New Firestone Classic tires available; Bandag products price to increase

Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) has introduced a new line of long-haul tires into the Firestone Classics tire line. In related news, prices for Bandag products will increase.

The Firestone FS509 (steer radial), FD609 (drive radial), and FT409 (trailer radial) tires each combine tread designs with Bridgestone-engineered casings to provide fleets with long-lasting treadwear and mileage, plus the additional benefits of casing durability and retreadability.

The Firestone FS509, a steer radial, features the following innovations:

• Shoulder-wear protector to help minimize irregular wear at the shoulder ribs for long tread life.
• Stress relief sipes to fight irregular wear along main ribs by absorbing rib edge stresses in the footprint.
• Continuous shoulder rib for long, even wear and reduced rolling resistance.

The Firestone FD609, a drive radial, features the following innovations:

• Solid shoulder rib to distribute weight and torque evenly to fight irregular wear.
• Aggressive center lugs to help improve traction in wet or dry condition for the life of the tread.
• Tie bars to control movement of center tread blocks to help minimize irregular wear, leading to longer original tread life.
• Multiple gripping edges to provide biting edges that help promote wet traction.

The Firestone FT 409, a trailer radial, features the following innovations:

• Straight, flow-through grooves to promote smooth rib-wear patterns and evacuate water effectively for solid wet traction.
• Fuel efficient tread design, utilizing shallow trailer-style tread depth and five-rib design to provide long even wear on free-rolling axles while achieving low rolling resistance.

All three Firestone Classics products feature an optimized belt package, providing durability and retreadability while delivering reduced weight for improved rolling resistance and improved payload.

In addition, these products feature tough sidewall protection with thick ribs on both sidewalls, which fight curbing damage and help protect the casing.

The Firestone Classics product line aligns with the Bridgestone E8 Commitment, which serves as an axis to drive management while earning the trust of future generations. The Bridgestone E8 Commitment consists of 8 Bridgestone-like values starting with the letter “E” that Bridgestone has committed to implementing together with employees, society, partners and customers to create a sustainable society. The Firestone Classics product line aligns with the “Efficiency” and “Economy” values.

Bandag price increase

In response to current market dynamics, Bridgestone announced it will increase prices up to 15% on all Bandag Tread, cushion and some ancillary items, in the U.S and Canada effective Aug. 1. Members of the Bridgestone Commercial Sales teams are contacting customers to provide more detailed information about the changes.