[Cryogenix1]

After putting roughly 28,000 miles on the original stock Bridgestone Duellers Sports, Winter was coming and there was no way I was going to use the stockers. I found the Bridgestones to be acceptable for non-aggressive driving, but for semi-aggressive driving and heavy rain I found them to provide sloppy, soft performance.

Enter the Firestone Destination LE3 - 265/50R20 - 107H

From the first moments driving and taking a corner, I could instantly feel a massive difference in handling, comfort and lack of road noise. The tires seemed to grab the road better and were very responsive and caused less "wandering" or body-like roll when being aggressive. I've driven through two good snowstorms, two crazy ice storms, and one heavy downpour, and the tires performed very well in all instances. These tires are wider than the stockers and have a slightly larger diameter, so the speedometer is off by a hair, but it's nothing major to me. Between the CVTz50 app and dashcam data, it appears I'm going 1.5 MPH slower than what the car's speedometer is showing. Instead of the tires looking flush with the wheels, they bulge out along the outer face and appear to get sucked into the wheel, somewhat mimicking the body panels on the Murano. The tires held the car straight during various panic stop tests, and the front end didn't feel spongey or wobbily like it did when panic stopping with the Bridgestones. I'll be getting new wheels in the Spring, despite the stock wheels actually looking okay.

With the Bridgestones, I was constantly having to add air to each tire because they seemed to lose air when temps were below 45. I typically kept the tires inflated to 38psi, and pressure would drop to 33psi after only a few weeks, and then they'd increase to only 35psi once temps reached 50. It was a constant battle. With the Firestones, I haven't had to adjust the air since having them mounted. They started at 38psi when warm and have not dropped below 36psi even when the outside temp was below zero. Typically, when the temps are below 30, they flucuate a little from 36-37psi from time to time, but then the TPMS reading seems to settle in at 37psi.

I first bought Firestone Destination LE2 for my 2003 SE AWD MO after using only Goodyear Eagle LS from 2003-2019. The Firestones were a little stiffer during the colder months than the Goodyears, so there was a slightly greater sense of feedback from the road when going over bits of ice and snow or pebbles (when compared to the softer-rubber Goodyears), but I never regarded those sensations as unpleasant or negative. I ended up putting 52,000 miles on the LE2s over a period of 15 months, and they wore well and passed inspection just before MO2003 died. I've always done a four-wheel rotation every 7500 miles, bringing the fronts straight back and crossing the rears forward - and the tires wore very evenly. I felt the Firestones were better in every way (even in basic looks, particularly from a profile view - I like the lettering and raised designs compared to the "plain donut" look of the Bridgestones) and they actually cost less than the Goodyears.

I'm sure there are better tires out there, but so far I'm hooked on the Firestone Destination line.

More info (I didn't get my tires through Tire Rack...)

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Firestone&tireModel=Destination+LE3&partnum=65HR0DLE3

 

[jab_1515]

Cooper discoverer at3 4s 265/60R18 on rims 18x8.5’s.

 

[Cryogenix1]

Nice moon buggy tires.

Did my first tire rotation of the LE3s around the 5,200 mile mark. Looks like the dedicated, hand-spray rinsing of the body and undercarriage (which is three times less costly than going through the automated touch-free carwash and is more thorough) is paying off. Come Spring, I'll use the garden hose to completely flush out "ponding" areas such as the subframe and coil spring seats to ensure no salt remains to create a rusting problem.

 

[PaulDay]

Thanks for the good video. I'll be documenting replacing TPMS sensors and programming them on my wife's '13 Rav4 this weekend. I'm removing all 4 tires and bringing them to a friend's house that has an older tire changing machine. I plan on just breaking the bead and replacing the sensor on each tire. Hoping that this will also help with the very slow tire leaks that the car suffers from along with turning off the TPMS light on the dash. Her tires are only half worn, not ready for a new set.

2 observations:

With each tire removed this spring, pressure wash the suspension, staying away from all rubber parts. Remove the setting sand in the rear control arms. The sand holds moisture and gives rust a place to start out without being seen. Pressure washing will also reveal any rust that may be lurking under paint by removing the paint setting on top of it.

Use a small brass brush to remove the corrosion that you observed on the hubs and mating surface of the rim when you removed the tire. I put a thin film of anti-seize lubricant there to prevent that and it also helps stop the reaction between the steel hub and alloy rims, which is the cause of the corrosion.

Off topic, I see in the background that you have something between the garage safety sensors in the center of your two garage doors. I'll bet you've had trouble with the sensors not working correctly and this fixed it. Your sensors are backwards. I installed my own garage doors and opener systems and had the same issue. Red ones (transmitters) go in the center aiming at the green ones (receivers), on the outside of each door, when using two sets.

Have a good day.

 

[Cryogenix1]

I never intentionally spray rubber parts with high-pressure water, but I don't mind incidentally hitting certain parts with water to clean them of road salt dust. I've already ordered a new set of pads for the rears, and will pull the rotors and clean up the hubs come Spring. Not hearing any scraping or squeaking from anything when hand-spinning those rear wheels, so I'm going to wait until I remove the rear wheels, do the brakes, and use the garden hose to flush out any remaining salt deposits once Winter's over.

No, the garage doors have worked fine since installed some 20 years ago. That heavy statue is there because it's the most convenient place to store it through the Winter. As long as the "eyes" are aligned properly, I don't think the transmitted beam is broad enough to interfere with the other unit.

BTW, before the tire technician seated the new tires on the rims, he gunked up the bead with some kind of purple-pink paste/grease that he said is essential for ensuring the bead stays sealed. Not sure what it's called, but if your wife's tires are always leaking, maybe think of using something like that on the bead as long as you're going to have them broken down.

 

[PaulDay]

No, the garage doors have worked fine since installed some 20 years ago. That heavy statue is there because it's the most convenient place to store it through the Winter. As long as the "eyes" are aligned properly, I don't think the transmitted beam is broad enough to interfere with the other unit.

Probably because mine's only three years old, not as tight on the beam as the older units. Mine worked fine at first, but one of the sensors is right by the side door and it seemed a stiff breeze from the door would put it out of alignment just enough. Came home several times to find my garage door open, my failure to check as I was driving down the driveway, because the sensor was off. After digging a little deeper into the installation manual, I finally saw the proper sensor locations for two or more doors to prevent this issue, even if one of the sensor's alignment is slightly off.

Have a good day.