For some reason, this piece didn't match up with me, at all.  That being said, oddly enough I LOVE my Victory Road.  Both pieces were drilled 45x4x40 with a P1 weight hole.  My Fire Road went super long but somewhat puked at the breakpoint really lacking continuation.  Similar to a Black Widow Sting I had, it just didn't work out, but I can see this ball being a good matchup for certain styles.  The best look it gave me was a fresh 500 abralon + Valentino Snake Oil.
RIt was a dud for me.  Bad matchup's happen. 

I must note though, what's good in my hands may be a turd in yours, and the opposite can be true as well.  I think a good bit of my perception is also based on it not really filling the gap I was looking for. 

The Fire Road is a nice piece.  Pretty strong off the spot.  I had to knock the polish off mine to tame down the over/under.  I am willing to bet that you will be seeing a lot of this ball on the PBA telecasts this fall.

The Fire Road is the latest release in the Thunder line of bowling balls from Storm. The Fire Road uses the same core that was used in the Victory solid and pearl, as well as the Crossroad. The inverted FE3 core is one of my favorite cores of all time. It has more flare potential than the inverted FE2 that was in the T-Roads and Hy-Road. At 2.56 rg and .052 diff in 15lbs, the Fire Road has plenty of muscle built in. Add to that the R2X pearl cover, and you have a new bowling ball that has its own unique characteristics on the lane. It’s easy to think this ball is just a replacement for the Victory Road pearl, but the shape the ball makes is completely different as well as covering more boards. I will get into that a little bit later. Basically, the Fire Road has the Victory Road core, with the Marvel Pearl cover.

I drilled the Fire Road with the pin over my ring finger and cg on my grip line. I use this drilling on almost every pearl symmetrical bowling ball I drill. This drilling allows me to utilize different releases to make the ball do different things when needed. An extra balance hole is not needed, therefore less material is being removed from the ball, and the true design intent shines through. The Fire Road is a more hook set motion than the Victory pearl. The shape of the Fire Road reminds me of the Reign. Both the Reign and the Fire road have very similar shapes on the lane, but the Fire Road will cover more boards.

Of all the balls that are in the current lineup, the Fire Road probably resembles the Crossroad the most. They cover about the same amount of boards, but do it in a different manner. The Crossroad picks up earlier and has more of a strong arch to the pocket. The Fire Road has that hook set roll shape while traveling further down the lane before changing direction. I will use one or the other from about the same place on the lane, but choose between the two based on the path I need the ball to take while traveling down the lane, and what shape I need from the ball to go through the pins. If I want roll through the pins, I go with the Fire Road. If I want a continuous arch through the pins, I will use the Crossroad.

I have been able to use the Fire Road on a variety of patterns. I have had surprisingly good success with the Fire Road going up the boards while using a weak release. The hook set motion gives me a wide pocket with very good pin carry. High hits will trip the 6 pin, and light hits will send messengers across the deck. So far, the Fire Road has been an excellent addition to my arsenal.

Even though the Fire Road has given me a great deal of success going up the boards with a weak release, I have also had success with the Fire Road from deeper on the lane, with a stronger release. Being a left hander, sometimes the Victory Road pearl didn’t roll early enough and was too angular. Now, the Fire Road has that shape to handle more volumes of oil, and get into that “roll”.

The ruby red/purple colors of the Fire road are sure to catch many bowlers eye when seeing it on the shelf of their local pro shop. So far from what I have seen from the Fire Road, is a pearl ball that will allow the bowlers to go up the boards a little better, and a strong enough cover to allow “spin” releases to get the ball to slow down and roll. Hopefully the fire Road is just the first step forward in the Thunder line of bowling balls to use the R2X cover and maybe a solid and a hybrid may someday follow.  Thank you for taking the time to read my review of the Fire Road. Remember, always bowl up a Storm!!