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I've seen this tire discussed in a few different threads, but I think it's worthwhile to have a thread dedicated to the tire.
It it seems like a great value but I would like to hear from folks who run them. They look to cost about the same for a set of 4 as a set of rears of my S04s. Instead of replacing just the rears on my S2000 with a pair of S04s I may just replace all 4 with some Indys.
I am concerned about stepping down a performance category. Can anyone tell me how they compare to the max performance category? How has treadlife been? I've gone through the rears of my S04s quicker than I would like, about 6000 miles, and I'll be lucky to get another 1500 out of em.
I've put 10k miles and 5.5 track-hours on a 225/255 set of these with my 05 330i ZHP sedan, they've held up great and I really think that they cannot be beaten for the money. With that said, and this is probably my fault, the front outside tread blocks feathered heavily after track time and now cause a pretty good vibration at highway speeds.
I'd buy them again. I wouldn't track them again.
They -are- Bridgestone RE11 RE003. Same tire. Different branding.
I've put 10k miles and 5.5 track-hours on a 225/255 set of these with my 05 330i ZHP sedan, they've held up great and I really think that they cannot be beaten for the money. With that said, and this is probably my fault, the front outside tread blocks feathered heavily after track time and now cause a pretty good vibration at highway speeds.
I'd buy them again. I wouldn't track them again.
They -are- Bridgestone RE11s. Same tire. Different branding.
Awesome! That's good information. I don't plan to track, but I do take the car to the dragon several times a year and run the car relatively hard, but no where near the work of a track day.
I have been running these tires for the last year. I am very impressed with them. I have over 10k miles on these and they are showing minimal wear. I have not got around to tracking or autocrossing with them, so I don't know the full potential of these. I have a separate set of wheels and tires for my track events (re71r), so the limits aren't something I have pushed. I am happy with wear alone. I have been a 200tw type of person for the last decade, so I usually get about 8-10k out of a set of tires. I am over 10k and they still look fairly new. I have been more than impressed with the overall performance of these tires. I would easily recommend these to anyone that uses their car as a daily or doesn't push the limits to an overall unsafe limit. Of all the tires I have owned, these are by far the best in the rain (bfg g force sport, toyo t1r, Dunlop zi, bfg rival, bridgestone re71r). They have also yielded the most mileage, and these aren't even close to the wear bars. Here are a few posts that I did during the first couple weeks in my local subforum:
Finally retired the BFG Rivals. I am now running the new Firestone Indy 500s. First couple miles were crazy scary. Car went sideways at a low speed leaving the parking lot. First couple left turns were very uneasy as well. Handling got a lot better after about 20 miles. I will mess with tire pressures over the next couple days and chime back in with a broken in / settled review. I like this- I have tested out 2 different brake pads and now 2 different tires. My bank account isn't as enthusiastic as my curiosity.
Little update on the Firestone Indy 500. I left the tire pressures at 37 psi because one of the recent reviews talked about the tires responding better to higher pressures. Dude must have been driving a tank. Car handled and rode like crap at that psi. Skittish, bumpy and unpredictable. Lowered the pressure to 34psi. Night and day difference. Car drives great now. Has better cold grip than the Rivals did. It was very easy to kick the rear out with the Rivals. These seem to hold a lot better in those same corners under the same driving style. I have yet to see how they operate when heated. Might have to find an autocross to test them out at. They do not have a tramming issue like the Rivals did. The uneven roadways would constantly pull the car in different directions. These tires still do it a minor amount, but it is nowhere near as severe.
Took a drive up to Jerome earlier to test out the new tires and the new brakes. I would have to say they both performed great. The Stoptech Sport pads performed much better than oem pads. The tires performed much better than expected. The sidewalls seem mushy, which I am not fond of- 34psi cold. They held great for a 340tw tire. I would say they perform slightly better than the BFG Rivals that I was previously running (200tw). They do make a very faint sequel right at the edge. I wasn't pushing very hard. These tires are great for daily usage with moderate spirited driving. It is probably more tire than 90% of owners will ever need. If you are looking for new daily tires, I would highly recommend these. I want it to rain so I can see how these perform in the wet. Time will tell how long they will last. I got about 9k out of the Rivals, so I am hoping for at least 12k.
After posting that, I got to test them in the rain. I can not even begin to describe the excitement I felt during the first drive in the rain. The car performed beyond expectation. Normally my tire choices have resulted in a tendency to hydroplane over sprinkler runoff, but these held true in the rain. I was able to accelerate, steer, corner, and brake. I actually wanted more rain to push the limits. I would not hesitate to buy these again. At the current wear rate, I am not too worried about finding a replacement.
They -are- Bridgestone RE11s. Same tire. Different branding.
They are rebranded re003, not re11. The tread pattern looks similar to the re11, but the compound is not the same. These are essentially the replacement tires for the re760 sports.
6000 miles on a 340 rated tire? Guess I'm really granny driving!
The only negative about the Firehawk tires is they have Firestone on the sidewall -- no street cred.
-- Chuck
My S2000 rarely sees noteworthy highway miles, so I think that's why I don't get a whole lot of life out of them. Also the roads in East Tennessee are very curvy.
They are rebranded re003, not re11. The tread pattern looks similar to the re11, but the compound is not the same. These are essentially the replacement tires for the re760 sports.
lol, its so true about tire street cred. the second you see mpss or ad08 or re71r you automatically think wow awesome tires.
but after reading i've decided to go with the firehawks, we'll bring these tires some street cred if we all start rocking them :P
putting them on early june once my wheels come back from powdercoating, but reviews have been stellar. from websites and forum members.
heard they run a bit narrow though.
have run 3k miles on my set, theyre really good and have not once felt uneasy traction. good on both street (quick response) and highway (quiet), wet performance is great also. they do pull a little bit in different directions from changes in poor road conditions. only thing i would change is that they lack road feedback.
plus they look awesome and are cheap! was originally going to try bfgoodrich comp 2 then read about the firehawks and it was an easy choice. the lack of feedback is really killing me though, i'd like to try yoko s.drive once the rears are worn.
05-12-2017, 03:16 PM
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
