Firestone Firehawk Indy 500

[DaveG99]

So whats the deal with photobucket? My pics worked before. Fuck photbucket. Just downloaded imgur.

Just read about photobucket. Are they trying to kill themselves? Dumb move

 

[DaveG99]

 

[M-Sport fan]

+1! I would have bought a set this year if it was available.

+2!

I also hope that MANY OTHER tires (PSS, RE71R, Rival S 1.5, Victra VR-1, Ventus RS-4, Ecsta V720, Advan A052, etc.) are released in that size as well, and maybe even something in a 225/40-17.

 

[neeqness]

Has anyone noticed a slight wub-wub-wub at highway speeds (~90km/h+) or is it just me? There isn't any regular vibration, so I think the balance is OK...

I didn't notice this on these tires but I've gotten it with my current tires now that they have some wear. It's a bit annoying but I've noticed if I keep my speed a bit lower than normal the noise reduces significantly.

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[Quisp]

On order. Won't need them for awhile, but with a $60 rebate why wait ?

 

[neeqness]

On order. Won't need them for awhile, but with a $60 rebate why wait ?

Haha, you're almost tempting me to buy my next set of tires...

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[DaveG99]

These are great tires. I have a few hundred miles already and they are nice. Ive tested them on some turns and they stick very well. They also communicate well when pushing them past their grip limits. Very similar to the $157 re050a's. Im pretty sure the re050a's wont sell another tire now that these are out. Ill report back after my mountain road trip.

 

[speed_easy]

These are great tires. I have a few hundred miles already and they are nice. Ive tested them on some turns and they stick very well. They also communicate well when pushing them past their grip limits. Very similar to the $157 re050a's. Im pretty sure the re050a's wont sell another tire now that these are out. Ill report back after my mountain road trip.

Ditto on the "stick very well" part. I would say the slip is a bit more abrupt (especially in the mild ~60-75F temperature zone), than the RE050s only because with the RE050s the slip feels more progressive. Like the more you push it, the more it grips AND slips at the same time, if that makes sense. There is a lot of feedback in what the tire is doing which lets you predict how much you can allow to push the car. For the most part the tire feels safe. My problem is that the 'fun zone' I want to be in on the lateral force spectrum almost always means slipping out the tire. Which of course leads to wear.

Enter the Indy 500s. Noticeably more lateral capacity. This tire will let you push the car more and hold you in a corner for longer. But push it too far and it'll slide out from under you letting you know you need to course correct a bit. This has caught me by surprise a few times in the morning when the pavement and tire compound were not up to ideal summer tire temp. My take is the 500s are more sensitive to cold weather than the RE050s. When things warm up, this fine line blurs and what you are left with is lots of lateral grip and progressive feedback just like if not better than the re050s.

I should mention these are my impressions with the p205/50r16 tire. I don't know how a truly apples to apples test would compare.

 

[Quisp]

As Bunny from "Platoon " said "ain't nothin better than the Indy 500 cept maybe a piece of p!#%y.

 

[DaveG99]

Finally got to push these tires hard in the mountains this weekend. ....... My review....

I read so many reviews of people raving how great these tires were. So when my stock bridgestone potenza re050a's got worn I decided to try a set of these. I do not daily drive my car. I use the car on weekends and some evenings to cruise around and twice a year I take it up to the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas for a weekend of spirited driving. I just got back from a trip in the mountains yesterday. The fact is these tires DO NOT grip as well as the stock re050a's. I guess that is expected when you're comparing a 140 tread wear tire to a 340 tread wear tire. But after all the reviews I figured these must be fantastic and maybe the tread wear rating was incorrect. At many points on the drive through the mountains I got my rear end to slide a little more than I would have liked. The potenzas would stick in the same situation where these firestone firehawks will slide. We are pretty much squealing tires around every turn on this trip so I really get to put the tires to the test. I did not notice any excessive road noise so the people saying they are loud either must have super sonic hearing or maybe their cars are quiet. My exhaust is loud and I have tons of turbo noises emanating from my engine bay so tire noise is non existent for me. These tires are really good in the rain. Better than the potenzas in the wet. These tires are great for the money and they are perfect for someone who just drives around town with some occasional spirited driving. But if you like to track your car or if you like to really push your car on mountain roads you need to get something better with more grip. I will only run 200 tread wear or less on this car from now on. On a daily driven car I can see these tires being about perfect though. If you really want to push your car around turns these tires should not be purchased.

 

[speed_easy]

Finally got to push these tires hard in the mountains this weekend. ....... My review....

I read so many reviews of people raving how great these tires were. So when my stock bridgestone potenza re050a's got worn I decided to try a set of these. I do not daily drive my car. I use the car on weekends and some evenings to cruise around and twice a year I take it up to the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas for a weekend of spirited driving. I just got back from a trip in the mountains yesterday. The fact is these tires DO NOT grip as well as the stock re050a's.

What was the ambient temperature that weekend?

 

[DaveG99]

Mid 70's and cloudy.

 

[Capri to ST]

Thanks, this is not what I wanted to hear, but it's helpful information to have. I have been planning to get the Indy 500's when my RE050A's wear out, and probably still will because this is my DD, but this will make me think a bit harder.

 

[DaveG99]

Thanks, this is not what I wanted to hear, but it's helpful information to have. I have been planning to get the Indy 500's when my RE050A's wear out, and probably still will because this is my DD, but this will make me think a bit harder.

I want to stress that they are a great tire. But if you want hardcore grip go with a 200 or less tread wear tire. I take the turns in the mountains pretty hard and I felt like I couldn't trust these tires like I trust the stock ones. And up there a mistake can kill you.

 

[Capri to ST]

I want to stress that they are a great tire. But if you want hardcore grip go with a 200 or less tread wear tire. I take the turns in the mountains pretty hard and I felt like I couldn't trust these tires like I trust the stock ones. And up there a mistake can kill you.

Thanks, I guess I was hoping for the best of both worlds: very similar grip to the stock RE050A's with substantially more tread life due to the much newer technology. But life's like that, you usually have to give up something to get something else. This is my DD, but I still like to push it hard sometimes. There must be a reason they chose the stock tires that they did. And if I do decide to get them again, the worst thing that happens is that they cost a bit more. And if I get the Indy 500's, as you say they are very good,too.
On my previous DD it cost about $1600 for a good set of tires. It's all relative.

 

[Business6]

There must be a reason they chose the stock tires that they did.

Contractual obligations/money. They also will put aggressive tires on to make cars look better in head to head comparisons where the competition may be using run-of-the-mill AS tires.

 

[neeqness]

Finally got to push these tires hard in the mountains this weekend. ....... My review....

I read so many reviews of people raving how great these tires were. So when my stock bridgestone potenza re050a's got worn I decided to try a set of these. I do not daily drive my car. I use the car on weekends and some evenings to cruise around and twice a year I take it up to the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas for a weekend of spirited driving. I just got back from a trip in the mountains yesterday. The fact is these tires DO NOT grip as well as the stock re050a's. I guess that is expected when you're comparing a 140 tread wear tire to a 340 tread wear tire. But after all the reviews I figured these must be fantastic and maybe the tread wear rating was incorrect. At many points on the drive through the mountains I got my rear end to slide a little more than I would have liked. The potenzas would stick in the same situation where these firestone firehawks will slide. We are pretty much squealing tires around every turn on this trip so I really get to put the tires to the test. I did not notice any excessive road noise so the people saying they are loud either must have super sonic hearing or maybe their cars are quiet. My exhaust is loud and I have tons of turbo noises emanating from my engine bay so tire noise is non existent for me. These tires are really good in the rain. Better than the potenzas in the wet. These tires are great for the money and they are perfect for someone who just drives around town with some occasional spirited driving. But if you like to track your car or if you like to really push your car on mountain roads you need to get something better with more grip. I will only run 200 tread wear or less on this car from now on. On a daily driven car I can see these tires being about perfect though. If you really want to push your car around turns these tires should not be purchased.

The only thing I can think of for how this could have happened is that either you may have picked up the Wide Oval Indy 500s by mistake (which are not really up to par and easy to confuse with the Indy 500 because of the similar name) or that perhaps you didn't break the tires in fully first. The Indy 500s need a good breakin period before turning them loose. The Wide Oval Indy 500s also required a break-in and it was experiencing this break-in period that inspired me to properly break-in the Indy 500s too...

The Indy 500s are better than the oem tires in nearly every way. I am a spirited driver and do not typically push my tires to racing limits...yet I've gotten my oem tires to slip several times where the Indy 500s never slipped on me even though I actually wound up pushing them harder than my oem because of how well they felt.

Having said all that, the Indy 500s are really a street performance tire and not the best tire for the track. Although there may have been a few who have been satisfied with using them on the track, they will likely not outperform a max performance tire...so if you are going to push them at that level, this tire may not be for you. But they are much better than oem...to the point that I have no desire whatsoever to buy another oem tire for this car.

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[Siestarider]

I recently put over 3000 miles on a new set touring SE, lots of mountains, one day at VIR. These tires are superior to OEM and various sizes BFG (SC-2 and Rival S) I have run on street and good enough on track (first time at VIR, hands full learning a new track) to avoid being a limiting factor.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Thanks, I guess I was hoping for the best of both worlds: very similar grip to the stock RE050A's with substantially more tread life due to the much newer technology. But life's like that, you usually have to give up something to get something else. This is my DD, but I still like to push it hard sometimes. There must be a reason they chose the stock tires that they did. And if I do decide to get them again, the worst thing that happens is that they cost a bit more. And if I get the Indy 500's, as you say they are very good,too.
On my previous DD it cost about $1600 for a good set of tires. It's all relative.

There ARE other GREAT tires in a 205/40-17 besides these two mentioned above (which might outlast the Potenzas AND be stickier than them as well).

 

[M-Sport fan]

The only thing I can think of for how this could have happened is that either you may have picked up the Wide Oval Indy 500s by mistake (which are not really up to par and easy to confuse with the Indy 500 because of the similar name)

He posted pics of the actual, new, Indy 500s mounted on his factory FiST wheels further back in this thread.