Head-to-head Updated

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 vs Dunlop SP5000 — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): 60% professional tests, 40% owner reviews.

Firehawk Indy 500 leads, 69–68 Narrow edge

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Tests – · 1 test Owners 63 · 1,457 reviews

“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.”

Tire BDunlop

SP5000

Summer

Tests – · none yet Owners 69 · 6 reviews

Category by category

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

  1. 73

    Dry

    Firehawk Indy 500 +4
    69
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500SP5000
    Reviews found online7770
  2. 67

    Wet

    SP5000 +3
    70
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500SP5000
    Reviews found online6670
  3. 45

    Snow

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500SP5000
    Reviews found online28–
  4. 67

    Comfort

    Level
    67
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500SP5000
    Reviews found online6566
  5. 67

    Noise

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500SP5000
    Reviews found online66–
  6. 67

    Treadwear

    Firehawk Indy 500 +1
    66
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500SP5000
    Professional tests (TWG score)70–
    Reviews found online6267
  7. 71

    Handling

    Firehawk Indy 500 +1
    70
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500SP5000
    Reviews found online7170
Scores at a glance
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 vs Dunlop SP5000: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryFirestone Firehawk Indy 500Dunlop SP5000
Relative Score 69 68
Dry 73 69
Wet 67 70
Snow 45 –
Comfort 67 67
Noise 67 –
Treadwear 67 66
Handling 71 70

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

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

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Neutral
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Neither tire has a score here yet, so this weight changes nothing.

Less important
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Less important
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Neither tire has a score here yet, so this weight changes nothing.

Important
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Neutral
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Recomputed
Headline score

Firehawk Indy 500

SP5000

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 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

Tire B SP5000

Pros

  • Exceptional tread life and overall durability
  • Reliable performance on dry highway surfaces
  • Capable handling in varied weather conditions when paired with capable vehicles

Cons

  • High price point compared to competitors
  • Inconsistent performance reports in heavy snow and ice
  • Availability issues due to production status
All owner themes in the SP5000 review

What real owners are saying

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

Tire A

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.

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.”

s197forum.com ·2018-03-14

“I have them on my 14 GT. 255 front/285 rear. They have roughly 5k on them and have worn well. Wheel spin has to be intentionally induced now. No more surprises. Highly recommend.”

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”

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

Tire B

Dunlop SP5000

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

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 B · Dunlop SP5000
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available47—
Rim diameters16″ – 20″—
Tread depth9 - 10/32″—
UTQG340 A A—
SidewallBlack Side Wall—
Max pressure50 - 51 psi—

Which one should you actually buy?

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500

Dunlop SP5000

Too close to call: Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 and Dunlop SP5000 are within 2 points overall. Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 is stronger on dry. Dunlop SP5000 is stronger on wet.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 73 vs 69 on dry.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Dunlop SP5000 scores 70 vs 67 on wet.

Tire A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
Tire B · Dunlop SP5000

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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.

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

69

Narrow edge

Firehawk Indy 500

Amazon