Updated: Feb 11th 2020
The Firestone Destination LE2 is a reasonably priced, light truck and SUV all-season tire. The closed shoulder blocks enhance tread life, while providing exceptional performance on dry roads. The zig-zag sipes and the curved slots in the tread make the Destination extremely effective tire for wet roads, providing optimal traction and handling. This tire is not designated for winter driving, but can hold its own in light winter conditions. Overall, the Firestone LE2 is a fuel-efficient all-season tire with great wet performance and provides a smooth, comfortable ride at a very affordable price point.
Firestone Destination LE2 Review
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If you want to see the few contenders who could keep up with this promising tire, checkout our complete buyers guide where we put these tires head to head to figure out which set is best for you. You can find out for yourself here.
Tire Overview
The Firestone Destination LE was arguably one of Firestone’s best rated tire, and luckily the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree. Like it’s predecessor, it is an all season tire with decent tread life, with a 5 year warranty covering you for over 60 000 miles. Changes from the destination LE include silica enhanced treat and modified steel belting that reduce road noise and improved handling across all kinds of road conditions. It comes in a wide variety of sizes skirting the edge of light truck, with each size having small variations in load capacity, tire weight, and price. It’s best suited for long road trips or commutes across almost any road regardless of the season, and you can purchase it for a pretty affordable price compared to many other models. It’s modest tread pattern might not be suited for aggressive off roading, but provides excellent fuel mileage under normal operation. For a mid-range cruising tire with premium performance, the Destination LE 2 is a great choice. With that, let’s get into the specifics where we review this tire based on it’s handling in various conditions.
Dry Performance Review
The Destination LE 2 performs well on good roads. Handling is good, and cornering is solid. The tread of the LE2 is actually quite unique, and definitely ideal for commuting on wet roads. As a result, the traction on dry roads is slightly reduced. The traction isn’t reduced the point that you can’t drive confidently on dry roads – that’s definitely not the case. But you may find yourself spinning out slightly if you are starting up very quickly from a stop. Again, most folks won’t notice this at all, but for those who like to really gun it from a red light, you may notice a small amount of spin. The shoulder blocks are notched and the continuous ribs contribute to dry pavement grip, but will reduce your traction in sandy environments off-road. The tire is manufactured with an internal steel belt below the tread that helps to resist punctures, for a more reliable tire. This tire will certainly get you anywhere you need to go on the highway.
Wet Performance
The tread of the Firestone LE2 has been created with life long rain and dry wet driving conditions in mind. The zig-zag sipes increase the surface area of the sipe, allowing for better contact of the tire with the road in wet conditions. The swooping tread slots also allow for the placement of extra grooves, improving traction on wet roads by pushing water out. Overall, these features make the Destination an extremely good tire for driving in slick, wet areas. On rainy days, these tires grip the road exceptionally well, providing confident cornering even at higher speeds. Braking is surprisingly efficient in these situations as well. The design of the tread also reduces the risk of hydroplaning, and overall this tire makes an excellent tire for wet roads.
Snow & Ice
Where the Destination LE2 falls short is its competency on icy pavement. It is an all-season tire, but we are still In some very light snow, the same grooves and slots that provide the exceptional rain handling do provide some benefits to the driver. However, in heavy snow the tire loses its effectiveness. This tire is not recommended for use in icy conditions as it just isn’t designed for it. The tread isn’t soft enough, and as the tire hardens in cold weather, traction is lost. While the tire handles decently well in slush thanks to the tread design, this is an all-season tire and is just not made for driving in heavy snow and icy conditions.
Noise & Comfort
Another downfall to the LE2 is the noise that some users find while driving. Not all folks find these tires very noisy, so it does depend on the vehicle and weather you drive in, but when you start driving over 55mph or so, you can hear a bit of a hum. They’re not that loud, but it is noticeable at higher speeds. Given that this is a very affordable tire with good treadwear, a little noise isn’t the worst price to pay. Where the LE2 falls short for noise, it makes up for it in comfort, though. These tires handle and corner smoothly and confidently, and with good feedback to the driver. Vibrations and small bumps are adequately absorbed by the tire tread giving you a smooth and comfortable driving experience.
Treadwear & Lifespan
Treadwear for the Firestone Destination is surprisingly good for such an affordable tire. Warranty for the treadwear and even wear is available for these tires, but it varies depending on the size, speed rating and load index which differs from vehicle to vehicle. Before checking out wherever you purchase the tires you can double check the treadwear warranty status. The lifespan of your tires’ tread will vary, depending on the type of driver you are, where you are commuting and what you are hauling or towing. The best way to improve the lifespan of your tires is to keep them properly balanced, which we recommend doing every oil change or at the very least every other one. The Destination also has a spirally wrapped nylon interior that allows the tire to hold a uniform shape throughout its entire life. Overall, we found you can expect somewhere between 30,000 – 50,000 miles from these tires, not amazing by any measure, but not terrible for a light truck tire at their price point.
Compatibility & Sizes
The Firestone LE2 is an all-season tire designed for light trucks and SUVs.
There are a ton of different sizes of these tires available, so we’re confident you can find the right size for your vehicle. The exact sizes of the tires you need will vary depending on not only the year, make and model of your vehicle, but even the trim, so make sure you have all that information or know the exact specs of your OE tires. Or, many sites will also have a tool that allows you to enter the details of your vehicle and it will find you the proper sizes automatically. In any case, you’ll likely be able to find the proper size for your truck or SUV. This is a universal tire designed to work in a large variety of weather on a large variety of vehicles, so all of the common sizes are available and most local dealers have them in stock. Plus, they’ve been around for a while. So if you’re willing to forgo the warranty and save a few bucks you can usually find them on the used market pretty easily.
Who Are These Tires For?
If you want excellent traction and comfort while highway crusing year-round, these are the tires for you. I use them on my main commuter vehicle. Being from the west cost, we don’t get a ton of snow. But I do enjoy the occasional ski trip or highway cruise into the interior, so their winter rating and impressive tread pattern can make them feel like a proper winter tire. They might not be an excellent choice for extreme winter conditions like you might find in North Dakota, but for the rest of us they’ll do just fine.
Final Firestone Destination LE2 Review
At the end of the day, the Firestone Destination LE2 has some impressive strengths, paired with some glaring downfalls. The tire performs very well in dry conditions, handles confidently and provides good feedback. As the tires wear, it does lose some traction on dry roads and if you are an especially quick accelerator, you may notice some spin. They’re great on the highway, but they are certainly not designed for drag racing. if you’ve got a sports car and a lead foot, you can expect to burn a little rubber. The ride is comfortable and smooth, but can be a bit noisier at higher 
speeds. These tires excels in rainy and wet roads, providing impressive traction and braking, while preventing hydroplaning. The wet handling is definitely the best feature of the Firestone Destination LE2. It’s not meant for snow and ice, and we don’t recommend using them in more than a small amount of snow or slush. The tread doesn’t last as long as we’d like it to, but you can get several thousand miles out of it before you need replacing. All in all, for such affordable tires, you are getting what you pay for. If you’re looking for a tire for your truck or SUV to get you from Point A to Point B safely on wet and dry roads and without costing you an arm and a leg, the Firestone Destination LE2 is a great tire for you. Also, did we mention they look great?
Did this Firestone Destination LE2 Review article help you choose a set of tires for your vehicle? Do you own the Firestone Destination LE2 already? Let us know your questions or comments below, we love hearing from our readers!
