CarAndDriver

Wow over 1K! How'd you manage that?

CarAndDriver

When I finally called Firestone to order them the price went up to $190.99 a tire! Even with the buy 3 get 1 free discount - I'll have to reconsider.

There are other tires that are competitive at that price. I'm actually leaning towards the Continental ExtremeContact DW tires. They're giving away a free $100 Magellan GPS with 4 tires. I can give it away to my brother as a Xmas gift.

Johnboy

iTrader: (2)

---245/40/18 Firehawd Wide Oval Indy 500 on stock rims---

Very smooth, comfortable and quiet compared to the worn out stock Bridgestone RE040 tires

BUT

not the stiff handling ability of the Bridgestones. These tires are nice daily drivers but they are a little soft and mushy at anything above school zone speeds even pumped up to 36-38 psi instead of 32 psi called for on the RX8. They are as I said comfortable but not what I expected from the top Firestone performance tire in regards to handling.

Much better price though!!!

Cheers

Nathan Atkins

wow you can fit 245's on the stock wheels? I didn't know that...anyway I just got the firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500s in the OEM 225/45R18 size for $588.00, with shipping it came out to $634.54

I'm going auto crossing this Saturday so I haven't had them mounted yet, there is not enough time for a proper break-in. I will post with performance comments, but just wanted to get OEM pricing information up here.

Nathan Atkins

I've put about 750 miles on the tires so far, the first 500 of that has been very sedate break-in mileage. So with about 250 miles of spirited driving peppered with a spat or two of genuinely aggressive driving my initial impressions are this:

First of all I should say that I expected a substantial jump in performance from my all-seasons but so far they largely feel the same as the all-seasons did when they were new.

They're quieter than i expected and not quite as hard edged as i had hoped for.

Turn in is a bit mushy, but I fiddled with pressures and found it best by increasing pressure to 36 psi all around.

Breakaway is progressive enough, they are not as communicative as the old tires were but you could still hear when the limit was approaching.

I certainly hope for impressive tread wear given the modest bump in performance from the all-seasons. I'll report on that after a few months of driving.

Overall so far I feel like i got what I paid for, but if I had it to do over again I would have moved up to a wider 245/40R18 and a more aggressive tire class. The more expensive but higher class Continental Extreme Contact DW looked like a better choice in retrospect.

The Firehawk's get their first autocross on the 21st this month, I'll report on their performance there too.

Update: Drove in the rain for the first time since i put on the firehawks and holy cow you need to be wide awake using these in the wet! I hope it's still raining for this saturday's autocross it'll be a slippery mess! It'll give me a chance against the guys who normally run slicks!

Nathan Atkins

OK I had my first Autocross with the new tires and actually had to relearn how to brake effectively! They were immensely more capable than my all seasons when pushed hard. The tires are growing on me very much, although i do wish i had gotten the 245 section tires, these 225s are proving to be performing to high expectations.

1.3_LittersOfFurry

iTrader: (4)

Any updates on these tires? Hows the tread life? Still unsatisfied on wet performance?


Thanks

Nathan Atkins

at 18,000 miles they're about at the end of their useful life now, wet performance was good up to the wear indicators but now that they're on the indicators and with the cooler temperatures, wet handling is getting a bit scary.

Please understand that these are not highway miles and that these tires have lasted exceptionally long for the type of driving i do (mixed autocross and spirited b-roads)

I'm glad I didn't get the 245 width because it would have exaggerated the weak sidewall of the firehawks.

They're directional too, unlike the Continentals, so proper rotation is a pain in the wallet that is avoidable.

If I had it to do over again i would have got the Continental ExtremeContact DW (not DWS) for a good summer road tire in the OEM size.

I just bought, but haven't yet installed, a set of Direzza Z1 star specs for proper autocross use, but consider these only if you have a separate winter set as i do. (never mind you're in Nawlins!)

The firehawks are good cruising tires and they look good too, but they are not a stellar performer, If you want comfort, quiet and moderate performance on a good lookin tire than get these, otherwise get the Continentals

BTW: I worked for a few months post Katrina, out of Hammond, LA, how is the reconstruction effort going since then?

1.3_LittersOfFurry

iTrader: (4)

Winter? What is this winter you speak of?? You mean that time of year when it gets below 70 for a day or 2?

Unfortunately, most of East New Orleans is still a ghost town, some people have returned but there isn't many stores out that way. You can still find building with the "X"'s on them. The rest of the city is fine. Thank you for coming help us rebuild.

Thanks for your reply, I think these tires are just what I'm looking for (I don't autocross). I'm currently on a set of Sumitomo HRT Z lll's that came with the car, they were brand new when I got it and lasted about 22k. Inner belts are about to start showing up and I want my girl in some new shoes.