the Firestone action after their Radial 500 failures in the 70's was terrible and almost killed the company. Bridgestone's actions for the ATX & Wilderness AT tires was terrible.

That said, I run certain Bridgestone and Firestone tires. They are working well for me.

 

[Errtt]

I had considered a set of LE-2s for one of the SUV's but when I called the local FS, they didn't have a set in size, so ended up with the Michelin Defenders at DT. Friend is real happy with the LE-2 on his SUV.

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: kkreit01
Originally Posted By: Astro14
So, on the basis of tire problems from the early 70s (40 years ago) and the early 90s (20 years ago), you're going to write off the brand? ...



It was late 2000 for the major Ford/Firestone recall. I had an Explorer at the time. But yeah, I do agree with you. I see many GY bashers as well, and many Michelin-lovers. I think all brands make some poor and some excellent tires, and all in-between. I didn't have any issues with my Wilderness AT tires, but I got a new set of Pirelli Scorpion ATs out of the deal. In '07, I bought Destination ATs, and loved them.

What surprised me most about this thread, is the lack of wear OP got out of the M/S2s. I thought they last 70-100K. I only got 23k out of my OE 65K warranty Michelin Latitudes (horrible tire) before they were worn past safe winter use (5/32nds).


Recall was 2000.

However, the tires in question were made from roughly 1994 to 2000 and the problem was exacerbated by a low specified pressure (26 PSI) and poor owner habits.

I had a 1996 Explorer. I got tires replaced under the recall.