Firestone Destination A/T review...

Nissan11

Nissan11

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2005
Location
Marston, NC
about 8 months ago I put 4 new 30" firestone destination a/ts on my nissan frontier. These tires perform pretty good off-road. They hook up well in the dirt and OK in mud. I cant say how many miles I have on them but I drive every day and they all have 25% treat left. A problem these tires have is that they will not hold air. They are suppoised to hold 44psi each and after a few weeks they are all down to 20. My buddy has some in 32" on his chevy and he has the same problem. This is a hassle for me to pump them up so often and today was my second flat so Im a little upset about that. Im not blaming the tires for the flats but I have never had 2 flat tires in only a few months with any other tire. I got all 4 new tires mounted for under 400 so it was a decent deal, I just wish they would hold air. I was going to put some Firestone M/T's on it next but Im too worried they wont hold air either. Overall good snow/off road tire for a daily driver but will not hold air.
 
Since you didn't mention the source (tire dealer or ) ... I'll pass on some info.

About 8-9 years ago, I put a set of 34" Armstrong Norseman Radials (bought from homie outta the trunk of a Caddy at carwash :shaking: ) on my NiceUn 4x4 p/u... Absolutely LOVED them... best all around tire I've ever had, BUT could NOT keep the bastards pumped up! :mad:

Finally, I talked to a tire guy that showed me the "defects"... about 5-10 pinholes in each outter sidewall. Filled them full of "slim" and ran them for 6-8 months before selling them for some street tread (changed jobs and needed something smaller). I don't recall the reasoning behind the pinholes, seem it's common & has a name, but maybe you got a set of them?...
 
i have the firestone mt's and like them alot, they hold air fine. i would think that just about any tire should hold air if mounted properly and the valve stems are tight and installed properly. you said you got a good deal on installation and what not, maybe they didn't do so great of a job. one time when i got some tires installed they didn't tighten the valve cores in properly and i was loosing air, maybe you should check that. and also, why do you need 44 psi in the tires, i don't know anyone who runs that much air.
 
Umm, kids, the pressue on the side of the tire is for MAX load capability, reads something like 44psi at 2250lbs single or some such. based on tire weight rating for given tire construction (load range C,D,E, yadda yadda) running single tire or dual tire at max weight.

Running tires at max pressure not only rides like shit, it will tend to wear out the center of the tire sooner if not loaded, handling in corners and on wet pavement is also effected. And road obstructions, pot holes, curbs will kill the tire casing much easier just because there is no give.

Proper tire inflation pressures are based on the vehicle and it's GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) and is on a sticker on the door sill or in the glove box (depends on the vehicle)
 
Check your valve stem cores, be sure they are tight, maybe even repalce them, or replace the whole stem itself.

If nothing else, pull the wheel off the and either run a hose stream over it or submerge the whole tire wheel combo look for leaks.

The problem may not be the tires but the wheels themselves. Might be some trash left on the bead from previous tires, ormaybe even something pinched in the bead when wheeling.
 
dont sound like the tires are lasting long, 8 months and only 25% tread left. I think id shop for a longer lasting tire.
 
Open your drivers side door. There is a sticker on there somewhere with the recommended air pressures (front and rear) for your stock vehicle. THIS WILL HELP YOUR TIRE WEAR. These are for stock tires/weight. If your new tires are wider, typically air pressure goes down. The more weight added to your vehicle will typically air pressure goes up. Unless you make a huge change, the factory air pressure will put you in the ballpark.
 
The way I do it is just putting about 35 and then put a chalk line on the tire. See if it is wearin even, when the outside lug touches and wears even that is the PSI you should use. I had a set of BFG allterrians that lasted 50,000 miles, and still had tread
 
jeepercreature said:
The way I do it is just putting about 35 and then put a chalk line on the tire. See if it is wearin even, when the outside lug touches and wears even that is the PSI you should use. I had a set of BFG allterrians that lasted 50,000 miles, and still had tread
Click to expand...


you're also the guy that showed up with 37PSI in a set of X-terrains that are rated for a max of 35PSI...;)


the chalk test is the surest way to test, but you can mathematically get it REAL close...

as an close example...take a set of 30x9.50x15 BFG M/T's on a 4000lb vehicle...the BFG's are rated at a max of 50PSI at 1985 lbs...

1985*4 = 7940
4000/7940 = ~.50
.5*50 = 25

the proper inflation to get the best wear out of those tires will be ~25PSI...now, you might not get as good of gas mileage as you would if they were inflated to 35-40PSI, but they'll wear even...

I've never had anybody that attempted that method to disprove it with the chalk test...

it's the reason I run ~16 PSI in my Iroks on the street...


back to the original poster...if you having them go completely flat, dropping the pressure probably won't solve it...else they'd stop leaking at some point when the pressure drops down from 44PSI...a can/bottle of tire slime may be the fix, unless you have some gunk in the beads as was previously mentioned...


Greg
 
Tread wear is even on all 4 tires and I put 40psi in them every time I checked althought they do leak. I pumped up the flat and put it in the bathtub and found the leak. It is a tiny hole in one of the lugs in the center of the tire. I put a plug in it and its holding air fine now. How long do plugs normaly last. Am I ok for a while or do I need to get it patched?
 
A plug is usually good for the life of the tire. Be aware that putting a plug on the outer tread (close to the sidewall) of the tire may be dangerous. Most places won't plug the tire if the hole is too close to the sidewall.
 
Back
Top