B-stone Potenza S007A vs. Firehawk Indy 500 vs. ?

So it's getting to be time for tires on the 11' WRX and I want a summer tire for daily driving, a few autocrosses a year, and a track day or two.  Supposedly the S007A is the spiritual successor to the RE-11 in that it offers lots of grip, but is considerably more comfortable than a competitive street spec autocross tire or so says Tire Rack.   My shop (shout out to Gran Turismo East for you ATLiens) recommended the Indy 500 as a lower cost alternative, but I've played the 300ish treadwear game for awhile with Yoko S.Drives and I've convinced myself I want something more aggressive.  I'm really not sure how they compare though.

That said, I'm mostly daily driving this thing with toddlers in-tow so I'm willing to trade a bit of all-out grip for better road manners.  Tread life isn't really a concern, since I'm not putting a ton of miles on every day.  So what have you guys tried that works reasonably well for this master-of-none scenario that I desire? 

The S. Drives are definitely not the stickiest thing in the 300-ish treadwear range and they're a pretty old design too.  Something like the PS4S or ECS will have a lot more grip and most of the other options in the max performance category are likely somewhere in between. 

Yeah, the Pilot Sport 4S seems to be what I'm really looking for, but they're considerably more expensive than the S007A, as is the Michelin way.  They're in separate categories (S007A is in the Mountain Dew chugging EXXXXTREEEM) so unfortunatley they don't get compared in any tests that I've seen.

I decided on the Firehawk Indy 500 in a similar situation, at the moment they're much cheaper than the Conti Extreme Contact Sports and seemed comparable or better than the S-Drives.  

Firestone Complete Auto Care shop has a good special right now, $40 off $200 of tires, $100 off $500 of tires (only up to 6/9/19) AND a $60-$100 rebate that includes  the Firehawk Indy 500 (lasts longer into July I think).  So potentially $200 off, and firestone shop had my size of Indy 500 listed at $94 vs TireRack $104.

https://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/sem/epic-savings-event/?lw_cmp=oloc_gmb_eg-all-all-gmb

https://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/offers/offer-detail/fs-60-40-promo-may9-jul8-2019

I'd say get those for daily duty and pickup a dedicated set of track tires/wheels if you're serious. If you run a 200 TW tire daily they'd be a compromise in wear, noise, etc. especially if they're tracked as well.

I had Indy 500's about five years ago and they're decent in the dry, laughable in rain/snow/etc.  May not be an issue for you, can't tell, your call.  This was basically daily driver stuff and not any sort of racing purpose.

In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :

The Indy 500 was redesigned (or rebadged) less than 5 years ago IIRC. It used to be called the indu 500 wideoval, and they were as you say, not great in the dry and terrible in everyrhng else. They were directional. 

The newer ones are a rebadged Bridgestone from the UK SE003 or something like that. They are much better in everything, except snow. They are asymmetrical

In the 300ish range I've been using the Sailun Atrezzo SVA1 which is on the cheaper end of the spectrum if that's what you're after. I've been really pleased for the price. I think they were like 80 per corner mounted and with road hazzard(235/45r17). Not as quiet as a more expensive tire but they are fine in wet or dry and have worn really well. No comment in cold temps but it's a 300tw tire so I don't think you'll be using them in snow/ice anyway.

engiekev said:

I decided on the Firehawk Indy 500 in a similar situation, at the moment they're much cheaper than the Conti Extreme Contact Sports and seemed comparable or better than the S-Drives.  

Firestone Complete Auto Care shop has a good special right now, $40 off $200 of tires, $100 off $500 of tires (only up to 6/9/19) AND a $60-$100 rebate that includes  the Firehawk Indy 500 (lasts longer into July I think).  So potentially $200 off, and firestone shop had my size of Indy 500 listed at $94 vs TireRack $104.

https://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/sem/epic-savings-event/?lw_cmp=oloc_gmb_eg-all-all-gmb

https://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/offers/offer-detail/fs-60-40-promo-may9-jul8-2019

I'd say get those for daily duty and pickup a dedicated set of track tires/wheels if you're serious. If you run a 200 TW tire daily they'd be a compromise in wear, noise, etc. especially if they're tracked as well.

Thanks for the heads up on those Firestone rebates and specials!  That might be a game-changer.

A separate set of wheels & tires aren't in the cards at the moment and I'm not super serious anyway.  All that fun money is going to Lemons right now.

pres589 and Opti - thanks for the heads up and clarification

buzzboy - I wasn't even aware that there was such a tire as a Sailun.  $80 per corner is way less expensive than what I've been considering so I'll give it a look.  That said, I'd say my priorities are performance > comfort > price > treadwear.  

I've had both the Indy 500s and S.Drives though unfortunately on different cars so it's a little hard to compare directly. I think the Indy 500s are slightly better though they're more just "different" than anything else. I'd honestly go with whatever's cheapest in the <400TW range and made by a real company. (I was looking at some alternatives but the Indy 500 was basically the only one that existed in the 16" sizxe I needed) The only other thing I can say is that maybe the rumor about the S007 is true, maybe it isn't. But I wouldn't necessarily expect a 240TW tire to perform better than a 340TW one just because of the rating.

The Indy 500's are the Bridgestone RE003 from overseas.

I have the new Firehawk AS ad my DD tires on the focus. They were on sale with solid midpack performance when i was shopping last year. 


Which of these tires to pick depends on your goal and since autox is on your list I recommend the Conti or the Michelin. These are the go to tires. 

The conti wears like a pencil eraser and you have to be careful not to push it. They're very soft. 

These tires also need camber if you're going to push them in dry autox. you're going to put a lot of strain on the shoulder if you don't have camber and they're going to not like it and will probably wear out prematurely on the shoulders or chunk. 

The WRX is not as heavy on the front as some cars. but it's no lightweight. 

 

Correct, I had the Wide Oval 500's, and they were nothing to get excited about.  I wasn't aware of the redo.  I think a lot of good Firestone tires start life as Bridgestones and are then rebadged after a few years.

The indy 500's are faster around the tire rack testing track than the continentals.  They were not that far off the falken rtk615's.

I just bought a set for my challenge car but have not driven it enough to comment on the tires.

I just put a second set of Indy 500’s on my Speed3. I think they’re a great DD tire. Good grip dry and good hydroplane resistance. 

spacecadet said:

The conti wears like a pencil eraser and you have to be careful not to push it. They're very soft. 

Well that's no fun... 

Gonna put in a vote for the Michelins even though you said they're too expensive. PS4S are like magic - they grip better than some tires in the 200tw class and last a whole lot longer.

I had the Indy 500s and they were nice to daily drive on, a little frustrating at the autocross since they couldn't keep up with the 200TW crowd.

Matt B said:

spacecadet said:

The conti wears like a pencil eraser and you have to be careful not to push it. They're very soft. 

Well that's no fun... 

 By push it I am speaking to using slip angle. I have previously just driven through it because I'm a hack and I just basically over drive the front. 

Mazdeuce and I spent time working on me feeling the slip angle and being able to back off a bit. I still scrub a bit, but I used to be really bad about it. 

These tires will wear out quickly if pushed hard in that manner. The basically work at any temp above freezing. The PS4S likes some heat to hit peak grip. 

The PS4S is my favorite of the 2, but the ECS is cheaper. 

I've definitely noticed that the ECS is not a tire that likes to be thrown into a corner violently.  It likes to be loaded up a little more gently toward peak grip and starts to feel a bit numb if you expect to just snap it right up to peak grip really quickly (and it's very easy to over-do it if you try). 

In reply to spacecadet & rslifkin :

Gotcha - doesn't sound like the ECS like to be man-handled.  Thanks for the clarification.

Also, looks like a few people think the PS4S is worth the price between their performance and lifespan.  I may have to do some couch cushion digging.

In reply to redstapler :

That makes sense the 500 wouldn't hang with the competitive tires at autocross.  As long as they're not frustrating or have some sort of Achilles heel then that's acceptable.  I'm not really autocrossing competitively these days since most of my disposable time/energy/money goes to Lemons.  Or at least that's what I tell myself.  Talk to me again after I'm hawking the times at the next event. 

I autocrossed them on an under-tired E90 335 with stock suspension and too much power. It was hot out and the course was long and high speed and we were running it hard with multiple drivers. The tires seemed to work well and looked basically unfazed after the event. I got my  current set specifically as a DD tire that I knew could put up with the one or two autocrosses I inevitable end up doing in the car each year largely based on that experience.

In reply to dps214 :

When you say "them" which tire are you talking about? Indy 500?

Sorry. Yes, the indy 500s.

I will be autocrossing my NX2000 with the 500's this weekend as long as the weather cooperates.   I will let you know how they fair.