Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500's: REVIEW UPDATE
 

EDIT FOR REVIEW

Ok so, I have been putting off this review for a lil while... mainly because i was waiting for ALL conditions as well as more importantly "warmer" weather. When i first installed these it was averaging 35-45 degrees outside. Temps are nuts lately. I also wanted to burn them in a bit as i have read they tend to get better the more you drive them.

When i first installed, it was 40 degrees and raining. Yep, i was pissed that i couldnt test their dry limits yet, but at least i get this test out the way. Initial impressions with less then 30 miles on the tires during 40 degrees and raining are: mediocre at best. Wheel spin on semi hard starts and "lack of trust" feeling on turns (with minor loss of traction). Granted, they are brand new without any break in, on drenched blacktop, in 40 degrees. I wasnt too unhappy because these are conditions that the tire was not really meant to be in besides the wet part.

While i was putting highway miles on the car during this cold weather for the break in, i started to take notes on "luxury" of the ride. Put it this way, they are only a tiny bit louder then my brand new blizzaks which was a huge PLUS. They are MUCH QUIETER then the OEM Potenza RE040's. The OEMs were like marbles. The ride comfort was also much smoother and "absorbant" then the OEMs. Much nicer ride in general.

It was around 45 degrees and dry at one point. Tires were heated with about 30 miles of hard highway at the start of my trip. At this point, i had about 350 miles on the tires total. I decided what the hell, lets see what they can do. I was comparing to the OEMs since they did stick pretty well (in my opinion) and inspired confidence (for me at least). Anything under 75mph felt great. It felt like i could handle anything. Hard lane changes were easy and on ramps rated at 35mph were being hit with 60 with ease. Steering response was amazing.

In the same temp of 45 degrees ambient... dry... i decided to see what speed limit these things had before i felt they would break loose. NOTE: THIS WAS DONE ON A HIGHWAY WITH NO CARS AROUND. A highway i have much experience on "Taconic State Parkway" and personally put 45k miles on in my driving lifetime. I could drive it blind (lots of twisties). It's nicknamed the "Gin and Tonic" cuz its like the person who designed it was hammered on gin and tonics.

I pushed it to 85 at first. Felt pretty good. Steering response lessened a bit but was still impressive. Tires still felt sticky.

Pushed it 95 and steering response felt a bit mushy. Traction still felt ok. On some bends it felt like the sidewall was rolling a bit.

Pushed it to 115. Felt like i was riding on marshmellows...lol. Steering was ok. Traction felt scary.

Pushed it to 125 (my personal limit). I didnt trust the tires and wouldnt do it again unless im going in a straight line.





Now that the weather has warmed up and now averaging in the 60's and 70's, i am pushing these tires as hard as i can. I have about 800 miles on them now.

Here are my results:
Dry at 70 degrees = "Holy Shit im glued." I swear i can pull 1g with these. I feel as if i can make instant u-turns at like 20-25mph without losing traction lol (doubt it but that's the confidence i have now). Anything below 95mph on the highway feels amazing and inspires so much confidence. I still feel glued even at 95mph. On ramps rated at 35 im plowing through at 70 with absolutely no problem. NOTE: AGAIN NO CARS AROUND ME DURING MY TESTING. At 115mph i still feel planted and highway bends on the taconic dont bother me. 125mph feel iffy. Straight lines are easy but i dont think i would turn all too hard at this speed. Sidewall flex does happen.

Clutch dumping at 5k = very very little wheel spin. Its hard to get them to break loose.

Now for wet performance.
Results:
Im satisfied. Now with a break in and some warmer weather i feel planted at most speeds (under 75mph). I try not to go faster then that if the ground is wet. I can take turns around the city pretty solid.

At one point i seen a huge puddle where one street usually floods. I said "what the hell." It was about 1.5 inches high. I did 45mph through it and it just cut away at the water with ease. Water evacuation is awesome.


For the mid $500 range... these tires EXCEL at everything. I am very very impressed. I would expect these babies can compete with tires worth twice as much. I am pushing the limits every day with these babies. I hit turns faster on these then i did with the OEMs. The only thing i would say the OEMs had over these was that they felt a bit stiffer during certain conditions. Other then that... these things rock.

I recommend them. Just break them in when u first get them before you do anything serious on the road. I can only imagine how these babies will hold when the weather hits the upper 90's.

Drive safe.


Final Quick Review @ 4K Miles

I got over 4k very hard miles on these tires. Here we go.

Road Noise: Still like brand new
Luxury: Like brand new
Dry Traction: Absolutely stunning
Tread Wear: What tread wear?
Wet Traction: Really good but not extreme
Water Evacuation: Very good


In 90 degree weather... well.... they are dangerous. Why? Because it makes you feel like you can do almost anything haha.

Drive safe.

I almost bought them but they suck in the rain , read u up on the bridgestone re760 I got those, awesome tires 245/40/18

I was looking at these as well. Then I found the Tire Rack test on them and the wet road/rain numbers put it last out of the four tires tested. It has great numbers for all other testing. Great price, etc...

I am now looking at the Vredestein ultrac sessanta at around $180. No Tire Rack test though.

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.p...&nichtweiter=1

I just bought 255/40/18 BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2 from tire rack. Only done few 100 miles but am impressed. Wet and Dry. Again, only very few "miles" but the noise issues I don't understand. They are quieter than the Toyo Proxes 4 that I had and much better grip and lateral stability.

I was looking at the Vredestein too but couldn't find anyone to sell them to me.

On their website they have a dealer finder. Found 3 places within 20 miles.

Must be nice being in the centre of the universe! :Peace:

I had these on an 80 Vette. Awesome tire. Corners well and quiet smooth riding. Not much rain in Vegas so cant comment on wet conditions but they wore even and lasted over 20,000 aggressive miles with 30% tread left when they were taken off.

Sorry auzoom, did not notice that your in Auzzie Land. Hard to find here up until a few years ago.

I went through and ordered the Firehawks. After shipping total came out to $588. Money is extremely tight and wish i didnt even have to spend this much right now. I really wanted the Star Specs but maybe later on down the road.


Once i get them and mount them, burn them in and test them on the twisties in all conditions... i will be back with a full review.

hankook v12s might be better at the same price range

man everything is cheaper in the states, those firehawks in canada are like 900, :dunno:

That's horrible! lol :banghead:


Just got them yesterday. Going to mount them today. And its raining so that sucks. I have to put my wet blizzaks now in my car... gonna have to wrap them in garbage bags so i dont kill my interior.

They got a break in period but im not sure how many miles...

Stop complaining, start moving :)

how? by marrying an american citizen? lol

Just be patient on the noise issues. My KDW 2's started off fine but have gotten progressively louder the longer I've run them. Got over 20k on them now and they just scream on the highway. Great grip, but I'll be getting something quieter next time.


CrazyJek, looking forward to your impressions on the Firehawks. I'm leaning towards them just a little concerned about the wet performance.

Updated for review.

i got these on order right now, will be here in a few days...number 2 rated tire-rack ultra summer tire

I am thinking of these vs. the Bridgestone RE760s. Also am looking at the Continental DWs, but I think they have less treadlife.

good review. i will have to consider these. you mention that the steering response is great, but at greater speeds you notice sidewall flex. is the sidewall flex noticable at speeds under 95mph? would you consider the sidewall's stiff or soft at normal highway speeds?

the comfort level of these are amazing. it is definitely noticable vs old stock bridgestones. you can NOT make this car lose grip. I took a 90 degree turn at approx 35-40 mph, and did not move.

not only that, it has a tread wear rating 3 times that of the stockers! luckily, they had buy 3 get 1 at the local firestone shop. i love them, and i dont think i would be happier with anything else.

Did you find a coupon? I went searching and right now there is a $50 gift card on 4 of these Firestones, but not the buy 3 get 4th free. Or did you can and they offered it?

At speeds under 95 it really isnt that noticeable. I still feel confident depending on the turn.

Anything normal highway speed shows no worries... believe me lol. I cruise normally around 80 and i can do pretty much any extreme thing i want. Feels pretty stiff to me. And now that its summer and im driving with weather in the 90's and i got 4k miles on this tire... holy crap i cant get this tire to break loose at all. Even doing 7k clutch drops the tires "skip" for only a couple seconds.

The tire doesnt even look like its used. I have a feeling ima get another 20k miles out of this tire. And i drive "very spirited" on some of the most twisty highways in NY.

I just had a set of these put on . If you go to the firestone complete auto care website,there is a 15% coupon for these tires . The coupon is valid all this month . I saved $81 and change on a set of 4 . Can't give an evaluation yet as I only put 10 miles on them .

Just in time for me to buy - needed some new tires that would break the bank less. Was hoping that this deal would come back. Just in time for the onset of fall/winter.

For the month of Sept. 2011, they are having the buy 3 get 1 free coupon for the Wide Oval Indy 500 on the Firestone Complete Auto Care website - under the "Offers" section. http://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/offers/

Buy 3 Get the 4th Free or Buy 1 Get 50% Off Second Tire
When you buy three (3) Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500 tires you will be eligible to receive one (1) tire free instantly. Or buy one (1) Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500 tire and you will be eligible to get 50% off the second tire. Offer valid on tires purchased from September 1, 2011 through September 31, 2011.
Offer Valid only at Firestone Complete Auto Care locations


Save off current in-store point-of-sale price. Not to be combined with any other offer of same product and not to be used to reduce outstanding debt. No Cash value. See store for full details. In-store installation required.

yup, thats the deal i got! buy 3 get one free...still ended up paying over 1k, but it was DEFINATELY worth it...these things are like glue.