Firehawk Indy 500 or Conti ECS

As the title says, for a daily driver with some occasional fun autocross runs (I.e., not trying to win anything) which one would you get, Firehawk Indy 500 or Conti ECS?or maybe other 300tw option?  It'll be used for a DD so it needs to have decent grip in the rain. It's for an Abarth 500 if that matters. It'll be in 205/45/16 or 205/40/17 size. Thanks guys. 

ECS are gumballs and seem to wear like iron.  Very happy with them.

They aren't as verbal as I'd like, but that's just fine.  They also hydroplane a little compared to my previous favorite tire, the BFG SC2, but the increased wet grip vastly makes up for it.  (good on wet, not so much at cutting through deep standing water)  They are also remarkably quiet.

I have the Firehawks on my Prelude. I love 'em, I'm on my 3rd set.

I use them pretty much exactly how you describe.

I like the Indy 500's. Not the stickiest tire in the world, but good dynamics, affordable, and they wear like iron. 

ECS doesn't have a 205/40/17 and 16" sizes seems to be the one place that indy 500s are noticeably cheaper than ECS so that makes things a bit interesting. If you want 17s the choice is easy since you only have one option, if you want 16s I'd be tempted to spend the extra $50 for the ECSs but both are probably comparable deals for the price.

ECS may be a little more spendy but I’ll tell you they transformed my Mustang compared to the stock Pirellis.  

I have a set of the Indy 500s on my Ralliart wagon. They're really great. I've thought about trying the ECS for my next set on the car so I could do a comparison, but only if the price is really close. 

Haven't driven the Indys but ECS are nutty in the wet.  
Crazy good rain tires.

In reply to dps214 :

I actually did a -1 fitment, went from stock 235/40-18 to 235/45-17.  Sooo worth it, even on my tank of a car I can feel the reduction in rotating/unsprung weight.  They also seem to sit better on an 8" wheel, my only option for width.  (Wider rubs.  Heck, 8" rubs)

Some of you say the ECS are quiet, but personally, I think they're rather loud.  But they're otherwise great tires.  Tons of grip, excellent in the rain, etc.  They aren't the longest lasting tire out there, but I wouldn't really expect better from something with their level of grip. 

Grip-wise, with the ECS in 255/45 and 275/40 on 18x9 and 18x9.5 on the E38, on the street you hit the threshold of "wow, I'm being an irresponsible moron" long before you hit the grip limits in most cases, even in the wet. 

In reply to dps214 :

You're right, on Tirerack a set of ECS is about $50 more than the Indy 500 in 205/45/16...sounds like can't go wrong either way...

The ECS on the Boxster have been a riot. Great grip, but kinda loud. The rears are worn to the bars on the inside with less than 20k on them. Regular rotations, and pressure checks. 
No experience with the Indis. 

In reply to rslifkin :

To be fair, my previous summer tires were Focus ST takeoffs (Goodyear Eagle something-or-other) and half the year I had Cooper winter tires or Michelin winter tires, which both quickly get choppy and noisy enough to rival mud tires.

Also, the roads here are asphalt, possibly rubberized.  I just got back from Michigan where the roads are concrete, and those roads are so loud that I could hear them over my two season old Blizzaks.

After about 10,000 miles on the ECSs they still have 8/32 of tread.  That is incredible to me for the grip level.  Some cars do wear tires at an incredible rate due to static and dynamic toe, so YMMV of course.

In reply to rslifkin :

Compared to the Pirellis the ECS are super quiet in my experience.    Which must mean the Pirellis were hard as rocks, obscenely loud or all of the above.   I had to be very careful making turns if it was at all wet with the Pirellis, ECS are a huge improvement all around.  Quiet is a relative term anyway when one finds it necessary to put Roush axle backs on in place of perfectly good factory mufflers but the inner 9 year old won that argument.  

11GTCS said:

In reply to rslifkin :

Compared to the Pirellis the ECS are super quiet in my experience.    Which must mean the Pirellis were hard as rocks, obscenely loud or all of the above.   I had to be very careful making turns if it was at all wet with the Pirellis, ECS are a huge improvement all around.  Quiet is a relative term anyway when one finds it necessary to put Roush axle backs on in place of perfectly good factory mufflers but the inner 9 year old won that argument.  

Those mustang pirellis are all around awful as far as I can tell.

My only reference point for tire noise on the ECS is autocross tires. Which they're much quieter than, but...that's about as low a bar as you can get except maybe full tread snow tires. There is a fair amount of "noise" but I can't really differentiate tire noise from general drivetrain/engine cruising noise.

Not to add more options but what about Yokohama Advan Fleva V701? I have no personal experience but maybe others have tested them. They're in the same class as the other two and come in the two sizes OP is interested in.

I'll expand on the noise thing a bit.  On truly perfect asphalt, the ECS are quiet enough that they might as well be silent.  On any other surface, they range from a bit loud to very loud.  On most surfaces, they're a different noise than my Blizzaks in the winter, but not much quieter. 

Of course, tire noise varies depending on the vehicle.  Some vehicles isolate certain frequencies of tire noise better than others, which can make a big difference in what you notice. 

No experience with the ECS, but the Indy 500 are pretty quite. Had RE-71R and those are noisy. 

My wife had the 500s on her Sky Redline, and I have ran ECS on a 328 wagon and Elise. If I put new tires on my Clubman, they'll be ECS. The 500s just didn't impress me, especially in the rain, whereas I have done a track day in the rain with the ECS. That being said, the Elise runs much skinnier tires (ie, better in the rain) than the Sky and handling is more than just a little bit better to start with. Correcting for those factors, the 500s are probably close enough that, especially for a daily driver, there won't be a real-world difference performance-wise. Regarding noise, her Sky was straight piped, and my Elise isn't exactly quiet either, so tire noise is never a factor when I shop. 

I don't have any personal experience with either but from everything I have read about them it seems like the 500 and ECS have fairly similar (read: very good) dry grip, but by most accounts the ECS has considerably better wet grip.  If nothing else that would sway me towards the ECS unless I lived in an extremely dry area, especially since the cost for a set is within $50.  If the cost was $50+ per tire then I might choose differently.  

Stock size ECS on my stock suspension 2015 WRX at a rainy track day generated 1G in the corners. I was very impressed with them that day, would definitely recommend.