Firestone Wide Ovals
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 633
Likes: 26
From: Montgomery Alabama
St. Jude Donor '09
Firestone Wide Ovals
Is there anyone out there with the wide ovals? According to the specs
they seem to be almost an inch wider. I would like to see some pics as
well if there are some available.
they seem to be almost an inch wider. I would like to see some pics as
well if there are some available.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 3,570
Likes: 3
From: Austin, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Houston, Dallas, Hong Kong, Elgin, etc.. Texas
I just arrived from a drive Austin/Houston/Austin 10 minutes ago. The tires felt great. I departed Houston this morning at 6:30 am and it was humid and misty all the way back. Traction was good even though I was driving at 90 - 130 mph most of the time. I made it in 2 1/2 hours so I average about 100 mph. Only saw one radar police car.
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,840
Likes: 7
From: no. jersey Photo by Stro
St. Jude Donor '08
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,216
Likes: 4
From: ---Phoenix, AZ --- Boiler Up, Hammer Down!
What's the loss of air pressure distance?
I've heard the flat tire range on the FWO's are from 25-50 miles? So the FWO's have half the range of the GY EMT's while flat? If so, that's not good as it's hard enough to find tires for the C6 in stock within close proximity. 
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 3,570
Likes: 3
From: Austin, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Houston, Dallas, Hong Kong, Elgin, etc.. Texas
My Goodyears SC tire pressure increased from 32 psi cold to 37 psi hot during the middle of the day in the Texas sun so I don't believe it is tire related. During this morning's 230 mile trip from Houston to Austin, the Wide Oval's only went from 32 psi to 34 psi and I was running most of the time at 100 mph +. It was early morning and heavy clouds so the pavement was not hot from the sun. Air temp was about 70 degrees.
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Racer
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 276
Likes: 0
From: Lynchburg VA
St. Jude Donor '11
I bought mine from Tire Rack and had a local installer install them.
I would definitely buy another set of FWO's.
Last edited by Kevinmatt; Feb 4, 2008 at 03:55 PM.
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 7,035
Likes: 134
From: North Augusta, SC
I replaced the Z51 GY's at 5k miles with FWO's. One year later I now have over 20k miles and about half of the rear tread is still left, which for me is absolutely amazing.
The size difference is only "on paper", they're all the same size.
IMO, FWO =
The size difference is only "on paper", they're all the same size.
IMO, FWO =
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 633
Likes: 26
From: Montgomery Alabama
St. Jude Donor '09
Thanks for the info guys. I will probably replace the
GY SC's with the wide ovals based on some of the
comments here. I have about 10K miles but they
are showing signs of wear.
GY SC's with the wide ovals based on some of the
comments here. I have about 10K miles but they
are showing signs of wear.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 6,993
Likes: 1
From: Vail, Arizona
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,651
Likes: 125
From: laguna niguel ca
Got tired of $1900 a set for goodyears on my Z51 05. Went to the Firehawk Wide oval Run Flats. Great tire, no road noise, handle great, and only $1034 out the door. That 1 inch extra width is really the section width which includes the bead to protect the wheel. It's not included in the tread width. As for traction couldn't say, having over 525rwhp. But on the open road at high speed there very stable. I recommend them.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 16,557
Likes: 2,106
From: Peoria/Phoenix AZ
C6 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
The mileage and speed they quote are ratings for self protection against liability and warranty issues. In practice, the tires will go much farther and at higher speeds. I'll testify to 80+ MPH for over 90 miles with a tire that was so low it failed to register pressure on the DIC. It was inspected by GY and pronounced repairable for high speed operation and that was 7K miles ago. Just don't mention all the facts if you need service.
