Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 Ultra High Performance/UHP Summer Tire for Sportscars in 205/40R17

Personally I would rank this tire somewhere between an all season and summer tire. Wet traction is excellent and cold traction is pretty good although it doesn't get below freezing here. Dry traction is good but I expected a little more considering it's a summer tire. Tread wear is great for a summer tire. I've only lost a little over 1/32 inch of tread over 12k miles including a few donuts and passes at the drag strip, as well as plenty of spirited driving.

I think this is a great, fun tire, it's very predictable and consistent and durable. But if you are looking for very high grip I would look elsewhere.

My previous tires were BFG sport comp 2, and Yoko S-Drives. I drive about 20k per year and also do about 12-15 HPDE track days per year. I have done 2 track days so far with these tires and it was a mix of rain, sleet, and dry. The tires have nice stiff sidewalls and feel very good in the dry. The ultimate traction is slightly higher than the previous tires, but very close. The wet traction is right on par with some of the best if had, very good. The combination of wet, mixed and dry traction, sidewall stiffness, and overall feel of the tire, and price, give this tire a very high score in my book. A great package for a great price!

I have had these tires on my stock VW 2015 GTI for 3 months now, driven somewhere around 1500-2000 miles. I was very unhappy with the OEM Pirelli Cinturato P7s that I got the car with. The low-end torque would break the Pirelli's free any time you breathe on the gas, resulting in chirps every time you pull out of a garage or parking lot, and often when pulling off from a stoplight. The Firehawks have completely resolved that issue. Even when cold they have enough grip to prevent takeoff wheelspin unless you're really deep into the throttle. No more chirps unless you want them!

The week after installation I took the car up over my favorite driving road for a few hours of shakedown, and frankly I was blown away. The car was fun before, and I could reliably take the Pirellis right to the limits of grip. With the Firehawks equipped, the car has so much mechanical grip that I simply can not explore the limits of grip on public roads before the speeds involved become unsafe and I have to back off. While driving on my own, I honestly found myself yelling out loud in surprise at just how well the car held on around corners. I love it.

Since then I've driven on the tires on many daily commutes, most recently in some serious rain which is rare in my part of the world. I also took a road trip 600 miles round trip to visit family. The tires have always been great. Grip remains surprisingly good even in heavy rain with lots of standing water, no hydroplaning at all. And most surprising of all is this grip remains even when the temp falls into the 40s. I baby the throttle when the temperature is 40-55F, expecting the grip to give up, and it never does. I love these tires and definitely would buy them again.

Sticky for the weight and power of my car, these tires compliment the suspension and drivetrain modifications. Tires are very responsive and take corners well, stopping distance is great as well which also compliments the brake modifications.


I have driven in FL rain at posted speed limits. I’m sure the grip on wet and dry will diminish overtime, but that’s what these tires are meant for.

I understand that this tire is or will be out of production soon. Nevertheless, I'm happy to provide my review. This set of tires has provided excellent performance on our 2005 Mini Cooper S R53. A HUGE improvement over the miserable run flats the car came with. While I was researching tires for the Mini, I was frankly turned off by the name of the tire. However, Tire Rack advised these would suit what I was looking for in tires and they have advised me in the past for other tires and cars that we have. They've always got it right and did so on this car. Details - car has stock OEM but refreshed suspension with the exception of a stiffer rear roll bar. Where I live we don't get much rain. While I can't provide many details about wet performance, in my experience, the tires perform well in the wet. Performance (again more experience in the dry than wet)- The tires provide excellent grip in the corners, are very progressive as you approach the limit and communicate well. They don't trammel on grooved pavement. In my case, as the Mini approaches the limit, the car will increasingly understeer. At no time have the tires given me any surprises. Tread wear has been as expected. While the suspension in the Mini is a bit harsh, these tires were vastly more comfortable than the run flats. Finally - while these tires may become unavailable-ask the folks at Tire Rack for advice.

After not being able to find rear Direzza Z3s for my staggered fitment, I opted to get 4 of these. I was immediately impressed with the comfort of these tires. Especially after coming from 200tw tires. These are 340tw. I don’t have power steering so turning while stopped was a task. These are great on the road and are quiet, but got warm quick during autocross. Great as a summer tire. I plan on using these for every day driving and getting a different set for autocross.

These Firestone FIREHAWK INDY 500 - SIZE: 215/55R17 are the best tires i ever put on my 2015 Camry. They improved the handling, ride comfort, everyday driving and fuel economy of my Camry rather noticeably. Some people will think that i overspent on my tires but as long as i feel confident and grinning smiles at every corners, i think that is good enough for me to keep coming back for more. Just FYI these tires likes to be rotated at every oil changes and pressure checked whenever temperature changes (hint@: 34psi rain to 40psi dry.) Just do that and your driving will be much more confident for the longest miles you could drive on paved road, not made for off road. So far i got up to about 42k miles, 1 roof nail puncture and almost all of the penny head is visible then time to replace. I bought these tires at $83 each in 2018 so good luck for everyone shopping including me. Lol. Cheers, drive safe and look twice for 2 wheelers.

Great tire! Previous tires were Michelin pss OEM tires and these are much quieter and ride comfort is much improved. Grip is fantastic, I have 640rwhp on my supercharged corvette and these tires grip. Much better grip in low temperatures compared to the Michelin tires. Driving in wet conditions are also greatly improved over the Michelin tires. Only downside is speed rating, but honestly I would never see over 150 mph anyhow.

To help put this review in perspective, some of the other cars in my stable include a 1999 M3, 2019 Saleen Black Label S302 mustang (800 supercharged hp - previously used to pace the Saleen cup race series), 2008 Shelby GT mustang, Shelby 427 Cobra, 1993 Tube framed GT1 mustang race car and 1965 Shelby mustang GT350R clone race car.
I bought the Kia soul as a daily driver due to injuries / surgeries necessitating something easier to get in and out of. I bought the Firestone Fire hawks because they had good reviews and were on close out for $75 each (WAY less than any other tire in its size)... I had no idea just how good they were until I got used to them and the car. I was almost shocked by the ability to corner, transition / change direction and pass cars in corners on hilly - curvy roads. They just stick with no complaints. I am very far from finding their limits. I originally thought that the Kia was just punching way above its weight class until I saw a review in Grass Roots Motorsports of these tires to some other "Ultimate High Performance" tires on the track and they compared VERY favorably. BIG 'ah-ha' moment that these tires are actually 'track capable'... One of the things experienced racers have said is that tires are one of / the most important parts of a race car since they are the ONLY thing in contact with the track surface.
In summery - fantastic grip / handling, quiet, comfortable, predictable, wearing well and I got an amazing deal / value.

I'm in the market for new tires for another car but thought I'd make a review for these while I'm here.

I originally drove Yokohama S Drives and those were really good tires. They were discontinued so I got these and wow, gotta give credit where it's due!

These tires are really good all around. I've driven them through some pretty nasty downpours here in California (so bad you couldn't see the road) and they held up great at mid to low speeds. At higher speeds with milder wet conditions they held up great again. There was no sketchy/scary loss of traction and made me feel comfortable and confident in the rain.

Dry performance is as expected. Grippy like a roller coaster. They're pretty wore in now so I imagine they're on the downhill side but from new to about pretty recently they've been fantastic.

Tread live is honestly really good. I'm surprised because I drive my car! Not recklessly because that's not what I like to do but what I mean is I spiritedly daily my Miata and take on it road trips and take it out on weekends all the time, I drive this car 24/7! I've put about 25k miles on these and they still look pretty meaty. When these tire wear out completely I will be getting another new set of these.

Hope this helps, stay safe out there 👍