Tests – · none yet Owners 49 · 14 reviews
Head-to-head
Updated
Continental ContiSportContact 5 SSR 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 14 + 1,457 owner reviews. How we score
Firehawk Indy 500 is ahead, 65–57
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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.
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57
Dry
Firehawk Indy 500 +1774Why this score
Source ContiSportContact 5 SSR Firehawk Indy 500 Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 61 (est.) ≈ 72 (est.) Reviews found online 51 77 ContiSportContact 5 SSR: 60% × 61 (est.) + 40% × 51.1 = 57
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 71.8 (est.) + 40% × 77.2 = 74
No road tests of dry for ContiSportContact 5 SSR. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).
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 0.41).
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62
Wet
Firehawk Indy 500 +466Why this score
Source ContiSportContact 5 SSR Firehawk Indy 500 Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 64 (est.) ≈ 67 (est.) Reviews found online 59 65 ContiSportContact 5 SSR: 60% × 64.5 (est.) + 40% × 59.3 = 62
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 67.4 (est.) + 40% × 64.7 = 66
No road tests of wet for ContiSportContact 5 SSR. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).
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).
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56
Snow
ContiSportContact 5 SSR +1145Why this score
Source ContiSportContact 5 SSR Firehawk Indy 500 Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 63 (est.) ≈ 57 (est.) Reviews found online 46 27 ContiSportContact 5 SSR: 60% × 62.8 (est.) + 40% × 46.4 = 56
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 56.8 (est.) + 40% × 27.4 = 45
No road tests of snow for ContiSportContact 5 SSR. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).
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 0.32).
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49
Comfort
Firehawk Indy 500 +1665Why this score
Source ContiSportContact 5 SSR Firehawk Indy 500 Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 63 (est.) ≈ 68 (est.) Reviews found online 39 64 ContiSportContact 5 SSR: 40% × 62.8 (est.) + 60% × 39 = 49
Firehawk Indy 500: 40% × 67.6 (est.) + 60% × 63.6 = 65
No road tests of comfort for ContiSportContact 5 SSR or Firehawk Indy 500. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.
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62
Noise
Firehawk Indy 500 +466Why this score
Source ContiSportContact 5 SSR Firehawk Indy 500 Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 66 (est.) ≈ 66 (est.) Reviews found online 56 64 ContiSportContact 5 SSR: 60% × 66.4 (est.) + 40% × 55.5 = 62
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 66.4 (est.) + 40% × 64.4 = 66
No road tests of noise for ContiSportContact 5 SSR or Firehawk Indy 500. The test half is the tested tires’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.
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50
Treadwear
Firehawk Indy 500 +1666Why this score
Source ContiSportContact 5 SSR Firehawk Indy 500 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests ≈ 57 (est.) 70 Reviews found online 40 61 ContiSportContact 5 SSR: 60% × 56.7 (est.) + 40% × 39.5 = 50
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 70.2 + 40% × 60.7 = 66
No road tests of treadwear for ContiSportContact 5 SSR. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).
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–
Handling (owners)
No comparison71Why this score
Source ContiSportContact 5 SSR Firehawk Indy 500 Reviews found online – 71
Scores at a glance
| Category | Continental ContiSportContact 5 SSR | Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 57 | 65 |
| Dry | 57 | 74 |
| Wet | 62 | 66 |
| Snow | 56 | 45 |
| Comfort | 49 | 65 |
| Noise | 62 | 66 |
| Treadwear | 50 | 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
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Recomputed
Headline score
57
/ 100
ContiSportContact 5 SSR
65
/ 100
Firehawk Indy 500
Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.
Pros, cons & observations
Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
Tire A ContiSportContact 5 SSR
Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.
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
What real owners are saying
From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score
Tire A
Continental ContiSportContact 5 SSR
We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.
Tire B
Positive
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
The Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 is overwhelmingly praised as an exceptional value and 'bang for your buck' summer performance tire. Drivers consistently highlight strong dry grip, commendable wet traction, comfortable ride quality, and progressive handling breakaway. Minor criticisms center on reduced performance in cold temperatures, softer steering feedback, and grease on hard track sessions.
r/MINI
·20 upvotes ·2025-05-02
“Firehawk Indy 500s As promised, some initial thoughts. These are extremely comfortable. They honestly made it hard to understand how fast I was going because I've come to gauge my speed based on how much I'm being jostled around. I felt almost nothing with these, and there's so much construction on my way to work from the tire place, including a road that hasn't been surfaced properly yet. Perfect testing run for comfort. In terms of performance these bite the road a lot better and it's a lot easier for me to get moving again. Granted, my run flats were almost bald and that's my most recent memory of how they performed, but it's shocking how much I can take a turn or even just accelerate without any risk of sliding or slipping. It feels like a completely different car honestly, and people aren't kidding when they say "just get better tires" on some of these posts asking about mods. It's not as sexy as a new intake, but it makes a much bigger difference. I mean I feel like I was missing out on at least half of my roadster's potential here. So yeah I definitely like them. I don't mean to insult the tire guys' ability to apply tire shine, but I need to redo that disaster when I'm home. I only have detailing spray right now.”
s2ki.com
“Quote: Originally Posted by AUaviator I'm having trouble finding these tires in stock. Rears are back ordered and only 1 front available and it's on tire rack. 22545/17 255/40/17. www.simpletire.com looks to have them instock with free shipping and a 60 dollar rebate. A little hard to find but search for them individually by size.”
grassrootsmotorsports.com
“I need a 224/45/15 I run these on my S2000 wheelset for driving around town and they are great. I also have used them for plenty of track days. They get a little greasy towards the end of sessions but have never let me down.”
Top themes
#value for money#dry grip performance#wet road traction#ride comfort#cold temperature limitations#track and autocross use#sidewall and steering response
Based on 141 community posts
Specs side by side
| Attribute | A · Continental ContiSportContact 5 SSR | B · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Summer tire | Summer |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | 25 | 47 |
| Rim diameters | 17″ – 20″ | 16″ – 20″ |
| Tread depth | 9/32″ | 9 - 10/32″ |
| UTQG | 280 - 420 A - AA A | 340 A A |
| Sidewall | Black Side Wall | Black Side Wall |
| Max pressure | 50 - 51 psi | 50 - 51 psi |
| Sizes in common | 9 | 9 |
Which one should you actually buy?
57
/ 100
Continental ContiSportContact 5 SSR
65
/ 100
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
Winner: Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 — better dry, comfort and treadwear. Pick the Continental ContiSportContact 5 SSR if snow matters most to you. Continental ContiSportContact 5 SSR rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 14 reviews), so read this result as provisional.
Pick tire B
You want the most grip on dry roads
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 74 vs 57 on dry.
Pick tire B
You want the most comfortable ride
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 65 vs 49 on comfort.
Pick tire B
You want the longest tread life
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 66 vs 50 on treadwear.
Pick tire A
You drive through snowy winters
Continental ContiSportContact 5 SSR scores 56 vs 45 on snow.
Tire A · Continental ContiSportContact 5 SSR
Tire B · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
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ContiSportContact 5 SSR or Firehawk Indy 500?
Which is better in the wet, ContiSportContact 5 SSR or Firehawk Indy 500?
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, 66 vs 62 on our wet score.
Which grips better on dry roads, ContiSportContact 5 SSR or Firehawk Indy 500?
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, 74 vs 57 on our dry score.
Which is better in snow, ContiSportContact 5 SSR or Firehawk Indy 500?
Continental ContiSportContact 5 SSR, 56 vs 45 on our snow score.
Which is quieter, ContiSportContact 5 SSR or Firehawk Indy 500?
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, 66 vs 62 on our noise score.
Which is more comfortable, ContiSportContact 5 SSR or Firehawk Indy 500?
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, 65 vs 49 on our comfort score.
Which lasts longer, ContiSportContact 5 SSR or Firehawk Indy 500?
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, 66 vs 50 on our treadwear score.
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