Head-to-head Updated

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 vs Michelin Pilot Super Sport — Compared

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

Pilot Super Sport is ahead, 75–69

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

Best test result: #9 of 22 in 2022 Consumer Reports Ultra High Performance Summer Tires (overall ranking)

“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.”

Tests 75 · 1 test Owners 79 · 1,506 reviews

Best test result: #6 of 9 in 2011 Autoreview Max Performance Summer Tyre Test (overall ranking)

“I use mine all year round, and it's only in snow that they come unstuck - although I've never actually been driving in enough snow to need to break out my sno-socks. I've done wet 'Ring laps on mine, below zero Welsh hoons etc. They take about 10 miles to warm up enough to push on, but you probably shouldn't be pushing on in the first 10 minutes of a sub-zero day anyway!”

Category by category

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

  1. 73

    Dry

    Pilot Super Sport +8
    81
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score)–77
    Reviews found online7787
  2. 67

    Wet

    Pilot Super Sport +9
    76
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score)–73
    Reviews found online6680
  3. 45

    Snow

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Pilot Super Sport
    Reviews found online28–
  4. 67

    Comfort

    Pilot Super Sport +5
    72
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Pilot Super Sport
    Reviews found online6575
  5. 67

    Noise

    Pilot Super Sport +3
    70
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Pilot Super Sport
    Reviews found online6675
  6. 67

    Treadwear

    Pilot Super Sport +1
    68
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score)70–
    Reviews found online6270
  7. 71

    Handling

    Pilot Super Sport +10
    81
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Pilot Super Sport
    Reviews found online7181
Scores at a glance
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 vs Michelin Pilot Super Sport: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryFirestone Firehawk Indy 500Michelin Pilot Super Sport
Relative Score 69 75
Dry 73 81
Wet 67 76
Snow 45 –
Comfort 67 72
Noise 67 70
Treadwear 67 68
Handling 71 81

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

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

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Recomputed
Headline score

Firehawk Indy 500

Pilot Super Sport

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

The professional test results behind the scores

Each result is shown as % of the best tire in that test. “Same test” rows are the strictest comparison: both tires were measured side by side.

DisciplineCategoryFirehawk Indy 500Pilot Super SportΔBoth?
Overall Ranking Overall 62% #9/22 · 2022 Consumer Reports Ultra High Performance Summer Tires 17% #6/9 · 2011 Autoreview Max Performance Summer Tyre Test +45.2 Different tests

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 Pilot Super Sport

Pros

  • Phenomenal dry grip and cornering stability
  • Precise steering response and excellent road feedback
  • Better-than-expected tread wear and mileage for a performance tire

Cons

  • Reduced grip and traction in cold weather (below 15°C)
  • Mediocre performance and tendency to aquaplane when tread wears down in heavy rain
  • High price point compared to some alternatives
All owner themes in the Pilot Super Sport 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

Michelin Pilot Super Sport

Positive

The Michelin Pilot Super Sport is widely praised by the community as a benchmark high-performance street tire offering outstanding dry grip, sharp cornering capability, and decent ride comfort for daily driving. Many drivers note that its successor, the Pilot Sport 4S, improves upon it—especially in cold and wet conditions—while several users highlight downsides such as poor winter/snow capability, premium pricing, and eventual rubber degradation or tread cracking as the tires age.

r/ft86 ·2 upvotes ·2016-04-18

“As someone who lapped the car until I destroyed the OEM tires, and then lapped a set of PSS until I destroyed those too. The PSS are stickier than stock for sure, but they arent really sticky when it comes to tires for the track. They overheat and get greasy if you drive them hard, and they will slip at just slightly higher speeds. TL;DR: they are better than stock, but they arent a track sticky tire by any means so tail happy is still a thing.”

myg37.com

“Pilot super sports. I had the Dunlop Star Specs, they where a excellent handling tire but lasted only 24K miles. Currently running the Pilot super sports, they are outstanding and I have 26K miles on them. They are the best tires for the G37 in my opinion.They look like they will go another 10K. Recently I ran a road corse for 30 miles following my friends Lambrogini Gilargo, speeds where 60-85 miles per hour and the turns sineage was 35- 45 mph. We where both able to run the 35 mph turns at 70mph and the 45mph turns at 85 mph. I used the paddle shifters in 3rd and 4th gears. With the suspension mods and the Michlien PSS on my G I was able the keep up with the Lambo, needless to say my friend who is an avid high performance driver was serouisly impressed with my Infiniti especially 50 K for the G vs 230K for the Lambo.”

r/370z ·2 upvotes ·2017-10-20

“I switched to Pilot Super Sports a couple months ago and can say there is some noise reduction. So far they are holding up pretty well, probably better than the RE50A considering I did a fair bit of auto crossing with it. Biggest difference I noticed was grip, significantly more grip especially when abused (hot). I also went 255 up front so that may have had an effect on the grip as well. They are also more comfortable over rough surfaces.”

Top themes
#Dry grip and cornering#Comparison to PS4S#Poor snow performance#Tread life and wear#High purchase price#Age and cracking issues#Daily driving comfort

Based on 364 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 B · Michelin Pilot Super Sport
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available4750
Rim diameters16″ – 20″17″ – 23″
Tread depth9 - 10/32″—
UTQG340 A A—
SidewallBlack Side Wall—
Max pressure50 - 51 psi—

Which one should you actually buy?

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500

Michelin Pilot Super Sport

Winner: Michelin Pilot Super Sport — better handling, wet and dry. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 81 vs 71 on handling.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 76 vs 67 on wet.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 81 vs 73 on dry.

Pick tire B You want the most comfortable ride

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 72 vs 67 on comfort.

Tire A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
Tire B · Michelin Pilot Super Sport

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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.

75

Leads

Pilot Super Sport

Amazon