Firestones on a 2003 SE
 

When I first showed Hailey ( sister in law) my new Bonneville she commented on the Firestone Affinity T2s that were on it. She said she didn't think that Bonnevilles came with them when new. The car has about 9,000 miles on it and when I took it out the other day on the highway I noticed a very slight vibration at almost exactly 67 mph. I never noticed it when I took it for a test drive but now that I am used to the smooth ride around town say 50 or less I can feel the difference at 65 and up to 70. I assume
from past experience that one or more of my tires are unbalanced. I have also read on this forum that some Goodyear tires could not be balanced. Could that explain why my car has Firestones on it. I have also heard about Hunter Balancers and the simulated road force they put on the tires to give a zero guesswork balance and tire placement process. I looked up Hunter balancers and they list locations that offer that service. I was pleased to see one was in the City I work so I'll have to check it out. Has anyone ever had one of these machines do balance work on their cars? Is it more expensive than a regular balance? Am I going in the right direction with this vibration at 67? I have tried swapping tires front to back and I think it may be a little less noticeable but its still there. Thanks for any input on this.

Re: Firestones on a 2003 SE
 

Ed, I would say yes, have all 4 wheels balanced at a reputable tire shop. I'm not sure, but I think the 03 SE's came with Firestone tires stock. I just put 4 new Toyo Proxes TPT's on my rig, they are great so far.

It makes sense that the Firestones may have been stock because I can't find any evidence of old wheel weights like scratches and stuff. Either way the lug nuts have been removed because they scratched a few of the center caps and a few black lug nut caps are marred. Maybe they rotated them wrong. How bad is it to rotate tires wrong? Will it affect balance or is the importance of proper rotation important for even wearing of the tires only?

Yaaaaay!!! :D The vibration is gone. The dealer set up a balance for me at a local shop and it turns out the two tires that I had moved from the rear to the front were out of balance. The two that were on the front when I initially felt the problem were fine. One tire was out anout .5 ounces and the other was out 1.75. Smooth as silk.

I'm not sure how much of an adverse affect inproper rotation of radials will have. In the old days with 2 & 4 ply tires (before radials hit the roads) we used to rotate tires in a sort of "X" pattern if memory serves me. You should probably seek out professional opinions from tire mechanics concerning this. Maybe a tire knowledgeable gearhead can input here also. Good Luck.

For the record my 03 SE has Firestone Affinity.

WOOT!! :clap: