CapriRacer wrote:
Perhaps it is time I stepped into this:
First, read my webpage on the Ford / Firestone situation a few years back.
Barry's Tire Tech - The Ford / Firestone Controversy
Summary: The problem was the tire, not Ford's inflation pressure specification.
Second, the pressure listed on the sidewall of a tire is a MAXIMUM - not a recommendation. The tire manufacturer does not know what vehicle a tire is going to go on, so they can not make a universal recommendation that could be printed on the sidewall.
Further, if you ask any tire manufacturer what they recommend for inflation pressure, they will point to the vehicle manufacturer's spec - the one on the doorframe.
Read this. At best Ford and Firestone shared the blame. Most of the tire failures were happening in hot areas.
Here is the smoking gun that puts the blame squarely on Ford.
From the link wrote:
Ford insists that Explorers fitted with Goodyear tires have experienced far fewer tread problems than those equipped with Firestones. Firestone retorts that the same tire that shreds on an Explorer holds up just fine on a Ford Ranger. General Motors last week described the safety of the Wilderness AT tires it puts on pickups as "excellent"—although the No. 1 automaker said it was planning to switch to the Bridgestone brand for some of its vehicles this summer. (Bridgestone owns Firestone.)
The number one cause of tire blow outs is the tire being run at low pressure causing the tire to over heat and blow out.
BTW Copper Tire will tell you what pressure they recommend running their tires at. I know I called them.
Don
