Steeltex Tires Shot at 22,800 Miles

[Vivayo]

I searched the archives but can't find what I thought I've read...Turned 22,800 on the way to the Firestone dealer. Cleaned the truck on Sat. & noticed the sidewalls are cracking open. Sales guy didn't even measure the tread and offered me a new tire (Firestone Transforce HT) at 50% off. But they still want over $450 for the 4 new tires (mounted). Anybody have experience with the Transforce? Any luck in getting Firestone to make a better deal? I'm reluctant to put another set of Firestones on after the lousy service from the OEM set.
Charlie
(forgot my name)

[JD Diesel]

Well thats no sprize there not the best wearing tires that I have seen. JD :(

[BozDMAX]

Let's see...I have 80K+ on my stock Goodyears (Wrangler ATS's) and might even make it to 85K, without ever rotating out the spare. And 25K of that is towing the 5'er or the Gooseneck at 23k+ lbs.

I have six new ones sitting in the garage from the sale a month ago. Yes, the new ones worked out to $150 each. Believe I will be running Goodyears for a while in the future...

[OC_DMAX]

I got 27K miles out of my original Firestone Steeltex A/T tires. Bought a set of the new Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor A/T tires. Hope they last a little longer (were fairly expensive).

[copperhead]

I'm concluding that at least the SRW models eat tires. I obtained about 35k on a set of BFGs, and now about equal miles on a set of Dunlop Rovers. This may have been hashed out already but I'm wondering what other people are seeing mileage wise on SRW trucks. My first reaction to the 80k miles on the DRW is disbelief. Sorry, no offense meant.

[Vivayo]

To follow up - I talked to the Firestone store manager and he agreed to give me 75% on my steeltex. I also told him I want a little better tire so he recommended a Bridgestone R273. I don't go off-road and don't drive if the snows get over 6" as I have the option to work from home - and do when the crazies are out speeding around in the snow. He said the R273 will give me a little bit better mileage, handling, and tread life as well as lower noise. We'll see. The R273 is ~$40 more than the Firestone Transforce they wanted to sell me but since he bumped the discount up from 50% to 75%, I come out ahead. I'm past the 12 months free tires & labor period so I have to pay for the labor. That and the road hazard warranty makes the 4 new tires run me $252 vice the $450 for the Transforce at 50%. I'll see.
Charlie

[Swamp Rabbit]

On my 2002 GMC 2500HD CC Dmax, my OEM Firestone steeltex tires were replaced with Michlein A/T MS at 48,000 miles. The Michlien A/T's were replaced with Bridgestone Dueler REVO's at 98,000 miles. The REVO's seem to be wearing equally as well, now with 17,000 miles to-date. ;)

[BozDMAX]

Copperhead - No offense taken. I don't really know how to prove it to anyone, and I am as amazed as anyone. The truck is not yet 3 years old, and nearly all of the driving is on primary roads (very little off road stuff). Good rotation schedule helped and I was pretty anal about tire pressures. Since 50K of that is non-towing miles, the rears are pretty lightly loaded most of the time and that has certainly helped as well.

If I get anywhere near the same for the second set, I will be a pretty happy camper...

[Mark Heiken]

I seem to be following Swamp Rabbit but my milage varies from his. Original Stones were gone at 22,000 mi. I then tried some Yokos that soon wound up as trailer tires somewhere. The next step was back to my favorite Michelin M&S. They went a little over 40k. I now have the Revos. At this point I'll be suprised if they make it to 30k. They are a nice tire to run though. Very well mannered and quiet.

[Willcoc]

Seems like my first set did not do to bad at 28K, might have made another 5K but needed more tread for winter. Next set was Toyo Open Country AT's (265 x 75) and they lasted about 30K and wanted more tread before winter again. Keep wearing them out at the wrong time of the year. Put a set of Toyo M55 (265 x 75) this time. Toyo Dealer thought the last set wore to fast so made a pretty good deal for the M55 set. They have a more aggressive tread and make the noise to go with it. Have 6K on them so far and looking good. When needed they will throw the mud around!

[Jim Brzozowski]

My OEM Bridgestones have 58 thousand and the wear is about half compared to the spare which has never been on the ground. I don't really doubt the 80,000. I've gotten that on Michelin tires on my old 76 F**d Explorer super cab. I stick to the tire rotation schedule and watch tire pressures pretty close as a matter of habit, course I do my own rotation. I think those two factors are key to better tire longevity.

[Manfred]

I have 22K miles on my 2002-2500HD, driving only on primary roads. While not using the truck, I use tire covers for UV protection. Have installed tire-temperature and -pressure monitors on all 4 tires and rotated tires every 5000 miles.
Last trip to Mexico with my camper on, I measured that the temp. rose to a maximum of 176 deg.F and tire pressure rose on the rear from 80psi cold to 104 psi hot.
After 850 miles driving, I noticed chunks of rubberwere missing all around the thread in the rear and in some spots at the front. There are also some cracks on the sidewall visible.
GMC dealer informed me that I have to deal with Firestone on the issue. They in turn told me that I must have been driving off-road, which I have not. Based on average wear measurements, I was offered a 52% pro ratio, or $75.91 per tire. The unused spare tire was offered at 50% cost, since there is no warranty issue and they would "throw away the tire".
The shop recommended Bridgestone Dueller A/T Revo 265/75R16, which have a larger load carrying capacity. 3415lb vs. 3042lb on the originals. Michelins were not an option with the shop.
The $196.99 Revo's installed with all the fees for 5 tires and free replacement cert., amounted to $867.70 applying the $379.51 deduction for the OEM's.
From a looks point of view, I agree the 265's look much better than the 245 and can carry a better load.
My local GMC service adviser didn't think that the change in tire size should void any warranty. Could not tell me if they are capable to re-program the transmission shift points and speedo, since never done. What am I going to do 3000 miles away from home? I have 5yr GM bumper to bumper warranty.
Are the Revo's worth the money and are the going to last safely for about 50K's?

[Kennedy]

Is the Transforce the tire that looks similar to the Steeltex AT?

I made around 20k on my first set of Steeltex AT (originals lasted 50k plus on my 6.5 til a belt split thru the sidewall) and made over 50k on the Michelin LTX MS that followed.

Tire life is a tradeoff between grip and wear. Michelins have been excellent wearing tires in my experience. I run a Dunlop K591 rear on my bike (for grip) and am lucky to see 5k from it. I could switch to the harder compound and get more miles which I may do some day, but for now I like the grip.

I'd also recommend frequent (like 6k) tire rotation. I swapped the Michelins from my 2005 to my 2002 after 12k and I could already see visible difference in tread depth...

[rob@rone.ca]

New here!

You guys all talk about Firestone Steetex OEM's?

My 05 3500 SRW Dmax came with Bridgestone Duravis 265's.

I think bridgestone owns firestone?? so is that more or less the same thing?

If not, does anyone have any experience with those?

I'm going to be hauling a fairly heavy camper, (right near the truck load limit - 2900 lbs per rear wheel - tires rated 3400) but not towing much.

[David Proske]

Around 20K or so my OEM Steeltex started making some odd noises on the highway. The rear ones were pretty well shot.

I replaced them with Dominator Sport AT made by Cooper. Got them at Discount Tire. Very happy with them and didn't give an arm and leg for them either.