Head-to-head Updated

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 vs Michelin Primacy MXM4 — Compared

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

Firehawk Indy 500 leads, 66–62 Narrow edge

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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)

“Firehawk Indy 500 - kinda narrow? Anyone have pics of Firehawk Indy 500 on AP2v1 wheels? Just got a set today in OEM sizes (215/45 and 245/40) and they're definitely narrower than the Sumitomo HTR Z3s that they replaced, and the RE050s before that. Pics are of the Indys (no pics of the others unfortunately). Tire shop said it's because this tire doesn't have a rim guard; not sure I buy that. Wondering if 225/255 would cover the entire rim 🤔 Really not feelin this slightly stretched look. TIA for any info.”

Tire BMichelin

Primacy MXM4

All Season

Tests 69 · 1 test Owners 57 · 10 reviews

Best test result: #4 of 3 in 2024 AutoView All-Season Tire Test R18 (overall ranking)

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 +1
    72
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Primacy MXM4
    Professional tests (TWG score)–83
    Reviews found online7757
  2. 67

    Wet

    Firehawk Indy 500 +9
    58
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Primacy MXM4
    Professional tests (TWG score)–56
    Reviews found online6661
  3. 44

    Snow

    Primacy MXM4 +12
    56
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Primacy MXM4
    Reviews found online2847
  4. 67

    Comfort

    Firehawk Indy 500 +7
    60
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Primacy MXM4
    Professional tests (TWG score)–64
    Reviews found online6553
  5. 66

    Noise

    Firehawk Indy 500 +1
    65
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Primacy MXM4
    Professional tests (TWG score)–69
    Reviews found online6658
  6. 67

    Treadwear

    Firehawk Indy 500 +4
    63
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Primacy MXM4
    Professional tests (TWG score)70–
    Reviews found online6261
  7. 71

    Handling

    Firehawk Indy 500 +17
    54
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Primacy MXM4
    Reviews found online7154
Scores at a glance
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 vs Michelin Primacy MXM4: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryFirestone Firehawk Indy 500Michelin Primacy MXM4
Relative Score 66 62
Dry 73 72
Wet 67 58
Snow 44 56
Comfort 67 60
Noise 66 65
Treadwear 67 63
Handling 71 54

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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Recomputed
Headline score

Firehawk Indy 500

Primacy MXM4

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 500Primacy MXM4ΔBoth?
Overall Ranking Overall 62% #9/22 · 2022 Consumer Reports Ultra High Performance Summer Tires 0% #4/3 · 2024 AutoView All-Season Tire Test R18 +61.9 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 Primacy MXM4

Pros

  • Exceptional ride comfort and vibration dampening
  • Strong tread life and durability
  • High fuel efficiency

Cons

  • Mediocre dry grip and handling precision
  • Noticeable understeer when cornering
  • Soft sidewalls that lack steering feedback
All owner themes in the Primacy MXM4 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 opinion on the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 is largely positive, praising them as an affordable, high-performing summer tire with great dry grip and decent wet weather traction. While some enthusiasts note they feel slightly softer or less responsive compared to high-end tier-one options like Michelins, their value for the price makes them a popular recommendation.

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.”

r/projectcar ·1 upvote ·2019-04-17

“New tires on! Firestone firehawk Indy 500. Up next, new struts/shocks and springs.”

r/tires ·1 upvote ·2026-07-25

“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?”

Top themes
#Value and Pricing#Dry and Wet Grip#Ride Comfort and Noise#Comparison to Premium Brands#Sidewall and Sizing Queries#Version 2 Updates

Based on 28 community posts

Tire B

Michelin Primacy MXM4

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

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 B · Michelin Primacy MXM4
CategorySummerAll Season
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

Michelin Primacy MXM4

Winner: Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 — better handling, wet and comfort. Pick the Michelin Primacy MXM4 if snow matters most to you.

Pick tire A You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 71 vs 54 on handling.

Pick tire B You drive through snowy winters

Michelin Primacy MXM4 scores 56 vs 44 on snow.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 67 vs 58 on wet.

Pick tire A You want the most comfortable ride

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 67 vs 60 on comfort.

Tire A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
Tire B · Michelin Primacy MXM4

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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.

66

Narrow edge

Firehawk Indy 500

Amazon