In this article we will be looking at independent tire test data, and real world driver reviews of the Bridgestone Potenza Sport and the Firestone Firehawk Sport to find out which tire is best for your own driving.
There are a few basic differences between the two tires. The Bridgestone Potenza Sport is an Max-Performance Summer tire designed to be fitted to Passenger-Cars, and the Firestone Firehawk Sport is an Ultra-High-Performance Summer tire designed to be fitted to Passenger-Cars
Independent comparison tire tests are the best source of data to get tire information from, and the good news is there have been five tests which compare both tires directly!
Out of these five tests:
While it might look like the Bridgestone Potenza Sport is better than the Firestone Firehawk Sport purely based on the higher number of test wins, tires are very complicated objects which means where one tire is better than the other can be more important in real world use.
Let's look at how the two tires compare across multiple tire test categories.
Looking at data from five tire tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during four dry braking tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport stopped the vehicle in 3.38% less distance than the Firestone Firehawk Sport.
Best In Dry Braking: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Dry Braking winner was calculated >>
2023 AutoBild Sports Car Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:33.5M | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 35.1M |
2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
Bridgestone Potenza Sport:35.2M | ✓ Firestone Firehawk Sport: 34.5M |
2025 Summer Tire Test Shootout 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:32.6M | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 34.6M |
2025 ADAC Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:34.9M | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 35.9M |
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:32.6M | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 34.6M |
Looking at data from three tire tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during three dry handling [km/h] tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was 1.57% faster around a lap than the Firestone Firehawk Sport.
Best In Dry Handling [Km/H]: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Dry Handling winner was calculated >>
2023 AutoBild Sports Car Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:115.5Km/H | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 114.3Km/H |
2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:101.1Km/H | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 100.7Km/H |
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:120.6Km/H | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 116.9Km/H |
Looking at data from five tire tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during four wet braking tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport stopped the vehicle in 6.26% less distance than the Firestone Firehawk Sport.
Best In Wet Braking: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Wet Braking winner was calculated >>
2023 AutoBild Sports Car Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:41.2M | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 42.2M |
2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
Bridgestone Potenza Sport:25.4M | ✓ Firestone Firehawk Sport: 24.3M |
2025 Summer Tire Test Shootout 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:27.6M | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 31.1M |
2025 ADAC Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:28.8M | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 30.9M |
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:43.1M | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 48.7M |
Looking at data from one tire tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during one wet braking - concrete tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport stopped the vehicle in 8.95% less distance than the Firestone Firehawk Sport.
Best In Wet Braking - Concrete: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Wet Braking - Concrete winner was calculated >>
2025 ADAC Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:34.6M | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 38M |
Looking at data from three tire tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during three wet handling [km/h] tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was 4.01% faster around a wet lap than the Firestone Firehawk Sport.
Best In Wet Handling [Km/H]: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Wet Handling winner was calculated >>
2023 AutoBild Sports Car Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:86.9Km/H | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 81.6Km/H |
2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:88.7Km/H | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 86.2Km/H |
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:73.5Km/H | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 71.3Km/H |
Looking at data from one tire tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during one wet circle tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport had 3.75% higher lateral wet grip than the Firestone Firehawk Sport.
Best In Wet Circle: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Wet Circle winner was calculated >>
2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:8.81m/s | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 8.48m/s |
Looking at data from four tire tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during two straight aqua tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport floated at a 1.24% higher speed than the Firestone Firehawk Sport.
Best In Straight Aqua: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Straight Aqua winner was calculated >>
2023 AutoBild Sports Car Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:77.8Km/H | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 74.6Km/H |
2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
Bridgestone Potenza Sport:79.3Km/H | ✓ Firestone Firehawk Sport: 79.4Km/H |
2025 ADAC Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:78.9Km/H | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 77.5Km/H |
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
Bridgestone Potenza Sport:79.1Km/H | ✓ Firestone Firehawk Sport: 79.7Km/H |
Looking at data from four tire tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during three curved aquaplaning tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport slipped out at a 5.56% higher speed than the Firestone Firehawk Sport.
Best In Curved Aquaplaning: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Curved Aquaplaning winner was calculated >>
2023 AutoBild Sports Car Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:2.72m/sec2 | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 2.45m/sec2 |
2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:3.38m/sec2 | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 3.19m/sec2 |
2025 ADAC Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:3.1m/sec2 | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 2.8m/sec2 |
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
Bridgestone Potenza Sport:3.04m/sec2 | ✓ Firestone Firehawk Sport: 3.1m/sec2 |
Looking at data from one tire tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport and Firestone Firehawk Sport performed equally well in subj. comfort tests.
Best In Subj. Comfort: Both tires performed equally well
See how the Subj. Comfort winner was calculated >>
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
Bridgestone Potenza Sport:4.3 Points | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 4.3 Points |
Looking at data from four tire tests, the Firestone Firehawk Sport was better during four noise tests. On average the Firestone Firehawk Sport measured 1.66% quieter than the Bridgestone Potenza Sport.
Best In Noise: Firestone Firehawk Sport
See how the Noise winner was calculated >>
2023 AutoBild Sports Car Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
Bridgestone Potenza Sport:69dB | ✓ Firestone Firehawk Sport: 67dB |
2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
Bridgestone Potenza Sport:71.6dB | ✓ Firestone Firehawk Sport: 71.3dB |
2025 ADAC Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
Bridgestone Potenza Sport:73.8dB | ✓ Firestone Firehawk Sport: 72.3dB |
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
Bridgestone Potenza Sport:74.6dB | ✓ Firestone Firehawk Sport: 73.6dB |
Looking at data from two tire tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during two wear tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport is predicted to cover 34.26% miles before reaching 1.6mm than the Firestone Firehawk Sport.
Best In Wear: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Wear winner was calculated >>
2025 ADAC Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:50500KM | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 34500KM |
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:45880KM | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 28860KM |
Looking at data from two tire tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during two value tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport proved to have a 26.39% better value based on price/1000km than the Firestone Firehawk Sport.
Best In Value: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Value winner was calculated >>
2025 ADAC Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:9.58Price/1000 | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 12.75Price/1000 |
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:8.37Price/1000 | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 11.64Price/1000 |
Looking at data from two tire tests, the Firestone Firehawk Sport was better during two price tests. On average the Firestone Firehawk Sport cost 16.9% less than the Bridgestone Potenza Sport.
Best In Price: Firestone Firehawk Sport
See how the Price winner was calculated >>
2023 AutoBild Sports Car Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
Bridgestone Potenza Sport:460 | ✓ Firestone Firehawk Sport: 365 |
2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
Bridgestone Potenza Sport:114 | ✓ Firestone Firehawk Sport: 112 |
Looking at data from three tire tests, the Firestone Firehawk Sport was better during three rolling resistance tests. On average the Firestone Firehawk Sport had a 25.77% lower rolling resistance than the Bridgestone Potenza Sport.
Best In Rolling Resistance: Firestone Firehawk Sport
See how the Rolling Resistance winner was calculated >>
2023 AutoBild Sports Car Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
Bridgestone Potenza Sport:9.9kg / t | ✓ Firestone Firehawk Sport: 7.05kg / t |
2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
Bridgestone Potenza Sport:10.2kg / t | ✓ Firestone Firehawk Sport: 7.1kg / t |
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
Bridgestone Potenza Sport:9.24kg / t | ✓ Firestone Firehawk Sport: 7.62kg / t |
Looking at data from one tire tests, the Firestone Firehawk Sport was better during one fuel consumption tests. On average the Firestone Firehawk Sport used 5.17% less fuel than the Bridgestone Potenza Sport.
Best In Fuel Consumption: Firestone Firehawk Sport
See how the Fuel Consumption winner was calculated >>
2025 ADAC Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
Bridgestone Potenza Sport:5.8l/100km | ✓ Firestone Firehawk Sport: 5.5l/100km |
Looking at data from one tire tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during one abrasion tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport emitted 21.33% less particle wear matter than the Firestone Firehawk Sport.
Best In Abrasion: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Abrasion winner was calculated >>
2025 ADAC Summer Tire Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Bridgestone Potenza Sport:63.8mg/km/t | Firestone Firehawk Sport: 81.1mg/km/t |
Tire Reviews also collects real world driver reviews for the Bridgestone Potenza Sport and Firestone Firehawk Sport.
In total the Bridgestone Potenza Sport has been reviewed 114 times and drivers have given the tire 81% overall.
The Firestone Firehawk Sport has been reviewed 5 times and drivers have given the tire 74% overall.
This means in real world driving, people prefer the Bridgestone Potenza Sport.
In conclusion the Bridgestone Potenza Sport performed better in dry braking, dry handling [km/h], wet braking, wet braking - concrete, wet handling [km/h], wet circle, straight aqua, curved aquaplaning, wear, value and abrasion, while the Firestone Firehawk Sport performed better in noise, price, rolling resistance and fuel consumption.
Interestingly, both tires performed equally well in dry handling, wet handling and subj. comfort, showing that they are closely matched in these areas.
Which tire is best for you depends a lot on your driving style and situation, plus what you want from the tire. Comparing all the data in the tire reviews database, on balance Bridgestone Potenza Sport seems to be the best tire overall.
However, it's important to note that both tires have their strengths.
Remember, the best tire for you might depend on which of these factors are most important for your specific driving needs and conditions.
Looking for more tire comparisons? Here are other direct comparisons involving these tires:
This page has been developed using tire industry testing best practices. This means we are only comparing tests which have had both tires in the same test.
Why is this important? Tire testing is heavily affected by things like surface grip levels and surface temperature, which means you can only compare values from the same day. During a tire test external condition changes are calculated into the overall results, but it is not possible to calculate this between tire tests performed on different days or at different locations.
As a result you will see other tests on Tire Reviews which feature both the %s and %s, but as they weren't conducted on the same day, the results are not comparable.
Lots of other websites do this sort of tire comparison, Tire Reviews doesn't.