Firestone Firehawk Indy 500

OneSickFK8

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To say I'm not a fan of the stock tires is an under statement. I had these on my 2015 Si and loved them. I did some serious spirited driving on them. Extremely good grip for the price and never had an issue. I did have to go up 10 on the width on the Si as well. I think I'm going to go with 255/35/20 in them.

https://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/tires/brands/firestone/firehawkindy500/12938

Anyone ever try them? I know a good amount of Mustang GT guys use them and have no issues.
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I had these on my last car. Pontiac G8 on 245/45R18. Tires had good grip, even on a 4000 lb car, gotta imagine they would do good on the R as well. There are obviously “better” tires out there, but if I wanted a good tire that would last, I’d consider it!
 

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I had the Indy 500's on my STI. They are in my opinion the #1 best performance-per-dollar tire you can buy.

Only downside is they were noisy on the highway, but for spirited driving and track I loved them.
 

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I had them on my STI, have them on my CTR now. They're a great tire for the money for sure. It's a rebranded Bridgestone RE003 from overseas, which is a continuation on the RE760 they sell here (no idea why they haven't updated the 760, as it's several generations behind now). Performance wise it comes fairly close to the Michelin PS4S in the dry, but loses a decent amount of grip in the wet. Not that they're bad in the wet, I've DD'd on these tires for 2 years now and have driven them in all kinds of conditions with no issues, they just aren't as grippy as the PS4S in the wet.

Before anyone yells at me about claiming it comes close to the PS4S, here's the results of both tires in Tirerack testing:

Laptime
Firehawk 30.25 seconds (dry) 36.70 seconds (wet)
PS4S 29.78 seconds (dry) 33.05 seconds (wet)

Slalom
Firehawk 5.04 seconds (dry) 5.87 seconds (wet)
PS4S 4.91 seconds (dry) 5.35 seconds (wet)

Cornering G-Force
Firehawk .94 (dry) .76 (wet)
PS4S .92 (dry) .78 (wet)

Firehawk test: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=235
PS4S test: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=223
 
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OneSickFK8

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I had them on my STI, have them on my CTR now. They're a great tire for the money for sure. It's a rebranded Bridgestone RE003 from overseas, which is a continuation on the RE760 they sell here (no idea why they haven't updated the 760, as it's several generations behind now). Performance wise it comes fairly close to the Michelin PS4S in the dry, but loses a decent amount of grip in the wet. Not that they're bad in the wet, I've DD'd on these tires for 2 years now and have driven them in all kinds of conditions with no issues, they just aren't as grippy as the PS4S in the wet.

Before anyone yells at me about claiming it comes close to the PS4S, here's the results of both tires in Tirerack testing:

Laptime
Firehawk 30.25 seconds (dry) 36.70 seconds (wet)
PS4S 29.78 seconds (dry) 33.05 seconds (wet)

Slalom
Firehawk 5.04 seconds (dry) 5.87 seconds (wet)
PS4S 4.91 seconds (dry) 5.35 seconds (wet)

Cornering G-Force
Firehawk .94 (dry) .76 (wet)
PS4S .92 (dry) .78 (wet)

Firehawk test: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=235
PS4S test: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=223
Awesome info! Thank you. I'm just looking for late night twisty performance. Not hardcore track or any hard wet driving. I just want a little more meat on the rim.
 


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I have the firehawks on my Civic wrapped around Si wheels. I'm pretty happy with them. Honestly, for the price, they're the best bang for your buck.
 

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I am using them in 255/35/18 and I would buy them again with certainty, they are GREAT tires with high levels of dry grip! Only $500 for ALL 4!
 
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I am using them in 255/35/18 and I would buy them again with certainty, they are GREAT tires with high levels of dry grip! Only $500 for ALL 4!
Coming soon to my PMM CTR!
 

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To say I'm not a fan of the stock tires is an under statement. I had these on my 2015 Si and loved them. I did some serious spirited driving on them. Extremely good grip for the price and never had an issue. I did have to go up 10 on the width on the Si as well. I think I'm going to go with 255/35/20 in them.

https://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/tires/brands/firestone/firehawkindy500/12938

Anyone ever try them? I know a good amount of Mustang GT guys use them and have no issues.
Can you let us know how you like them compared to OEM? Thanks!
 

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One thing I should have mentioned is when they do get overwhelmed and start to slide, they do so VERY progressively and are easily modulated!
 
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Good price, decent performance, but a heavy tire. I’ve run them, and they’re just ok. Not well matched to the full potential of the Type R, IMO.

All out performance tires that are much better:
Yokohama Advan A052
Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R

One step down from the above two in performance:
Michelin PS4S

Now compared to the Indy 500s, the PS4S are lighter, faster on track, will have longer tread life, quieter, superior in the rain.


Yes, all three of these choices cost more. But they smash the Indy 500s.

The factory tires pick up everything on the road and get hot and greasy quickly, but are faster than the Indy 500s for a hero run.

In the end, the Firestones are better matched to a mid range performance car, kind of like my wife’s GTI.
 
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Good price, decent performance, but a heavy tire. I’ve run them, and they’re just ok. Not well matched to the full potential of the Type R, IMO.

All out performance tires that are much better:
Yokohama Advan A052
Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R

One step down from the above two in performance:
Michelin PS4S

Now compared to the Indy 500s, the PS4S are lighter, faster on track, will have longer tread life, quieter, superior in the rain.


Yes, all three of these choices cost more. But they smash the Indy 500s.

The factory tires pick up everything on the road and get hot and greasy quickly, but are faster than the Indy 500s for a hero run.

In the end, the Firestones are better matched to a mid range performance car, kind of like my wife’s GTI.
The car will never be on the track and the additional cost for the slight performance doesn't add up.
 

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The car will never be on the track and the additional cost for the slight performance doesn't add up.
You do you, buddy.
The biggest draw for me to this car is it’s handling prowess, and a huge part of that is grip. I can’t fit something with lesser grip than stock and that is the part doesn’t add up to me.
 

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You do you, buddy.
The biggest draw for me to this car is it’s handling prowess, and a huge part of that is grip. I can’t fit something with lesser grip than stock and that is the part doesn’t add up to me.
Do they have less grip than stock though? I have literally never been wanting for grip with these tires driving on the street. I’ve never noticed a situation where they have out before the stock setup did.
 

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Do they have less grip than stock though? I have literally never been wanting for grip with these tires driving on the street. I’ve never noticed a situation where they have out before the stock setup did.
Definitely less grip than stock. Lower tier tire. I’ve had a set. They’re a good value, but not very high grip performance.
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