Topic: Anyone Try the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 Tire On Track?

Just bought a set of these for a DD e39 540 and I'm quite happy so far. They really quite cheap, and seem to have a decent tread for the track.

Capt. Delinquent Racing
RUST-TITE XR4Ti - '21 ARSE-FREEZE-APALOOZA  I Got Screwed
The One & Only Taurus V8 SHO #31(now moved on to another OG Delinquent)
'17 Vodden the Hell - (No) Hope for the Future Award, '08 AMP Survivor, '08 ARSE-FREEZE-APALOOZA Mega-Cheater

Re: Anyone Try the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 Tire On Track?

We bought some used that were run on a street car [unknown millage] that had been heat cycled and got 2 races out of them on our MN12 Cougar. We then bought a set of new ones they didn't last 8 hours before they started to feather and then chunk out to the point they were making us nervous.

#814, Nothin's Hotter Than A Cougar Racing, 1996 Mercury Cougar XR7

Re: Anyone Try the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 Tire On Track?

SlowMotionFire wrote:

We bought some used that were run on a street car [unknown millage] that had been heat cycled and got 2 races out of them on our MN12 Cougar. We then bought a set of new ones they didn't last 8 hours before they started to feather and then chunk out to the point they were making us nervous.

Hmmm...OK. Thanks for the info

Capt. Delinquent Racing
RUST-TITE XR4Ti - '21 ARSE-FREEZE-APALOOZA  I Got Screwed
The One & Only Taurus V8 SHO #31(now moved on to another OG Delinquent)
'17 Vodden the Hell - (No) Hope for the Future Award, '08 AMP Survivor, '08 ARSE-FREEZE-APALOOZA Mega-Cheater

Re: Anyone Try the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 Tire On Track?

At the time i estimate our car weighted 3300lbs so take that into consideration. We have really struggled to find a tire/suspension set up that handles while not chewing thru tires.  My thought on the new Indy's is that we were probably driving the car harder on the softer fresher rubber than we were on the old hard set of Indy's.

#814, Nothin's Hotter Than A Cougar Racing, 1996 Mercury Cougar XR7

Re: Anyone Try the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 Tire On Track?

Most tires that are not high performance oriented but appear to want to give that impression will do this.  Most HP street tires have shallow tread for the reason that the tread block won't heat up as much as a deeper tread. Back in the day when SCCA started showroom stock racing and it was true "showroom  stock" back then you had to race on the tires that came on the car from the factory. Teams shaved their tires to reduce tread squirm which actually resulted in the tires lasting longer and not chunking. Chunking results from the tire rubber overheating and the bonds in the rubber breaking down and then tearing under cornering load.

If you buy the Lemons  preferred brands of tires with the 200 tread wear rating you may find your tires will last longer than a tire with a 300-400 tread wear rating.