Time to ditch the Firestones

[jimwilly]

After almost 6 years & 75000 kms I decided to order new tires as my Original Firestone tires are down to 4.5 mm tread & will spin out on a hilly wet road when starting out even under light throttle, so I have little confidence in the icy/ snow performance.
I have factory allow wheels & kept the original steel wheels & was thinking of getting true snow tires & switching back & forth but decided to get "All Weather" tires as I don't want more wheels & tires to store.
The tires I picked are Nokian WRG4 from Kal tire on Sale for $151.92

[HammyJ]

Im curious if you found your ride quality improved.......I replaced the stock Firestones after a year with Continentals, and couldnt believe how much better the ride was......friends even noticed that it was a much more comfortable ride......I suspect I got a little better gas mileage with the Firestones, but the handling seems about the same, and my back certainly appreciates the softer ride....

[JOEMAMA]

Your increase in ride quality may simply be because there is more tread depth since the tires are new. The compound may also be a little softer. Most new tires will offer better ride comfort than a worn out tire (even if its the same make and model of tire) simply because there is less material and perhaps uneven wear on the old tire which would give poorer ride quality.

[HammyJ]

Thanks for the info....I replaced the stock Firestone FR710's(which only had a years wear on them) with Continental True Contact Tour All-Seasons because they were top rated for ride.....(or so Canadian Tire says).....I thought I was getting a German made tire....but these were made in Mexico.....

[jimwilly]

Got my tires installed today & so far so good.
The tires are quiet which is important to me & as far as ride quality? About the same Id say.
I've included some pictures of the new tires so you can see the tread pattern & the "sipes" not
present on the factory supplied Firestone tires.
I see the tires have a "low rolling resistance" marking which seems good.

A sipe, also called a “kerf” is a small slit in the tire’s tread block that creates additional tread surface area for increased grip in wet, icy and snowy conditions.

I also included a picture of the snow tires on my Dodge Caravan (used for frequent Highway thru hell trips) which are noisy & NOT smooth.