Weren't there also other tires on some Explorers as well, with no issues?
Goodyear: Just a name???
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Lots of talk on the Exploder fiasco, yet everyone seems to forget the largest tire recall to date. The Firestone 500. Perfect example of the American way. American tire OEM's along with American auto makers did not want radial tires as it would cut into their profits. Tire OEMs would have to retool factories, and vehicle OEMs would have to redesign suspensions and such.
So they tried everything they could to keep the radial away. Seems to be a theme with a lot of American businesses though, focus on dollars not innovation and progress. BFGoodrich tried to make radials but was the lone wolf in their pack and eventually lost too much money. As many know they are now owned by Michelin.
Firestone decided they were going to cheap out and try making radials on bias machines. Whether this played a role in the tread seperation issues of the 500 I do not know, I remember reading a lot about the issues it can bring though. The Firestone 500 crippled the company. The NHTSA said Firestone was uncooperative with the investigation into their tire failures. In the end they had the largest tire recall to this date of over 7 million tires, the largest civil penalty imposed on a corporation at that time ($500,000) and were found to be the cause of 34 deaths. They initially blamed the customer for the issues as well stating underinflation and poor maintenance.
As most know their image was basically ruined and they were bought out by Bridgestone shortly after.
The American was did not prevail well with most companies being bought up by euro or asian ones. Goodyear did remain though.
Small note about Goodyear, while Charles Goodyear is credited with inventing vulcanization, Goodyear tire company has nothing to do with him, they chose the name to honor him and were started long after his death.
I don't care much for Firestones myself, they seem to just be cheaper Bridgestones which I think is the companies idea. Firestone is an American tradition, just like BFGoodrich and Michelin.
Firestone ag tires are not bad but Michelin is really the leader in technology with Ag tires.
As for Goodyears. I am surprised nobody has made the comment "What do you call 365 condoms?"
I cannot comment on most of their car tires, never had the desire to even try any, my bad taste comes from their ag tires. They are absolute junk. It's actually pretty hard to find many people who like them in the ag industry. They just keep getting contracts though to be put on at the factory. They never hold air and have plenty of seperation issues. Their resistance to stubble damage is also very poor.
I have never run their commercial truck tires as I stick to Michelin there as well, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of noise on either side of the coin (good or bad) so I guess you could say overall they are not bad in that sector.
So they tried everything they could to keep the radial away. Seems to be a theme with a lot of American businesses though, focus on dollars not innovation and progress. BFGoodrich tried to make radials but was the lone wolf in their pack and eventually lost too much money. As many know they are now owned by Michelin.
Firestone decided they were going to cheap out and try making radials on bias machines. Whether this played a role in the tread seperation issues of the 500 I do not know, I remember reading a lot about the issues it can bring though. The Firestone 500 crippled the company. The NHTSA said Firestone was uncooperative with the investigation into their tire failures. In the end they had the largest tire recall to this date of over 7 million tires, the largest civil penalty imposed on a corporation at that time ($500,000) and were found to be the cause of 34 deaths. They initially blamed the customer for the issues as well stating underinflation and poor maintenance.
As most know their image was basically ruined and they were bought out by Bridgestone shortly after.
The American was did not prevail well with most companies being bought up by euro or asian ones. Goodyear did remain though.
Small note about Goodyear, while Charles Goodyear is credited with inventing vulcanization, Goodyear tire company has nothing to do with him, they chose the name to honor him and were started long after his death.
I don't care much for Firestones myself, they seem to just be cheaper Bridgestones which I think is the companies idea. Firestone is an American tradition, just like BFGoodrich and Michelin.
Firestone ag tires are not bad but Michelin is really the leader in technology with Ag tires.
As for Goodyears. I am surprised nobody has made the comment "What do you call 365 condoms?"
I cannot comment on most of their car tires, never had the desire to even try any, my bad taste comes from their ag tires. They are absolute junk. It's actually pretty hard to find many people who like them in the ag industry. They just keep getting contracts though to be put on at the factory. They never hold air and have plenty of seperation issues. Their resistance to stubble damage is also very poor.
I have never run their commercial truck tires as I stick to Michelin there as well, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of noise on either side of the coin (good or bad) so I guess you could say overall they are not bad in that sector.
Originally Posted By: cchase
Weren't there also other tires on some Explorers as well, with no issues?
Yes - and interesting to this discussion, they were Goodyears. This is another data point that the problem was with the tires, not the vehicle.
Weren't there also other tires on some Explorers as well, with no issues?
Yes - and interesting to this discussion, they were Goodyears. This is another data point that the problem was with the tires, not the vehicle.
I can say, due to the fact that I have owned more G/Y tires over the last 40 years than all other brands combined that, I really don't like their tires. At one time, I had G/Y tires on all 4 vehicle at the same time and disliked them all after ~ 10K-12K miles.
My current an only G/Y tires right now, are G/Y ACT's(1st gen, Assurance Comfort Tread) and they're only OK but, the best G/Y that I've owned to date.
Whether I bought them at G/Y Service Center, SAM's Club or at SEARS, they all developed issues very soon or just after warranty. Mostly after the warranty and I was never able to use the pro-rated warranty. When I did try to use the pro-rating, the service dept at mentioned stores were full of "you know what!" And I never found this worth the FIGHT!
I know lots of folks that love'em!
My current an only G/Y tires right now, are G/Y ACT's(1st gen, Assurance Comfort Tread) and they're only OK but, the best G/Y that I've owned to date.
Whether I bought them at G/Y Service Center, SAM's Club or at SEARS, they all developed issues very soon or just after warranty. Mostly after the warranty and I was never able to use the pro-rated warranty. When I did try to use the pro-rating, the service dept at mentioned stores were full of "you know what!" And I never found this worth the FIGHT!
I know lots of folks that love'em!
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