Firestone Destination MT

BostonJohn · **Posted:** Sat Jan 12, 2008 8:56 pm

I'm in the market for new tires and have been looking at the Firestone destination MTs. They get pretty good reviews but i've heard they're not great in the snow. Does anyone have some experience with these in the snow, how do they handle?

If I don't get the firestones i'll probably just pick up a set of BFG ATs which have worked well for me in the past.

RespectMyLibertay · **Posted:** Thu Jan 17, 2008 7:12 pm

I had them as the last tires I had on my KJ. They did fine offroad except for horizontal traction (sliding sideways). On-road, they're a joke on packed snow or ice unless you air them down to say, 20 PSI, which isn't fun. They also didn't wear so well for me (I only got 25K out of them). Maybe just some siping would fix all that?

tommudd · **Posted:** Thu Jan 17, 2008 7:15 pm

There isnt any mud tire that will do get in snow, unless they have some siping in them, MTRs /MTs all the same there are a few with siping but not many, mud tires are well mud tires :wink:

Pote · **Posted:** Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:27 pm

and god forbid you drive on ice with mud tires...hellooooo insurance company! :shock:

Food for thought...there are also alot of AT tires that are horrid for snow...MTs are even a step below those. Its all about siping and really soft, pliable mutli-compounds for the material that never hardens in freezing temps....mudders will not have any of that.

you want the best of the best snow, ice and all season...get what I have...Nokian Vatiiva ATs. Outside of chains and studs, you won't top these in the winter.

KJ04 · **Posted:** Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:39 pm

Full siping is the traction key when puchasing a M/T, I wouldn't buy an M/T without it.
Cooper Tire has one, the TrXus M/T's, Maxis Big Horn's, and my Buckshot XMT Mudder's have full siping that I can think of .

InCommando · **Posted:** Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:30 pm

I have TrxuS M/T's on my Cherokee. Man, I wish they made that tire in a more KJ-friendly size. It works really well in many conditions including mud, snow, & ice. They may make a 265/75/r16. Besides the height, my 285/75/r16's would be a bear because each tire/rim weighs 122#.

RespectMyLibertay · **Posted:** Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:40 pm

M/Ts are just fine in fresh snow on road or off, IMO. Especially in deep snow, nothing is better except MAYBE some A/Ts. I don't have ABS, but I do have disk brakes...I never had problems with my Destination M/Ts until I hit PACKED snow (smaller roads that don't get plowed, snow is driven on for days, melts a little during the day, turns to ice on top at night), and even then, driving slow keeps me from "needing ABS" like others claim they do.

Siping can only do so much for any M/T when the lugs have so much space between them. If you like M/Ts offroad but don't like their disadvantages on the road, and you like A/Ts on-road but don't like their offroad disadvantages (A/T don't cut it all offroad IMO), get the tires I have on my KJ. I've said it a million times: their all the good things about M/Ts and A/Ts, and none of the bad things: BFGoodrich Commercial T/A Tractions. I can't speak for tread-life yet, but it is supposed to be 'commercial'.

I keep on recommending them because there are so many postings on here from people that want "a tire than is between an A/T and M/T." This is that tire, along with Dunlop Radial RTs and Cooper S/Ts, which don't even approach the traction of the BFGs. RTs are known to not hold up so well offroad compared to any standard M/T, and the S/Ts are noisy and wear quickly. Both are hard to find depending where you live. Neither have the amount of siping the BFGs do. The only way an A/T might handle better on-road than these BFGs is if they have more siping. While the BFGs Commercial T/A Tractions do have A LOT of siping, I think BFG A/T KOs probably do have more gripping edges overall. This might give them a slight advantage in packed snow and ice, but I doubt it's much to notice. Take a look at them next time your surfing the web or are at a tire shop that has them (Discount Tire carries them around here).

InCommando · **Posted:** Thu Jan 17, 2008 10:23 pm

I hope those T/A's work out for you.

This is a dandy looking tire, too, though:

http://www.intercotire.com/piclib/579.jpg

If you could sling 235/85/r16's under you KJ and needed all weather and off-road performance, I'd give these a peek.

BostonJohn · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 12:14 pm

Thanks for the info guys. Living in San Diego i'm not going to make snow/ice performance my top priority, but I am still interested because I do make some trips up to the mountains and hit snow a few times a year.

The TrXus M/Ts look great and the price is right up my alley. I've looked at those before but was really concerned about putting 32's on. Now i'm seriously considering shoving a set of 235/85/16 in there. Wheel wells are trimmed, pinch welds are pounded but i'll have to do some more research(and maybe hammering) to make sure these won't rub.

We should seriously talk some of these tire manufacturers into making some more sizes.

KJ04 · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 12:26 pm

InCommando wrote:

I have TrxuS M/T's on my Cherokee. Man, I wish they made that tire in a more KJ-friendly size. It works really well in many conditions including mud, snow, & ice. They may make a 265/75/r16. Besides the height, my 285/75/r16's would be a bear because each tire/rim weighs 122#.

The TrXus M/T comes in:
31X10.50R15 C-6 ply
235/85/16 E-10 ply
265/75/16 D-8 ply

The TrXus M/T's tires are a very good all weather tire as they have a softer compound and full siping for grip in all conditions.
I ran the 265/75/16's for 3 winters in Northern Ohio snow and ice storms with no traction problems.

Drawbacks are balancing problems, so purchase from a dealer that stocks them . If the tire takes more than 7 oz. to balance don't accept it, make them replace it with one that will.

InCommando · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 5:55 pm

One of mine did have a balancing problem. Spinning it on the rim got it down to about 4 oz's. That seems like a bunch until, like I posted, you considered that they are balancing 122#'s.

The sidewalls seem pretty tough. Typical Interco. Their stuff rocks off-road.

daspes · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:00 pm

122 lbs?!

Holy Cow! I can feel the extra weight of mine at 71 lbs.

BostonJohn · **Posted:** Mon Jan 21, 2008 6:11 pm

So after further researching all my options i've decided to go with the Maxxis Bighorn in a 245/75/16. The price is reasonable ($135/tire and free shipping), tires have siping, good treadwear reviews, and from what I see people generally have a good opinion of the ride both on and off road. Gonna put in the order tonight!

InCommando · **Posted:** Mon Jan 21, 2008 8:41 pm

Good deal. I don't think you will de disappointed with those.

dloc_jeep_KJ · **Posted:** Tue Jan 22, 2008 12:03 am

BostonJohn wrote:

So after further researching all my options i've decided to go with the Maxxis Bighorn in a 245/75/16. The price is reasonable ($135/tire and free shipping), tires have siping, good treadwear reviews, and from what I see people generally have a good opinion of the ride both on and off road. Gonna put in the order tonight!

so where did u get them for $135 w/ free shipping? thats not bad at all. i might check into them when i need new tires.

BostonJohn · **Posted:** Tue Jan 22, 2008 4:23 am

dloc_jeep_KJ wrote:

so where did u get them for $135 w/ free shipping? thats not bad at all. i might check into them when i need new tires.

I hopped on Ebay and searched for the tires. There is a shop in Arkansas called Patriot Tire that seems to be selling a good number of tires over ebay. I was a bit skeptical but they had over 1000 positive feedbacks vs 3 negative so that gave me some reassurance. Only negative comments I saw were a few people didn't recieve their shipment due to tires being out of stock, but they recieved a full refund.

I ended up exchanging e-mails with the shop since I needed 5 tires (the ebay sale was for a set of 4) and they were very accomodating.

Firestone Destination MT

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