Now that I have more than 500 miles on the Firehawk SZ50EP tires, I feel much better about them.
05-30-2002, 02:06 PM
#1
AudiWorld Senior Member
Thread Starter
Now that I have more than 500 miles on the Firehawk SZ50EP tires, I feel much better about them.
Overall, they are a surprisingly good tire. My car originally came with 16" Goodyear touring tires. Since then I changed to 17" wheels with (successively) Dunlop SP9000, Bridgestone SO2PP, Toyo T1S, and now the Firestones.
The SZ50EP are closest in character to the SP9000, but with the grip of the SO2PP. They actually grip better than the Toyos, but do not have their razor sharp feedback. The very communicative feedback of the Toyos make them great track tires even if they lack ultimate grip. For normal road use however, the tires tramline too much and got progressively noisier as they got older - annoyingly so at end of life.
The SO2PPs strike a better compromise between road and track - better grip and stability with acceptable ride and noise; good feedback but not as good as Toyo.
In comparison, the SZ50EP is comparable in grip with the SO2PP but with better ride and noise characteristics. Where they trail the others is in communication to the driver - I don't feel so connected to the road. Turn in is a little wooly. This is probably the least satisfying on the track even if it aquits itself quite well in terms of outright performance.
Overall I am quite happy with these tires and I don't feel like a fool in having bought them, despite the naysayers on this forum. They are comfortable, they allow me to take cloverleafs at insane speeds, and they will last a heck of a lot longer then either the Toyos (20K miles) or the SO2PP (16K miles)!
So for those of you who can look past the Firestone name, these are good tires. You get basically the same technology as the SO2PP (SO3 is a little newer and slightly different), for less money and with longer life. It is a combination I can live with.
The SZ50EP are closest in character to the SP9000, but with the grip of the SO2PP. They actually grip better than the Toyos, but do not have their razor sharp feedback. The very communicative feedback of the Toyos make them great track tires even if they lack ultimate grip. For normal road use however, the tires tramline too much and got progressively noisier as they got older - annoyingly so at end of life.
The SO2PPs strike a better compromise between road and track - better grip and stability with acceptable ride and noise; good feedback but not as good as Toyo.
In comparison, the SZ50EP is comparable in grip with the SO2PP but with better ride and noise characteristics. Where they trail the others is in communication to the driver - I don't feel so connected to the road. Turn in is a little wooly. This is probably the least satisfying on the track even if it aquits itself quite well in terms of outright performance.
Overall I am quite happy with these tires and I don't feel like a fool in having bought them, despite the naysayers on this forum. They are comfortable, they allow me to take cloverleafs at insane speeds, and they will last a heck of a lot longer then either the Toyos (20K miles) or the SO2PP (16K miles)!
So for those of you who can look past the Firestone name, these are good tires. You get basically the same technology as the SO2PP (SO3 is a little newer and slightly different), for less money and with longer life. It is a combination I can live with.
05-30-2002, 05:15 PM
#3
Audiworld Junior Member
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Thanks for the feedback ...
I've been considering them since I read the ratings on tirerack but had not heard any live reviews from the forum.
I may just consider them in 245/40-18's ... now if I can only find cheaper wheels (Got a quote on Brabus Monoblock V- 2pc... $1100 freaking dollars ... for one freaking wheel!... talk about overpaying !)
I may just consider them in 245/40-18's ... now if I can only find cheaper wheels (Got a quote on Brabus Monoblock V- 2pc... $1100 freaking dollars ... for one freaking wheel!... talk about overpaying !)
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