[saaltonen]

Does anyone have any experience with these tires? I am pretty intrigued by the review that Tire Rack gave them, as they beat out the BFGoodrich Comp 2's.

I just replaced my rear tires with new PSS in the fall before I put my summer setup away, and I probably should have just replaced the fronts too but I did not. Now I'm just worried about being able to find replacements down the line if anything happens, doesn't seem like most places are going to stock these moving forward. I honestly don't need all of the performance of the PSS, and would be willing to sacrifice a little performance given the price of these Indy 500's... I mean I love the Michelin, and would consider an upgrade to the PS4S, but at half the price, it's pretty tough not to consider.

[lens]

Originally Posted by saaltonen

Does anyone have any experience with these tires? I am pretty intrigued by the review that Tire Rack gave them, as they beat out the BFGoodrich Comp 2's.

I just replaced my rear tires with new PSS in the fall before I put my summer setup away, and I probably should have just replaced the fronts too but I did not. Now I'm just worried about being able to find replacements down the line if anything happens, doesn't seem like most places are going to stock these moving forward. I honestly don't need all of the performance of the PSS, and would be willing to sacrifice a little performance given the price of these Indy 500's... I mean I love the Michelin, and would consider an upgrade to the PS4S, but at half the price, it's pretty tough not to consider.

I came from Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ 225/40/19, 255/35/19s.

had them mounted on 19x8.5, 19x9.5 and they were just the minimal required to actually fit. They actually bent all my wheels slightly as the wheel took all the damage due to the slight stretch. I ran them till they wore down and bought the Firehawk Indy 500s.

235/35/19
275/30/19

I can tell you, they gave me considerably more grip around corners and from a stop. No more tire spin when I launch and ride is quiet and quite smooth. Drove in some nice amount of rain and they felt no different than driving in the dry.

For it's price, I would highly recommend getting them as it's good bang for the buck.

[BlueCrabMafia]

I looked at the Firestone Firehawk Indy tires for my VMR wheels. They get great reviews on all the sites that I found and for the price, you can't beat them.

FYI, The parent company for Firestone is Bridgestone.

The only reason I didn't go with those tires is I didn't want a strictly summer tire and choose an all season instead since I don't track the car.

[saaltonen]

Originally Posted by BlueCrabMafia

I looked at the Firestone Firehawk Indy tires for my VMR wheels. They get great reviews on all the sites that I found and for the price, you can't beat them.

FYI, The parent company for Firestone is Bridgestone.

The only reason I didn't go with those tires is I didn't want a strictly summer tire and choose an all season instead since I don't track the car.

I understand that they are essentially a Bridgestone RE003, which is why I was even considering the change. I normally wouldn't have considered a Firestone tire, especially after coming from a top dog like Michelin.

I'm definitely struggling with this one because I loved my Michelin's and would stick with them, but mixing PSS with PS4S fronts doesn't seem ideal. They are a direct replacement and have essentially the same tread pattern, it's not like I would be mixing completely different tires or performance categories etc

I was quoted $600 installed for (2) front 235/35/R19 PS4S from my local dealer I deal with normally. I'm leaning more towards this, mainly because I don't want to deal with the hassle of selling my basically brand new PSS.

[sickF30]

I just purchased a set from Tire Rack for my new wheels coming in tomorrow. So no experience with them yet, but from what I've read, they are a great bang for the buck tire.

[saaltonen]

Originally Posted by chaungo

I came from Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ 225/40/19, 255/35/19s.

had them mounted on 19x8.5, 19x9.5 and they were just the minimal required to actually fit. They actually bent all my wheels slightly as the wheel took all the damage due to the slight stretch. I ran them till they wore down and bought the Firehawk Indy 500s.

235/35/19
275/30/19

I can tell you, they gave me considerably more grip around corners and from a stop. No more tire spin when I launch and ride is quiet and quite smooth. Drove in some nice amount of rain and they felt no different than driving in the dry.

For it's price, I would highly recommend getting them as it's good bang for the buck.

chaungo Do you have any photos of your car with the Firehawks mounted? Curious to see what they look like, since those are my exact sizes. From what I can tell from photos, I love the look for the tread pattern and sidewall. This may sound dumb, but I almost wish they were a Bridgestone RE003 here so they didn't have a name like "Firehawk Indy 500" haha. Maybe I am shallow, but just seems kind of gimmicky to me.

[saaltonen]

Originally Posted by sickF30

I just purchased a set from Tire Rack for my new wheels coming in tomorrow. So no experience with them yet, but from what I've read, they are a great bang for the buck tire.

Cool, keep us posted on how you like them once they are mounted. Doesn't seem to be too much feedback here in the forums about them as far as I could tell.

I mean the value proposition is pretty unreal, a lot of people here on the forums aren't really driving to the potential of the PSS/PS4S anyways, and if they are then they want a true Extreme Performance or Track tire for Autocross and such anyways. You can have two sets of the Firehawk's for every one set of Michelin, and even thought its an UHP vs MP summer tire I think most people would be happy enough.

[BlueCrabMafia]

Originally Posted by saaltonen

Do you have any photos of your car with the Firehawks mounted? Curious to see what they look like, since those are my exact sizes. From what I can tell from photos, I love the look for the tread pattern and sidewall. This may sound dumb, but I almost wish they were a Bridgestone RE003 here so they didn't have a name like "Firehawk Indy 500" haha. Maybe I am shallow, but just seems kind of gimmicky to me.

I wouldn't get wrapped up in the name. Firestone has been making tires for longer than most of us have been alive. They named the tire what they did because it is the official series tire for Indy Cars.

Michelin makes a good tire, I ran Pilot Sports on my 7. However I fee like they're overpriced just because of the name and manufacturer support.

I believe Firestone offers a 30 day ride guarantee. What's the worst you lose for trying them out? I was quoted $750 installed for a set of Firehawk Indy tires. Considering PSS's are close to double that, it's a worth a shot.

[saaltonen]

Originally Posted by BlueCrabMafia

I wouldn't get wrapped up in the name. Firestone has been making tires for longer than most of us have been alive. They named the tire what they did because it is the official series tire for Indy Cars.

Michelin makes a good tire, I ran Pilot Sports on my 7. However I fee like they're overpriced just because of the name and manufacturer support.

I believe Firestone offers a 30 day ride guarantee. What's the worst you lose for trying them out? I was quoted $750 installed for a set of Firehawk Indy tires. Considering PSS's are close to double that, it's a worth a shot.

I know, it wouldn't prevent me from buying I'm just weird I guess.

You make a good point about the Michelin though, I agree and think that they are overpriced because they know they have a great product and can get away with it. People are going to keep buying them, and I was one of those people. Basically it's a toss up either way I go its about the same amount of money to get a full set of Firehawks, or the (2) front PS4S, as crazy as that sounds.

[sickF30]

In every car I've owned (focus, mazda 3, mazdaspeed 3) I've run a "budget" summer tire. I don't see the need to have an ultimate performing tire for my daily commute. Just about any name brand summer tire will do everything I need it to do when I want to have a little fun.

When I went to the track, road course or autocross event, I had a dedicated set of wheels/tires that I spared no expense on.

I see people buying the most expensive tire and then watch how they drive and it's a huge waste of money. Lol

[lens]

Originally Posted by saaltonen

chaungo Do you have any photos of your car with the Firehawks mounted? Curious to see what they look like, since those are my exact sizes. From what I can tell from photos, I love the look for the tread pattern and sidewall. This may sound dumb, but I almost wish they were a Bridgestone RE003 here so they didn't have a name like "Firehawk Indy 500" haha. Maybe I am shallow, but just seems kind of gimmicky to me.

[BlueCrabMafia]

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1259810

[saaltonen]

Thanks for posting the photos, they look great and from what I have heard I'm sure they are a solid performer as well.

So I called up my local tire shop I buy from, and was ready to pull the trigger on the Firehawks... They said my rears were in stock, but the fronts were on a nationwide backorder and said there wasn't really any way of knowing when they would be in stock. I then asked about the Kuhmo ECSTA PS91, as these have seen pretty favorable ratings and are a "Max Performance" rather than "Ultra High Performance", but they were more expensive than I found them for online.

I ended up just biting the bullet and ordering a whole set of the new Pilot Sport 4S. I will find someone locally to sell the basically new 275/30/R19 rears I guess, it's a shame because I just got them. I could have pursued the other options more, but sometimes I find it's better to "Buy once, cry once." At least with this option I know they are going to be an amazing tire.

[saaltonen]

Originally Posted by BlueCrabMafia

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1259810

I did find that thread when I was researching, but thank you for posting. I think they are a great looking tire, seems like the performance is there, and the price is pretty much as low as you can go.

Shame that they weren't in stock, I would have been happy to give them a go.

[CarolinaBavaro]

I have the firestones also

[tegraphile]

Looking at the Indy 500 to replace the P Zero RFT. Not a fan of the ride. I figured I'll add the Conticomfortkit to repair any flats I could encounter.

Going through Tire Rack, can get the M sport staggered set for $475 (plus shipping) and a $60 rebate, with 3 years of road hazard protection. It's a hard deal to say no to.

[saaltonen]

I say go for it, I went with the new PS4S because they were backordered in my size but I would have gotten them.

[sicmadek]

Ive had the ff indy 500s for 5 months and love them

[sickF30]

almost 2 months for me and i love them as well

[tegraphile]

Originally Posted by sickF30

almost 2 months for me and i love them as well

Good to know, thanks. I have about 4/32 in the rear, so I'll be ordering them soon.

What kind of tread life are you looking at? Would 20K be reasonable?

[goj]

I'm about to pull the trigger on these tires while there's a $60 rebate

[lens]

Originally Posted by goj

I'm about to pull the trigger on these tires while there's a $60 rebate

Do itttt

Went on the track with these and they fucking grip like crazy.

Smooth, no problems in the rain, I've probably put 10k miles so far and I'm at around 6/32 rears 8/32 fronts.