Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.

Head-to-head Updated

Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position vs Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 0 + 1 road tests and 3 + 1,457 owner reviews. How we score

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Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
± 7

Tests – · 1 test Owners 62 · 1,457 reviews

Best test result: #6 of 22 in 2022 Consumer Reports Ultra High Performance Summer Tires (tested tread life (miles))

“I just put Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's on my NC2 and I like them and would recommend them. I paid about $635 with installation at Costco but you might even be able to find them for less elsewhere.”

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. –

    Dry

    No comparison
    74
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza S-04 Pole PositionFirehawk Indy 500
    Professional tests (TWG score)–≈ 72 (est.)
    Reviews found online–78

    Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 72.1 (est.) + 40% × 77.6 = 74

    No road tests of dry for Firehawk Indy 500. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).

  2. –

    Wet

    No comparison
    67
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza S-04 Pole PositionFirehawk Indy 500
    Professional tests (TWG score)–≈ 68 (est.)
    Reviews found online–65

    Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 67.6 (est.) + 40% × 65.1 = 67

    No road tests of wet for Firehawk Indy 500. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. –

    Snow

    No comparison
    44
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza S-04 Pole PositionFirehawk Indy 500
    Professional tests (TWG score)–≈ 55 (est.)
    Reviews found online–28

    Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 54.7 (est.) + 40% × 27.7 = 44

    No road tests of snow for Firehawk Indy 500. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.37).

  4. –

    Comfort

    No comparison
    66
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza S-04 Pole PositionFirehawk Indy 500
    Professional tests (TWG score)–≈ 68 (est.)
    Reviews found online–64

    Firehawk Indy 500: 40% × 68.3 (est.) + 60% × 64.4 = 66

    No road tests of comfort for Firehawk Indy 500. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.

  5. –

    Noise

    No comparison
    66
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza S-04 Pole PositionFirehawk Indy 500
    Professional tests (TWG score)–≈ 67 (est.)
    Reviews found online–65

    Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 66.6 (est.) + 40% × 64.9 = 66

    No road tests of noise for Firehawk Indy 500. The test half is the tested tires’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.

  6. –

    Treadwear

    No comparison
    66
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza S-04 Pole PositionFirehawk Indy 500
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests–70
    Reviews found online–61

    Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 70.2 + 40% × 60.8 = 66

  7. –

    Handling (owners)

    No comparison
    71
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza S-04 Pole PositionFirehawk Indy 500
    Reviews found online–71
Scores at a glance
Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position vs Firestone Firehawk Indy 500: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryBridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole PositionFirestone Firehawk Indy 500
Relative Score – 65
Dry – 74
Wet – 67
Snow – 44
Comfort – 66
Noise – 66
Treadwear – 66
Handling (owners) – 71

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Recomputed
Headline score

Potenza S-04 Pole Position

± 7

Firehawk Indy 500

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

The professional test results behind the scores

Per discipline: the average % of the best tire over every test both tires were in, and how many of those tests each one won. “Different tests” rows compare results from separate tests.

DisciplineCategoryPotenza S-04 Pole PositionFirehawk Indy 500ΔHead-to-head
Also published by the testers (not in the score)
Overall Ranking Overall #2/4 2011 Tirerack Max Performance Summer Tyre Test #9/22 2022 Consumer Reports Ultra High Performance Summer Tires – Different tests

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Potenza S-04 Pole Position

Pros

  • Excellent dry handling and cornering stability
  • Competent performance in wet conditions
  • Unexpectedly high levels of ride comfort for a performance-oriented tire

Cons

  • Rapid tread wear rate
  • Audible road noise or humming on certain surfaces
  • Wet-weather performance is good but outperformed by some direct competitors
All owner themes in the Potenza S-04 Pole Position review

Tire B Firehawk Indy 500

Pros

  • Exceptional value and affordability compared to premium tier brands like Michelin
  • Outstanding dry grip and confident, responsive cornering capabilities
  • Surprisingly quiet and comfortable ride quality on the highway

Cons

  • Accelerated tread wear and shorter overall lifespan
  • Poor performance and loss of traction in cold temperatures (below 40°F)
  • Vulnerability to hydroplaning or reduced traction in heavy standing water
All owner themes in the Firehawk Indy 500 review

What real owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score

Tire A

Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position

We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.

Tire B

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500

Positive

Community sentiment toward the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 is overwhelmingly positive, with drivers frequently praising it as an exceptional value and budget-friendly alternative to premium summer tires. Owners report strong dry grip, solid wet-weather traction, good comfort, and predictable handling, though some note reduced performance in cold temperatures, softer sidewalls, and a tendency to get greasy during aggressive track sessions. Interest is also growing around the newer V2 version and its updated compound and tread design.

r/Mustang ·7 upvotes ·2025-02-13

“Will I regret buying Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s? I have a stock '21 GT Premium convertible with the black appearance package. It came with the upgraded Pirelli P Zero 255/40-19 tires, but with 35,000 miles, they are really worn, and I need new tires. I live in North Florida. We don't have a lot of cold weather (I missed the snow last month), but I do get a lot of rain. I don't track the car, and mostly drive on country roads and the interstate. The Pirelli's have treated me well as far as traction, dry and wet. I like the aggressive look of the Firehawks, but I am concerned about wet weather traction. Will the Firehawks be at least comparable to the Pirelli's for wet weather and general handling? If not, it sounds like the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4 is the way to go. Also, the car is all black, with black rims, and the tires look wimpy. I'm not up for new rims this go-round, and I won't lower it because I like the clearance for potholes, etc., that I see a lot of in my area. I'm hoping the tires will help the look a little bit. Read more”

r/Miata ·1 upvote ·2026-10-07

“I just put Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's on my NC2 and I like them and would recommend them. I paid about $635 with installation at Costco but you might even be able to find them for less elsewhere.”

forum.miata.net

“I had them on wifes old MR2 spyder, drove great. deep tread and quiet, did not exhibit any bad behavior and held well at high speed on ramps, ect....great in wet weather and were by far the longest lasting tire I ever had on that car, yokohamas would burn down in 15-20k miles in rear and staggered so no rotates. different beast, I know but the tires on a miata should easily go 40-50k.”

Top themes
#value and pricing#dry grip and traction#wet weather handling#track and autocross use#cold temperature limitations#ride comfort and road noise#Firehawk Indy 500 V2

Based on 146 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position B · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
CategorySummer tireSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available—47
Rim diameters—16″ – 20″
Tread depth—9 - 10/32″
UTQG—340 A A
Sidewall—Black Side Wall
Max pressure—50 - 51 psi

Which one should you actually buy?

Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500

Only Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 has enough test and review data for a Relative Score, so there is no head-to-head winner yet.

Tire A · Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position
Tire B · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500

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How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology