Firestone Destination XT Review : Heavy-Duty Tire | TireTerrain (2024)

As a former Bridgestone engineer, from my standpoint, Firestone Destination XT is the lightest tire in its segment. Hence, it can be used for a long period of time on air-down usage. Well, its responsiveness also gets a significant boost from the lightweight. Moreover, its wet and dry traction capability is highly praiseworthy. Due to its compact tread and stiff compound, Firestone Destination X/T is a perfect pick for hauling and towing applications and provides an extremely satisfying wear life.

Even though it’s severe winter rated and performs excellently in light snow and deep snow, its compound is too hard for reliable ice performance. Though worth reminding, it makes a slight noise, and sometimes its stiff structure can provide a bit stiff ride if you’re not used to using all-terrain tires.

For those who prefer a more textual representation and dislike sifting through tables of data:

• https://tireterrain.com/best-all-terrain-tires/
• https://tireterrain.com/best-all-terrain-tires-for-snow/
• https://tireterrain.com/best-1-2-ton-truck-tires/
• https://tireterrain.com/best-3-4-ton-truck-tires/
• https://tireterrain.com/best-rt-tires/
• https://tireterrain.com/best-tires-for-snow-plowing/

A couple of popular size analyses:

• https://tireterrain.com/best-35×12-50r20-all-terrain-tires/
• https://tireterrain.com/best-285-70r17-all-terrain-tires/
• https://tireterrain.com/best-275-55r20-all-terrain-tires/
• https://tireterrain.com/best-275-65r18-all-terrain-tires/

Want to learn more about all-terrain tires:

• https://tireterrain.com/highway-tires-vs-all-terrain-vs-mud-terrain/
• https://tireterrain.com/all-season-vs-all-terrain-tires/
• https://tireterrain.com/tire-load-index-and-load-range/
• https://tireterrain.com/lt-tires-vs-passenger-tires/
• https://tireterrain.com/are-all-terrain-tires-good-for-daily-driving/
• https://tireterrain.com/are-all-terrain-tires-good-in-snow/
• https://tireterrain.com/are-all-terrain-tires-loud/
• https://tireterrain.com/how-long-do-all-terrain-tires-last/
• https://tireterrain.com/are-all-terrain-tires-good-in-rain/
• https://tireterrain.com/off-road-tire-pressure-load-range-for-every-rig/

Heavy-duty tires generally don’t look aggressive. Manufacturers focus on performance instead of good-looking. So, they sacrifice from aggressive looking. Well, Firestone Destination XT is an exception in that case. While maintaining its performance, it also looks as tough as a rugged-terrain tire.

Firestone Destination XT doesn’t have a rib/lug hybrid type pattern design like its rival Cooper Discoverer AT3 LTX or Michelin Defender LTX. It has lug type design with wide shoulders. As a result, it keeps its traction ability on loose surfaces. Moreover, its wide shoulder increases its comfort on highways.

Dry traction isn’t an issue for all-terrain tires due to their aggressively designed rubber. Well, Destination XT provides huge traction on dry surfaces.

About handling, well-optimized pattern getting into the game. A wide shoulder combined with the interlock center section increases its contact patch and offers decent handling.

Lastly, steering. Steering is an enemy for lug-type tread patterns. In that case, the center section must be work like a circumferential rib and preserve stability. Well, I think Destination XT’s engineers made it very well. The middlecenter block supports each side with larger side blocks. Therefore, it works like a rib during the wheeling.

Due to its wide shoulder design, well-balanced compound, and solid internal structure(2 steel belts support by a 2-ply polyester cord), you don’t feel bumpy like driving a mud-terrain tire. That’s a huge plus.

On the other hand, it performs even better regarding noise cancellation. Due to its interlocked center section( explained in the tread appearance section), this tire is deaf for a heavy-duty tire. Moreover, its void area is narrower than most of its competitors. This feature also brings an advantage to noise cancellation.

Destination XT is quiet and offers a smooth ride. You can confidently go with it if these are your priorities. Yet, Firestone Destination AT2(review) could be a better selection if you wanna extend your riding conditions.

While I’ve been researching this tire for my comparison articles, I was pretty impressed by its wet performance.

Its full-depth 3D sipes increase its biting edge density. This feature increases its biting capability on wet grounds and improves wet traction. However, this’s a heavy-duty tire. Therefore, its compound is relatively stiffer than regular all-terrain tires. That feature decreases its wet traction a bit. Yet, its wet traction is decent. Let’s say 8.5 out of 10.

The keynote speech is hydroplaning resistance. Its open shoulder blocks improve water evacuation and restrain hydroplaning resistance. Due to its tread design(2 circumferential grooves), this tire doesn’t keep water inside of the tread. So, you can confidently drive this tire at high speeds in the pouring rain.

Destination XT is a beast on wet surfaces. I strongly recommend it.

Winter is where Destination XT shines. Due to its specific rubber, it heats up quickly and maintains its gripping ability in cold winter conditions.

Destination XT is a severe snow-rated tire(3PMFS). Yet, it isn’t the perfect pick for all winter conditions.

Due to its full-depth sipes, it’s a monster on light snow. It can evacuate melted snow very well and avert hydroplaning.

Due to its staggered shoulder lugs, it has massive traction ability on deep snow. Moreover, its divided center lugs(3 pieces with 2 full-depth sipes) can work separately and increase its self-cleaning ability.

Ice is where it fails. Due to its low rolling resistance, its braking distance on ice is average. I don’t recommend it for ice usage.

Destination XT is a safe pick for light and thick snow. However, ice isn’t its expertise.

If you need a solid and durable tire for winter, I recommend you to check this article out!

Even though most heavy-duty tires can perfrom only in mild off-road applications, Destination XT makes a difference and can perfrom on most severe off-road conditions very well. Let’s dig into it!

Dirt and gravel performance are what heavy-duty vehicles need most. Well, Firestone didn’t miss that point.

Due to its well-placed sipes, it has enough biting edges to provide a decent grip on dirt. However, this tire’s dirt performance is remarkable because of its ‘u’ shaped lugs. This design allows the lugs to move independently. As a result, increases self-cleaning capability significantly. So, its grip ability on dirt is a phenomenon.

Due to strategically placed stone ejectors, Destination XT doesn’t hold small stones on the shoulders and center section. Hence, it can maintain its traction on the gravel.

Destination XT can handle dirt and gravel with ease. You can confidently use it on these surfaces.

Here is the deal, all all-terrain tires tend to dig into the soft sand. Yet, Firestone Destination XT’s wide shoulders help it to float on sand and maintain its traction capability. Moreover, the tire is naturally wide. Therefore, it can stay on the sand more easily than most of the tires on the market.

Firestone Destination X/T is the master of all-terrain tires on sand driving. I strongly recommend it.

Due to its big side biters, it can grip compact mud very well. Moreover, its evacuation ability steps in again and helps it to move on muddy days. In this case, its deep and voided tread is the biggest assistant. Especially for the flotation sizes (these sizes specifically have 17/32” tread depth).

Firestone Destination X/T is an assertive candidate for best mud terrain tires. I can confidently say that it’s the best for 3/4 ton work trucks.

Yet, if you need a tire for adventure, you might want to check this article out.

Firestone Destination X/T is specially built for 3/4 ton or above trucks. Well, it should have strong sidewalls and it does. In my point of view, what makes this tire special is its lightweight even for these extremely strong sidewalls.

So, this lightweight is kinda proof of its alpha-plus air-down performance. It doesn’t get heated due to its thin but durable material. As a result, you can use this tire for an ages on air-down and doesn’t hurt the tire bead.

I’ve already talked about its traction and grip capability. Well, when you combine it with heat resistance, you can get one of the best rock-crawling tires.

Most tire sizes begin with modifier letters(P, LT, etc.) that identify the type of vehicle or type of service for which they were designed. Here is a perfect guide for reading tire size–> https://tireterrain.com/how-to-read-tire-size/

A side note here: If you are planning to upsize or downsize from your original equipment size (changing tire size with a smaller or bigger size), or if you have already done, it’s crucial to remember that changing tire size will decrease the accuracy of your speedometer. If this is the case, I strongly recommend checking DiscountTire Speedometer Guide.

Firestone offers 50,000 miles treadwear warranty for all Destination XT products.

The tire market has a dynamic price policy. Hence, in my point of view, sharing tire price is pointless.

Though, I’ve analyzed the top 10 brands of most popular tire brands.

Here are the dealers with a reasonable price range,

DiscountTire

• Biggest dealer in the US. Founded in 1960
• 1000 stores in 35 states. You most probably find one on your parallel street
• Free rotation and balancing
• 5% off for DiscountTire cardholders on online purchase
• Highest rated online tire dealer in Consumer Affairs
• Almost all brands are available
• Delivery takes 2-4 days (30% shorter average waiting time when you book online)
• Frequent discounts and promotions

Firestone Destination X/T: https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/firestone-tire-destination-x-t

TireRack

• Fast and Free shipping
• Usually delivered in 1 day
• Joint venture with DiscountTire(their installers and dealers are on your service)
• Tons of installer options, they also help you to choose the best one
• Mobile installers in many areas, your tires will be replaced while you’re working in the office
• Tire test results and comparisons can be found on the most product page
• 4.6/5 points on Google rate

Firestone Destination X/T: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/firestone-destination-x-t

SimpleTire

• Free shipping
• Delivered in 2 days
• Verified shops near you(for mount and balance)
• Mobile installation option
• 7 million customers since 2021
• 4.7/5 points on Google rate
• Top-notch customer service, you may even request a price match

Firestone Destination X/T: https://simpletire.com/brands/firestone-tires/destination-x-t

While choosing dealers, I especially pay attention to reliability. All of the dealers on this list have 15-20 years of experience in the online tire business. Therefore, I can guarantee a smooth and fast tire buying process.

Firestone Destination XT is a golden opportunity if you use it on the right vehicle and right operation. Moreover, it has an affordable price for this level of performance. You can check the below table to see if it fits your operation.

If you have any further questions, please leave them below. I’ll be glad to help. Have a safe ride folks!