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Firestone Winterhawk 3 View Gallery (1)
155-245/40-70 R13-18 58 sizes 2013 Winter rated

Firestone Winterhawk 3

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The Firestone Winterhawk 3 is a Touring Winter tyre designed to be fitted to Passenger Cars.

6.5
Tyre Reviews Score Based on Professional Tests & User Reviews
High Confidence View Breakdown
Dry Grip
78%
Wet Grip
69%
Road Feedback
69%
Handling
68%
Wear
75%
Comfort
73%
Buy again
66%
Snow Grip
60%
Ice Grip
60%
8 Reviews
68% Average
71,427 miles driven
18 Tests (avg: 14th)
Firestone Winterhawk 3

Firestone Winterhawk 3

Winter Mid-Range
BETA
6.5 / 10
Based on Professional Tests & User Reviews · High Confidence · Updated 30 Jan 2026

The Tyre Reviews Score is the most comprehensive tyre scoring system available. It aggregates professional test data from multiple independent publications, user reviews, and consistency analysis using Bayesian statistical methods, weighted normalisation, and recency-adjusted scoring to produce a single, reliable performance rating.

Learn more about our methodology
Category Scores
Snow
88.3
1.5x / 5 tests
Comfort
70
0.29x / 2 tests
Value
65.1
0.38x / 7 tests
Wet
52.8
2x / 8 tests
Dry
50.4
1.2x / 4 tests
Cross-Category Performance

Cross-category scores are derived metrics that combine data from multiple test disciplines to evaluate real-world performance characteristics.

Braking
67.5
9 tests
Handling
58
6 tests
Score Components
Professional Tests
Weight: 80%
Tests: 18
Publications: 3
Period: 2013 - 2020
User Reviews
Weight: 15%
Reviews: 8
Avg Rating: 68.4%
Min Required: 5
Consistency
Weight: 5%
Score Std Dev: 0.29
History Points: 6
Methodology & Configuration
Scoring Process
  1. Collect Test Data: Gather results from professional tyre tests across multiple publications. Minimum 1 test(s) required.
  2. Normalize Positions: Convert test positions to percentile scores using exponential weighting (factor: 1.2).
  3. Apply Recency Weighting: More recent tests are weighted higher with a decay rate of 0.95.
  4. Incorporate User Reviews: Factor in user review data (minimum 5 reviews). Weight: 15%.
  5. Bayesian Smoothing: Apply Bayesian prior (score: 7, weight: 1.5) to prevent extreme scores with limited data.
  6. Calculate Final Score: Combine all components using normalization factor of 1.1. Max score with limited data: 9.5.
Component Weights
Test Data
80%
User Reviews
15%
Consistency
5%
All Configuration Parameters
ParameterValueDescription
safety_weight 0.7 Weight multiplier for safety-related metrics
performance_weight 0.55 Weight multiplier for performance metrics
comfort_weight 0.4 Weight multiplier for comfort metrics
value_weight 0.45 Weight multiplier for value-for-money metrics
user_reviews_weight 0.15 How much user reviews contribute to the final score
test_data_weight 0.8 How much professional test data contributes to the final score
consistency_weight 0.05 How much score consistency contributes to the final score
recency_decay_rate 0.95 Rate at which older test results lose influence (higher = slower decay)
min_test_count 1 Minimum number of professional tests required
min_review_count 5 Minimum number of user reviews required
score_version 1.8 Current version of the scoring algorithm
score_normalization_factor 1.1 Factor used to normalize raw scores to the 0-10 scale
confidence_factor_weight 0.2 How much data confidence affects the final score
position_penalty_weight 0.2 Penalty applied for poor test positions
gap_penalty_threshold 8 Score gap (%) that triggers additional penalties
min_metrics_count 2 Minimum number of test metrics needed per test
limited_data_threshold 2 Number of tests below which data is considered limited
single_test_penalty 0.1 Score multiplier when only one test is available
critical_metric_penalty 0.7 Penalty for poor performance on critical safety metrics
critical_metric_threshold 70 Score below which a critical metric penalty applies
position_exponential_factor 1.2 Exponent used to amplify position-based scoring
position_exponential_threshold 0.9 Position percentile below which exponential scoring applies
gap_multiplier_critical 3 Multiplier for critical gap penalties
max_category_weight 2 Maximum weight any single category can have
max_score_limited_data 9.5 Score cap when data is limited
bayesian_prior_weight 1.5 Weight of the Bayesian prior in smoothing
bayesian_prior_score 7 Prior score used for Bayesian smoothing
evidence_test_multiplier 1.9 Multiplier for test evidence in confidence calculation
evidence_metric_divisor 3 Divisor for metric count in evidence calculation
evidence_review_divisor 10 Divisor for review count in evidence calculation
Data Sources
TestPublicationDateSizePositionMetrics
2020 Winter Tyre Market Overview - 52 Tyre Braking Test Auto Bild 2020 245/45 R18 33/49 1 metrics
2019 Winter Tyre Test Market Overview Auto Bild 2019 225/45 R17 24/47 2 metrics
2018 Auto Bild Winter Tyre Test Auto Bild 2018 195/65 R15 19/22 12 metrics
2018 ADAC Winter Tyre Test - 175/65 R14 ADAC 2018 175/65 R14 3/12 0 metrics
2018 51 Winter Tyre Shootout Auto Bild 2018 195/65 R15 19/52 0 metrics
2017 50 Winter Tyre Shoot Out Auto Bild 2017 225/50 R17 18/45 0 metrics
2017 Auto Bild Winter Tyre Test Auto Bild 2017 225/50 R17 19/21 11 metrics
2017 ADAC Winter Tyre Test - 195/65 R15 ADAC 2017 195/65 R15 10/16 0 metrics
2016 Winter Tyre Market Overview Auto Bild 2016 205/55 R16 24/43 0 metrics
2016 ADAC Winter Tyre Test - 185/65 R15 ADAC 2016 185/65 R15 14/15 0 metrics
2016 ADAC Winter Tyre Test - 225/45 R17 ADAC 2016 225/45 R17 3/13 0 metrics
2015 Auto Bild Top 18 Winter Tyre Test Auto Bild 2015 185/60 R15 14/18 0 metrics
2015 ADAC Winter Tyre Test - 165/70 R14 ADAC 2015 165/70 R14 12/16 0 metrics
2015 ADAC Winter Tyre Test - 205/55 R16 ADAC 2015 205/55 R16 8/19 0 metrics
2015 Winter Tyre Market Overview Auto Bild 2015 185/60 R14 16/51 0 metrics
2014 ADAC Winter Tyre Test - 175/65 R14 ADAC 2014 175/65 R14 4/14 0 metrics
2013 ADAC Winter Tyre Test - 185/60 R15 ADAC 2013 185/60 R15 3/17 0 metrics
2013 ACE Winter Tyre Test ACE 2013 185/60 R15 4/9 0 metrics
All Tests
View Test Results
18
Tests
14th
Average
3rd
Best
33rd
Worst
Latest Tyre Test Results
2020 Winter Tyre Market Overview - 52 Tyre Braking Test
245/45 R18 • 2020
33rd/49
2019 Winter Tyre Test Market Overview
225/45 R17 • 2019
24th/47
2018 51 Winter Tyre Shootout
195/65 R15 • 2018
19th/52
Size Fuel Wet Noise
13 inch
155/80R13 79 T D C 71
14 inch
175/65 R14 86 T XL D C 71
165/70 R14 81 T D C 71
185/60 R14 82 T D C 71
175/65 R14 82 T D C 71
185/70R14 88 T D C 71
15 inch
195/65 R15 91 H D C 72
185/65 R15 88 T D C 71
195/55 R15 85 H D C 72
195/65 R15 95 T XL D C 72
195/65 R15 91 T D B 72
16 inch
205/60 R16 96 H XL C B 72
205/55 R16 94 V XL D C 72
205/55 R16 91 T D C 72
205/55 R16 94 H XL D C 72
205/55 R16 91 H D C 72
205/60 R16 92 H D B 72
215/60 R16 99 H XL D C 72
17 inch
225/45 R17 94 V XL D C 71
205/50 R17 93 V XL D C 72
225/50 R17 98 V XL C C 72
225/50 R17 98 H XL C C 72
225/50 R17 98 V XL D B 72
225/50 R17 98 H XL D B 72
225/45 R17 91 H D B 71
18 inch
245/40 R18 97 V XL D C 72
245/45 R18 100 V XL C C 72
225/40 R18 92 V XL D C 72
View All Sizes and EU Label Scores for the Firestone Winterhawk 3 >>

Questions and Answers for the Firestone Winterhawk 3

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Top 3 Firestone Winterhawk 3 Reviews

Given 78% while driving a Volkswagen T Cross (225/45 R17) on a combination of roads for 12,427 average miles
Good looking tyre with reliable grip. I'm a sporty driver, although my car isn't sporty. The tyres give me a good grip, maybe not the best, but i've never felt losing grip while driving. Also in the snow it's very good. I would buy these again!
Ask a question | Helpful 869
March 8, 2022
Given 48% while driving a Ford Focus MK3 (205/55 R16) on a combination of roads for 4,000 average miles
Got them as a used set of four. All same age - 2 years. The previous driver seemed to be an honest person. So nothing to say about that. I was used to having Uniroyals on my previous car. No comparison to them. In dry and wet conditions the tyres are quite all right, but last winter luckily gave us a bit of slush and snow. The car behaved not good. Steering wasn't put through to the road. I'll buy a pair of new ones soon. It'll not be the Winterhawk 3 again.
Ask a question | Helpful 748
August 12, 2021
Given 74% while driving a Renault Megane 2 sedan (195/65 R15 T) on mostly town for 25,000 average miles
Been driving them around 40 000km (4 winters and 1 summer) on 2 wheel FWD car (1.6 atmo engine, no turbo so no torque). They are a pretty average tire. Handles everything well, master of none. Never got to the max of the tire (I drive 10-20kmh above limit and I'm a steady driver, no sharp turns, heavy braking or hard acceleration ), never had a scary situation, but never also had "wow this tire rocks" moment. It never stuck in the snow, never had problems with aquaplaning or on ice.

I even had it as a summer tyre this year and it still didn't wear (it is a better summer tire than Micheling Energy Saver). I'm currently on 5.5mm of thread which is outstanding. Not sure if its the tire or my suspension on the car, but bot tires (Energy Saver and WinterHawk 3) easily activated the ABS during braking. WinterHawk was little better in braking than the Energy Saver. For instance, on my other car (Skoda Fabia), you could brake harder and stop faster on less known tires (like the Barum Polaris or Bravuris 3HM). Skoda just digged in the asphalt or snow, while on my Megane ABS starts and the braking feeling is not so great. But this are two different cars, Megane is more comfortable than the Å koda but is also way more wallowy as the Å koda is much more direct in steering and grip.

I will replace them with premium All Season tires so will see if its the car or the tires.
Ask a question | Helpful 940
August 19, 2019
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Latest Firestone Winterhawk 3 Reviews

Given 23% while driving a Mercedes Benz E220Cdi (225/45 R17) on a combination of roads for 0 average miles
Hello, I have Mercdes Benz. I have driven on lot of tyres, winter and summer. This is not my first snow or rain with this car. Firestone Winterhawk 3 is the worst tyre I had opportunity to drive on. On dry roads are relative ok, on wet roads it is better to stay home. On the snow also, like you don't have tyres. One season, around cca 10 000 km passed on these tyre and it will go to rubish... Very expensive tyres, and very bad tyres. I would never buy Firestone again.
Ask a question | Helpful 585
February 26, 2018
Given 69% while driving a Skoda Octavia (225/45 R17) on mostly motorways for 13,000 average miles
Nothing to impress. It is balanced and affordable tire. Performance on snow is Ok if you drive normally. Dry and wet handling are satisfactory.
Ask a question | Helpful 623
October 18, 2017
Check out how the BEST all seasons tyres perform against premium summer and winter tyres!
Given 71% while driving a Peugeot 107 (155/65 R14) on mostly town for 9,000 average miles
In my opinion Firestone Winterhawk 3 is at most an average performance tyre. Maybe this should be correlated with my car tyre size (155/65 R14)...
In dry conditions it is a fair tyre, though it has a pronounced understeering tendency. The wet grip is acceptable if you don't need to brake suddenly :), and the snow/ice grip is poor.

Positive:
- Comfortable tyres
- Low rolling resistance
- Low wear

Negative:
- Wet grip.
- Poor snow and ice grip.
- Understeering behaviour.

Next time I will not buy these tyres again.
Ask a question | Helpful 544
January 12, 2017
Given 100% while driving a BMW 530d Auto SE LCI (225/50 R17 H) on a combination of roads for 0 spirited miles
Excellent dry and wet grip, super quiet, super comfortable. I had previously Continental, and I must say that these tires are nozaj excellent and I dare say that even better.
Ask a question | Helpful 662
December 7, 2015