Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 1 + 0 road tests and 1,457 + 693 owner reviews. How we score
Firehawk Indy 500 leads, 65–61 Narrow edge
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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.”
Tests – · none yet Owners 55 · 693 reviews
“New shoes: Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2. 255/40-18”
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | Ventus S1 noble2 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 72 (est.) | ≈ 64 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 77 | 59 |
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 71.8 (est.) + 40% × 77.3 = 74
Ventus S1 noble2: 60% × 64.2 (est.) + 40% × 58.9 = 62
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).
No road tests of dry for Ventus S1 noble2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | Ventus S1 noble2 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 67 (est.) | ≈ 68 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 65 | 66 |
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 67.4 (est.) + 40% × 64.7 = 66
Ventus S1 noble2: 60% × 68 (est.) + 40% × 65.7 = 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).
No road tests of wet for Ventus S1 noble2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | Ventus S1 noble2 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 57 (est.) | ≈ 61 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 27 | 41 |
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 56.9 (est.) + 40% × 27.4 = 45
Ventus S1 noble2: 60% × 61.2 (est.) + 40% × 40.8 = 53
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).
No road tests of snow for Ventus S1 noble2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | Ventus S1 noble2 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 68 (est.) | ≈ 67 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 64 | 62 |
Firehawk Indy 500: 40% × 67.7 (est.) + 60% × 63.6 = 65
Ventus S1 noble2: 40% × 67.4 (est.) + 60% × 62.1 = 64
No road tests of comfort for Firehawk Indy 500. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).
No road tests of comfort for Ventus S1 noble2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | Ventus S1 noble2 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 66 (est.) | – |
| Reviews found online | 64 | – |
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 66.3 (est.) + 40% × 64.3 = 66
No road tests of noise for Firehawk Indy 500. The test half is the tested tires’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | Ventus S1 noble2 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests | 70 | ≈ 59 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 61 | 44 |
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 70.2 + 40% × 60.7 = 66
Ventus S1 noble2: 60% × 58.5 (est.) + 40% × 44.2 = 53
No road tests of treadwear for Ventus S1 noble2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | Ventus S1 noble2 |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews found online | 71 | 62 |
| Category | Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 | Hankook Ventus S1 noble2 |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 65 | 61 |
| Dry | 74 | 62 |
| Wet | 66 | 67 |
| Snow | 45 | 53 |
| Comfort | 65 | 64 |
| Noise | 66 | – |
| Treadwear | 66 | 53 |
| Handling (owners) | 71 | 62 |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
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.
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Firehawk Indy 500
Ventus S1 noble2
Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.
Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score
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.
“I had them on my B8.5 S4. I found the sidewall stiffness to be very low and introduced more slop in the steering than the continentals I was running prior. Sent from my iPhone using Audizine Forum”
“Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 reviews Hi all! First post here on Reddit for S2K. I have a 2002 with 80k (130 km's) that is 100% stock. I recently purchased some new tires moving from a Potenza RE-71 (rear) Potenza RE760 (front) I bought the Indy 500 Firehawk since a lot of S2K owners say they are an excellent tire, perfect for the S2K with a ton of great qualities. So far I am thinking a little bit of a mixxed bag. The tires are not as responsive as I thought and don't inspire the same level of cornering confidence. The seem a little mushy/soft and my rear end thus far doesn't seem as firmly planted as I would like. Almost kind of wobbly? Alignment is fine, tires are brand new with less than 100 miles on them and tire pressure is factory spec within 1 psi. The DOT code for the tires is late 2024 so brand new. I don't track the car and these days just baby it around town mostly so the tires use should fine for my use. Thanks! Leer más”
“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.”
Based on 141 community posts
Community sentiment toward the Hankook Ventus S1 noble2 is largely positive, with owners highlighting its competitive price-to-performance value compared to premium alternatives like Michelin. Drivers frequently commend its quiet ride, wet grip, and respectable tread life, though some note reduced handling sharpness compared to dedicated summer tires and increased road noise after higher mileage.
“Quote: Originally Posted by Chaotic1,Feb 9 2009, 06:49 AM Price per tire? Fronts: $63.00 x 2 + shipping (214/45zr-17) = $152.16 Rears: $71.00 x 2 + shipping (245/40/zr-17) = $164.15 Originally, I was only going to replace the rears with OEM tires because my fronts were in such decent shape, but I was able to get all four wheels for cheaper than the two rears so I went that direction instead. As promised, I'd continue to report on these tires and with todays showers and mixture of oil/grime and left over sand from the sleet we recently had, the tires are doing as well as expected. Of course with the sand, it is easy to break the rear-end loose but it breaks when expected, no surprises.”
“Getting new tires I’m replacing my OEM tires (Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2 sized 235/50R19). They’ve got 80,000 miles on them. I’ve had a good experience with them. My tire guy has about 3 tires in the $200 (installed) range. Right now I’m leaning towards the Hercules Raptis ® R-T6X. Who has experience with these? Does that sound like a decent choice? I want to spend the money I need to on good tires, but don’t want to spend the most money just because. Read more”
“My car originally came with 225/40/19 and 245/40/19, I then went to the other OEMs 225/45/18 and 245/45/18. But the 225/50/18 an 245/50/18 is the best yet. Way better ride, fills up the wheel wells and corrected the speedo error.”
Based on 36 community posts
| Attribute | A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 | B · Hankook Ventus S1 noble2 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Summer | All-Season |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | 47 | 8 |
| Rim diameters | 16″ – 20″ | 17″ – 20″ |
| Tread depth | 9 - 10/32″ | — |
| UTQG | 340 A A | 320 - 700 AA - B A |
| Sidewall | Black Side Wall | — |
| Max pressure | 50 - 51 psi | — |
| Sizes in common | 2 | 2 |
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
Hankook Ventus S1 noble2
Narrow edge: Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 — better treadwear, dry and handling. Pick the Hankook Ventus S1 noble2 if snow matters most to you.
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 66 vs 53 on treadwear.
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 74 vs 62 on dry.
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 71 vs 62 on handling.
Hankook Ventus S1 noble2 scores 53 vs 45 on snow.
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Neither, by our numbers: 66 vs 67 on the wet score, within 3 points.
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, 74 vs 62 on our dry score.
Hankook Ventus S1 noble2, 53 vs 45 on our snow score.
Neither, by our numbers: 65 vs 64 on the comfort score, within 3 points.
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, 66 vs 53 on our treadwear score.
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
