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Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 vs Toyo R888 — Compared

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

Firehawk Indy 500 is ahead, 69–64

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Tire AFirestone

Firehawk Indy 500

Summer

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)

“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”

Tire BToyo

R888

Summer

Tests 67 · 1 test Owners 60 · 38 reviews

Best test result: #5 of 5 in 2012 Sport Auto Track Day Tyre Test (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

    R888 +3
    76
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500R888
    Professional tests (TWG score)–79
    Reviews found online7773
  2. 67

    Wet

    Firehawk Indy 500 +12
    55
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500R888
    Professional tests (TWG score)–52
    Reviews found online6659
  3. 44

    Snow

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500R888
    Reviews found online28–
  4. 67

    Comfort

    Firehawk Indy 500 +8
    59
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500R888
    Reviews found online6549
  5. 66

    Noise

    R888 +9
    75
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500R888
    Professional tests (TWG score)–80
    Reviews found online66–
  6. 67

    Treadwear

    Firehawk Indy 500 +11
    56
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500R888
    Professional tests (TWG score)70–
    Reviews found online6249
  7. 71

    Handling

    Firehawk Indy 500 +4
    67
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500R888
    Reviews found online7167
Scores at a glance
CategoryFirestone Firehawk Indy 500Toyo R888
Relative Score 69 64
Dry 73 76
Wet 67 55
Snow 44 –
Comfort 67 59
Noise 66 75
Treadwear 67 56
Handling 71 67

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

R888

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 500R888ΔBoth?
Overall Ranking Overall 62% #9/22 · 2022 Consumer Reports Ultra High Performance Summer Tires 20% #5/5 · 2012 Sport Auto Track Day Tyre Test +41.9 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 R888

Pros

  • Phenomenal dry weather grip and cornering stability
  • Rapid warm-up time to reach optimal operating temperature
  • High value-for-money proposition for track-day enthusiasts

Cons

  • Excessive road noise often described as a 'howling' or 'wheel bearing' sound
  • Poor performance and safety risks in deep standing water
  • Low comfort levels unsuitable for daily driving
All owner themes in the R888 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/tires ·5 upvotes ·2025-11-27

“Need recommendations for an All Season tire that's comparable to Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 in a 205 45 17 Live in Southern California. Car only gets about 3,000-4,000 Miles a year. Tire size is 205 45 17 Currently have Firehawk Indy 500 but I got them used for $150 a couple years ago and they're done now. Cheaper options would be nice for new.”
r/FiestaST ·4 upvotes ·2026-05-04

“Firehawk indy 500 V2s I’ve looked on firestones website and it doesn’t show a 205/40R17 is available, but on a handful of third party websites I’ve seen the option to choose said tire size. Can anyone confirm if they do in fact make a 205/40R17, and if so why wouldn’t they advertise that on their website? Read more”
r/Charger ·15 upvotes ·2021-08-10

“Firestone firehawk indy 500's 305/35r20 , huge upgrade from the all season perrelis.”
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

Toyo R888

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

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 B · Toyo R888
CategorySummerSummer
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

Toyo R888

Winner: Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 — better wet, treadwear and comfort. Pick the Toyo R888 if noise and dry matter most to you.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 67 vs 55 on wet.

Pick tire A You want the longest tread life

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 67 vs 56 on treadwear.

Pick tire B You want a quieter cabin

Toyo R888 scores 75 vs 66 on noise.

Pick tire A You want the most comfortable ride

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 67 vs 59 on comfort.

Tire A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
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Tire B · Toyo R888
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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

Leads

Firehawk Indy 500

Amazon