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30 Day Firestone Indy 500 Review.

lostru

Ready to race!
Location
Central Arkansas
This will be my review of the redesigned Indy 500 tire. I will not be comparing them to the Michelin PSS. I have had them and they are awesome. I just don't think "MY" daily driving habits or traffic was worth double the price. Yup, i got it they are better. They will corner better, they have mileage warranty, they are the standard bearer. There comes a time that you have to ask yourself if all the best your paying for your actually using. I might be totally off base here but with a 30 day "Buy and Drive" program I thought I would give it a shot. Basically if you don't like them them they will add the cost incurred to any set of your choosing before 30 days elapses.

I switched from the Continental DWS06 after 18K. I'll add the measurements of what they were down too soon. They are a solid tire. I have no complaints with the exception of they were a little squishy until I inflated them to 43 PSI.

I installed the Firestone Indy 500 on 6 May 2017 with a little over 31K on the speedo. It is a 2016 Golf R, DSG, non DCC. Stock everything with the exception of Unitronic 1+. Initial Impressions with about 50 miles on them is wow. I hope this keeps up. Turn in is crisp but not harsh. Roads in Arkansas can be as rough as a hell so I was surprised at the ride vs the responsiveness. Hard takeoffs from a red light were crisp also. I had no idea how much the nannies have been robing me of performance. Only thing I can figure is that I have been destroying the AS tire during my daily drive. More to come on that with the measurements. They hook really well for my driving style and ability. I will update this as I add the miles and become more comfortable with them.

8 May 2017:
So this is day three of this review. I am around 175 miles so far on the tires and I am really liking them. My commute in is a curvy two lane with traffic but there are a few of us that enjoy the corners a little when its safe. Handling was spot on an predictable. No rear sway into the corners. Mid corner the steering was real responsive to corrections. The ride was firm but not jarring. The drive home was interstate (the other way home). Speeds were with the flow of traffic in the fast lane. The car was planted in a few crosswinds and there was no feeling of floating and needing corrections in the steering. Half the drive is segmented concrete and the rest being asphalt. There was never a time i gritted my teeth waiting for the transition onto a bridge. I am thinking Firestone has a winner but we will see as the day to day continues.

9 May 2017:
Another 75 Miles and I was able to stretch their legs on some tight high speed corners. Handling is solid well past my driving skill or comfort on public roads. I am sold on these tires after an incident of panic breaking in a corner. At posted speeds a driver pulled out in front of me messing with his phone. Small howl out of them but I never felt the ABS intervene while evading him. I do not know how the mileage will be or the stability after 20k but I will be finding out. There are three things you can never get in one place. Good, Fast, and Cheap. I am still trying to figure out which one is the weak link but so far I have not found it. I will keep updates coming.

17 May 2017:
I have broken the 750 mile mark on these and I have truly enjoyed them. I reset the tire pressures to the door sticker a few days ago and they were not that far off so kudos to the tire tech. everything is great so far. I will be driving the R more the next few weeks so the miles will start racking up. So far I have only two things I don't like but they are not a deal breaker.
First: The way the tire sits on the wheel. There just isn't much meat to protect the wheel from damage. I prefer a lip overhanging the edge.
Second: On the few cool mornings we have had, around 55, the tire take a few miles to work out the flat spot. This is no issues since Arkansas has probably seen its last of those temperatures so that will be something I am looking at in the fall. This really speaks for the extra cost incurred getting the mixed compounds of the PSS. I did not see this issue when I had them at hose temps or lower before needing to replace them. I have another vehicle to drive on the real cold days but when its 40 out in the morning and 60 in the afternoon then you want to drive the R. More to come.

22 May 2017:
1100 Miles in and I"m faced with a decision. To keep or not to keep. I have had no drivability issues at all. No performance worries through dry or rain slicked roads. There must be an issue down the line but I can not find it in the miles I have driven and the performance I demand on my daily dri
 
Last edited:

pranarun

New member
Thanks

Hi Lostru,
Thanks for this info, look forward to your opinion after some miles.
I'm a bit with you, don't want to spend $ on a nice sticky, fast-wearing tire, if I'm not able to use the extra performance much.
I just acquired a 15R with about the same miles & eqpmt. (plus dcc, which really helps the ride with 35 series Hankook Ventus Evo2, that's a mouthful!). I have nothing to compare these too, (my first VW), but they are able to absorb harsh bumps well, (but I doubt any 35 series can), hence I'm considering going to 18" 40, (or 45's if I can get away with that).
cheers, j
 

Rcode

Go Kart Champion
Location
LINY
Nice. Where did you get them? I want to try these out as my summers are a bit low on tread. They seem to be out of stock everywhere I've looked.
 

veedubfreak

Go Kart Champion
Location
Denver
I had the same experience with my DWS. Sidewall is super squishy and i only got about 20k out of them. Mine came with the conti 5p so I'll have a few more years before looking at tires. But good to know there is a decent budget alternate out there.
 

lostru

Ready to race!
Location
Central Arkansas
8 May 2017:
So this is day three of this review. I am around 175 miles so far on the tires and I am really liking them. My commute in is a curvy two lane with traffic but there are a few of us that enjoy the corners a little when its safe. Handling was spot on an predictable. No rear sway into the corners. Mid corner the steering was real responsive to corrections. The ride was firm but not jarring. The drive home was interstate (The other way home). Speeds were with the flow of traffic in the fast lane. The car was planted in a few crosswinds and there was no feeling of floating and needing corrections in the steering. Half the drive is segmented concrete and the rest being asphalt. There was never a time i gritted my teeth waiting for the transition onto a bridge. I am thinking Firestone has a winner but we will see as the day to day continues.
 

lostru

Ready to race!
Location
Central Arkansas
9 May 2017:
Another 75 Miles and I was able to stretch their legs on some tight high speed corners. Handling is solid well past my driving skill or comfort on public roads. I am sold on these tires after an incident of panic breaking in a corner. At posted speeds a driver pulled out in front of me on a blind corner messing with his phone. Small howl out of them but I never felt the ABS intervene while evading him. The car stayed planted. I do not know how the mileage will be or the stability after 20k but I will be finding out. There are three things you can never get in one place. Good, Fast, and Cheap. I am still trying to figure out which one is the weak link but so far I have not found it. I will keep updates coming.
 

GLoBaLReBeL

Ready to race!
Location
South Bend, IN
I got the 235/40/18's for about 540 (after rebate). I have to say, these tires changed the way the car feels dramatically. VERY happy with them so far (only about 220 miles on them.) I can't wait to get past the 500 mile mark to really start pushing the limits. Road noise is down from the A/S tires, bumps are eaten up pretty easily, and the body roll is almost gone (still there in hard cornering, but VERY MUCH lessened). Hope to get more than 20K out of these with spirited canyon carving once a month. Looking forward to seeing your outlook as well.
 

lostru

Ready to race!
Location
Central Arkansas
17 May 2017:
I have broken the 750 mile mark on these and I have truly enjoyed them. I reset the tire pressures to the door sticker a few days ago and they were not that far off so kudos to the tire tech. everything is great so far. I will be driving the R more the next few weeks so the miles will start racking up. So far I have only two things I don't like but they are not a deal breaker.
First: The way the tire sits on the wheel. There just isn't much meat to protect the wheel from damage. I prefer a lip overhanging the edge.
Second: On the few cool mornings we have had, around 55, the tire take a few miles to work out the flat spot. This is no issues since Arkansas has probably seen its last of those temperatures so that will be something I am looking at in the fall. This really speaks for the extra cost incurred getting the mixed compounds of the PSS. I did not see this issue when I had them at hose temps or lower before needing to replace them. I have another vehicle to drive on the real cold days but when its 40 out in the morning and 60 in the afternoon then you want to drive the R. More to come.
 

lostru

Ready to race!
Location
Central Arkansas
22 May 2017:
1100 Miles in and I"m faced with a decision. To keep or not to keep. I have had no drivability issues at all. No performance worries through dry or rain slicked roads. There must be an issue down the line but I can not find it in the miles I have driven and the performance I demand on my daily drive. I now realize that the top tier tire that I almost paid for would have been a waist of some very hard earned dollars. Everything in my day-to-day drive is handled superbly by these tires. Even the 5% when there is an open twisty road with no traffic they can handle everything I can throw at them. Just for reference, I can out drive the DS06's ability with ease. I am going to be taking a small trip, 500mi or so, and will report back on the drive. It will be mostly interstate so I don't foresee any issues.
 

Slow*Jim

Ready to race!
Location
Ohio
Are they any noisier than your previous tires? I have Hankook R-S3s and they howl like crazy above 50 or so.
 
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