When it comes to tires, the Firestone brand is a household name, and for good reasons. The brand has built a reputation in the mid-range tire segment for having a high standard of quality.
Firestone has earned the trust of drivers everywhere by offering several reputable options for passenger, SUV, OTR, and performance tires at competitive prices. The brand’s tires offer a perfect blend of affordability and performance.
Pros
✔️Durable
✔️Affordable
✔️Good treadwear warranties
✔️Good quality for the price
Cons
❌Lower review ratings on tire models accross all categories
In this brand review article, we will examine Firestone Tires in-depth, including the brand’s history, the types of Firestone tires on the market, popular Firestone tire models, pricing, the brand’s industry reputation, and customer reviews.
Firestone Tires Brand History
The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company was founded in Akron, Ohio on August 3rd, 1900 by Harvey Firestone. The company’s initial focus was the production of solid rubber side-wire tires for firefighting vehicles, and later, pneumatic tires for wagons and other forms of wheeled transformation common in the early 1990s.
The company began manufacturing tires for automobiles for the first time in 1903, and within a year the company developed the first mechanically-fastened, straight-sided pneumatic tires. By 1908, they introduced the first automobile tires to feature non-skid tread designs.
Firestone is part of a group of five tire manufacturers including Goodyear, General Tire, Cooper, and BFGoodrich that originated from Akron, Ohio in the early 1900s, and eventually grew into global brands.
Harvey Firestone, the founder of the company, had a personal relationship with Henry Ford, and this led to the company becoming an OEM (Original Equipment Supplier) to the Ford Motor Company in 1906. The company delivered the first 2000 sets of tires to Ford that year, establishing a business partnership that has lasted for more than a century.
In 1988, Firestone was acquired by Bridgestone—the Japanese tire company. Now part of the Bridgestone family, Firestone remains one the largest tire manufacturers in the world with a wide variety of tire models for different types of vehicles.
Compared to its parent company Bridgestone which primarily markets premium tires, the Firestone brand is focused on the mid-range tire market. This is why Firestone tires tend to have lower tread-life warranties compared to the higher-performance, premium Bridgestone tires.
Firestone Tires Brand Values
Firestone states that its driving mission is to offer the best to its customers and society not only in terms of the quality of its products but also in all of the company’s corporate activities.
The brand’s mission can be summarized under the following overarching topics:
Mobility
Firestone strives to utilize innovative technology to provide easier, safer, smoother, and more seamless mobility for its customers.
People
The company believes in creating a workplace that fosters a culture of acceptance of people from all backgrounds because it understands the importance of seeing the world through the eyes of many.
Waste Free Industry
Firestone’s parent company Bridgestone runs a Tires4wardTM program for all the tire brands in the group to ensure that every spent tire that has been removed from a vehicle is recovered and put to valuable new use.
Types of Vehicles Firestone Offers Tires For
Firestone produces a wide range of tires for several vehicle brands that are meant to complement almost any driving style or road condition. Whether you are looking for tires for highway cruising, fuel efficiency, motorsports, off-road handling, and even run-flat capabilities, the brand has got you covered.
The company offers its tires for cars, trucks, and SUVs in different trim levels depending on the vehicle brand, year, make, and model. Trim denotes the name-based classification that a vehicle is marketed and sold with.
A vehicle’s trim level is often branded with chrome lettering or badges on the trunk or tailgate fascia of a car or truck. Alternatively, you can enter the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) of your car in a VIN decoder tool to find out what the trim level of your vehicle is.
Below are the different types of vehicles that are compatible with Firestone tires:
Cars and SUVs
Firestone tires for passenger cars and minivans are designed to blend comfort with performance, and to hold up well over time. They also drive comfortably in wet and dry conditions.
- Passenger cars
- Luxury cars
- SUVs
- Crossovers
- Light trucks
- Minivans
Trucks and Trailers
Firestone truck tires are designed to be resilient enough to handle whatever you throw at them, and there are numerous options to align with your vehicle and driving style.
- Freight transport vehicles
- Agriculture vehicles
- Commercial vehicles
- RVs
Fast Cars
Firestone performance tires offer exceptional sports grip, improved wet performance, and responsive handling that do justice to the company’s prestigious racing heritage.
- Traditional sports cars
- Electric sports cars
- Custom sports cars
Different Firestone Tire Types You Can Choose From
The Firestone Tire Company engineers its tires for the specific performance needs of its customers and there are six different types of Firestone tires for you to pick from. There is a perfect tire for every type of driver, and all the tires listed below are available for cars, SUVs, trucks, vans, and semi trucks.
Firestone Destination (on or off-road tires)
Firestone Destination tires will keep you moving in comfort on city streets just as they would on dirt roads. There is in-built noise reduction technology for a quiet, comfortable ride, and ultimate traction to handle wet and dry road conditions on any type of terrain.
You get the smoothness and quiet you desire on the highway and aggressive traction for the backroads that ensure you can leave tire tracks anywhere you want.
Firestone Destination tires pack the following features:
- Noise reduction technology
- Hydro-grip technology for enhanced water evacuation in wet conditions
- Mud and stone rejecter technology
Firestone Weathergrip (tires for any weather)
This all-weather touring tire is designed to keep the driver in control no matter the weather. The tires give you command of the road whether there is rain, snow, or shine.
Its features include:
- Open shoulder slots that improve water evacuation
- 3D full-depth sipes for even wear throughout the tire’s service life
- Snow traction claw technology for enhanced snow traction
Firestone Firehawk (performance tires)
Firestone Firehawk performance tires are built with the company’s proprietary Pulse Groove technology to provide all-season sports performance, giving you impressive control on wet roads and strong handling in snow. The tread compound used in Firehawk tires and its wide shoulder blocks provide impressive handling and cornering in dry conditions.
Its features include:
- Wide shoulders to facilitate dynamic cornering
- Pulse Groove technology to reduce the risk of hydroplaning
- Improved tread design that provides 20% shorter stopping distance on wet roads
Firestone Transforce (resilient tires)
Firestone Transforce tires are built to handle heavy loads with ease. They are tear-resistant and designed with deep tread features that ensure you can keep on the road in any weather.
Its features include:
- Chip and tear-resistant tire compound tough enough to deal comfortably with gravel roads
- Innovative tread pattern that optimizes tread-to-road contact footprint to help retain optimal performance over the course of tire service life
- Deep tread features for improved wet and snow traction
Firestone Champion (fuel-efficient tires)
Firestone Champion tires are built with the company’s Fuel Fighter technology that enables improved rolling resistance which leads to better fuel economy.
Its features include:
- Optimized contact footprint to evenly distribute tire pressure
- Unique tire tread compound for maximum grip when breaking
- Low rolling resistance for optimal fuel efficiency
Firestone All Season (durable tires)
Firestone All Season tires are designed with a balance of capabilities that ensure optimal performance in wet, dry, and snowy conditions. This is a tire you can rely on all year round.
Its features include:
- Unique tread design for excellent traction all year long
- Deep sipes for optimal performance in wet conditions
- 65,000-mile limited warranty
Firestone Winterforce (winter tires)
Firestone Winterforce tires are designed to handle the very worst winter weather conditions. This tire ensures you can ride comfortably in snowy, icy, and slushy conditions.
Its features include:
- Studded tire that is pinned for 15 studs for extra grip during winter driving
- Directional tread design for optimum traction
- High-sipe density for reliable braking on snow and ice
Most Popular Firestone Tire Models
Firestone tires are among the most highly rated and widely available brands in the mid-range tire segment of the market. The company has multiple options from its six tire models and a few of them have emerged as the most popular Firestone tires in their categories.
We scrutinized customer reviews on sites like Simpletire.com, Tiretrack.com, and Consumeraffairs.com to arrive at the most popular firestone tires on the market.
Here are the most popular Firestone tires in three categories:
Most Popular Firestone Passenger Car Tire
Firestone All Season
The Firestone All Season passenger tire was designed to be used on coupes, sedans, CUVs, and minivans.
It is for owners that need reliable tires on the vehicle they use for commuting to work, taking kids to practice, or simply running an errand.
The tire has a 4.5/5 rating on Simpletire and Tirerack. Happy customers comment that the tire rides smoothly and quietly, and that it has great wet pavement traction.
Firestone offers 55,000-mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty for CUV intended sizes, and 65,000 miles for other sizes.
You can learn more about the Firestone All Season tires by pressing the button below
Most Popular Firestone Light Truck and SUV Tire
Firestone Destination LE2
The Destination LE2 was designed as an all-season highway tire for use on SUVs and light trucks.
The tire was built with a symmetric tread design that ensures optimum grip in dry, wet, and wintry conditions.
It is the tire you put on your vehicle when you spend a lot of time on highways or use your vehicle for hauling materials locally.
It has a 4.4/5 rating on Simpletire, and customers describe the tire as a great all-around daily driver that is quiet on the road and very good in dry and wet conditions.
The company offers a 60,000-mile limited tread life warranty on the tire.
You can learn more about the Firestone Destination LE2 tires by pressing the button below
Most Popular Firestone OTR Tire
Firestone Destination A/T
This all-terrain off-the-road tire is designed to be used on vehicles like jeeps, pickup trucks, and SUVs that require maximum traction.
The tire will keep you going whether you are driving on rocky terrain or a muddy surface.
The tire tread is built with special materials that can withstand the wear and tear that comes with off-road driving.
The tire has a 4.6/5 rating on Simpletires, and most of the customers commented about the tire’s long service life (up to 60,000 miles), great tread depth, and impressive traction on wet/dry roads.
The company offers a 50,000-miles limited tread life warranty on the tire.
You can learn more about the Firestone Destination A/T tires by pressing the button below
If you’re interested in checking out more Firestone tire models, their specs and reviews, you can do so here.
Average Cost of Firestone Tires
Firestone tires can be a bit more expensive than other tires in the mid-range segment of the market because of the company’s established reputation for quality, but they are still much cheaper than premium tires.
Here is a list of the average Firestone tire cost for four categories:
| Tire Type | Average Price (range is from the smallest tires in the category to the biggest) |
| Passenger | $87 to $288 |
| Light Truck and SUV | $149 to $389 |
| OTR | $189 to $2,659 |
| Farm | $74 to $2,000 |
Firestone Tires Industry Ratings
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) developed a Uniform Tire Quality Grading (UTQG) system that helps buyers rate tires on treadwear, traction, and temperature. All tires are measured against the government’s standard on all three metrics.
You can find the rating for each tire on its sidewall, and it is usually a three-digit number plus two sets of letters.
Here is an explanation of the metrics in the grading system:
Treadwear
This is the three-digit number and it compares the wear of the tire in question against a Course Monitoring Tire (CMT) that has a rating of 100. A tire with a 500 rating will last five times longer than the CMT tire.
Traction
This is the first of the two sets of letters and it measures a tire’s grip on a wet surface. Tires can be rated C, B, A, and AA. Most tires are rated A.
Temperature
This is the second of the two sets of letters and it measures a tire’s heat resistance. Tires must be able to withstand different temperatures or tire failure could occur. Tires can be rated C, B, and A.
In the table below are three of the highest-rated, popular Firestone tire models:
| Tire Model | Tire Type | Treadwear Rating | Traction Rating | Temperature Resistance Rating |
| Firestone All Season | Passenger tire | 560 | A | B |
| Firestone Destination LE 2 | Light Truck/SUV | 520 | A | B |
| Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 | Performance tire | 500 | A | B |
Do Firestone Offer Warranties?
Yes, Firestone offers limited tread life warranty on all its passenger tire models, except for winter and other specialty tires. You can get more information from the company’s warranty manuals for tires by year of purchase on the official website.
The company also offers a buy-and-try 90-day guarantee on most of its tire models. You are allowed to buy Firestone tires and test them for free for a 90-day period. If you are not satisfied with your tires, the company will replace the tire or refund you for the full cost of the tire.
Firestone Tires Customer Reviews
Customer reviews help you clarify how the tires you want to buy actually perform in real-life conditions and whether the manufacturer’s hype is justified. We have compiled a few customer reviews of Firestone tires from Consumerreviews.com and SimpleTires and most customer reviews are positive.
Positive Reviews
A happy customer from Brooklyn, NY
“I bought Firestone tires for two vehicles for about a year and they drive smooth on both city and off-road terrains. The tires are a must-buy and I recommend it very much.”
A happy customer from Kennewick, WA
“The tires were in my price range and I will gladly recommend them. They have been wonderful in all types of weather from hot sunny desert weather to pouring rain. Great tires from a great company.”
Negative Review
Reviewer on Tiretrack
“The Firestone Champion Fuel Fighter tires were rated for 70,000 miles but became noisy after 20,000 miles and hard to keep balanced. They will never make it past 50,000 miles. I really wanted to like these tires.”
Final Thoughts
We give Firestone Tires a 4.5 out of 5 rating because they are an excellent mid-range tire brand with a well-earned reputation for quality and a wide range of tires for different customer needs.
The brand doesn’t match up to the reputation of Michelin, Goodyear, and other high-performance, premium brands, but it offers solid tires at competitive prices and with decent tread life warranties.
Hi, my name is Niklas, the head content creator & CEO of Whirling Wheelz. I am very interested in vehicles of all kinds, mainly cars. I have a car mechanics degree from high school and a big hobby of mine is to follow the WRC (World Rally Championship) both online and through travel.
