RE: [DMCForum] Firestone, and Ford..

["timnagin" <timnagin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ah, but what people don't seem to remember is this happened to Firestone
many years previous.  Do you remember the 721 radial tire?  The commercial
went something like, "seven...wrapped by two...wrapped by one..."  Those
tires had similar problems and that was before SUV's were so popular.

In an effort to essentially cover that up as well, from what I read,
Firestone offered a rebuttal.  They claimed that once radial tires had been
rolling in one direction and you later reversed their rotation, the belts
would unwind.  I also read they claimed another reason was you weren't
supposed to mount radials and bias ply tires on the same axle as one would
drag the other.  Of course, this is all bullshit but to this day people
still believe both.  Neither is true, and I bet someone on here will come up
with proof as to why it is true.

About the more recent Ford fiasco, and if memory serves, there was a
whistle-blower at Firestone who stated they used "old rubber" on some
production runs due to pressure from higher up to get the job done.  I can
see that happening.

You are right in that any vehicle with a higher center of gravity will react
differently.  Perception also plays a huge role as, coincidentally, Ford
announced the redesigned Exploder shortly thereafter.  People exclaimed that
Ford knew about this hazard and this is why the truck was redesigned, but
not because the previous design was tired.

Greg




-----Original Message-----
From: Marc Levy [mailto:malevy_nj@xxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Saturday, April 09, 2005 9:38 PM
To: DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [DMCForum] Firestone, and Ford..



All of the stuff I read on the Ford Exploder fiasco
clearly put the blame on *FORD*.

First off, Ford sent out A TSB to the dealers telling
them to lower the tire pressure spec because customers
were complaining that the ride was to harsh (DUH, it
is a TRUCK moron!)

The lower tire pressure was significant in the tires
blowing out.

Even so, It is a design flaw that the truck would flip
in the event of a tire blow out (or any other
emergency maneuver).

Firestone took the heat for it in order to continue a
profitable relationship with FORD...  Kinda like how
Exxon took the blame for the Valdez, when it was the
harbor master (federal employee) who crashed the boat!

---

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