Bridgestone Refreshing Products, Launches New Firestone Tires

Bridgestone Americas is upgrading or replacing 100% if its Bridgestone and Firestone branded tires by 2020 in the United States.

The tiremaker recently showcased several of these new tires – the Firestone Champion, Firestone Firehawk AS, and Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 – during a ride and drive event at the Texas Motor Speedway in Dallas. During the event, Bridgestone also announced additional sizes in its Bridgestone Driveguard line, expanding the tire’s coverage to include fitments for minivans, CUVs and SUVs.

Bridgestone’s two newest tires, the Firestone Firehawk AS and Firehawk Indy 500, are the consumer tire extension to Bridgestone’s Firehawk race tires used in the Verizon IndyCar series.

“Racing is an integral part of the Firestone brand’s heritage and the ultimate proof point for our tire technology. We are excited to bring our legacy of trusted performance to the consumer tire segment with our new Firehawk high performance passenger tires,” said Philip Dobbs, chief marketing officer at Bridgestone Americas. “Both the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 and the Firestone Firehawk AS tires are great choices for drivers who work hard and play harder, and want to push their vehicles to the limits.”

Replacing the Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500, the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tire is an UHP summer tire that offers performance on dry and wet roads, Bridgestone said. The tire features Pulse Groove Technology to improve water evacuation and can stop 20% shorter than its predecessor on wet roads. Additionally, a new tread compound and wide shoulder blocks offer enhanced cornering and handling, Bridgestone said.

The Firehawk Indy 500 is available in 48 sizes from 16- to 20-inch wheel sizes.

The Firestone Firehawk AS tire is designed to deliver grip in wet, dry and moderate snowy conditions. The Firehawk AS features a full-depth tread to help the tire maintain its all-season and wet performance throughout the life of the tire, Bridgestone said.

The Firehawk AS replaces the Firehawk Wide Oval AS tire. The Firehawk AS is backed by a 50,000-mile limited treadwear warranty and is available in 30 sizes from 15- to 20-inch wheel sizes.

First launched in May 2014, the Bridgestone DriveGuard line offered run-flat performance for coupes, sedans and wagons. Due to the tire’s success, Bridgestone has expanded the DriveGuard line with seven new sizes for minivans, CUVs and SUVs.

“We introduced the DriveGuard tire line in 2014 for coupes, sedans and wagons. Since then, we heard customers resoundingly say that they wanted that same peace of mind when behind the wheel of their family vehicles – minivans, crossovers and small SUVs,” Dobbs said. “We listened, and we’re excited to make this innovative technology available to more drivers and more vehicles.”

Bridgestone’s DriveGuard line is designed to allow drivers to travel up to 50 miles at 50mph on a flat tire, the tiremaker said.

The expanded DriveGuard line now covers 43 sizes, 15- to 19-inch wheel diameter. The tire line is backed by a 50,000- to 60,000-mile treadwear warranty.

In April, Bridgestone launched the new Firestone Champion tire for cars and minivans.

Delivering all season performance in dry, wet and winter driving conditions, the Firestone Champion features Fuel Fighter Technology engineered to give drivers more miles per fill-up, Bridgestone said.

The new Firestone Champion will replace the Firestone Affinity and Precision touring tires. The tire is now available in the U.S. and Canada in 48 sizes in 14- to 18-inch rim diameters, and is backed by a 70,000-mile limited treadwear warranty.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has named Ryan Waldron as president of the company's Americas business unit, reporting to Chief Executive Officer and President Mark Stewart. He succeeds Steven R. McClellan, who retired on April 1.

"At Goodyear, our customers are at the center of everything we do, and in Ryan Waldron, we have a customer-centric, execution-focused business leader with a deep understanding of both the marketplace and all aspects of our business, as well as a proven track record of delivering results," Stewart said. "I am thrilled to announce him as president of Goodyear's Americas business and have enormous confidence that under his leadership, both the company and our customers will reach even greater levels of success."