Tire question

[The Right Formula]

Hey folks, quick tire-type question for the Forum.

Car in Sig, currently OEM front tires and Bridgestone Potenza Pole Positions in the rear replaced about 2k miles ago. Fronts are in desperate need of replacement and I have a choice to make: either get two more Bridgestone's for the rear and move the current rears up front, or grab 4 new Firestone Firehawks. The Pole Positions are all-season and the Firehawks are Summer-only.

I'll be purchasing from Tirerack.com unless anyone knows of a cheaper place. How much risk would I be taking if I purchased two Firehakws and tossed them on the rear? I know mixing brands is somewhat taboo, but since both will be on the same axle does it lessen the impact?

[MagicRat]

Do you mean the Firehawk Wide Ovals?

I compared the specs, and they are pretty close. But the Firestones do not last as long as the Potenzas, which indicates they are a softer compound, and will get better traction especially on dry pavement. Also, the larger tread blocks means less tread squirm so they should feel more precise during hard and fast cornering.

The Potenzas will last longer and get better traction in bad weather, but will have slightly less dry-pavement traction. Also they might feel slightly less precise during hard cornering due to the smaller tread blocks.

I think your choice depends on your use. If this is your only car, and you use it for lots of commuting, daily driving, and higher mileage, just get 2 more Potenzas.

But if this is only for occasional use, weekends, high performance, autocross use etc, go with 4 Firehawks.

Finally, IMO do not mix the two brands. I think things will get pretty squirrily during hard cornering if you do that.

[Scrapper]

Originally Posted by The Right Formula

Hey folks, quick tire-type question for the Forum.

Car in Sig, currently OEM front tires and Bridgestone Potenza Pole Positions in the rear replaced about 2k miles ago. Fronts are in desperate need of replacement and I have a choice to make: either get two more Bridgestone's for the rear and move the current rears up front, or grab 4 new Firestone Firehawks. The Pole Positions are all-season and the Firehawks are Summer-only.

I'll be purchasing from Tirerack.com unless anyone knows of a cheaper place. How much risk would I be taking if I purchased two Firehakws and tossed them on the rear? I know mixing brands is somewhat taboo, but since both will be on the same axle does it lessen the impact?

i would go back to brigestone i don't think much of firestone and get a alignment. and keep up the air in the tires not what the tires sais of pressure there should be a sticker on you drivers side door what psi you should run.

good luck.......

[inafogg]

personally i'd go with 2 more bridgestones exspecially if it is a daily driver
not sure if i'd rotate,just put them up front & rotate in 4k
not a big fan on firestone,but have had good luck with br/stone

[The Right Formula]

Thanks for the replies. It's not a daily driver, rarely sees travel in the winter months, 2002 and only 21,xxx miles. I'll have periods of spirited driving, but by no means is it anything approaching autocross stuff or extreme cornering, or anything requiring god-like traction. I read all the replies and I think I'll stick with adding two more Bridgestones at the moment - should save a bit of money too.

Thanks again