Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 1300km review

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Sep 28, 2010
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170
Location
Ontario, Canada
Here's my impressions of the Firehawks (known as Bridgestone RE003 in the rest of the world) after running them for about 1300km. The car they went on is a 2016 Scion FR-S. I also got some new wheels, 2 Enkei Raijin's and 2 TFR's. I like the mismatched drift car look, but the specs are the same on both sets. That means the tire size went from the stock 215/45R17 to 235/40R18. I kept the tire pressure at 35psi, just like with the stock sized tires. The reason I chose these tires was because they seemed like an excellent value. Way cheaper than the Primacy's, offer more grip, have good wet weather characteristics compared to lower treadwear performance tires, and aren't too noisy. As a bonus the tread pattern looks pretty cool and they're non-directional.

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The biggest difference between the Firehawks and the old Michelins is grip. There's more of it in every situation, dry or wet. Not sure how much is down to the slightly wider tire width, but surely it must have contributed in some way. I actually didn't want that much more grip to begin with, because I still wanted to be able to slide the car around easily. Thankfully I can still do that, I just have to be a bit more aggressive about it. One thing I didn't expect was that the ride is softer despite going up to 18s. It does look like the Primacy's had more of a stretched sidewall fitment, so it's probably down to that. I don't feel a detriment in turn-in or steering sharpness so I don't mind at all.

In terms of noise, well, I've got an aftermarket exhaust, but I'm pretty sure there's a bit more rolling noise at highway speeds. Putting around town I hear no difference. If the car had a stock exhaust I'm sure there would be more of a difference to hear.

I bought the tires from blackcircles and had them installed at a local shop. Prices are good if you're in Canada, but keep on mind that if you have them shipped to your home, they'll just appear one day randomly without any shipping or tracking info. Mine where just dumped in front of my garage and was surprised at the sudden pile of tires laying around.

Overall I'm quite pleased with them for now.
 
At autocross, as a passenger in my main rivals car(in the slow fwd crap cars on UHP's division), my heart sank as these firehawks would take all sorts of hamfisted overdriving and still grip very well with all sorts of fwd full throttle understeer.... Granted his were new and my sport comp2's had one season on them, but it was shocking how they gripped better with lots of slip angle or wheelspin, compared to my tires... I did manage to beat him still, but I think I was much more on a knife edge than him for the whole run....
 
You really can’t compare Primacy and Indy500. Indy500 is Firestone’s premier tire. Here where I go to track car it is popular as it is dirt cheap. It is good bang for a buck. Similar to Yokohama Advan Apex V601.
Primacy is basically luxury grand touring tire. It will have less grip bcs. Michelin has its representative in max performance category and that is Pilot PS4S. And while Indy500 is good tire, it is far, FAR behind PS4S.
 
You really can’t compare Primacy and Indy500. Indy500 is Firestone’s premier tire. Here where I go to track car it is popular as it is dirt cheap. It is good bang for a buck. Similar to Yokohama Advan Apex V601.
Primacy is basically luxury grand touring tire. It will have less grip bcs. Michelin has its representative in max performance category and that is Pilot PS4S. And while Indy500 is good tire, it is far, FAR behind PS4S.

The Indy 500 might be more like the BFG Comp2 in Michelin's portfolio :unsure:

Bridgestone's PS4S equivalent is the Potenza Sport (which replaced the S-04 Pole Position last year)
 
The Indy 500 might be more like the BFG Comp2 in Michelin's portfolio :unsure:

Bridgestone's PS4S equivalent is the Potenza Sport (which replaced the S-04 Pole Position last year)
Probably something like that. I would though go Indy500 compared to BFG bcs. possibility of X rotation. I think next set for my track purposes I will go Indy500.
Not sure about S4. Bridgestone has so many Potenza products that it is hard to keep up. S4 was not OE on any car. PS4S is OE on many vehicles and comparable Potenza is competition I would say. Plus S4 was super cheap for that category IMO.
 
You really can’t compare Primacy and Indy500. Indy500 is Firestone’s premier tire. Here where I go to track car it is popular as it is dirt cheap. It is good bang for a buck. Similar to Yokohama Advan Apex V601.
Primacy is basically luxury grand touring tire. It will have less grip bcs. Michelin has its representative in max performance category and that is Pilot PS4S. And while Indy500 is good tire, it is far, FAR behind PS4S.
You really can't compare the Indy500 to the PS4S either. One is a budget UHPS tire and the other is a premium Max Performance Summer tire.

The Primacy is also a Prius tire, before it found home on the FR-S.
 
You really can’t compare Primacy and Indy500. Indy500 is Firestone’s premier tire. Here where I go to track car it is popular as it is dirt cheap. It is good bang for a buck. Similar to Yokohama Advan Apex V601.
Primacy is basically luxury grand touring tire. It will have less grip bcs. Michelin has its representative in max performance category and that is Pilot PS4S. And while Indy500 is good tire, it is far, FAR behind PS4S.
I'm aware and you're right, they aren't in the same category, but that's the only other tire I have experience with on that car so the differences between those two is all I could talk about really. But like you said, here the Indy 500 is one of the best bang for buck options as well and compared to it's competitors they are the cheapest. Plus I like the fact they are non-directional so I can cross rotate tires.

The Primacy is also a Prius tire, before it found home on the FR-S.
Not exactly true. It was available on Prius models, but the Primacy HP was the OEM tire for some luxury sedans as well. The Michelin website specifically mentions it being original equipment for the Lexus GS430, Mercedes E-Class and Audi A6. I think this whole "Prius tire" reputation combined with FRS/86/BRZ buyers expecting something more grippy gives the Primacys a worse reputation than they deserve.
 
You really can't compare the Indy500 to the PS4S either. One is a budget UHPS tire and the other is a premium Max Performance Summer tire.

The Primacy is also a Prius tire, before it found home on the FR-S.
You can. It is that category of tires, albeit, much cheaper and it does reflect performance.
 
I'm aware and you're right, they aren't in the same category, but that's the only other tire I have experience with on that car so the differences between those two is all I could talk about really. But like you said, here the Indy 500 is one of the best bang for buck options as well and compared to it's competitors they are the cheapest. Plus I like the fact they are non-directional so I can cross rotate tires.


Not exactly true. It was available on Prius models, but the Primacy HP was the OEM tire for some luxury sedans as well. The Michelin website specifically mentions it being original equipment for the Lexus GS430, Mercedes E-Class and Audi A6. I think this whole "Prius tire" reputation combined with FRS/86/BRZ buyers expecting something more grippy gives the Primacys a worse reputation than they deserve.
Not exactly true? But then you said it was true? Make up your mind.

the FR-S/86/BR-Z's suspension tuning was tuned with the Primacy's in mind, and uses the same tire size has the Prius.
 
Not exactly true? But then you said it was true? Make up your mind.

the FR-S/86/BR-Z's suspension tuning was tuned with the Primacy's in mind, and uses the same tire size has the Prius.
??? Did my post come across as argumentative or something? Do I really need to explain what I said? Not exactly true is exactly that. Not quite right. Not 100%. It means there was an element of truth to your statement, but not all of it is correct. The Primacy HP is not a Prius tire, because it wasn't specifically made for the Prius. Yes it was available on Prius', but it came on several other vehicles as OE equipment as well. There's literally nothing there that's disputable.

And yes, I know about the car being designed with the Primacys in mind. I followed the car's development before it was released, which was what eventually led to me purchasing mine.
 
Thanks for the review, I'm glad you are enjoying the tires. Seems like a good match for your car and use.
Btw, your post was not at all argumentative. Unfortunately I can't see some of the previous responses. For some reason it says I'm "ignoring content from this member".
 
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