Head-to-head Updated

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 vs Toyo Proxes R888R — Compared

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 + 0 road tests and 1,457 + 80 owner reviews. How we score

Firehawk Indy 500 is ahead, 65–44

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Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
± 7

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.”

Toyo Proxes R888R
Tire BToyo

Proxes R888R

Summer tire

± 8

Tests – · none yet Owners 30 · 80 reviews

Category by category

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

  1. 74

    Dry

    Firehawk Indy 500 +10
    64
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Proxes R888R
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 72 (est.)≈ 66 (est.)
    Reviews found online7763

    Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 71.8 (est.) + 40% × 77.3 = 74

    Proxes R888R: 60% × 65.7 (est.) + 40% × 62.6 = 64

    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).

    No road tests of dry for Proxes R888R. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).

  2. 66

    Wet

    Firehawk Indy 500 +37
    29
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Proxes R888R
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 67 (est.)≈ 39 (est.)
    Reviews found online6513

    Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 67.4 (est.) + 40% × 64.7 = 66

    Proxes R888R: 60% × 39.2 (est.) + 40% × 13.2 = 29

    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).

    No road tests of wet for Proxes R888R. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. 45

    Snow

    Firehawk Indy 500 +10
    35
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Proxes R888R
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 57 (est.)≈ 51 (est.)
    Reviews found online2710

    Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 56.9 (est.) + 40% × 27.4 = 45

    Proxes R888R: 60% × 51.4 (est.) + 40% × 10 = 35

    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).

    No road tests of snow for Proxes R888R. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).

  4. 65

    Comfort

    Firehawk Indy 500 +14
    51
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Proxes R888R
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 68 (est.)≈ 64 (est.)
    Reviews found online6443

    Firehawk Indy 500: 40% × 67.7 (est.) + 60% × 63.6 = 65

    Proxes R888R: 40% × 63.5 (est.) + 60% × 43.2 = 51

    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).

    No road tests of comfort for Proxes R888R. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

  5. 66

    Noise

    Firehawk Indy 500 +17
    49
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Proxes R888R
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 66 (est.)≈ 66 (est.)
    Reviews found online6422

    Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 66.3 (est.) + 40% × 64.3 = 66

    Proxes R888R: 60% × 66.3 (est.) + 40% × 22.3 = 49

    No road tests of noise for Firehawk Indy 500 or Proxes R888R. The test half is the tested tires’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.

  6. 66

    Treadwear

    Firehawk Indy 500 +26
    40
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Proxes R888R
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests70≈ 51 (est.)
    Reviews found online6124

    Firehawk Indy 500: 60% × 70.2 + 40% × 60.7 = 66

    Proxes R888R: 60% × 51.1 (est.) + 40% × 23.5 = 40

    No road tests of treadwear for Proxes R888R. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

  7. 71

    Handling (owners)

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500Proxes R888R
    Reviews found online71–
Scores at a glance
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 vs Toyo Proxes R888R: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryFirestone Firehawk Indy 500Toyo Proxes R888R
Relative Score 65 44
Dry 74 64
Wet 66 29
Snow 45 35
Comfort 65 51
Noise 66 49
Treadwear 66 40
Handling (owners) 71 –

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

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Recomputed
Headline score
± 7

Firehawk Indy 500

± 8

Proxes R888R

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 R888R

Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.

What real owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score

Tire A

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500

Positive

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.

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”

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/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 for money#dry grip performance#wet road traction#ride comfort#cold temperature limitations#track and autocross use#sidewall and steering response

Based on 141 community posts

Tire B

Toyo Proxes R888R

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

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 B · Toyo Proxes R888R
CategorySummerSummer tire
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available4756
Rim diameters16″ – 20″13″ – 20″
Tread depth9 - 10/32″4 - 7/32″
UTQG340 A A100 AA A
SidewallBlack Side WallBlack Side Wall
Max pressure50 - 51 psi50 - 51 psi
Sizes in common1818

Which one should you actually buy?

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500

Toyo Proxes R888R

Winner: Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 — better wet, treadwear and noise. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 66 vs 29 on wet.

Pick tire A You want the longest tread life

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 66 vs 40 on treadwear.

Pick tire A You want a quieter cabin

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 66 vs 49 on noise.

Pick tire A You want the most comfortable ride

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 65 vs 51 on comfort.

Tire A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
Tire B · Toyo Proxes R888R

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Firehawk Indy 500 or Proxes R888R?

Which is better in the wet, Firehawk Indy 500 or Proxes R888R?

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, 66 vs 29 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, Firehawk Indy 500 or Proxes R888R?

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, 74 vs 64 on our dry score.

Which is better in snow, Firehawk Indy 500 or Proxes R888R?

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, 45 vs 35 on our snow score.

Which is quieter, Firehawk Indy 500 or Proxes R888R?

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, 66 vs 49 on our noise score.

Which is more comfortable, Firehawk Indy 500 or Proxes R888R?

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, 65 vs 51 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, Firehawk Indy 500 or Proxes R888R?

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, 66 vs 40 on our treadwear score.

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.

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