Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval AS Tire Review
High Performance All Season Tire The Firehawk Wide Oval AS, just like other all seasons tires, is designed for dry and wet traction, as well as light snow conditions. UTQG Ratings: Treadwear: 460 Traction: A Temperature: A
If you are not driving in snow and icy conditions during the winter, go with a summer tire. Summer tires perform better in both dry and wet conditions than an all season tire. You can read reviews for high performance summer tires here: Summer Tire Reviews. On to the Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval All Season - this tire comes in H (130 mph), V (149 mph), and W (168 mph) speed ratings. It is geared toward sports cars and sedans that are looking for great traction and handling in most weather conditions. If you click on the tire's image on the left you can see the asymmetric tread pattern in greater detail. Two circumferential grooves that go around the whole tire help channel out water in wet weather conditions, while the smaller grooves assist with snow and ice traction. Tested:
When the tires hit the road, they feel more like touring tires than high performance tires. They provide a nice and comfortable ride, absorbing the roads imperfections. These are geared towards people looking for crisp steering response and tight handling, which are both a little bit sluggish compared to similar tires in this category. Wet traction is ok, but when the tires are pushed a bitter harder they slip pretty easily, especially when cornering. When driven over a large puddle to test hydroplaning the tires performed well, probably due to the large amount of chutes that channel water out. These same chutes do cause the tires to produce some noise on the highway. When driven in the snow the tires grip well, and provide good traction for an all season tire. On ice the tires perform well too, inspiring confidence when cornering, and going up / down hills. This is quite surprising due to the small amount of sipes in the tread pattern.
Conclusion:
While we have been a bit hard on the Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval AS in this review, in actuality it is a decent all season tire. It provides good steering response and handling, just not on par with some of the other tires in the high performance all season category. It does give the driver a nice and comfortable ride, and surprisingly good traction for winter conditions. Price ranges from about $83 to $200 per tire depending on size and speed rating. Similar High Performance All Season Tires: Best Kumho Ecsta PA31 Better Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 Good Bridgestone Potenza G 019 Grid Video:
The guys at Tire Rack compare the Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval AS to the following tires: Dunlop SP Sport Signature Yokohama Avid Envigor Goodyear Eagle GT |
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All Season Performance Tires
Excellent response and handling in wet and dry conditions, as well as light snow.
Excellent response and handling in wet and dry conditions, as well as light snow.
Performance Summer Tires
Low profile tires provide great handling and traction for both dry and wet conditions
Low profile tires provide great handling and traction for both dry and wet conditions