Head-to-head Updated

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 vs Pirelli P Zero (PZ4) — Compared

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

Firehawk Indy 500 leads, 69–65 Narrow edge

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

Best test result: #6 of 22 in 2022 Consumer Reports Ultra High Performance Summer Tires (tested tread life (miles))

“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”

Tire BPirelli

P Zero (PZ4)

Summer

Tests 67 · 33 tests Owners 63 · 2,592 reviews

Best test result: #3 of 7 in 2020 EVO UHP Summer Tyre Test (overall ranking)

“Pirelli P Zero Tyres But if a rant. Brought my i4 edrive 40 about 14 months ago from a main dealer here in the UK. The front tyres (Hankook) had decent tread, obviously the rears did not, so the dealer swapped them for brand new Pirelli PZero (PZ4) tyres at the rear. Honest to god I have never driven tyres so dam trash in my life. Anything other than a perfect warm dry day, there is little to no grip and car struggles to put its power down. I assume the Zero in P Zero refers to the grip levels. Just wondered if anyone else had any experience with Pirelli’s? Read more”

Category by category

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

  1. 73

    Dry

    P Zero (PZ4) +8
    81
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500P Zero (PZ4)
    Professional tests (TWG score)–87
    Reviews found online7773
  2. 67

    Wet

    P Zero (PZ4) +12
    79
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500P Zero (PZ4)
    Professional tests (TWG score)–86
    Reviews found online6669
  3. 45

    Snow

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500P Zero (PZ4)
    Reviews found online28–
  4. 67

    Comfort

    Firehawk Indy 500 +1
    66
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500P Zero (PZ4)
    Professional tests (TWG score)–69
    Reviews found online6562
  5. 67

    Noise

    P Zero (PZ4) +1
    68
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500P Zero (PZ4)
    Professional tests (TWG score)–72
    Reviews found online6664
  6. 67

    Treadwear

    Firehawk Indy 500 +34
    33
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500P Zero (PZ4)
    Professional tests (TWG score)7026
    Reviews found online6245
  7. 71

    Handling

    Firehawk Indy 500 +2
    69
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500P Zero (PZ4)
    Reviews found online7169
Scores at a glance
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 vs Pirelli P Zero (PZ4): scores by category (0–100)
CategoryFirestone Firehawk Indy 500Pirelli P Zero (PZ4)
Relative Score 69 65
Dry 73 81
Wet 67 79
Snow 45 –
Comfort 67 66
Noise 67 68
Treadwear 67 33
Handling 71 69

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

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Recomputed
Headline score

Firehawk Indy 500

P Zero (PZ4)

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 500P Zero (PZ4)ΔBoth?
Tested Tread Life (Miles) Other 62% #6/22 · 2022 Consumer Reports Ultra High Performance Summer Tires 46% #20/22 · 2022 Consumer Reports Ultra High Performance Summer Tires +15.4 Same test
Overall Ranking Overall 62% #9/22 · 2022 Consumer Reports Ultra High Performance Summer Tires 33% #3/7 · 2020 EVO UHP Summer Tyre Test +28.6 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 P Zero (PZ4)

Pros

  • Outstanding dry grip and handling performance
  • Precise steering feedback and agile cornering stability
  • Low road noise and high comfort on smooth tarmac

Cons

  • Rapid tread wear, especially on performance or rear-wheel-drive vehicles
  • Subpar performance and susceptibility to aquaplaning in cold or heavy wet weather
  • Stiff ride quality that can transmit harsh impacts on rough roads
All owner themes in the P Zero (PZ4) 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.

jaguarforums.com

“Quote: Originally Posted by JLT Bridgestone Potenza, Dunlop SP Sport Maxx and the Pirellis and Michelins. My DD isn’t an F-Type (I need back seats and an XF/XE are too slow 😜 )but I do have some tire input. I’m a huge fan of Michelin PSS and PS4S, but recently switched to experiment with Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 (also known as Bridgestone Potenza RE003 outside North America). In all honesty, I’ve only had them on for 2 weeks, done some 1/4 mile passes but no circuit track yet(due this summer). They replaced my PSS that still we’re at 4/32. So far I’m loving them and at half the cost.. I’m sure there’s a traction difference on a circuit track(maybe becomes greasy faster?) but for aggressive street use, I’ve yet to see/feel any differences. Fyi, I’m not too worried about thread life, most of my tires expire before they near 2/32.”

r/FiestaST ·22 upvotes ·2018-04-09

“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”

r/E90 ·1 upvote ·2022-06-26

“I used to run MPSS tires on my style 162's and I could do about 30k miles max on my 2008 e90 335xi FBO. Once I switched to Summer performance firehawk indy 500's... I am about 50% thru the tread and I have put on about 40k miles so far. They are not as good as MPSS, but at 1/2 the price of a set of MPSS i'm perfectly fine with the minor compromise in performance. The only issue I noticed was, if the firehawks sit over night, they generally get a flat spot which will be noticeable for a few miles. By the time you reach your freeway the flat spot will be back to normal again. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Firehawks for a daily driver!!!! Best quality and performance at this price point!!!”

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

Pirelli P Zero (PZ4)

Negative

Community sentiment regarding the Pirelli P Zero (PZ4) is largely critical, with users reporting extremely rapid tread wear and severe grip issues outside of warm, dry conditions. While some drivers consider them for OEM run-flat availability, multiple posts highlight concerns over poor longevity and lackluster wet and cold weather performance compared to competitors like Michelin.

Top themes
#rapid tread wear#cold and wet grip#run flat availability#comparison to Michelin#OEM tire lifespan#luxury versus sport variants

Based on 7 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 B · Pirelli P Zero (PZ4)
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available47193
Rim diameters16″ – 20″17″ – 24″
Tread depth9 - 10/32″—
UTQG340 A A—
SidewallBlack Side Wall—
Max pressure50 - 51 psi—

Which one should you actually buy?

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500

Pirelli P Zero (PZ4)

Winner: Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 — better treadwear. Pick the Pirelli P Zero (PZ4) if wet and dry matter most to you.

Pick tire A You want the longest tread life

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 67 vs 33 on treadwear.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Pirelli P Zero (PZ4) scores 79 vs 67 on wet.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Pirelli P Zero (PZ4) scores 81 vs 73 on dry.

Tire A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
Tire B · Pirelli P Zero (PZ4)

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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

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