Firestone Transforce HT2 Review

Combining the sophistication of a highway terrain tire with the rugged durability of a commercial tire, the Firestone Transforce HT2 looks to achieve two goals with one tire.

PROS

• Attractive pricing
• Decent off-road grip

CONS

• Tread life could be longer
• Owners complain of particularly poor winter traction

How far does it go in achieving those goals? Maybe not far enough.

Highway terrain tires, by definition, combine the features of an all-terrain tire with an all-season, delivering some light off-road capability with lots more civility and longer tread life. Herein lies perhaps the biggest drawback to this tire (at least on paper), namely that it doesn’t offer any specific milage warranty.

Owners report around 55,000 miles, which is quite low for an HT tire. However, it’s pretty normal for a commercial tire and not bad, all things considered, for something that will be asked to do heavy work on big trucks.

Compared to a conventional all-terrain tire it’s better suited for dispersing water and offers superior wet weather traction, while being quiet on the highway and incredibly stable at speed – with much less flex in the tread that you might get on many truck tires.

The saw-tooth siping on the tread blocks is evident and immediately brings to mind winter tires. This is not winter rated and, somewhat surprisingly, gets poor marks on the level of grip in snow. Owners also report being unsatisfied with overall winter grip.

We do like that the off-road capability is still pretty decent thanks to the individual tread blocks rather than consistent bands of rubber. Many HT tires push so far away from the all-terrain capability that they might as well just be all-seasons. Thankfully, these do not.

This second generation version of the tire (hence the name Transforce HT2) makes use of a new tread compound that’s better designed to resist chips or uneven wear. This makes it ideally suited to carrying heavy loads and hauling for long distances.

If you don’t really need the more extreme durability required for a commercial vehicle and you can live without a 10-ply (load range E) rating, we’d recommend a solid, sophisticated alternative with longer life is the Continental Terrain Contact HT. You’ll pay a premium for it, however, which brings us to price. While the Firestone Transforce HT isn’t quite all the tire we wish it was, it’s pretty decent at offering that Highway Terrain sophistication with commercial tire durability, at a more than reasonable price.

Firestone Transforce HT2 Price

Pricing for the Firestone Transforce HT2 ranges from around $150 per tire up to almost $300 per tire in sizes ranging from 16- to 20-inches.

Firestone Transforce HT2 Warranty

Unlike most highway terrain tires, the Transforce HT2 is not covered by a specific milage warranty. While this is normal for commercial tires, it’s not common for conventional highway terrain tires.

Firestone Transforce HT2 Sizes

16-inch sizes
235/85-R16
225/75-R16
245/75-R16
265/75-R16
215/85-R16

17-inch sizes
235/80-R17
245/70-R17
265/70-R17
225/75-R17
245/75-R17
285/70-R17

18-inch sizes
275/65-R18
275/70-R18
265/70-R18

20-inch sizes
275/65-R20
265/60-R20
285/60-R20

What Ply is the Firestone Transforce HT2?

The Firestone Transforce HT2 s offered exclusively in a 10-ply / Load Range E rating and is ideal for heavy-duty pickup trucks and commercial vehicles.