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 + 33 road tests and 1,457 + 2,639 owner reviews. How we score
Firehawk Indy 500 leads, 68–66 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 68 · 33 tests Owners 62 · 2,639 reviews
Best test result: #1 of 20 in 2023 AutoBild UHP Summer Tyre Test (wet handling)
“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”
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | P Zero (PZ4) |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 30 tests | ≈ 72 (est.) | 89 |
| Reviews found online | 77 | 72 |
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 71.8 (est.) + 40% × 77.3 = 74
P Zero (PZ4): 60% × 89.3 + 40% × 72.1 = 82
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).
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | P Zero (PZ4) |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 31 tests | ≈ 67 (est.) | 87 |
| Reviews found online | 65 | 70 |
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 67.4 (est.) + 40% × 64.7 = 66
P Zero (PZ4): 60% × 86.8 + 40% × 69.7 = 80
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).
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | P Zero (PZ4) |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 57 (est.) | – |
| Reviews found online | 27 | – |
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 56.9 (est.) + 40% × 27.4 = 45
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).
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | P Zero (PZ4) |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 9 tests | ≈ 68 (est.) | 68 |
| Reviews found online | 64 | 60 |
Firehawk Indy 500: 40% × 67.7 (est.) + 60% × 63.6 = 65
P Zero (PZ4): 40% × 68.5 + 60% × 59.5 = 63
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).
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | P Zero (PZ4) |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 19 tests | ≈ 66 (est.) | 72 |
| Reviews found online | 64 | ≈ 66 (est.) |
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 66.3 (est.) + 40% × 64.3 = 66
P Zero (PZ4): 60% × 71.5 + 40% × 66.3 (est.) = 69
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.
No owner ratings of noise for P Zero (PZ4). The owner half is the owners’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | P Zero (PZ4) |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / 5 tests | 70 | 28 |
| Reviews found online | 61 | 42 |
| Tested Tread Life (Miles) (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 1–0 | 62% | 46% |
Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 70.2 + 40% × 60.7 = 66
P Zero (PZ4): 60% × 27.7 + 40% × 41.6 = 33
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | P Zero (PZ4) |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews found online | 71 | 70 |
| Source | Firehawk Indy 500 | P Zero (PZ4) |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 21 tests | – | 27 |
| Category | Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 | Pirelli P Zero (PZ4) |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 68 | 66 |
| Dry | 74 | 82 |
| Wet | 66 | 80 |
| Snow | 45 | – |
| Comfort | 65 | 63 |
| Noise | 66 | 69 |
| Treadwear | 66 | 33 |
| Handling (owners) | 71 | 70 |
| Efficiency | – | 27 |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. 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
P Zero (PZ4)
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.
In the overall rankings of 1 tests that ran both, Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 finished ahead 0 times and Pirelli P Zero (PZ4) 1 times.
| Discipline | Category | Firehawk Indy 500 | P Zero (PZ4) | Δ | Head-to-head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tested Tread Life (Miles) | Treadwear | 62% | 46% | +15.3 | 1–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2022 Consumer Reports Ultra High Performance Summer Tires · 215/60R18 |
| Also published by the testers (not in the score) | |||||
| Overall Ranking | Overall | #9/22 | #4/22 | – | 0–1 in 1 shared test Newest: 2022 Consumer Reports Ultra High Performance Summer Tires · 215/60R18 |
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.
“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”
“Quote: Originally Posted by JLT Bridgestone Potenza, Dunlop SP Sport Maxx and the Pirellis and Michelins. My DD isnt an F-Type (I need back seats and an XF/XE are too slow 😜 )but I do have some tire input. Im 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, Ive 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 were at 4/32. So far Im loving them and at half the cost.. Im sure theres a traction difference on a circuit track(maybe becomes greasy faster?) but for aggressive street use, Ive yet to see/feel any differences. Fyi, Im not too worried about thread life, most of my tires expire before they near 2/32.”
“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!!!”
Based on 141 community posts
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.
Based on 7 community posts
| Attribute | A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 | B · Pirelli P Zero (PZ4) |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Summer | Summer |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | 47 | 193 |
| Rim diameters | 16″ – 20″ | 17″ – 24″ |
| Tread depth | 9 - 10/32″ | — |
| UTQG | 340 A A | — |
| Sidewall | Black Side Wall | — |
| Max pressure | 50 - 51 psi | — |
| Sizes in common | 37 | 37 |
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
Pirelli P Zero (PZ4)
Narrow edge: Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 — better treadwear. Pick the Pirelli P Zero (PZ4) if wet, dry and noise matter most to you.
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 66 vs 33 on treadwear.
Pirelli P Zero (PZ4) scores 80 vs 66 on wet.
Pirelli P Zero (PZ4) scores 82 vs 74 on dry.
Pirelli P Zero (PZ4) scores 69 vs 66 on noise.
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Pirelli P Zero (PZ4), 80 vs 66 on our wet score.
Pirelli P Zero (PZ4), 82 vs 74 on our dry score.
Pirelli P Zero (PZ4), 69 vs 66 on our noise score.
Neither, by our numbers: 65 vs 63 on the comfort score, within 3 points.
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, 66 vs 33 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
