Steve wrote:>>

They didn't redesign the suspension until they completely> redesigned the whole vehicles for the 2001 Model year.>

But not the Goodyear tires installed on Explorers>

Expeditions never came with Firestone tires or LT tires. I> owned a 1997 and it came with Goodyears (they all did). My> 2003 came with Continentals. For the 1997 Expedition tire> pressures were 30 front, 35 year. For the 2003 35 front and> rear. Never had a problem with the Goodyears except they> picked up every nail on the road. As far as I can determine,> no recent Expedition (i.e., the large SUV) was delivered> from Ford with LT tires (and therefore no Load Range D or E> tires). They were all delivered from Ford with P series> tires. Ford's pressure recommendations were only for P> series tires. If you switch to LT tires, you have to> increase the pressures to prevent heat buildup (LT tires> have heavier, thicker carcasses that build-up heat faster> than P series tires). If you switch to LT tires, a load> range ""D" tire should be more than sufficient. A properly> inflated LT255/70-16/D tire is rated to carry a maximum load> of 2680 lb.. This is far higher than necessary for an> Expedition - even a fully loaded one.>

What recall - for Expeditions? I can find no such recall for> Expeditions. And Ford never installed LT tires on an> Expedition. Ford has never revised the recommended tire> pressures for an Expedition.>

I really like the Bridgestone tires on my Vue. However, in> 33 years of car ownership these are the first good tires I> have gotten that had any association with Firestone. I have> suffered through crappy Firestone / Bridgestone tires> repeatedly - 1975 Datsun 280Z - Originally came with> Bridgestones that wore out in less than 20k miles. I made> the mistake of installing Firestone Radial 500's, and paid> the price when the tread separated on one; 1978 Ford> Fairmont delivered with Firestone 721 Tires, they wore out> in less than 20k miles; 1981 Audi Coupe delivered with some> really crappy European Firestones, one had the sidewall blow> out, took weeks to get a replacement; 1983 Mazda 626, I> replaced the OE tires with Bridgestones that rode like they> were made of steel, and wore like they were made of butter;> 1992 F150 with Firestones that were so bad, I removed them> after 10,000 miles (they are still in use as implement tires> on a set of row bedders); 1999 Ranger delivered with the> infamous Firestone tires - three of four split in the> center of the tread in less than a year - fortunately Ford> recalled them and we got some decent tires for free.>

Despite the fact that I like the OE Bridgestones on my Vue,> it is very unlikely that I will buy Bridgestones when they> need replacement. 33 years of negative experiences make me> wary of any thing associated with Firestone. A friend said> it best when he was negotiating for a new Chevy. He told the> salesman, I'll buy the truck as long as you get those G%^> D#$% Firestone tires off it.>

Ed