I have a set of Firestone Transforce HT's on my truck, that were installed just prior to my purchase of the truck. I have what appears to be small bulges at about the "f" and "o" in "Transforce" on the side of the tires. They run from the bead to the tread, and are in the same place on both sidewalls of every tire. A search of Tire Rack indicates that this is "an undesirable gap in the cords," and should be removed from service.

So . . . I take to Tires Plus, who I usually go to because they've always taken care of me, and haven't done anything stupid . . . yet. Kid tells me that it's most likely okay because it's the same on all tires, and highly unlikely to have been caused by damage being that the bulges are uniform in location.

I do the research, got the info from Tire Rack, take it back to Tires Plus. Different guy insists that the Transforce tires have such beefy sidewalls that the sidewalls will have "things like that" in the sidewalls as a result of their construction. I showed him the article from Tire Rack, and he stuck with his story. He took me to the warehouse to show me a tire not on wheel. Funny thing. We couldn't find anything on the sidewalls of those tires (duh). He still stuck with his story.

I run to Firestone. I showed the guy one of my tires, and he automatically told me it was curb damage and that I needed a new tire. I told him, no, I need 4 of them. Showed him the others, mentioned the possibility of a factory defect, and he goes into a story about "that's how the mold was", complete nonsense and stupidity poured from his mouth. I showed him the article from Tire Rack . . . and he told me that there are no cords in the sidewalls, that they are just rubber!

Can anybody confirm if these minor bulges are "normal" for these tires, or if they are just trying to avoid replacing the tires? I have the normal seam indentations, but the bulges concern me, never seen anything like it.

I thought about going to a non-Firestone shop to see what they say, but am afraid that they'll just tell me I need new ones just to sell me a set of tires.

 

The fact the bulge is in the exact same place on all 4 indicates it is most likely a cosmetic feature created by the mold.

 

Thanks, that's what I'm looking for. I've seen what blown tires on these trucks can do, my old man having one let go on him, so I'm just looking for unbiased confirmation as to their safety/integrity.

 

I dont have firestones, but the goodyears on my 01 have a dip the goes inside the sidewall, also on all 4 tires, been told not to worry about, and havent, the tires have had the indent since new and 25000 miles has passed without a problem.

 

My BFG's also have a "dip". All 4 have it, so I don't worry too much...

If one tire looks notably different from the others, definitely seek understand why.

 

A picture would be nice, but IMO these bulges or dips are probably due to the construction of the tire. I worked at a Goodyear many years ago and I saw many tires (Goodyears and other brands) that had a dip or a bulge that ran from the bead to the tread as you described. I was always told that it was the mold where the tire came together, and nothing to worry about. My son now works for the local TOYO plant, and I asked him about that, but he said he has not seen that before.

 

My Son has a set of those tires on his Cummins dually and they have the same problem. I will agree with Grubbworm on the mold defect.

 

The "dip" or indentation I know is normal, seen it alot. Seems like for the regular "consumer" tires, they hide these for cosmetic reasons. I just hadn't ever seen a "bulge". It most likely is just from the mold, and I'm just being overly cautious about it.

I'll see if my POS camera is able to get a good shot.

 

"I showed him the article from Tire Rack . . . and he told me that there are no cords in the sidewalls, that they are just rubber!"

That guy's selling tires? Yikes!!

It is most probably where the end/overlap of a belt occurs, it is visible in some tires (especially ones with otherwise thin sidewall construction) when inflated; that is why you didn't see it in the new tires not yet mounted.

I would definitely stay away from that Firestone store, BTW.

 

Yeah, I swore off Firestone years ago after they screwed me pretty bad. I took a job with them briefly as a technician, only stayed with them for a couple months. Things I witnessed in that company would give a more feeble-minded person nightmares for the rest of their life.

Tires Plus, while being a Firestone subsidiary, does not seem to have the same problems. At least, not yet . . .

 

Does your truck shimmey, shake or vibrate abnormally? Any abnormal tire wear?

If not, I'd think you'll be fine.

I had a T-bird with a brand new set of Dunlops and after 10K miles, we still couldn't get one of them balanced properly. After dismounting all four tires, a bulge was discovered inside one of the tires indicating a factory defect and reason why it couldn't be balanced. They replaced all four at no charge.

 

If you had a cord or belt that has shifted, you would know it. The truck would ride like crap and it would not be able to be corrected by a balance or rotation. I say it is cosmetic like the others have stated. If your truck all of sudden starts acting or driving weird, then I'd be concerned... my 2 cents. I have experienced a tire with a slipped belt once and it is very noticeable, and can be dangerous if you contine to drive it as is.

 

No abnormal ride quality due to tires. I have, however, (not on my vehicles) had sidewall defects or damage manifest themselves with no change in ride quality/vibration/etc. Visual inspection of the tires was the only way the problem was noticed.

That is why I posted here. I knew I'd get unbiased input as to whether there was a problem or not, and I am content that there is no problem.

One thing I forgot to add about the guy at Firestone: I have a little Gadsden Flag sticker in the my rear window. He made some comment along the lines of "cool", and saw that he was looking at the sticker. He turned to me and asked if I like snakes. I told him, no, I hate snakes. He went on to tell me all about how he loves snakes, what snakes he has, etc. Had absolutely no clue what it was . . . are we not teaching history in school anymore?

 

The guy didn't know there was cord in the sidewalls, and you are surprised why?