Firestone Destination A/T Tire Review

Published: January 29, 2017; updated: February 14, 2017

I bought my Dodge Ram 1500 with Destination A/Ts installed on it. The tires were mostly used for highway towing with city driving mixed in. The size that I evaluated was P245/75R16.

Dry Grip

The tires had good lateral grip and steering response in dry conditions, perhaps somewhat better than average for an all-season pickup/SUV tire. The sidewall stiffness was also good contributing to stability in the corners.

Braking grip of Destinations even in the dry was not impressive. The truck did stop eventually but I was able to lock up the front tires too easily for my liking (the truck had rear wheel ABS only).

Wet Grip

Lateral grip of Destinations in wet conditions remained good, probably average or above for an all-season pickup/SUV tire.

Braking grip was correspondingly even more lacking than in the dry. Locking up front tires under braking was very easy to do. Driving in the rain with Destinations on was not fun.

Snow Traction

Destinations did passably well in minimal snow or slush on highways. When faced with snow and ice over unpaved terrain they did poorly. The tires tend to get sucked into snow, requiring ongoing effort from the driver to keep the vehicle on the road even in minimal snow cover conditions when snowbanks are present.

Ice Traction

Ice traction of Destinations was non-existent. I prompty got stuck in the first freeze trying to get the trailer out of an unpaved parking lot which is when I got Blizzaks (DM-Z3) for the rear axle. Acceleration, turning or braking over ice in Destinations was pretty much hopeless.

Longevity

If there is one strength of Destinations, it is their wear rate. The rear tires lasted me about 60-70,000 miles and the front tires about 130,000 miles. Most of those miles again were highway towing; the truck generally had twice as much weight on the rear axle than on the front axle, and with rear wheel drive the rear tires were working much harder than the fronts explaining the difference in wear rate.

The tires were wearing evenly except for somewhat quicker wear on the outside shoulders on the front tires, which is not surprising given my driving style.

Fuel Economy

According to my measurements Destinations were about 10% less fuel efficient than General Grabber HTS which are advertised as a fuel efficient tire.

Noise

Destinations had some noise that I think went away as the tires wore down. Either that or I stopped noticing it. There was definitely audible noise at highway speeds when the tires were close to new.

Verdict

Longevity of Destination A/Ts is tempting but I would prefer a tire with better braking grip in particular. I might get Destinations again for the rear axle but would look for a different tire for the front axle.