CKNSLS wrote:
cekkk wrote:
I seem to remember a Firestone 721 debacle even before the huge problem with the tires it sold Ford. Maybe I'm having a brain fart, but seems like it was in the 60s or 70s. Anyway, there are way too many decent tires out there to gamble with their products.
It wasn't the tires that were blame per se-it was the very low tire pressure published by Ford to make the Ford Explorer ride smooth. Then the tires would seep air over time (like all tires do) and the pressure would become very low (and the owners would never check pressure) and the tire would overheat and then blow. When the tire blew the drivers would hit the brakes instead of steering on to the shoulder. When the driver hit the brakes the vehicle would turn over or roll on it's side.
Google it.
I did. You refreshed my recollection on the 521s. I couldn't find any mention of the now ancient 521 story, But 521 searches always referred to the 721, and I found this. NHTSA denied Firestone's request that it investigate the Explorer.
"Some outside observers have speculated about the blame worthiness of both parties; Firestone's tires being prone to tread separation and failure, and the SUVs being especially prone to rolling over if a tire fails at speed compared to other vehicles. A subsequent NHTSA investigation of real world accident data showed that the SUVs in question were no more likely to roll over than any other SUV, after a tread separation."
As you say, many people never check tire pressure, and as they do lose pressure over time, I would expect all tires would have a similar tread separation rate as the 721s, albeit later in life if they began with the proper pressure. Yet, they didn't.
I declared no war on Firestone, I just choose not to purchase their tires. But since you bring it up, let me tell about an experience I had way, way back.
The last time I was in a Firestone shop they had done a routine brake job on my '70 Newport. The garage door opened, I pulled forward to cross the sidewalk and enter the street and had NO brakes. The bus that T-boned me had just left the curb, so damage was limited to my Chrysler, not me.
Now, I know that no Firestone tire plant was involved, but would you urge me to blow that off and go to a Firestone T&R shop for my next set of boots? How does that go? First time, your fault. Second time, my fault.
๐
'11 Eagle 320RLDS '02 Ford F350 DRW 7.3 PSD
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch and do nothing" - Albert Einstein."
