BF Goodrich A/T vs. Firestone Destination A/T

[jeepman3071]

I have a 2000 Jeep Cherokee which spends 97% of its life on road, the other 3% being dirt roads and light trails. This Jeep is a college commuter vehicle and sees lots of rain and snow, with the occasional ice.

I have a 2" lift waiting to go on and will run 245/70R16's. I've read many reviews on both tires and figured I'd ask here since most of you drive in very similar conditions. The BFG is much more expensive than the Firestone, but the Firestone received better reviews on tirerack.com. I've only driven on the BFG in past experiences with my previous Jeep for about a month. They were at about half tread and seemed a little squirrely on wet roads. How are they in snow? If anyone has experience with either tire I'd love to hear about it. I've heard good and bad about both and want to know if the BFGs are worth the $50 more a tire.

 

[OVERKILL]

How "light" are we talking about for trails? You might be better served with something like an LTX M/S2 or LTX A/T2.

 

[Spooled]

I had the Firestone Destination A/T's on my 2008 Tundra 4WD and appear to do similar driving to what you list. They were excellent tires. They were quiet and handled snow very well. I had 45,000 miles on them when my worked traded me out of the Tundra for another vehicle. They still probably had another 10K mile left in them. The original tires on it when it was new were BF Goodrich (not A/T's though) and they were fine, but I preferred the Firestones. I had some reservations about putting on Firestones, but they are actually owned by Bridgestone. I would highly recommend them. Hope this helps.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
I have a 2000 Jeep Cherokee which spends 97% of its life on road, the other 3% being dirt roads and light trails. This Jeep is a college commuter vehicle and sees lots of rain and snow, with the occasional ice.

I have a 2" lift waiting to go on and will run 245/70R16's. I've read many reviews on both tires and figured I'd ask here since most of you drive in very similar conditions. The BFG is much more expensive than the Firestone, but the Firestone received better reviews on tirerack.com. I've only driven on the BFG in past experiences with my previous Jeep for about a month. They were at about half tread and seemed a little squirrely on wet roads. How are they in snow? If anyone has experience with either tire I'd love to hear about it. I've heard good and bad about both and want to know if the BFGs are worth the $50 more a tire.


When you say "light trails" can you be more specific? If you mean simple logging roads that don't have mud bogs, deep water, rough terrain, etc... it actually doesn't sound like you even need an AT to me. Sounds more like a quality all season will do.

I have run 4WD trucks for a couple decades now. I used to run AT's due to the NH winters and some light off road use like you talk of( launching boat on muddy/snowy/icy ramps and some light woods roads deer hunting )but I have since learned a quality AS tire is enough for me. Cost less, better ride, better MPG, and they last longer. Just something for you to consider seeing as you are mainly talking a DD here. Actually the Firestone Destination LE all seasons I have run on my last 3 vehciles( 2 4WD FS Trucks & 1 AWD SUV )are great in the bad weather too. They actually have outperformed many OE AT's I have had come on my trucks.

If you are set on an AT however( looks? )both the ones you mention are excellent. For the price difference and your limited off road needs I would run the Firestone. You should also check into the Bridgestone Dueler AT D695. It is the little cousin of the Revo. They are a great tire for your needs too.

 

[HWEaton]

The Firestone's, hands down...

 

[jeepman3071]

Thanks for the quick answers. I'm set on an A/T because when I am off the road it usually involves driving around on the farm I work at. I occasionally haul small trailers full of wood or hay down muddy roads. I also like the more aggressive look of the A/Ts vs. the all-seasons. With my 2" lift I also plan to do more offroading in the future. I checked out the Bridgestone Revo 2 and it seemed like a good tire as well.

I've read great reviews on the Firestone and its also more in my price range so I'm leaning towards that. I just wanted to ask about the BFG. Seems like the BFG A/T has a cult like following and they get all defensive when I say mine weren't that great on wet roads, haha.

 

[NHHEMI]

In that case go with an AT.

The BFG's are great off road but do have some shortcomings on road. Check out Mastercraft tires too. They have some excellent AT's at a reasonable cost. Made by Cooper.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
In that case go with an AT.

The BFG's are great off road but do have some shortcomings on road. Check out Mastercraft tires too. They have some excellent AT's at a reasonable cost. Made by Cooper.


Thanks. I actually have Mastercrafts right now, but they are the Courser MSR (snows) which I don't recommend for year round use. They wear very fast and get pretty noisey past about 70% tread even when rotated. My buddy had them on his Ranger and swore he had a driveshaft vibration at around 35 mph. Ended up being the tires.

 

[rshunter]

Have you had a look at the Goodyear Wrangler Authority A/T? It's sold at WalMart, with a price that reflects that. It has received excellent reviews among owners and is well regarded by a lot of Jeep enthusiasts. In some sizes, it even carries the severe-service winter rating.

 

[rslifkin]

I'm running 245/70R16 Destination A/Ts on my jeep and I love them. They're good in the snow, although in icy slush true snow tires would do better. They're quiet on pavement, handle well, are almost impossible to hydroplane in the rain, and seem to grip well for the little bit of offroad use mine have seen. I'm happy with them. They also seem to be wearing well so far, with about 8500 miles on them.

 

[440Magnum]

I really like BFG A/Ts, except for the price. My '99 sees the same type use as yours (my daughter's commuter vehicle in this case) with me taking it out about once or twice a year on rocky trals. I think the LT rating and beefier sidewall is a big advantage, even for very light trail use. I was concerned that they'd be loud and rough on-road, but they really are not- just a slightly louder sound at about 40 mph than regular SUV (non LT-rated, non-offroad) tires. Wet traction is very good, dry traction maybe just *slightly* less than passenger car tires. And it did FANTASTIC in our very rare 2" of snow this winter- I took it out for the sole purpose of playing with the A/Ts, and they did a great job.

 

[jeepman3071]

I actually looked at the Wrangler Authority before I bought my current tires. I wanted to run a size larger on my Jeep but WalMart would only install the tire size that was on the door, which is 225/75R15. I have 16" wheels from a higher trim package model.

The guy wouldn't even sell them to me without having them mounted. I guess its some liability thing with WalMart.

I'll probably go with the Destinations then.

 

[rshunter]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
I actually looked at the Wrangler Authority before I bought my current tires. I wanted to run a size larger on my Jeep but WalMart would only install the tire size that was on the door, which is 225/75R15. I have 16" wheels from a higher trim package model.

The guy wouldn't even sell them to me without having them mounted. I guess its some liability thing with WalMart.

It's a policy that seems to vary by store. Some have no problem with it, some are donkey's arses about it. I'd check with another store, OR, I'd just take the wheels in and have new tires mounted on them. If they need to know what they'll be mounted on, just give 'em a model that uses the tire size you want. I've got no problem with fertilizing the mushrooms...

 

[JHZR2]

My truck was OE fitted with BFG AT. I do occasional ofroading and a lot of driving all over. At 50k when I changed them, they had over 50% of the tread. I was more concerned with age...

Mine were 31x10.5R15. I generally keep them at 40psi. I would not say they are squirreley at all. In fact, I thought they were quite good as an all around tire, so I replaced them with the same. new ones carried a snow tire rating designation, and they have done quite well including light offroading in snow.

All that said, if the alignment is good and youre keeping the truck for a while, given the farm offroading and highway use Id look at the Michelin LTX AT.

 

[MNgopher]

The BFG's will wear like iron and plenty of people recommend them.

Out of those two, the Firestone A/T would be my choice. Much more reasonable up front cost and really, really good reviews. We run them on our fleet of work trucks now instead of the Bridgestone REVOS's. Cheaper up front cost, last as long in service and they work well in mixed street/snow/ice/off road use.

Thinking they will likely be the next set of tires on my F150 as well, and I've been long time proponent of the Bridgestone Revo's.

 

[440Magnum]

Whichever you go with, just make SURE you get an LT rated tire. You'll appreciate the tougher sidewalls the first time a big rock takes a swipe at the sidewall. And IMO, LT tires are less squirrely when you're rig is heavily loaded on-road, too.

 

[MNgopher]

Very, very few LT tires in the specified size (245/70/16). For a Cherokee in the use that he has decribed, an LT tire would be overkill.

I don't say that as a non-LT tire proponent. I've done the upgrade to LT's on my f150's in the past with no regrets. I wouldn't put them on my '88 Cherokee unless it was as more of a trail/off road machine. With 90+% street use, I'd stick to the P Series tires...

 

[MisterBen]

I've had Bridgestone Dueler Revo 2's on my Tacoma for a couple years now. GREAT tire, I would highly recommend it. I did TON of reading about them before I purchased. They are compared often to the Firestones you mention.

I have taken them on winter road trips and they have performed great. They are no louder than the [censored] stock Dunlop "highway tire", and give great traction. I've not done any trail riding with them, but have heard nothing but excellent reviews.

 

[GenSan]

I can only speak from my own experience with the
BFG AT T/A KO:

I'm sick of them already and the rubber compound must be mixed with diamonds. But I'm not changing them until 2/32s".
However long that takes. The compound wears like iron but is surprisingly made of a soft rubber.
Zero dry rot.

My 265/70/16's are nearing 6 years and 70,000 miles since I purchased them, rotated and balanced every 10k miles.
Brand new tread depth: 16/32s"
Current tread depth: 10/32s"
I have not even used half of the treadlife for these tires and with how and where I drive on them simply amazes me.

All types of snow (hard, soft, slush) and depth of snow handling: above average (better than the 1st gen. Michelin LTX AT's I had on a 1995 Chevy Blazer LT 4x4)

Ice: Average

Off-road: I drive a "short-cut" route up the mountains that is mostly dirt, hard rock and gravel to get to our development in the mountains daily. When it rains plently of water filled mud holes deeper than the tires and soft mud. Never got stuck in 2WD even though I have the option of 4x4.

On-road: no complaints, maybe a slight hum but only hear it with windows down

Wet-roads highway speeds: My baromter for this are the Goodyear Fortera Triple Treds so the BFG T/A KO are average. Slight hydroplaning at speed.

Puncture resistance for tread and sidewall: Excellent

Long term wear: What wear?? Treadlife is second to none. It may be the last shoes your Jeep ever wears.

Compared to the 1st. gen. Michelin LTX AT's I had on a lighter vehicle that was rarely used off-road in the Blazer, they were at 2/32"s at 6 years and barely 60,000 miles;
these BFG's will easily go 10 years and 100,000 plus miles.

In short the fifty bucks more per tire is up to you.

 

[GenSan]

Some fellow BITOG members' opinions on the Firestone Destination ATs:

Firestone Destination AT's