Had Bridgstone Duelers put on my new '99 F 150 in December of '99. The service advisor said if my truck is not pulling then I need not any allinement. I don't like the way the tires are wearing being worn in the middle much more then the outside. 2 service guys looked at the tires and both said they've never seen it that bad and told me to come back Monday to talk with the manager. QUESTION: What or how should I state this. I did not buy my tires at this particular outlet but I bought them through a bridestone whse almost 3 hrs. away near where I bought my truck. I have receits but I don't want them to "Screw me" How should I approch this manager? Should I give Firestone a call? No question I want them replaced. Any sound advice will help me. Thanks. Danny

------------------

 

go with Michelin LTX M/S

 

Bridgestone Duelers have a 50,000 mile warranty on them. If possible I would get a written statement from the service advisor stating exactly what he told you, then go to Bridgestone and see what they will credit me towards new tires.

------------------
2001.5 Lariat SCrew 4x4
Bright Red
Medium Graphite Leather
5.4
3.55 Limited Slip
Sliding Rear Window
Trailer Tow Pkg.
Off Road Package
Captains Chairs
6 Disc CD Changer
Rear Seat Entertainment
16x8 Weld Typhoon wheels
285 Bridgestone AT's

 

DUCKNTERnLAB You didn't say if the tire are on the front or rear, or how many miles you have on them. what is the air pressure you have in them? these things relate to wear. wear in the center of the tread is ususlly from too much air pressure. you also didn't say who you are dealing with/ a corporate or independant tire dealer, or a ford service dept. all these guys handle customer satsfaction in very different ways. good luck i would like to know how this turns out

[This message has been edited by connor (edited 04-30-2001).]

 

Sorry, I bought my truck in Dec of '99 I only have 18,000 miles on the tires. I always keep them inflated 5 lbs. less than cold rating. i bought these in the country, in Merced, CA but I live in the rot of the bay area. I already know what these dip****s are going to say. It's typical of the silicon valley. A ford dealer in San Jose, CA wants $450.00 to install new locks, ignition locks and reset the keys and keyless entry. Where I bought the truck in the country, they want only $230.00. Don't anyone move to the bay area just because you and the wife need the money. It will take your life besides your money. Move somewhere else. Rent and housing is higest in USA.

------------------

 

Howdy!

DUCKHUNTERnLAB,

Isn't Bridgestone the parent company of Firestone?! Man, those things scare me!

PS Move to Plano! Coke is cheap and cops are jerks.

Have a high day.

------------------
My ride:

Basics:
- '99 XLT F-150

Under hood and back:
- Ram air (Don't ask me how )
- AiRaid intake
- Flowmaster DF 50 Series
- 24x3.5" Stainless steel slashed tips (Yes! Solid polished SS, no cheesy chrome-plated)
...

Outside:
- Precision polished billet grille and plate holders
- American Racing 17x8s polished Pythons (Flushed front AND back)
- Goodyear.. something tires (Expensive is all I know. LOL. No Firestone firecrackers for me either)
- Rhino liner
- Ford nerf bars
- Ford bed rails
...

Inside:
- My girlfriend!
...

Fun stuff:
- Dual sirens Black Widow alarm system/keyless entry (Enough decibels to go deaf in a garage )
- Custom driving lights (Just a cool blue)
- 2 High-Watt lights behind grille (For people who cut me off )
- Dual horns (For people who, again, cut me off)
- Dual wheel locks (So I won't be driving home on bricks!)
- Spare wheel lock (So I won't have to use a brick as a spare )
...

Best of all:
- Texas A&M University aTm front plate! Gig'em Aggies!!

Stephlan

 

seems to me if u have a receipt, as u stated, they should not be able to "screw you". The receipt should state the mileage when the tires were installed, and as long as your mileage is less than the warranteed mileage for the tire, then you should, at worst, be sold a new set at a pro-rated price.

But...why would u want another set of them? Brdgestone/Firestone (the stone gang in tire circles) is having alot of trouble these days. I would definitely stay away from their products. Even at a pro-rated price or even free. Isn't your safety worth a new set of quality tires?

Good luck. Post back with your results

------------------
'99 XLT SC--Sport Package---Bright Red---5.4L---catback duals---17" wheels---Remote Start/Entry---12 disc CD Changer---CONFEDERATE BATTLE FLAG ON THE BUMPER! deal with it.

 

RESULTS: The place where I bought them sounded reasonable about the issue. They are 3 hrs away and I may call them back. The city slicks like I knew they would told me my tires were at 52 and that my gauge was off. I bought this gauge from Snap On and the lbs go up to 100 psi. The city slicks say their guages are calabrated once a week. His guage said 52 and mine said 45 so I guess my guage is off. So I did not want to fuss with them cause my temper may explode. And get this, after I called and arrived and walked in, he walked out, looked at the tires without even signaling to me that "Hey, ok, lets go take a look" He just walked out without even recognizing me, so I thought ok, I'll just stay in here and make him come back in to tell me but he avoided coming back in right away because there were customers inside the shop. He then went in the shop, farted around and I just waited to see what the yo yo was up to. then after 10 minutes, I finally got somebody to get him to the front. the guy then told me about the guage "Problem". What ever. I guess their guage is right and all along I've over inflated but the question is..Can just 17,500 miles cause them to wear down til I only had 5/16th left? He said I had 7 7th left on each tire or something like that til they bald? 35 psi sound pretty low for a P265 16 LT AT tire. Correct me if I'm wrong and any advice is welcome. He also told me that if I rotate them every 3 or 4000 miles and drive them at 35psi's then they will eventually flatten out and become level again. Is this true? I will be getting in touch again with the folks where I purchased them. And heck no I don't want firestone nor bridgstone's on them and I think where I bought the tires is a huge whse for many other tires. I may get Cooper off road or Goodyear or what ever I end up liking. As far as I'm concerned firestone/Bridgstone has no respect for themselves and certainly not any for the safety of their fellow human beings. They all need to be hung by the neck.

 

He also told me that if I rotate them every 3 or 4000 miles and drive them at 35psi's then they will eventually flatten out and become level again. Is this true?

Well, I have always heard that once an improper wear pattern has started(wearing on the outside/inside, whatever), if you do something to correct the wear problem, the tire will begin to wear evenly from then on, which means that the tread will always be shallower in the center(or wherever the excess wear is).

Now, as for running the tires UNDERinflated...yes, this will make the outside and inside wear more....but...I mean...that's a half-a$$ way of doing things. Your fuel mileage will suffer, your handling will suffer, and your tires will build up excessive heat due to excess friction and the tires life will be shortened. Hmmm mebbe shortening the life of those tires is not a bad idea, though. Then you'll have to go buy new ones.

 

DUCKHUNTERnLAB,

Running a tire over-inflated for 17,500 miles will definitely cause excessive wear in the center, and 5/16th of an inch (about 0.313 inches) doesn't sound too unreasonable depending on how many miles they were over-inflated (all 17.5K). When you think about it, 0.313 inches of tread left isn't that bad considering a brand new Bridgestone Dueler A/T has 12/32nds to 17/32nds of an inch of tread depending on the tire size. 12/32nds equates to 0.375 inches while 17/32nds is 0.531 inches.

Of course, there's a lot of factors that will cause the tire to wear faster such as your driving habits, the composition of the roads, and how hot the tire gets. The Dueler A/T has a pretty high treadwear rating (300), so it's not a very "sticky" tire, and it should last 50K miles under "normal" conditions and recommend inflation pressures. I actually had a set of these on my Jeep and had no wear problems whatsoever; they were a decent tire.

As far as inflation goes, I wouldn't recommend running the tire at 45psi if the maximum cold pressure rating on the sidewall is 50psi. I'm running my BFGs at 40psi (the max sidewall rating is 50psi). At that pressure, the tire has a nice contact patch and doesn't bulge excessively. The tire store put 30psi in them originally, but the tires bulged at the bottom too much and my Expedition rode way too soft. Ford actually recommends 30psi front and 35psi rear for the stock 265/70R17 tires. A 33x12.50 should need a little more.

A general rule-of-thumb that I've read before and followed is that it's acceptable (and suggested when driving for prolonged periods at high speeds) to add 4-6psi to the recommend car manufacturer rating (on your door jamb) if using the same size tire that's recommended. The recommended rating has been specified to give you a good combination of fuel mileage and ride quality. I can say that I've always increased the pressure 4-6psi on my cars and trucks and have never experienced any kind of unusual wear. In fact, every time I've taken my cars and trucks in to get the tires rotated/balanced, the stores usually comment on how evenly the tires are wearing.

Now I can say that the piece-of-crap Firestone Wilderness A/Ts that came stock on my Expedition did have a "defect"--the tires had a pull problem and wore excessively on the outside right edge. This pull problem caused the Expedition to dramatically pull to the right. The alignment of the Expedition was perfect, and the tires were balanced perfectly. In fact, when I put the BFGs on, the Expedition tracked straight down the road. I'll never buy Firestone! Even though Bridgestone is the same company, they are made in different factories with different designs. I've never had any problems with the numerous sets of Bridgestone tires I've had on my cars and trucks.


------------------
2000 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer 4x4
- 5.4L Triton V-8 (stock 260HP version)
- K&N FIPK Generation II
- Flowmaster 70 Series Muffler with Custom Dual-Exhaust
- Coil-Spring Suspension (No 4-Corner Load Level)
- 33x12.5R16.5 BFG A/T TA KO Tires on Centerline Python Wheels

 

DUCKHUNTERnLAB,

I forgot to ask you what tire store was giving you crap? I used to live in San Jose (just recently moved out) and always had good luck with a couple of the Wheel Works stores.


------------------
2000 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer 4x4
- 5.4L Triton V-8 (stock 260HP version)
- K&N FIPK Generation II
- Flowmaster 70 Series Muffler with Custom Dual-Exhaust
- Coil-Spring Suspension (No 4-Corner Load Level)
- 33x12.5R16.5 BFG A/T TA KO Tires on Centerline Python Wheels