Firestone Winterforce Tires?

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Any good? Looking for a cheaper alternative to Ix2's. Reviews seem good. This will be for the Lesbaru Forester. Thanks
 
pass better tires available for same price

general altimax arctics for example...
much better quality and traction wise.


some hankook ipikes are good


cooper wintermaster


what size wheels, you may be able to run 15's on that year as well.(not sure)

yokohama ig-52c have a rebate right now.
blizzack ws-70 are on clearance.
 
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Eh... If you're getting them from Tire Rack, Blizzak WS70s are only $14 a piece more, for a vastly better tire.

Heck, the Generals at $1 more a tire would be a step up, for practically the same money.
 
After the Firestone 500 debacle thirty some years ago, I wouldn't have anything Firestone on my vehicle. And wouldn't let Firestone work on my wheel barrow.
 
I'm not sure what you're paying for them, but they're near the bottom of my list.

Nokian Hakkapeliittas are far and away the nest I've used, with the Blizzaks being second. You might be able to find last year's Blizzak WS-70s for sale if you're looking to save a few dollars.
 
They are the worst winter tire out there.

Still much better than any all season.

I bought them because they were significantly cheaper ($75/tire instead of >$100) in the size I wanted to run for winter. Now there's more and better options available for around $75/tire.

If you want a good, cheap snow tire, check out the selection of Nokian on Tires-Easy.com
 
The General Altimax Arctic is an excellent buy.

I bought these for the Civic -- drove on the windy roads and high elevation parts of British Columbia in the middle of winter and had zero problems. I think you will like it.
 
I've had both the Blizzak's and Generals.

I thought the Blizzaks were great, until my first snow storm in the Generals. They are such a great tire and such a great price! I'd get the Generals over the Blizzaks any day
 
Originally Posted By: HosteenJorje
After the Firestone 500 debacle thirty some years ago, I wouldn't have anything Firestone on my vehicle. And wouldn't let Firestone work on my wheel barrow.

Different company now. Bridgestone is good. Well...except for the Firestone tires on the Ford Explorer debacle. My experience with Firestone service is like any other--you get what you inspect, not what you expect.
 
I'm sure running any kind of snow tire on the Forester this winter will make it unstoppable, but if you're looking at retail prices, I'd agree with the others, there are tires as good or better for the price.

If you have some awesome deal on the Winterforces, I wouldn't pass on them just because another tire has slightly better rating. Winterforces may not be the best snow tire, but still decent.
 
winterforce tires are poor on ice without studding, by the time you add 10-15$ per tire for studding there are better cheaper alternatives.

the altimax arctics are "ok" on ice without studding but not as good as some studless.
 
The Winterforce with studs do work decently on ice. I hit a patch of ice turning into work and I did NOT hit the gate. A few others even with snow tires / ice tires managed to get the gate. Of course the ones with all seasons didn't even manage to start to make the turn and they just understeered a few feet up the road and stopped.
 
As noted, they're not the best winter tire, but they'll still trounce an all-season tire.

I had a set that I used for a several years and they worked fine.

If you can get a good deal, I would get them. If there are other, better models in a similar price range, then I might step up to another brand.
 
For all the haters. Did you own a set of Winterforce? I've currently got a set for our 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan. Bought them second-hand last year. The van was unstoppable last winter with these tires, and we had a horrible winter. Dry handling and noise is as good as decent all-seasons as well.

I also had a used set on my 2012 Subaru Legacy. The leggy was terrible in the winter with the stock Bridgestone Turanaza EL400, which is why I bough the CraigsList Firestone Winterforces for it. WOW was it awesome with those snows.

I wouldn't avoid a set of FWF given the right price. Would I pay more for them than Blizzaks or the likes? No.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
The Winterforce with studs do work decently on ice. I hit a patch of ice turning into work and I did NOT hit the gate. A few others even with snow tires / ice tires managed to get the gate. Of course the ones with all seasons didn't even manage to start to make the turn and they just understeered a few feet up the road and stopped.


It's already that bad down in your part of NY!? Up here in Rochester, we haven't dipped below freezing yet (and it was back in the 70s the other day), I'm probably still a few weeks away from pulling the summer tires off the Jeep.
 
Thanks. Well I currently have Michelin ix2's that are worn. I'm only keeping the car another year, if that, so I was looking to spend a bit less this time around.
 
I've had a set on a minivan, an Expedition, and just got a set to replace some Michelin Xi2's on my wife's car. The Michelins are horrible in snow and slush, which is what we see mostly around here. She really liked how the van drove with them, so she asked for the same thing. Who am I to question the smart one around here? I would not hesitate to get them for winter driving.
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
For all the haters. Did you own a set of Winterforce? I've currently got a set for our 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan. Bought them second-hand last year. The van was unstoppable last winter with these tires, and we had a horrible winter. Dry handling and noise is as good as decent all-seasons as well.

I also had a used set on my 2012 Subaru Legacy. The leggy was terrible in the winter with the stock Bridgestone Turanaza EL400, which is why I bough the CraigsList Firestone Winterforces for it. WOW was it awesome with those snows.

I wouldn't avoid a set of FWF given the right price. Would I pay more for them than Blizzaks or the likes? No.


I do. My biggest complaint is the noise, really. I have never had an issue with the Focus with them - it's unstoppable as well. But man, they are louder than the mud tires on my Jeep!

2/4 of the ones I bought in 2011 had bad belts.

I would feel much better if everyone ran Winterforce than all seasons.

Originally Posted By: rslifkin
Originally Posted By: Miller88
The Winterforce with studs do work decently on ice. I hit a patch of ice turning into work and I did NOT hit the gate. A few others even with snow tires / ice tires managed to get the gate. Of course the ones with all seasons didn't even manage to start to make the turn and they just understeered a few feet up the road and stopped.


It's already that bad down in your part of NY!? Up here in Rochester, we haven't dipped below freezing yet (and it was back in the 70s the other day), I'm probably still a few weeks away from pulling the summer tires off the Jeep.


Last winter. It's not freezing here yet - don't rush it, I don't want the $200 electric bills anytime soon! It's actually nice out today!
 
I have a set for my Forester. As others have noted, there are better winter tires out there, but I got mine for around $50 each after rebate. The Forester was driven from Florida to Washington State and back on them last winter and had no issues, although they are louder than all season tires. If you can get them for significantly less than Altimax or Blizzak, go for it. I have General Grabber AT-2s on the Tacoma 4X4, but couldn't find those in the right size for the Forester.
 
the altimax arctics are 1$ more and much more tire.

yes I have owned or driven on firestone winterforce, cooper wintermaster+, general altimax arctics, yokohama ig-20, michelin xice xi2, michelin xice xi3, blizzack ws-70, blizzack ws-50, nokian wrg2 suv, and conti Extreme winter contact.
(coming up blizzack ws-80 this year)

The winterforce do get a better deep snow bite vs a small tread void ice orientated tire such as the xice xi2.

To me deep snow traction is not worrying with any premium winter tire.
as they are all much better than all-seasons, esp oem trash like those Turdenzas you mentioned.

If you like the winterforce at all the general altimax arctics are superior in every way.. and since winterforce studded are no longer value priced.. you should compare unstudded winterforce to studless.
 
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