Head-to-head Updated

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 vs Continental SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat — Compared

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

SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat leads, 70–69 Narrow edge

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Tire AFirestone

Firehawk Indy 500

Summer Ultra High Performance tires

Tests – · 1 test Owners 63 · 1,454 reviews

“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”

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 +3
    71
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat
    Reviews found online7873
  2. 67

    Wet

    SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat +7
    74
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat
    Reviews found online6675
  3. 45

    Snow

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat
    Reviews found online28–
  4. 68

    Comfort

    Firehawk Indy 500 +2
    66
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat
    Reviews found online6662
  5. 66

    Noise

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat
    Reviews found online65–
  6. 66

    Treadwear

    Firehawk Indy 500 +3
    63
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat
    Professional tests (TWG score)70–
    Reviews found online6161
  7. 72

    Handling

    SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat +1
    73
    Why this score
    SourceFirehawk Indy 500SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat
    Reviews found online7273
Scores at a glance
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 vs Continental SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryFirestone Firehawk Indy 500Continental SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat
Relative Score 69 70
Dry 74 71
Wet 67 74
Snow 45 –
Comfort 68 66
Noise 66 –
Treadwear 66 63
Handling 72 73

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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Recomputed
Headline score

Firehawk Indy 500

SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat

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 SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat

Pros

  • Strong wet and dry traction performance
  • Improved ride comfort compared to competing run-flat brands
  • Respectable tread longevity for some users

Cons

  • Tendency for uneven tread wear
  • Increased road noise as the tire ages
  • Harsh ride quality on low-profile, staggered setups
All owner themes in the SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat 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 it as an affordable, high-performing summer tire with great dry grip, impressive wet performance for its price class, and good ride comfort. While some enthusiasts note a slightly softer sidewall response compared to more expensive tier-one options like Michelins, the overwhelming consensus highlights its exceptional value.

r/MINI ·20 upvotes ·2025-05-02

“Firehawk Indy 500s As promised, some initial thoughts. These are extremely comfortable. They honestly made it hard to understand how fast I was going because I've come to gauge my speed based on how much I'm being jostled around. I felt almost nothing with these, and there's so much construction on my way to work from the tire place, including a road that hasn't been surfaced properly yet. Perfect testing run for comfort. In terms of performance these bite the road a lot better and it's a lot easier for me to get moving again. Granted, my run flats were almost bald and that's my most recent memory of how they performed, but it's shocking how much I can take a turn or even just accelerate without any risk of sliding or slipping. It feels like a completely different car honestly, and people aren't kidding when they say "just get better tires" on some of these posts asking about mods. It's not as sexy as a new intake, but it makes a much bigger difference. I mean I feel like I was missing out on at least half of my roadster's potential here. So yeah I definitely like them. I don't mean to insult the tire guys' ability to apply tire shine, but I need to redo that disaster when I'm home. I only have detailing spray right now.”

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”

r/S2000 ·4 upvotes ·2025-06-04

“Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 reviews Hi all! First post here on Reddit for S2K. I have a 2002 with 80k (130 km's) that is 100% stock. I recently purchased some new tires moving from a Potenza RE-71 (rear) Potenza RE760 (front) I bought the Indy 500 Firehawk since a lot of S2K owners say they are an excellent tire, perfect for the S2K with a ton of great qualities. So far I am thinking a little bit of a mixxed bag. The tires are not as responsive as I thought and don't inspire the same level of cornering confidence. The seem a little mushy/soft and my rear end thus far doesn't seem as firmly planted as I would like. Almost kind of wobbly? Alignment is fine, tires are brand new with less than 100 miles on them and tire pressure is factory spec within 1 psi. The DOT code for the tires is late 2024 so brand new. I don't track the car and these days just baby it around town mostly so the tires use should fine for my use. Thanks! Leer más”

Top themes
#Value and Pricing#Dry and Wet Grip#Ride Comfort and Noise#Sidewall Response and Feel#Comparison to Premium Brands

Based on 27 community posts

Tire B

Continental SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat

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

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 B · Continental SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat
CategorySummer Ultra High Performance tiresSummer Max Performance tires
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

Continental SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat

Too close to call: Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 and Continental SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat are within 2 points overall. Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 is stronger on dry and treadwear. Continental SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat is stronger on wet.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Continental SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat scores 74 vs 67 on wet.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 74 vs 71 on dry.

Pick tire A You want the longest tread life

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 scores 66 vs 63 on treadwear.

Tire A · Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
Tire B · Continental SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat

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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.

70

Narrow edge

SportContact 2 SSR Run Flat

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