Indy 500 Sidewall Stiffness

[anotero]

Since I'm seriously contemplating Indy 500 for my next set of tires, I am interested in how stiff the sidewall is. Below are photos depicting the sidewall distortion of the MPS A/S 3+ tires I currently run. Is the Indy sidewall more or less prone to distortion compared to the MPS A/S in the photos?
Pressure in photos: about 36psi both front and rear.

 

[Jimdog]

My firehawks need 40 psi in order to not roll excessively at autocross. They will just barely reach the wear marker on the sidewall at that pressure. They are still comfortable on the street though.

 

[r12rex]

I have Firehawks, while they are great for the price, I do not like the fact that the sidewall does not provide "protection" against curbing (hey, it happens sometimes). The old stock Conti 5p that came with my R had a relatively stiffer sidewall with more grip compared to the Indy 500s. Around the same time that I mounted my Indy 500s, I bought MPS A/S 3+ for my wife's car. I was thoroughly impressed by their performance. I would have to say the sidewall stiffness is close (I run her pressures at 36 psi and mine at 39). If I had to do it all over again, I would not hesitate to purchase the AS3+ they are phenomenal considering their tire performance category, if you are looking for all out performance, I would look elsewhere (Think PS4S). If you're on a budget, the Indy 500 are impressive considering their cost, however I would not purchase them again myself. Rollover resistance is not much better, if at all, because the difference is so minute based on my experience.

If your question is literally from an aesthetic standpoint, the Indy 500s are more squared off, they run narrower than my previous Contis, and they do not "distort" like the MPS AS3+ (or my OEM Conti 5p) near the rim face (AKA they do not have the protective lip to help prevent curb rash).

Kind Regards,
Ryan

 

[anotero]

I have Firehawks, while they are great for the price, I do not like the fact that the sidewall does not provide "protection" against curbing (hey, it happens sometimes). The old stock Conti 5p that came with my R had a relatively stiffer sidewall with more grip compared to the Indy 500s. Around the same time that I mounted my Indy 500s, I bought MPS A/S 3+ for my wife's car. I was thoroughly impressed by their performance. I would have to say the sidewall stiffness is close (I run her pressures at 36 psi and mine at 39). If I had to do it all over again, I would not hesitate to purchase the AS3+ they are phenomenal considering their tire performance category, if you are looking for all out performance, I would look elsewhere (Think PS4S). If you're on a budget, the Indy 500 are impressive considering their cost, however I would not purchase them again myself. Rollover resistance is not much better, if at all, because the difference is so minute based on my experience.

If your question is literally from an aesthetic standpoint, the Indy 500s are more squared off, they run narrower than my previous Contis, and they do not "distort" like the MPS AS3+ (or my OEM Conti 5p) near the rim face (AKA they do not have the protective lip to help prevent curb rash).

Kind Regards,
Ryan

Thanks for the thorough review.
I was asking about sidewall stiffness not for aesthetic reasons, but to get a sense of how stiff the Indies are as gauged against a tire that I am familiar with (the MPS A/S3+ in this case). I am definitely on a budget, and I don't think PS4S are in the cards for me at this point.

 

[sloopercat]

I run the AS3s on my Miata as my cold weather set. Have used them on spirited twisty road runs as well. They are very impressive tires, from behind the wheel I would never know I was driving an all season tire. If you really got them hot, they start to get a bit greasy, but I have seen similar things with dedicated summer performance tires. That’s the tire that is going on my new GTI, maybe sooner than later as I would like a bit wider tire as well. We get enough of the four seasons here that I can’t use a summer tire year round.

 

[blaqsheep]

I have the Pilot AS3 and 3+ on two other cars, albeit on 17" wheels. The Indy's felt firmer on the 18x8 setup I ran. Sidewall was pretty stiff and handled well, some rollover at low psi's on the track. They run pretty narrow (rounded), so size up if you can. I've since downsized and went with wider Falken FK510 tires.

225/40R18 Indy's on 18x8 +45 Konig Oversteer wheels.

 

[anotero]

I have the Pilot AS3 and 3+ on two other cars, albeit on 17" wheels. The Indy's felt firmer on the 18x8 setup I ran. Sidewall was pretty stiff and handled well, some rollover at low psi's on the track. They run pretty narrow (rounded), so size up if you can. I've since downsized and went with wider Falken FK510 tires.

225/40R18 Indy's on 18x8 +45 Konig Oversteer wheels.

My wheels are also 18x8 et45. What can you say about the Falken tires compared to Indy 500?

 

[blaqsheep]

My wheels are also 18x8 et45. What can you say about the Falken tires compared to Indy 500?

I found them more comfortable and better in the rain. Grip is better but I attribute that to the wider size, it's also 300TW vs. 340TW on the Indy's. Tread pattern is very similar to Michelin's PSS.

For a budget tire, I would get whatever costs less between Indy 500's, FK510 and Gmax RS.

 

[20ls01]

I have the indy 500 and have 3 track days on it. When im not on a the track, i run them at 38 psi COLD and 36-37 psi HOT for track days. The side walls to me feel a little bit on the stiff side. It was immediately felt after i put them on prior to having the OEM hankook and good year asymmetric 3.

I actually prefer it be stiffer which results in better steering response and turn in. While these are not track focus tires, they do grip very well(almost PSS levels) but on the track you can feel some side wall flex. Maybe i just need to up the psi a tad bit.

Excellent dual duty tire. I will buy more track capable tires next time though...

 

[YamR1rider]

I found them more comfortable and better in the rain. Grip is better but I attribute that to the wider size, it's also 300TW vs. 340TW on the Indy's. Tread pattern is very similar to Michelin's PSS.

For a budget tire, I would get whatever costs less between Indy 500's, FK510 and Gmax RS.

And I think if people drive in the rain a lot, the latter two are the better choices nowadays. When it came out the Indy was the standout choice for the price, but the others seem to be very very close in the dry yet massively better in the wet from all the reviews....a sign of tire tech moving on.

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

Tire Rack has a good summary https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=235

 

[r12rex]

I forgot to mention, the load index of the AS3+ I bought for my wifes car is 91, so this could be a contributing factor to why the difference between Indy 500 and AS3+ sidewall stiffness was negligible. AS3+ also come at a lesser load index of 87 which would make them "Softer". My indy 500s are ever so slightly stiffer than my wifes AS3+.

Kind Regards,
Ryan

 

[Jarbear]

My firehawks need 40 psi in order to not roll excessively at autocross. They will just barely reach the wear marker on the sidewall at that pressure.

I have the indy 500 and have 3 track days on it. When im not on a the track, i run them at 38 psi COLD and 36-37 psi HOT for track days.

I ran my Indy 500 at 32psi cold this past weekend at Thunderhill (East Bypass). Barely reached the wear markers. On the street I'm at 37-38psi

 

[Swoope]

as to the indy 500s. they are a great DD tire. and a really good starting to track tire.. they are 95% of what the mich pss is with much less wear.. i have about 4 20 min sessions on these as i was heat cycling some 888rs. these are 225 40 18, not beefy enough for wheel protection.

i would run them at ~ 36 hot.

beers