Head-to-head Updated

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 vs Toyo Proxes R39 — Compared

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

Proxes R39 is ahead, 75–69

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

“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.”

Tire BToyo

Proxes R39

Summer Premium Touring tires

Tests – · none yet Owners 78 · 4 reviews

Category by category

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

  1. 73

    Dry

    Proxes R39 +4
    77
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Proxes R39
    Reviews found online7782
  2. 67

    Wet

    Proxes R39 +9
    76
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Proxes R39
    Reviews found online6678
  3. 45

    Snow

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Proxes R39
    Reviews found online28–
  4. 67

    Comfort

    Proxes R39 +6
    73
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Proxes R39
    Reviews found online6577
  5. 67

    Noise

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Proxes R39
    Reviews found online66–
  6. 67

    Treadwear

    Proxes R39 +3
    70
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Proxes R39
    Professional tests (TWG score)70–
    Reviews found online6274
  7. 71

    Handling

    Proxes R39 +10
    81
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Proxes R39
    Reviews found online7181
Scores at a glance
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 vs Toyo Proxes R39: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryFirestone Firehawk Indy 500Toyo Proxes R39
Relative Score 69 75
Dry 73 77
Wet 67 76
Snow 45 –
Comfort 67 73
Noise 67 –
Treadwear 67 70
Handling 71 81

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

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

Important
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Neutral
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Recomputed
Headline score

Firehawk Indy 500

Proxes R39

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

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 Proxes R39

Pros

  • Excellent dry grip and highway performance
  • Favorable price-to-quality ratio
  • Reliable handling characteristics on national roads and motorways

Cons

  • Severe and premature tread wear reported by some users
  • Wet grip is described as merely adequate rather than class-leading
All owner themes in the Proxes R39 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

Toyo Proxes R39

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

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 B · Toyo Proxes R39
CategorySummerSummer Premium Touring tires
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available471
Rim diameters16″ – 20″16″
Tread depth9 - 10/32″—
UTQG340 A A—
SidewallBlack Side Wall—
Max pressure50 - 51 psi—

Which one should you actually buy?

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500

Toyo Proxes R39

Winner: Toyo Proxes R39 — better handling, wet and comfort. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Toyo Proxes R39 scores 81 vs 71 on handling.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Toyo Proxes R39 scores 76 vs 67 on wet.

Pick tire B You want the most comfortable ride

Toyo Proxes R39 scores 73 vs 67 on comfort.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Toyo Proxes R39 scores 77 vs 73 on dry.

Tire A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
Tire B · Toyo Proxes R39

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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

Proxes R39

Amazon