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 + 33 owner reviews. How we score
Firehawk Indy 500 is ahead, 69–62
Both Amazon links then search this exact size.
TireWheelGuide may earn a commission from purchases made through these links.
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 58 · 33 reviews
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | Ecsta LE Sport |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 72 (est.) | ≈ 63 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 78 | 57 |
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 72.1 (est.) + 40% × 77.6 = 74
Ecsta LE Sport: 60% × 63.3 (est.) + 40% × 56.6 = 61
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 Ecsta LE Sport. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | Ecsta LE Sport |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 68 (est.) | ≈ 66 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 65 | 63 |
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 67.6 (est.) + 40% × 65.1 = 67
Ecsta LE Sport: 60% × 66.4 (est.) + 40% × 62.9 = 65
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 Ecsta LE Sport. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | Ecsta LE Sport |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 55 (est.) | – |
| Reviews found online | 28 | – |
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 54.7 (est.) + 40% × 27.8 = 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).
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | Ecsta LE Sport |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 68 (est.) | ≈ 67 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 64 | 59 |
Firehawk Indy 500: 40% × 68.3 (est.) + 60% × 64.4 = 66
Ecsta LE Sport: 40% × 67.3 (est.) + 60% × 58.9 = 62
No road tests of comfort for Firehawk Indy 500 or Ecsta LE Sport. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | Ecsta LE Sport |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 67 (est.) | – |
| Reviews found online | 65 | – |
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 66.6 (est.) + 40% × 64.8 = 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.
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | Ecsta LE Sport |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests | 70 | ≈ 62 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 61 | 55 |
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 70.2 + 40% × 60.7 = 66
Ecsta LE Sport: 60% × 62.3 (est.) + 40% × 55.3 = 60
No road tests of treadwear for Ecsta LE Sport. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.35).
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | Ecsta LE Sport |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews found online | 71 | 60 |
| Category | Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 | Kumho Ecsta LE Sport |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 69 | 62 |
| Dry | 74 | 61 |
| Wet | 67 | 65 |
| Snow | 44 | – |
| Comfort | 66 | 62 |
| Noise | 66 | – |
| Treadwear | 66 | 60 |
| Handling (owners) | 71 | 60 |
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.
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Firehawk Indy 500
Ecsta LE Sport
Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.
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.
| Discipline | Category | Firehawk Indy 500 | Ecsta LE Sport | Δ | Head-to-head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Also published by the testers (not in the score) | |||||
| Overall Ranking | Overall | #9/22 2022 Consumer Reports Ultra High Performance Summer Tires | #10/11 2018 Auto Review 225/45 R17 Tyre Test | – | Different tests |
Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score
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.
“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.”
“Firehawk Indy 500 v2: Summer or All Season Just went to the local Firestone store to get tires. I needed to replace all four (front two for wear and back two from damage to one of them). I expressly asked for non-summer tires. We live in Texas, but it does get below 32 here. This is for a 2019 Genesis G80 Sport 3.3T. They sold me Firehawk Indy 500 v2 tires, even after I confirmed three times that they were not summer tires. The third time I even showed them on my phone and they were adamant that they show as All Season in their system. Did I just get punked? The only thing I could fine about temperature on their website was that these tires have basically a 0 rating for ice. In other articles, they show as dangerous for anything below 40 degrees Fahrenheit . Am I being overconcerned, and it'll be fine here in Texas? Is this something I need to get them to resolve (different tires) or should I go someplace else for tires and return these for my money back?”
“Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 Tire Review After my stock rubber wore down I decided to look into other (cheaper) options for this summer. I landed on getting a set of Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 205/40/17 tires and have been on them for about a week now in both rain and dry. The TLDR of this would be buy these tires! The longer version of it is that these tires to me at least feel much more comfortable than the stock tires both in terms of ride comfort and road noise. On top of that the grip in the wet is impressive to say the least! I got a lot of rain here in Oregon so wet performance was really important to me. On the stock tires I always left my TC on and was careful going around turns especially as the tires wore down further and further. These Indy 500 just keep on gripping in the wet and I haven't had any problems at all. The first day I had them out in the dry I would have sworn my car was actually faster accelerating! Probably because there was less wheel hopping or it simply just grabbed the road better. I haven't tried a launch on them yet but hope to do some auto-crossing and such in the Spring. If you have any questions about these things fire away. Read more”
Based on 146 community posts
We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.
| Attribute | A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 | B · Kumho Ecsta LE Sport |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Summer | Summer |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger 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 | — |
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
Kumho Ecsta LE Sport
Winner: Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 — better dry, handling and treadwear. It leads or ties in every category we score.
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 74 vs 61 on dry.
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 71 vs 60 on handling.
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 66 vs 60 on treadwear.
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 66 vs 62 on comfort.
TireWheelGuide may earn a commission from purchases made through these links.
Neither, by our numbers: 67 vs 65 on the wet score, within 3 points.
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, 74 vs 61 on our dry score.
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, 66 vs 62 on our comfort score.
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, 66 vs 60 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
