Individually, Bridgestone touted the advantages of each tire.
The Firestone FS509 steer radial, features:
- 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; and
- Continuous shoulder rib for long, even wear and reduced rolling resistance.
Meanwhile, the Firestone FD609 drive radial boasts:
- 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; and
- Multiple gripping edges to provide biting edges that help promote wet traction.
Bridgestone noted that the Firestone FT409 trailer radial tire's features include:
- Straight, flow-through grooves to promote smooth rib-wear patterns and evacuate water effectively for solid wet traction; and
- 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.
Nashville-based Bridgestone Americas, an arm of Tokyo-based parent company Bridgestone Corp., is the largest rubber products maker in North America, according to Rubber News' latest data. The company, which posted sales of $11.5 billion in 2021, manufactures tires, hoses, belts and NVH products. The tire maker, which recently christened a race tire plant in Akron, also has been active in its support of legislation that would prioritize and incentivize retreading among commercial fleets.
Bridgestone, globally, is considered the second-largest tire maker, according to Rubber News' annual Global Tire Ranking.