Engineered to offer reliable traction and performance on dry, wet, icy, and snow-covered roads, the Firestone Winterforce 2 UV is a studdable winter tire that’s designed for use on pickup trucks, CUVs, SUVs, and Jeeps. The tire provides adequate ride comfort and its performance in mild winter and snow conditions is claimed to be very impressive. Firestone’s cutting-edge technologies equip this tire to combat challenging wintry conditions and provide uninterrupted and long-lasting performance.

If you intend to buy a winter tire for your vehicle, and this tire is among your considerations, read our Firestone Winterforce 2 UV tire review to know the features and benefits, pros and cons, vehicle compatibility, and our verdict in the end.

Features and Benefits

An ideal winter tire is built using a flexible rubber compound for consistent grip when the temperature goes below 45 degrees of Fahrenheit. It has elements to conquer ice, snow, and slush, and could also be pinned with studs (where permitted) to achieve better traction on snow and ice. The Firestone Winterforce 2 gets all these qualities. Let’s breakdown the features and benefits of this tire to understand its capabilities:

• Excellent winter performance – The Winterforce 2 UV is Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certified, which means its approved as a reliable winter tire. The directional tread design of this tire features a special silica-rich cold-weather compound that increases contact with the surface in wintry conditions. The open shoulder slots of this tire provide a good number of biting edges for improved traction on snow and ice. For increased performance in severe weather conditions, the tire can be pinned with #11-sized studs (where permitted).
• Longer tread life – This tire features full-depth tread that ensures a long-lasting winter performance by ensuring extended wear for a longer period of time.
• Enhanced wet weather performance – The wide circumferential tread grooves of the Winterforce 2 UV and open shoulder eliminate water and slush to reduce the risk of hydroplaning on wet surfaces and boosts the tire’s performance in wet and wintry conditions.
• Increased stability and steering responsiveness – The center rib of the Winterforce 2 UV provides enhanced responsiveness and stability. The solid structure of the tire remains stable against driving pressures, thus improving the steering responsiveness.
• Impressive braking performance – The silica-rich tread compound and high-density siping of the Winterforce 2 UV remarkably improve the braking ability by providing a good number of biting edges to strongly grip the surface and braking the vehicle to half in no time.
• Robust construction – The Winterforce 2 UV gets a reinforced twin-steel belt construction that helps the tire to maintain its original shape even when the driving pressure is high. Likewise, the durable tread elements of this tire allow the tire to wear slowly and evenly, thus offering increased tread life.
• Comfortable driving experience – The directional tread of the Winterforce 2 UV remarkably absorbs the driving shocks and passes fewer road vibrations to the cabin, thus providing a comfortable driving experience.

The Firestone Winterforce 2 UV is available in 15- to 18-inch rim sizes, making it compatible with most vehicles in the United States. However, Firestone doesn’t offer any limited manufacturer tread life warranty coverage on the purchase of this tire.

Pros and Cons

The Winterforce 2 UV has many great advantages that are likely to delight the purchasers. Let’s have a look at them:

• Better traction, braking, and acceleration on moderate snow and ice-covered surfaces
• Optimized for occasional off-roading
• Provides better handling and cornering in colder conditions than most of its counterparts
• Better shock absorption capabilities than most competitors to provide enhanced driving comforts
• More affordable than most premium competitors

While Firestone makes a good claim about the tire’s impressive performance during winter weather, there are certain negatives attached to the tire, which a buyer must know. Here’re the negatives of the Winterforce 2 UV:

• Cannot be used when temperatures are consistently above 45 degrees Fahrenheit
• Peers offer better performance in dry and wet conditions
• Doesn’t impress much with the tread life
• Noisy when driving on paved dry surfaces, especially when pinned with studs
• No limited tread life warranty is offered
• Sluggish performance in extreme winter weather conditions

SimpleTire’s view on Firestone Winterforce 2 UV tires

If you need a reliable winter tire that does a great job in light to moderate winter weather conditions, the Firestone Winterforce 2 UV is a great choice. Compared to other premium competitors, the tire is reasonable and doesn’t put a dent in your wallet. The traction, braking, and acceleration are pretty good in colder months, however, in extreme winter conditions, you might have to rely more on the studs, the state being that it is permissible by law in your area.

The interesting part about the tire is that it is optimized for light off-roading during the winter months. That being said, it isn’t a pure off-roader and should not be misjudged as an all-terrain or mud-terrain tire. The handling and cornering of this tire are impressive and it has the ability to absorb the driving pressures very well and offer a comfortable driving experience.

The performance of this tire in dry and wet conditions is not that great and you might hear some loud tread noises if the tire is driven on paved dry roads. No limited tread life warranty is offered with the tire and as compared to some competitors, the tread wears fasters.

The Firestone Winterforce 2 UV can be a reliable alternative to the likes of Hankook Winter i* Pike X (W429A), Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3, General Grabber Arctic LT, Nexen Winguard Winspike 3, and Nokian Nordman 7.

Vehicles the Firestone Winterforce 2 UV is a replacement tire for

Designed for use on light trucks, CUVs, SUVs, and Jeeps, the Winterforce 2 UV can be a good replacement tire for vehicles like Ford F-150, Ram 1500, Jeep Wrangler, Honda Pilot, Toyota Tacoma, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, GMC Envoy, Subaru Outback, Nissan Pathfinder, Lexus RX300, Dodge Caliber, Mazda CX-30, Volvo XC70, Cadillac Escalade ESV, Chrysler Town and Country, Pontiac Bonneville SE, Lincoln Town Car, and Infiniti QX60.