Firestone RoadHawk is most often described as a strong-value mid-range tire with confident dry and wet grip (including good resistance to standing water) and a generally comfortable ride. However, a large share of drivers report rapid tread wear-sometimes uneven-leading to poor longevity and value over time. Another recurring complaint is very soft sidewalls/deflection that can make the tire look under-inflated and contribute to vague steering/handling on some cars, with noise levels also reported as higher by a notable minority.
What owners mention most counted across 43 reviews
We fitted four of these tires to a Vauxhall Zafira 1.9 CDTI Automatic.
They tend to look under-inflated, because the side walls bulge a bit more than all the other tires we've used in the past.
After just 5300 miles, the front tires are now down to 3 - 4.5mm across the width.
Yes, the wear is uneven despite the tracking being done at the time of fitting. But even ignoring that, if they were 4-4.5 all the way across, they would seem to be wearing much faster expected, for a car that is driven gently much of the time.
The grip is all I could ask for at the price, both wet and dry. Even in damp conditions you don't tend to get much wheel spin.
Despite the softer sidewalls, they still give decent feedback, and have not made the handing much worse (though the Zafira is not the sort of car that you can throw around bends at the best of times).
If they were not wearing so fast, I'd have been pleased with them, especially for the fairly low price I paid.
But it seems that they will need replacing once they are about 7000 - 8000 miles old! That's just not good enough.
First off, it's paramount to state these tires ARE NOT SPORT tires. These tires are a middle of the road, family car, daily driver tire. They are soft, grippy in the wet & dry, quiet, and very comfortable when driven in the green zone. They're not designed or manufactured for even moderately spirited driving, not-to-mention sporty driving.
I have these fitted on the front of my Mk2 Octavia replacing a pair of Hankooks that were fantastic for the 2 years I had them but should have lasted much longer considering their price point.
So, if you are looking for tires for the car you ferry your little precious ones around in then you are on to a winner here. They do everything very well. Their only two negatives are pricing and durability. Their price point is a little excessive for their known wear issues. They're not starting off great at 7mm thread depth and Firestone are not noted for their supremely durable compounds so I'll be happy if they last 2.5 - 3 years on the back as Im switching to a pair of Crossclimates on the front as soon as my tire shop gets them in.
Final word. Know what type of driving you do b4 choosing this tire. It great only for what its designed to do.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
After checking over the Roadhawk as the outer edge of the front tire was worn I was surprised to find there was only maybe 1mm of tread above the legal marker bumps left across the tire which in fairness was evenly worn across all of the tire. I found the receipt and the tire was only 18 months old with 23000 miles on it.
Looking at the Black Circles website these tires are described as 'mid-range' and cost £96.50 being described as 'formulated for long lasting tread'??!
My diesel Avensis is no power machine so I'm really disappointed with the wear rate!
I noticed other reviews mirrored my opinion that if when fully inflated the sidewall looks saggy.
Handling and grip are pretty good, using rural roads with lots of standing water or muddy surfaces from tractors have never been a problem but I wouldn't buy Firestones again because of the poor wear.
Which tires do you drive?
Researching the Firestone RoadHawk? Rate the tires you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
Fitted the Firestone RoadHawks to the front of my 2010 320d Touring as the run flats were excessively hard, very noisy, lacked feel and were a brand I am not keen on (inherited by the previous owner). Instantly the front end was riding properly, soaking up bumps and going round corners effortlessly. I have had those tires on for 3000 miles now and they still look brand new. They have been so good through the bad weather and very hot weather that when the rear Conti run flats were wearing, they have been replaced with the Firestone's.
Again, the ride is much better, much quieter and the grip in the dry is simply fantastic. The back of the car is finally connected to the front in the corners and in the dry, the traction control light hasn't come on at all.
A couple of things I have to comment on is the wet grip and the look of the tire. The wet grip is brilliant but, when pulling out of a junction on a steep hill, the tires did spin and the traction control light came on. I'm not overly concerned about this as the rain was torrential and with 181bhp and no weight in the car, is to be expected. Also, they tires do have a soft-ish sidewall and so they can look a little under-inflated on certain ground conditions.
Other than those two bits, they are fantastic and a really good mid-range tire. If you want to remove the run-flats which I highly recommend you do, I cant recommend the Firestone Roadhawk enough to you.
Member
225/45 R17
Vauxhall Astra H 1.8 Estate driver back again with my last review on this tire 205/55r16 91v. Well I had enough of them about a month back these tire's were not getting any better with time. The warmer the weather went the worse they became I was constantly checking the pressures because they just looked flatter all the time, and the cornering ride wasn't giving any confidence any more.
These tires maybe ok on the rear of the car but for me not on the front..so they had to go. I have fitted a better/mid/budget tire the Viking Protech Newgen, after their running in period they has transformed the front end all together the car is now nice to drive again. The Firestones may be ok for some cars they did not do well on my Astra.
Cheers
I have fitted these tires on my Giulietta last summer and the car felt worse from the beginning. The ride was rough and there were vibrations felt through the seat and in the steering wheel at high speeds. I tried balancing several times, even at a road force balancing machine that revealed uniformity issues. Indeed, during these 5000 miles I had to rebalance them every so often. As it is mentioned in other posts, the deflection of these tires is huge, the sidewalls seem very soft and therefore cornering is a mess. I didn't find them quiet either and their wear rate was poor. First, they have around 7mm when they are brand new and they were down to 4.5-5mm in 5000 miles of really average driving. Overall, I cannot recommend this tire especially when you can buy a premium one at this price range.
Came with car as factory fit, very good dry and wet grip, for normal driving (without any sport driving intentions because when you push them to a limit they start to loose grip easly) handling is more than fine, on higher speeds can get noisy. Most of the time II had feeling that I don't feel what's happening with car, and in my opinion road feedback is not so good. I wouldn't recommend buying these tires to premium or any other cars than small or city cars. They are ok tires, although there are better out there for the same price.
Have these on the front of my alfa gtv 2.0 ,Bit of a mixed bag to be honest feel very grippy in the dry but I dont think they do much for the handling at all have had them push out in the dry on corners and
they seem to cause the front of the car to bounce around. The bigest surprise was the loss of traction in the wet in a straight line , the gtv is no rocket ship but they wheel spin in the wet when the t spark engine hits the power band not good at all, they are being put on the back of the car and replaced with somthing that is a lot firmer
I have recently fitted these tires to the rear of my car (RWD). So far they have been a comfortable, grippy tire in the wet and dry, although I have not found its limit yet. The downsides I have found with this tire are that they don't come with a rim protector, which added to the overall look of the tire. As a result, the sidewall looks a bit thinner than it is. The sidewall is also very soft, to the touch and to look at. The tire constantly looks under-inflated when in fact it is not.
And finally the biggest downside - as mentioned by other posters - the tire only comes with a tread depth of ~6mm when new. This is less than any other new tire I have bought.
Overall, a good performing, reasonably prices tire, although there are better out there for the same price.
For this price tires are really good. Excellent dry grip. I recenty bought them and didnt drive at wet condition. Looks like there is less than 8mm of tire when bought new.They are produced in new Bridgestone factory in Hungary.
They have much better grip then 3,5 years old Michelins, that I had before. On other car I drive new Nokian Line, and this tire feels the same at road. Sidewall looks a little bit softer when touched then expected. I would allways recommend Continental if you have money, but if budget is too low this tire does the same job.
Just an update on my tires after a trip to Cornwall, my overall advice is don't put these on the front of the car, the deflection ( bulge ) is too great this is a straight line tire it does not like sweeping bends at all. It is a very comfy tire its good in the wet its good in the dry but only at low speeds do not push this tire it cant take it. Even my partner has commented are they low on pressure, they are on eco pressures at the mo 36psi and they still look low the sidewall just pushes outwards they are weak. The other tires I have used are of a stiffer side wall and hold themselves on bends and I am not concerned but these on moderate fast roads are a nightmare on the front.
cheers
Tuff Tire to review, its a very soft tire compared to others very soft sidewall I am on 36psi on the front to decrease tire deflection should be 31psi in summer and its still a sponge, dry cornering is noisy because of the tire flexing straight line is fine also its a very comfy ride. In the wet its brill coz its a soft tire and is not a worry at all. One thing because this tire is not sold outside of the UK there are is no information on the sidewall apart from size and speed and load there is no maxx cold psi at all they are not obligated to put any information on the side wall. I spoke to Firestone and they said if you need to know anything about the psi loading you have to phone them to calculate axle weight load rate for them to tell you what air pressure you can inflate the tire to and they will not tell you treadwear at all..I know its pants.
I will not buy this tire again because i like to read the information I require from the sidewall, and not have to contact the manufacturer.
