Going to get a new set of tires? Consider buying Firestone or Bridgestone tires. They are both reliable brands, and they produce different types of tires for different types of vehicles. While Firestone is a subsidiary brand of Bridgestone, the brand manufacturers tires that rival its parent company’s (Bridgestone) models.
Firestone vs Bridgestone tires is a comparison between “Premium” affordable tires, and “Durable” affordable tires. Bridgestone as a brand is considered a premium tire manufacturer, while Firestone is remarkably a brand that manufactures some of the best-durable tires.
This comparison details the unique differences between these two infamous tire brands. The values used in this article are mainly estimated average values.
Firestone Tires
Founded on August 3, 1900, by Harvey S. Firestone, Firestone is one of the oldest American tire brands globally. The brand currently employs 33,000 workers across its tire manufacturing plants across continents. Firestone tires are reliable and notable for their high performance on different roads.
Regardless of your vehicle type, Firestone produces tires for all kinds of vehicles: SUVs, Sedans, compact SUVs, Vans, motorbikes, and even trucks. Also, the brand produces winter tires, summer tires, and all-season tires. Firestone tires are used across the globe because they perform well in all climate conditions.
Firestone Tire was acquired as a subsidiary by Bridgestone in 1988; however, the brand still produces tires in its original name – Firestone.
Currently, while Firestone is still an American tire brand, with its headquarters located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, Firestone tires are made in Bridgestone’s manufacturing plants.
Bridgestone Tires
Bridgestone is a Japanese tire brand founded in March 1931, by Shōjirō Ishibashi. The brand is the biggest tire manufacturer globally and it produces a different types of tires for different vehicle types. Bridgestone tires are considered “Premium” tires and they are quite expensive to buy.
Of course, Bridgestone produces winter tires, summer tires, and all-season tires for all kinds of automobiles, including trucks.
The company has a record 143,000 employees across its manufacturing plants in different countries worldwide and is currently the parent company of Firestone Tire and Rubber Corporation.
Also, Bridgestone produces OEM tires for top auto brands. Bridgestone tires are often compared with Michelin models because of their outstanding performance. Compared with Firestone, Bridgestone tires are quite exceptional, but of course, Firestone tires are quite a “hard-nut” to crack.
Firestone Vs Bridgestone Tires
| Comparison/Brand | Firestone | Bridgestone |
| Wet Roads | 4.1/5.0 | 4.2/5.0 |
| Dry Roads | 4.4/5.0 | 4.4/5.0 |
| Average Mileage | Up to 70,000 miles | Up to 70,000 miles |
| Fuel Economy | Impressive | Very Impressive |
| Versatility | All tire types and sizes | All tire types and sizes |
| Tire Quality | Good | Good |
| Price | Expensive | Very Expensive |
1. Dry Road Performance
Bridgestone tires offer exceptional stability on dry tracks and they respond to braking swiftly. The company uses advanced polymers to make its tread compounds used in manufacturing their various tire series. Particularly, the Bridgestone Serenity Plus models offer the best traction.
On the other hand, Firestone tires also perform well on dry pavements – offer outstanding grip and respond to braking swiftly.
The Firestone Firehawk tire series are rated high across tire review platforms for delivering exceptional performance on dry roads. In terms of dry performance, Bridgestone and Firestone tires have a tie.
2. Wet Road Performance
On wet roads, Bridgestone and Firestone tires deliver good results in terms of gripping and traction. Although Firestone has a special tire model for wet driving – Firestone WeatherGrip – all Firestone tire models perform well on wet roads.
Bridgestone tires are manufactured with special compounds to aid responsiveness and gripping when driving on wet tracks. All Bridgestone tires are suitable for wet driving on any road, but the Bridgestone B290 seems to be the best model for wet roads.
3. Road Noise
Bridgestone and Firestone tire tread compounds are infused with advanced formulas that help to reduce road noise.
When a tire produces high road-noise, it makes the driver uncomfortable, so, virtually all tire manufacturers try to reduce the noise produced by their tires while driving at different speeds.
Firestone Noise Cancellation feature (5-pitch Noise Cancellation) works great as Firestone tires are among the least noisy tires you can drive. Bridgestone uses RENOA Silencer Grooves to cancel road noise produced by their tire; the RENOA tech works pretty great too.
4. Durability and Tire Varieties
Both Firestone and Bridgestone tires are durable; they last for a very long time, up to 70,000 miles before they start to wear out. Also, both brands produce different tires for different vehicles and seasons. You’d surely get the tire you want from either brand.
5. Warranty
Firestone offers different types of warranty coverage depending on where you purchase your Firestone tires. You could get up to 4 years of warranty/tire replacement period; of course, there are terms and conditions for such coverage.
Bridgestone tires also come with a manufacturer warranty that extends up to 5 years. This is really enticing and improves customer’s confidence in driving Bridgestone tires.
6. Price
Price factor remains one of the major determining factor that aligns a customer’s choice when buying new tires. Well, comparing Firestone vs Bridgestone, the former has more affordable tires than the latter.
Bridgestone tires are more expensive because they are generally considered to be more “Premium” than Firestone tires.
What More?
Firestone vs Bridgestone tires comparison is more about “cheaper” premium tires vs “expensive” premium tires. Since Firestone and Bridgestone tires are manufactured by the same company, they typically have a lot of similarities and share almost the same quality.
If you’re on a budget to buy premium tires, Firestone tires are the best to choose. However, on a slightly higher budget, Bridgestone tires would make a good buy in any tire category. Both Bridgestone and Firestone tires deliver excellent performance on all types of roads.
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