Firestone Transforce tires

Larry Davick

Larry Davick

Well-known member
May 9, 2007
3,778
23
48
Fremont, Ca.
My 16.5" Firestone Transforce HT tires are only 10 years old. I'm expecting them to explode within the next mile, or two. When I first got the coach
I had considered buying 16" wheels from Jim K, but my budget went to safety items like brake lines. I bought the Transforce HT tires and they are the
only tires I've experienced in a GMC. Ken H compared these tires to wagon wheels and I understand the comparison. A pothole wakes up the cooktop
with a loud report!
My question is regarding handling and ride - do other tires really make the coach handle better? Do they smooth out the ride? I'm taking the coach
in to Jim K later this month to have the front end looked at, as it's always seemed sloppy to me - not at all car-like as reported by others. I'm
thinking the tires might be part of the problem. It would be a stretch to buy new wheels and tires, but if there is a compelling reason not to buy
the Transforce tires, I'd likely make the switch.
Lord I hope I haven't sparked a new Tire-Wars thread...
--
Larry Davick
A Mystery Machine
1976(ish) Palm Beach
Fremont, Ca
Howell EFI + EBL + Electronic Dizzy
 
Im sure a new set of tires and an alignment would make things better......you might have also a shock absorber issue if they havent been looked into
recently.

I cant say though if it will move your coach from a lumber wagon to a Cadillac but im sure it will move the tires from hockey pucks to basket-ball
criteria.
--
Rich Mondor,

Brockville, ON

77 Hughes 2600
 
Sir, I replaced my 16.5 Goodyear G159s which by everyone's advise should have been replaced long ago but still look great and kept inside. As for a
reason for not buying Firestone's; Col Ken had a bad experience with them so good enough reason to find something else. I went to Walmart website
and at the time they were @$94 Free delivery to house. So far we have bout 4,000 miles on them with no complaints. Getting ready for Mansfield..
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Milestar-Steelpro-MS597-LT8-75-16-5/830462668
--
C. Boyd
76 Crestmont
East Tennessee
 
Here's my story as best as I can remember it:

When I got my GMC in 2006 the first tires I put on the new Alcoa wheels were 16" Firestone Transforce and, in my opinion, they were the worst
"driving" tires I've used, constant steering corrections and relatively rough ride. It also seemed like they needed more rebalancing than other
tires. I sold them to my neighbor after a couple of years, he probably still has them in his shed.

Then I bought Toyo Open Country HT's. These were much better at "driving" and riding than the Transforces. The Toyo's were the best driving tire I've
had. They lasted about 4 years until one developed a bubble in the tread. During their lifetime I also played around with ceramic balancing beads,
with inconsistent results.

Then I bought 2 Goodrich Comm TA's. When on the front, the "driveability" was somewhere between the previous two tires, not bad but not as good as the
Toyo's. These 2 Goodriches then proceeded to have tread seperation within 80 miles of each other when they were barely 3 years old. When they failed
while on a trip I replaced them with Dextero (foreign) tires at Walmart because that was all that was available on a Sunday morning in the middle of
South Carolina.

I bought 4 Goodyear Wranglers to replace the remaining Toyos. They drove a bit worse than the Goodriches. These Goodyears would all develop lumpy
sidewalls and two were warranty replaced within the first year. They got to the point where they wouldn't run smoothly because the sidewalls weren't
right. I put airsoft beads in them and they still wouldn't run smoothly. I ended up replacing them with more Dextero tires from Walmart.

The Dextero tires from Walmart drive and ride surprisingly well. I have had 2 of them fail (belt seperation) when at 3 and 4 years old. For what they
cost (substantially less than the Goodyears and Goodrichs which didn't last as long) I can't really complain.

As the Dextero's fail or age out I am now replacing with Bridgestone Duravis R500. Currently I have 5 Bridgestones and 1 Dextero on the GMC. The
Bridgestones ride and drive pretty good, just a bit worse than the Toyo's but definitely better than the Goodyears and Goodriches. Time will tell how
durable these Bridgestones will be, I'm happy with them so far.

I park my GMC in my yard on the southwest side so it's always in the sun. I do not use anything to shield the tires. It's always driven in the
southeast, primarily Florida, where it's pretty much always hot and humid and sunny. I usually drive the speed limit, maybe 5 or 10 over if that's
what traffic is doing. Maybe this has something to do with tire life.

As they say, "Your Mileage May Vary".
--
Bob Heller
1974 X-Canyonlands 26ft
Original 455 except for timing chain, Rockwell intake, valve covers.
Ferrara air bags. 147k miles.
Winter Springs FL
 
My experience, zero issues with Michelin LTX in 12 years, and zero issues with Cooper HT3 in 3 years.
A far cry from the old General Jumbo days.

--
John Lebetski
Woodstock, IL
77 Eleganza II
 
Larry,

When I reshoed and I still had 16.5s, all I could get were Transforce HT. We have a light coach and I never found the ride all that hard. Have
balanced them out at the axle weights? That can make a lot of difference.

We live in Michigan, and If they are not too hard for here.....

Matt
--
Matt & Mary Colie - '73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan
OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Twixt A2 and Detroit
 
I have to share this story. I called my local Walmart to see about ordering the Milestar tires that I see online and schedule the installation.
After a few minutes I get to talk with a woman who shuts me down right away - "The website is a competitor" - "We don't sell those."
I asked if she had tires this size - no.
If I order them can they install them - no. They are too small. (?) They don't do that.
I asked if they install tires on cars - yes but only up to about 22". Uhm, these are only 16.5"...

Needless to say I must have been talking to the wrong employee. I may choose a different Walmart and visit them. The customer service was
astonishingly terrible, but then I'm used to folks like Jim K and Nick... It's tough to measure up to those guys. Then again I've had terrible
customer service at Costco's tire center too (as well as good service.)
--
Larry Davick
A Mystery Machine
1976(ish) Palm Beach
Fremont, Ca
Howell EFI + EBL + Electronic Dizzy
 
That's in sharp contrast to my experience with the Walmart here. After
finding the Westlake tires on line, I went to the store hoping to order
them. They had dozens of others listed on their web site, but not those.
So, I went home and ordered them on line, specifying delivery to the store
(vs to my home) for free. When I was notified they'd arrived, I entered
the store through the tire department, asking whether I needed to go to the
"Pickup" office or not. "Yes -- they'll deliver them back here." I did, &
they did, but not until I went home, cleaned & polished the wheels and
brought them (4, later the other 2) and the airsoft beads to the store.
The "Service Manager" wasn't very friendly, and claimed to have no
experience with balancing beads, but he did as I asked. Only when I was
ready to pay my bill for the mounting did I learn that they charge only the
state's disposal fee of $1.50 for each of the 6 tires I left for them to
dispose of.

I'd expect every Walmart to follow the same policies (or for HQ to heard
from me immediately). Note that I didn't attempt to get them to touch the
coach, only the wheels.

I suggest you find someone else to talk to at your closest Walmart -- the
head manager, if necessary.

Ken H.

On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 4:24 PM Larry Davick via Gmclist <

> I have to share this story. I called my local Walmart to see about
> ordering the Milestar tires that I see online and schedule the
> installation.
> After a few minutes I get to talk with a woman who shuts me down right
> away - "The website is a competitor" - "We don't sell those."
> I asked if she had tires this size - no.
> If I order them can they install them - no. They are too small. (?) They
> don't do that.
> I asked if they install tires on cars - yes but only up to about 22".
> Uhm, these are only 16.5"...
>
> Needless to say I must have been talking to the wrong employee. I may
> choose a different Walmart and visit them. The customer service was
> astonishingly terrible, but then I'm used to folks like Jim K and Nick...
> It's tough to measure up to those guys. Then again I've had terrible
> customer service at Costco's tire center too (as well as good service.)
> --
> Larry Davick
> A Mystery Machine
> 1976(ish) Palm Beach
> Fremont, Ca
> Howell EFI + EBL + Electronic Dizzy
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
 
I'm going to stop by a different Walmart this evening to speak to someone in person. I suspect the woman I talked to was handling others at the same
time as trying to deal with a damned phone call!
--
Larry Davick
A Mystery Machine
1976(ish) Palm Beach
Fremont, Ca
Howell EFI + EBL + Electronic Dizzy
 
Larry,

It's worth considering replacing wheels and tires two at a time. Buy two new 16" Ions from Jim and put the tire of your choice on the front, then
eventually work your way to the back. With 10 year old tires, you'll need to replace the rear 16.5s with something, but not the wheels at this
point.

I have Coopers on my coach after having two each of the previous Kumhos and BFG Commercial T/As fail at 3 - 4 years. So far the Coopers have been
great.
--
Carl Stouffer
'75 ex Palm Beach
Tucson, AZ.
Chuck Aulgur Reaction Arm Disc Brakes, Quadrabags, 3.70 LSD final drive, Lenzi knuckles/hubs, Dodge Truck 16" X 8" front wheels, Rear American Eagles,
Solar battery charging. GMCSJ and GMCMI member
 
Customer service is a Big thing on the phone.
In CA don’t assume your talking to a Male,Female or a trans gender.
If you cannot see their chest and their croch, do not refer to them as a
sir or man .

On Thu, Sep 5, 2019

> Larry,
>
> It's worth considering replacing wheels and tires two at a time. Buy two
> new 16" Ions from Jim and put the tire of your choice on the front, then
> eventually work your way to the back. With 10 year old tires, you'll need
> to replace the rear 16.5s with something, but not the wheels at this
> point.
>
> I have Coopers on my coach after having two each of the previous Kumhos
> and BFG Commercial T/As fail at 3 - 4 years. So far the Coopers have been
> great.
> --
> Carl Stouffer
> '75 ex Palm Beach
> Tucson, AZ.
> Chuck Aulgur Reaction Arm Disc Brakes, Quadrabags, 3.70 LSD final drive,
> Lenzi knuckles/hubs, Dodge Truck 16" X 8" front wheels, Rear American
> Eagles,
> Solar battery charging. GMCSJ and GMCMI member
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
--
Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
jimk
http://www.appliedgmc.com
1-800-752-7502
 
Wtf Kanomata? Relevance please?

Sully
Bellevue wa

On Thu, Sep 5, 2019 at 8:01 AM Jim Kanomata via Gmclist <

> Customer service is a Big thing on the phone.
> In CA don’t assume your talking to a Male,Female or a trans gender.
> If you cannot see their chest and their croch, do not refer to them as a
> sir or man .
>
> On Thu, Sep 5, 2019

>
> > Larry,
> >
> > It's worth considering replacing wheels and tires two at a time. Buy two
> > new 16" Ions from Jim and put the tire of your choice on the front, then
> > eventually work your way to the back. With 10 year old tires, you'll
> need
> > to replace the rear 16.5s with something, but not the wheels at this
> > point.
> >
> > I have Coopers on my coach after having two each of the previous Kumhos
> > and BFG Commercial T/As fail at 3 - 4 years. So far the Coopers have
> been
> > great.
> > --
> > Carl Stouffer
> > '75 ex Palm Beach
> > Tucson, AZ.
> > Chuck Aulgur Reaction Arm Disc Brakes, Quadrabags, 3.70 LSD final drive,
> > Lenzi knuckles/hubs, Dodge Truck 16" X 8" front wheels, Rear American
> > Eagles,
> > Solar battery charging. GMCSJ and GMCMI member
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > GMCnet mailing list
> > Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> > http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
> >
> --
> Jim Kanomata
> Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
> jimk
> http://www.appliedgmc.com
> 1-800-752-7502
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
 
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