So I was about to pull the trigger on a set of Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s for my car. I noticed that they are rated "A" for traction, while almost all the other tires I looked at are rated "AA". I've heard nothing but good things about this tire on here, but this gives me pause. The mediocre tires my car came with even managed an "AA" rating, and they are Michelin MXM4 all seasons. A summer tire losing to an all season in wet braking bad enough... but the Firehawks are supposed to be high performance summer tires, while the MXM4s are not even a performance all season. Just a "grand touring all season" tire. Are the Firehawks really that bad in wet braking? (The test that determines the traction rating) To make matters a bit more infuriating, the "customer survey" section on tire rack for these tires shows that customers rated them the opposite. They rated the Firehawks better at wet traction than the MXM4... Each tire has several hundred surveys so, are people just making it up? lol. Any help would be appreciated.
Not sure on the technical side of things with the A vs AA, but I recently put a set on my dad's 2010 Fusion Sport and love em! Seem to do great in the Florida rain and stick like nobody's business
Good to hear some firsthand experience. As for the technical side of things, I believe the "traction rating" is determined strictly by straight line braking on a wet surface. So handling and acceleration are not factored in. Just braking in the wet, while going straight.
On a side note, are they quiet?
Yeah they're quiet
www.discounttiredirect.com (http://www.discounttiredirect.com) does offer Specs on Wet and Dry stopping distance rating for comparison on most tires. Z
The MICHELIN MXV4 have a Traction rating of A AFAIK!
https://www.discounttiredirect.com/buy-tires/michelin-primacy-mxv4/p/35379 (https://www.discounttiredirect.com/buy-tires/michelin-primacy-mxv4/p/35379)
https://www.discounttiredirect.com/buy-tires/michelin-pilot-super-sport/p/34223 (https://www.discounttiredirect.com/buy-tires/michelin-pilot-super-sport/p/34223)
That's a different tire, Z. The MXV4 has a rating of A. The MXM4 has a rating of AA. I checked out the ratings and I think discount tire just uses customer reviews for stopping distance instead of actually testing. I could be wrong though, I just didn't see it.