Firestone’s Firehawk GT Pursuit put on an arresting performance during recent testing of emergency vehicle tires conducted by Police Fleet Manager magazine and Tire Rack.
It garnered top overall honors while achieving a No. 1 rating in the wet-oriented category.
“To rank first overall – when put through the real-world conditions pursuit vehicles face every day – offers real-world data first-responders can depend on,” says Phil Pacsi, a vice president at parent-firm Bridgestone.
“We knew the Firehawk GT Pursuit was a great tire, and the results of this test further reinforce our belief with solid facts,” he asserts.
Tire Rack partnered with Police Fleet Manager to test original equipment and aftermarket pursuit tires in several categories: ABS braking on dry pavement, ABS braking on wet pavement, vehicle dynamics on a dry road course and vehicle dynamics on a wet road course. For each of these objective, instrument-measured areas of performance, each test driver was asked to complete a subjective impression assessment for each tire.
Overall ratings, in which the Firestone entry ranked first, were based on all four objective measurements plus all four subjective impressions along with wet and dry results. Tire rankings were also equally weighed between various sub-categories of performance, including tire response in slalom, tire cornering around static circle, braking distances and total lap times.
All the competing tires were tested on a demanding wet and dry road course at Tire Rack’s headquarters in South Bend, Ind. Designed with 180- and 90-degree turns, short straights, cone slalom series and static circles, the tires were tested in the real-life conditions which drivers of police cars and other emergency vehicles are often forced to face when on the job.
In addition to leading the competition as the magazine’s “clear, stand-alone overall winner of the 2009 test,” the Firehawk took top rankings in the objective measurements of wet slalom speeds (transient response) and wet stopping distances. The tire also placed first in the subjective driver assessment ratings of wet steering response and wet braking traction.
“The Firestone Firehawk GT Pursuit is specifically designed for law enforcement use and to withstand the demands of high-speed emergency situations,” Pacsi points out. “The tire combines wet and dry handling with an emphasis on quick steering response.”
It is available in the following sizes to fit numerous emergency vehicles:
55 Series
P235/55/R17 98W
60 Series
P225/60/R18 99V
The complete Police Fleet Manager report can be viewed at:
http://www.batogovtires.com/Firehawk.htm.
For more information, visit www.bridgestone-firestone.com.
