Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 compared to Michelin Pilot Sport 4S

[Onefastsicilian]

Personally, I'd rather have the hankook RS4 over both of these options.. Their grip is great, and never had an issue in the rain. I did 8k miles and 5 hpde events on my set and they still have 50% life left! They grip like they did when they were new..

[timmo]

Yeah for that use case and your requirements I'd recommend a set of RS4s. They'll be much better with wear and won't get greasy as quickly as the Michelins on track. It's a 200tw tire so it'll obviously wear a bit quicker on the street but you should still be able to get decent mileage from them.

Wet grip is for sure compromised but you'd have to be in pretty extreme situations to notice. For example I was caught in a torrential downpour where my Conti ExtremeContact Sport wouldn't even break a sweat, but there were a few sketchy moments with the RS4s. You may notice a bit more tire noise - granted I didn't notice any in my car (17" with a decent sidewall) but there was a very obvious hum with my friend's MK7 GTI (18" with a thinner sidewall).

[mrgizmo04]

Do you have a suggestion, because I am planning on doing some track events. Is there a great track tire that's also comfortable and quiet on the streets. I usually don't do any driving when it's wet, so I'm not super concerned with wet grip and I'm not super worried about how fast it wears, but I'd kind of like the best of both worlds for ultimate grip. Also, I'm trying to stay with the 225/40/19 and 255/35/19 tire sizes, since they fill up my Wheel wells nicely.

This gets into a whole slew of preferences for noise tolerance, comfort, etc etc.

I can tell you that I've tried to keep it as dual duty as possible with a single part that can satisfy both street and track - Ohlins with flat ride, running pfc08 pads all year round, SS exhaust, full interior so that I can lug the baby around in the back seat, 1 set of wheels, etc. Tires were a big question mark but I decided to try ps4s. They were really impressive in the canyons, and the first track day I did on them in cooler spring weather. Their outer block is softer stickier compound so it grips. Once you start pushing them at better avg lap times they get super greasy and heat cycle out within a lap or two. I also didn't like the soft sidewalls, you can feel them flexing and bouncing. From a comfort/noise level I've been moving more in the direction of - I don't need a radio, my exhaust and diff are loud, so road noise doesn't bother me that much. I've been delving into 200tw (but not something that wears super fast and doesn't handle heat like re71r). I am waiting on rs4 to come back online in early spring.

I don't know if they would satisfy what you are after, but my car, while staying dual duty has been moving a bit more toward the track direction, but not setting record lap times, while still being civil and daily drivable with family/baby.

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[Silbergrau metallic]

I know you asked for just those 2 tires to be compared, but how do you use or plan to use your car? Ps4s is a good all-arounder for 99.9 street driving (if you will take it to the track maybe once a year to hang out). If you plan to move more toward track territory (several times a year or more), and you can run decent speeds around tracks, the tires get overworked really easily, they don't provide great precision feedback because the sidewalls are like jelly. No experience with 500.

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Do you have a suggestion, because I am planning on doing some track events. Is there a great track tire that's also comfortable and quiet on the streets. I usually don't do any driving when it's wet, so I'm not super concerned with wet grip and I'm not super worried about how fast it wears, but I'd kind of like the best of both worlds for ultimate grip. Also, I'm trying to stay with the 225/40/19 and 255/35/19 tire sizes, since they fill up my Wheel wells nicely.

[mrgizmo04]

Well! Crap, looks like I'm getting the expensive tires. I was always kind of leaning this way, but I was hoping there was a brand for around $600 bucks that would be just as good. I guess you get what you pay for.

I know you asked for just those 2 tires to be compared, but how do you use or plan to use your car? Ps4s is a good all-arounder for 99.9 street driving (if you will take it to the track maybe once a year to hang out). If you plan to move more toward track territory (several times a year or more), and you can run decent speeds around tracks, the tires get overworked really easily, they don't provide great precision feedback because the sidewalls are like jelly. No experience with 500.

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[Silbergrau metallic]

If you only have one set of wheels and plan to drive on street and on track, the PS4s are the ticket.

Well! Crap, looks like I'm getting the expensive tires. I was always kind of leaning this way, but I was hoping there was a brand for around $600 bucks that would be just as good. I guess you get what you pay for.

[Nate047]

If you only have one set of wheels and plan to drive on street and on track, the PS4s are the ticket.

[timmo]

My opinion: If you want a tire that will do it all - including handling the occasional track day, and you don't want to get a dedicated tire for the track, get the Michelins. If you're going to be spending a lot of time at the track - get the Indys for the street, then get cheap beater wheels and stick a set of RS4s on them for the track

[r4dr]

I don't think ps4s give anything up to pss plus ps4s is pss with a 4 in it so ya that's science

I can't remember where I heard this, but I believe it was from Michelin when the PS4S launched -- the PS4S and PSS are within a few percentage points of each other. Slight evolution. I doubt someone would be able to get in a car and tell a difference.

[Tbonem3]

I don't think ps4s give anything up to pss plus ps4s is pss with a 4 in it so ya that's science

[Silbergrau metallic]

Hmmm! I guess I know enough about them now to go with the Pilot sport 4s, I really like the Super Sports, but I was wondering if these Firehawk Indy 500's would be a bargain that offered the same performance as the Michelins. Thank you very much for the information.

[Tbonem3]

Is this like the Karbonius vs Streamline thread?

^ +1 for General GMax RS if you want to save money for DD and not go French.

[Chas3n]

They are 7/10ths of a P4S. Acceptable only if you’re cheap.

[EthanolTurbo]

I highly recommend the General GMax RS. They've got the same grip as the Firehawk, are quieter, and ride better. They're also cheaper. They're a great alternative to Firehawk Indy 500 and PS4S while combining the best attributes of both. I have the Generals on my M3 and the Firehawks on my 335d so I have a lot of miles on both for my comparison.

[Mspir3d]

I have the fire hawks as my street tires and like them a lot compared to the mpss they replaced. I feel like they have a wider operating temperature and more straight line grip. The MPSS were better on the track but I have another set of wheels for that now. When I picked up the firehawks, they were 160 each which made them a no-brainer and they’ve held up really well. I don’t know about the ps4s though.