Firestone firehawk indy 500?

[njbray]

Anyone have any experience of these:
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 Tire Reviews (4 Reviews)

Thinking about my next set of tires!

[BYprodriver]

No experience but I like the looks. Bridgestone bought Firestone over 20 yrs ago some maybe it benefits from some trickle down technology.

[Xpit77]

Yes. Super pleased with the wear.Quiet.Great price.
Never tracked them though.Good in the rain too.
And a good price too.

[onefasazn]

Did a Bridgestone driving education event a few weeks ago here in the bay, and to my surprise, they were making a big push this year for the Firestone brand. The Indy 500 was one of the tires we got to use. Upon learning that this was spiritual successor to the Potenza RE760 Sport, I was very interested in getting my hands on a set as I loved my RE760s when I had them.

I was pleasantly surprised by the dry and wet grip of the tire, and we were able to push them pretty well on the autox course. I didn't get much experience with them outside of the autox, but one of the drills we did were a succession of runs by two teams of 10 people on the tires in the dry. Tires were on BMW 328s and we all beat the crap out them, some more so than others. At the end of the 20 laps, the tires were not chunked at all. I got to take the car out one last time and the tires still performed beautifully, pretty controlled and predictable at the limit.

I now have a set on my WRX wagon, and have driven on them from the Bay to Socal. Had zero issues, and the tires made about average road noise. I'm used to loud tires as I tend to run sticky tires on the street here and these were nowhere near as loud as r-comps I've run before.

I'm going to be putting a set on my Box once the car is ready for the track, as I am starting off by building it for Global Time Attack Enthusiast class. Minimum UTQG rating in class is 220, and the Indy 500s are 340. We'll see how they fare on the track.

[Need_for_speed]

NJ, thanks for starting this thread, and thanks onefasazn for the info. I'm very interested in these tires myself.

[crooster]

I just installed a set of these to replace my Bridgestone RE760's. I haven't pushed them hard in the twisties or in the wet yet, but I'm impressed with the lack of road noise and turn-in responsiveness so far. Pretty happy with the price too.

[pilut2]

Has anyone else tried these tires?

[Dave80GTSi]

Based upon the glowing user reviews on the Tire Rack website, I have just ordered a set.

[JayG]

Tire choice is very dependent on what kind of driving you plan on doing

[Dave80GTSi]

Originally Posted by Dave80GTSi

Based upon the glowing user reviews on the Tire Rack website, I have just ordered a set.

I have used these tires for about a month now, and I really like them.

These tires grip well, look great, and are very quiet. They do everything that one might reasonably want a street tire to do, and at a very affordable price.

In other world markets it is my understanding that these are labeled as Bridgestone Super-Gummy-Stickies, but here in the States they are trying to build upon the Firestone IndyCar connection.

Two thumbs up.

Thanks - DM

[Giller]

Just feels wrong to put an "Indy car tire" on a beautiful, precision German machine.

[faverymi]

Originally Posted by Giller

Just feels wrong to put an "Indy car tire" on a beautiful, precision German machine.

Go and read the sumitomo thread... haha

[Dave80GTSi]

Originally Posted by Giller

Just feels wrong to put an "Indy car tire" on a beautiful, precision German machine.

Ahh, but you forget that Porsche did indeed build a car for the IndyCar series from about 1988 to 1990, and they participated in the Indy 500 race during those years.

Teo Fabi was their primary driver, and the pictures below show him with his Porsche in the 1988 race (green) and the 1990 race (blue).

Ironically, though, at that time the official tire supplier for the series was Goodyear, as you can see in the pictures!

[Nmbrsix]

I'm fairly certain this is essentially similar to the Bridgestone RE003 which has been on sale in other markets for some time.

It's not as strong a performer as the RE-11 or RE71R, but should be a very capable street tire--especially for the price.

The one person I know that is running them on his 944 (and has exercised them hard) likes them quite a bit. They replaced Conti DW's.

I might have considered them had I not just purchased the new Conti ExtremeContact Sports.

[crooster]

I had these on my 986 for a few months last year before it went away for the winter. Previously I had RE760's on the car. I was impressed with the Indy's in terms of stick both dry and wet, quietness and ride quality. No regrets especially considering the price.

[Dave80GTSi]

Originally Posted by Nmbrsix

I'm fairly certain this is essentially similar to the Bridgestone RE003 which has been on sale in other markets for some time.

I believe that you are right. First picture is the Firestone from post no. 1, and second picture is the RE003.

[njbray]

So is this tire better or lesser than the BRIDGESTONE POTENZA
S-04 POLE POSITION?
Thanks.

[Dave80GTSi]

Just noticed that Tire Rack has a $60.00 mail in rebate on these tires in our size when bought in a set of four (4) tires, thus making them even more of a bargain.

No idea how long this offer will last, so I would recommend that you grab them now before the rebate disappears.

Enjoy - DM

[78F350]

Originally Posted by Dave80GTSi

Just noticed that Tire Rack has a $60.00 mail in rebate on these tires in our size when bought in a set of four (4) tires, thus making them even more of a bargain.

No idea how long this offer will last, so I would recommend that you grab them now before the rebate disappears.

Enjoy - DM

Very tempting. I blew a rear tire a couple weeks ago. I have 3 year old, good tread Michelin PS A/S 3s and had been thinking of just buying 2 new rears. I can get a complete set of these firehawk tires for ~$10 less than the 2 rear Michelin.