Tire: Firehawk GT
Category: High Performance All-Season
UTQG (treadwear): 460 A A / 460 B A
The Firehawk GT is a mid-level high performance tire from Firestone. It's a bit of an older offering and Firestone does now have more advanced tires in this performance category. This tire is still available in a number of sizes and can be fitted to most sports coupes, sedans, and even some SUVs. These tires mold a long wearing, high-silica tread compound onto their own UNI-T Technology. This UNI-T utilizes three important areas including the beads, tread, and casing which contributes to the tire's overall traction. One interesting aspect is the Veri-pitch sequence tread pattern, and if you look at a picture of the tire, you'll see it immediately.
Drivers are a little mixed on the Firehawk GT. It ranks somewhere in the middle of the pack when comparing it with other high performance all season tires. On the positive side, you'll get quite a few miles out of a set. Most drivers seem to get at least 80,000 miles out of a set, which is very good for the aggressive tread design. I really can't point to any one thing that is 'wrong' with these tires, and I'm not alone based on others we've talked to about the tires. It's just that the tires don't perform very well compared to the competition. Dry traction, it's okay. Wet is a little worse, but snow/ice is not good. Of course that is going to be hardest test, but many other high performance tires seem to do a better job. Ride comfort and noise also appears to be a little sub par as well. But overall, when you look at the tread life/traction for how much you'll spend on a set, these are a good value any way you slice it.
