Tires Firestone or Maxxis
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's seem to be the best budget performance tires.
I'm also currently running a MAXXIS Desert IT front tire on my KTM 1090 tubeless wheel without issue. Its a hard compound tire that is designed for the tough stuff, and I also recommend it.
The best blend of traction and longevity I've ridden so far is Maxxis Minions in the 60 compound. They held up to multiple days in Whistler Bike Park and were still in fine shape.
After looking into it a bit I went with a set of Firestone Indy500s that mounted and balanced came out to less than $800. Had them for 6 months now, and no complaints so far.
As far as Indycar goes, it is hard to find a more prestigious tire company than Firestone. They have been a good partner to the Series for a long time.
The owners and drivers didn't want to ditch Firestone because their tires don't fail and they never have to worry about safety.
I just put on my 285 75 16 maxxis at811s a few days ago. Road noise is almost none, you would have to turn the speakers off and listen for it. Load rating E so stiffness is definitely a given. Braking is definitely harder because of the weight.
Gotta say, I've been a big fan of my maxxis tires. Super solid tire for a brand that isn't exactly a household name (I wouldn't call them offbrand, just not a big name).
I ride them and have have never really had a problem with em. That being said, I feel like they aren’t the right tires for me.
The Ardent sucks by most accounts. Read this article from [NSMB.com](https://nsmb.com/articles/ask-uncle-dave-talking-tires-maxxis/) where the Maxxis rep basically says the only reason Ardent's are even made anymore is because people recognize the name. Rekon 2.4 is my vote (not a particularly wide 2.4, more like a 2.35). Some have mentioned the Ardent Race, but the Rekon has way better cornering traction than an ardent race, and bigger center knobs than an ardent race for braking traction.
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