Firestone FD692

This is a drive-axle tire for tandem- and single-drive tractors in long haul and regional haul service: truckload, LTL and superregional lanes where the fuel number gets audited and the route still crosses winter states. Firestone builds it as the fuel-economy-led drive pattern in its line. It comes in four sizes, 11R22.5, 11R24.5, 285/75R24.5 and 295/75R22.5, every one of them 14-ply Load Range G with a 26/32" tread and a speed symbol L rating good for 75 mph. It is EPA SmartWay verified and CARB compliant, and Firestone states it meets 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake criteria for snow traction.

The tread is where those two jobs meet. Firestone cut the 26/32" pattern with 400% more biting edges than the previous-generation FD691, and it meets 3PMSF criteria for snow traction without going to a lug tread that eats fuel. (Comparison based on Firestone FD692 tire vs. Firestone FD691 tire from internal testing. Results may vary.) The fuel side comes out of the construction rather than the tread: Firestone’s innovative sidewall design reduces overall tire weight to improve fuel efficiency without sacrificing durability, and an optimized bead design lowers rolling resistance and heat loss. Stone rejector platforms in the grooves push trapped rock back out before it drills down to the belt, part of a casing Firestone builds to come back as a retread. The matched retread pattern is the Bandag B760 FuelTech.

Drive axle only. Firestone recommends this tire for tandem- and single-drive positions. It is not a steer or all-position tire and it does not belong on a free-rolling trailer axle. It is also a highway tire, not a severe-service one: for on/off-highway, waste, high-scrub urban or high-traction regional work Firestone points you to the FD711 or the FD835, and the warranty enforces that line. The Enhanced Casing Credit Limited Warranty covers the casing, not the tire, and only on conditions: the tire must have been used only in long haul, regional or P&D highway service for the entire life of the casing, the casing must go unserviceable within 6.5 years (78 months) of the date of manufacture, and subsequent retreads must be inspected and retreaded by an authorized Bandag dealer only. Retread it elsewhere, or run it off the pavement, and the casing credit is gone. There is no Load Range H in this model. All four sizes are 14-ply G, so a fleet that needs 16-ply on the drive axle needs a different pattern: Firestone’s own 16-ply drive is the FD694, which we do not carry, and the 16-ply drives we do quote include the Invovic FM750 and FM770 and the Yokohama 715R. Firestone also states plainly that no mileage warranty is expressed or implied.

The Invovic FM750 is our own factory-direct open-shoulder drive in the same position, and the trade between them is a documented one. The FM750 runs a deeper 27/32" tread with open shoulder blocks, in 11R22.5, 11R24.5 and 295/75R22.5, all in 16-ply — so it gives you a 16-ply drive where the FD692 gives none, the FD692 gives you the 14-ply build the FM750 is not made in, and the FD692 covers 285/75R24.5 where the FM750 has nothing. What it does not carry is verification and program: no EPA SmartWay verification, no 3PMSF claim, no published casing warranty, no casing-credit path and no named matched retread pattern. The FD692 has all of them, plus a published Firestone spec table for every size. Fleets on regulated fuel lanes or under a Bandag retread contract usually want the FD692; owner-operators buying a tandem set for mixed regional work usually look at the FM750. Put both on one quote and compare the delivered numbers — tires, delivery, tax and the state tire fee in one line, with the mount and balance handled by your local truck tire shop or mobile service.