Ford Recommends Higher Tire Level

D E T R O I T, Sept. 22 -- Ford Motor Co. will now recommend that FordExplorer owners inflate their tires to 30 pounds per square inchafter Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. criticized the automaker incongressional testimony for setting the pressure too low.

The automaker released a letter today saying it was making themove because the company’s testimony “has caused confusion amongour customers.

“In these trying times surrounding the Firestone tire recall,it is important to eliminate this confusion for our customers,”Carlos Mazzorin, Ford’s group vice president for global purchasingand South America, said in the letter.

Mazzorin also noted that Bridgestone/Firestone had agreed withFord’s recommended pressure of 26 psi for 10 years on theExplorer’s 15-inch tires.

Among tires that are not subject to the recall, Firestone andGoodyear tires on Explorers inflated at that level “have shownexcellent performance for our customers,” he said.

The letter says the pressure recommendation applies to Explorerowners with Firestone P235/75R15 tires. It does not say whether itapplies to other tires installed on the Explorer.

A Ford spokesman said no one was available to comment on theletter.

Damning Admission Before CongressThe move comes after a Bridgestone/Firestone executive toldCongress Thursday that the 26 psi level Ford recommends forExplorers is lower than what Bridgestone/Firestone suggests andmakes the popular sport utility vehicle less safe.

“We now know that at 26 psi there is a low safety margin forthe Explorer as compared to some other SUVs,”Bridgestone/Firestone Executive Vice President John Lampe said.“Running an Explorer on low tire pressures, overloaded, in hotclimates appears to be a part of the problem that we’re nowfacing.”

Bridgestone/Firestone last month recalled 6.5 million ATX, ATXII and Wilderness AT tires, most of which were original equipmenton Explorers. Federal investigators have linked the tires to morethan 100 deaths and 400 injuries.