Falken FK-452 - Are people tight or are they good?
Discussion
After another discussion last night with a couple of PHers, they're still of the view that anyone putting them on a performance car are mad and/or tight...
What's the view? I've only seen good things, regardless of them being a 'lesser' brand... Is it owners being tight? It it people that can't admit they bought naff tyres? Or are they actually good?
What's the view? I've only seen good things, regardless of them being a 'lesser' brand... Is it owners being tight? It it people that can't admit they bought naff tyres? Or are they actually good?
I've had 4 of them on my Aero since just before Christmas; they were faultless during the heavy snow, have great wet-weather grip and are very good in the dry (although I wouldn't say I've been driving them to the max). My only gripe about them is the noise. IMO they are a very good tyre for every day/reasonably spirited driving.
GravelBen said:
Reports I've heard suggest they're better than many more expensive tyres.
Indeed. OP says tight, but I say wise. Alot of people naively presume the premium big money stuff is the best, and in alot of cases this simply isn't true and they aren't worth the often massive premium.
I use them on my Maserati Spyder, having used just about other option some costing nearly three times the price of the FK-452. I actually went with them on the recommendation of the tyre people I use. They have helped stiffen the turn in considerably. They have a very stiff sidewall by all accounts and are a b
h to fit. They seemingly last as well or better than the Bridgestones/Michelins/Goodyears I have also used. Dry grip is equally as good as the competition too. However they are poor in the wet or cold, not a problem as I do not use the car in these conditions but worth knowing for daily drivers.
I'm not tight, I'd quite happily pay whatever it costs but for the quality and price they get a thumbs up from me.
I think I'm on the second set on the front, and they cost circa £80-90 a corner.
h to fit. They seemingly last as well or better than the Bridgestones/Michelins/Goodyears I have also used. Dry grip is equally as good as the competition too. However they are poor in the wet or cold, not a problem as I do not use the car in these conditions but worth knowing for daily drivers.I'm not tight, I'd quite happily pay whatever it costs but for the quality and price they get a thumbs up from me.
I think I'm on the second set on the front, and they cost circa £80-90 a corner.
At £60 a tyre compared to 'premium' brands starting at about twice the price for my tyre size it had to be worth a try.
Only had them for about 1-2k miles so far (Vredesteins I had on before only lasted 5k though so that's significant!) but I can't fault them really. They're not discernably worse than the Vredesteins or Dunlops I had before which were massively more expensive. And I doubt there are a significant proportion of other people pushing their tyres harder on the road, I'm slightly ashamed to say.
Not like being on rails, but definitely not ditchfinders. I'd agree with the earlier 7/10.
Only had them for about 1-2k miles so far (Vredesteins I had on before only lasted 5k though so that's significant!) but I can't fault them really. They're not discernably worse than the Vredesteins or Dunlops I had before which were massively more expensive. And I doubt there are a significant proportion of other people pushing their tyres harder on the road, I'm slightly ashamed to say.
Not like being on rails, but definitely not ditchfinders. I'd agree with the earlier 7/10.
boomboompow said:
I've had 4 of them on my Aero since just before Christmas; they were faultless during the heavy snow, have great wet-weather grip .
Odd I find the opposite that they are not great in cold/wet but then I am guessing the Aero doesn't weigh about 1700kgs unless it too is made of dark matter. Worth bearing in mind like anything the application/vehicle for the tyre will impact on its characteristics....
I had the FK452's on my Audi (270bhp, quattro) and they were excellent.
They do have a wear rating of 300 which is better than equivalent Michelins.
However, I have just fitted the Falken ZE912 and they seem even better. The wear rating is better on the ZE912 at 360.
The ride is quieter, the grip is better in the wet (and the FK452's were very good) - these are all seasons tyres whereas the FK452 are really a summer tyre.
One down side is the speed rating is lower on the ZE912 at only 168mph
They do have a wear rating of 300 which is better than equivalent Michelins.
However, I have just fitted the Falken ZE912 and they seem even better. The wear rating is better on the ZE912 at 360.
The ride is quieter, the grip is better in the wet (and the FK452's were very good) - these are all seasons tyres whereas the FK452 are really a summer tyre.
One down side is the speed rating is lower on the ZE912 at only 168mph
Having used them on my Leon Cupra and then my 123d I'd say they're pretty good, probably not the absolute ultimate tyre but better than a lot of premium brands costing a lot more such as the Eagle GSD3s I had on the Leon beforehand. They grip well wet and dry and are about average road noise etc, the only thing I'd say is on the Beemer they aren't as communicative as I'd like when they break away which is why I'll be trying something else next time. They didnt have that characteristic on the softer FWD Leon with higher profile tyres though, so that trait is almost certainly car / tyre size sensitive.
I've briefly driven a mate's 1 Series on Eagle Assymetrics which often win the best performance tyre reviews, and that did feel like it had a bit more grip with a slightly little stiffer sidewall that made turn-in a touch sharper, but it's hard to draw a proper comparison with a brief drive of someone elses car like that. The 452's seem to last significantly longer than the Assymetrics though, so I don't think I'd go with the Goodyears personally.
To sum up, they're brilliant value and I reckon if put into one of the top 10 performance tyre type tests they'd probably finish mid table above many more expensive "Premium Brand" tyres and certainly not disgrace themselves, but if you're looking for the absolute ultimate performance without budget constraints I suspect you could get slightly better elsewhere.
I've briefly driven a mate's 1 Series on Eagle Assymetrics which often win the best performance tyre reviews, and that did feel like it had a bit more grip with a slightly little stiffer sidewall that made turn-in a touch sharper, but it's hard to draw a proper comparison with a brief drive of someone elses car like that. The 452's seem to last significantly longer than the Assymetrics though, so I don't think I'd go with the Goodyears personally.
To sum up, they're brilliant value and I reckon if put into one of the top 10 performance tyre type tests they'd probably finish mid table above many more expensive "Premium Brand" tyres and certainly not disgrace themselves, but if you're looking for the absolute ultimate performance without budget constraints I suspect you could get slightly better elsewhere.
Edited by LocoBlade on Tuesday 23 February 10:40
I've used them on many cars over the years, and have them fitted to my M3 now. I honestly cannot dream of spending more on a tyre when such good performance and all round ability is available at such a great price.
They are better than many tyres costing twice as much, and even those that are arguably better than the FK452 come at such a premium that the small percentage in performance comes at an enormous "pound per point premium" - There are lots of "label fans" in the M section that wont listen to any tyre recommendation that doesn't recommend putting a £280 Michelin on each corner, however my Falkens average at little more than £100 per corner, and get used on both road and track without ever limiting the fun or safety that a good tyre must provide.
Buy them whilst you still can, before the EU (France and Germany) decree that they are a deafening hazard to the lickle childwen, and we are forced to buy a Continental (German) or Michelin (French) to save the planet from noise!
They are better than many tyres costing twice as much, and even those that are arguably better than the FK452 come at such a premium that the small percentage in performance comes at an enormous "pound per point premium" - There are lots of "label fans" in the M section that wont listen to any tyre recommendation that doesn't recommend putting a £280 Michelin on each corner, however my Falkens average at little more than £100 per corner, and get used on both road and track without ever limiting the fun or safety that a good tyre must provide.
Buy them whilst you still can, before the EU (France and Germany) decree that they are a deafening hazard to the lickle childwen, and we are forced to buy a Continental (German) or Michelin (French) to save the planet from noise!
Kentish said:
I had the FK452's on my Audi (270bhp, quattro) and they were excellent.
They do have a wear rating of 300 which is better than equivalent Michelins.
However, I have just fitted the Falken ZE912 and they seem even better. The wear rating is better on the ZE912 at 360.
The ride is quieter, the grip is better in the wet (and the FK452's were very good) - these are all seasons tyres whereas the FK452 are really a summer tyre.
One down side is the speed rating is lower on the ZE912 at only 168mph
That's odd. I had an FK-452 on my n/s rear, the rest were pilot sports, and it was equally as capable as the £250 michys. It needed swift replacement following a puncture, and they only had the ZE912, so gave it a try. It's a horrible thing, always squirming around & wheelspinning (at least in these wintery conditions). I'm considering binning it and putting on a new FK452.They do have a wear rating of 300 which is better than equivalent Michelins.
However, I have just fitted the Falken ZE912 and they seem even better. The wear rating is better on the ZE912 at 360.
The ride is quieter, the grip is better in the wet (and the FK452's were very good) - these are all seasons tyres whereas the FK452 are really a summer tyre.
One down side is the speed rating is lower on the ZE912 at only 168mph
bazking69 said:
GravelBen said:
Reports I've heard suggest they're better than many more expensive tyres.
Indeed. OP says tight, but I say wise. Alot of people naively presume the premium big money stuff is the best, and in alot of cases this simply isn't true and they aren't worth the often massive premium.
Dave_ST220 said:
How do you find they wear Mat?
With a combination of spirited commuting, a couple of UK track days, and a weekend at the Nurbirgring at the end of last summer, my rear tyres needed replacing over Xmas after around 11k-12k. The front tyres, that were replaced as a set last year, are still going strong, however I will replace them before my trip to Cadwell in April to ensure that I will have legal rubber to drive home on. By then they will have covered at least 14k miles.Going by your name, Dave, I'd guesstimate that you should expect at least 12k from a front pair, and maybe 20k from a rear pair ... Obviously that is all dependant on how you drive.
die fahrt said:
Kentish said:
I had the FK452's on my Audi (270bhp, quattro) and they were excellent.
They do have a wear rating of 300 which is better than equivalent Michelins.
However, I have just fitted the Falken ZE912 and they seem even better. The wear rating is better on the ZE912 at 360.
The ride is quieter, the grip is better in the wet (and the FK452's were very good) - these are all seasons tyres whereas the FK452 are really a summer tyre.
One down side is the speed rating is lower on the ZE912 at only 168mph
That's odd. I had an FK-452 on my n/s rear, the rest were pilot sports, and it was equally as capable as the £250 michys. It needed swift replacement following a puncture, and they only had the ZE912, so gave it a try. It's a horrible thing, always squirming around & wheelspinning (at least in these wintery conditions). I'm considering binning it and putting on a new FK452.They do have a wear rating of 300 which is better than equivalent Michelins.
However, I have just fitted the Falken ZE912 and they seem even better. The wear rating is better on the ZE912 at 360.
The ride is quieter, the grip is better in the wet (and the FK452's were very good) - these are all seasons tyres whereas the FK452 are really a summer tyre.
One down side is the speed rating is lower on the ZE912 at only 168mph
This was my drive to work 2 or 3 weeks ago:-
Next to the airport runway
The 5th or 6th pass of the snow plough just whilst I was there
Yes, this is a road!
mat205125 said:
Dave_ST220 said:
How do you find they wear Mat?
With a combination of spirited commuting, a couple of UK track days, and a weekend at the Nurbirgring at the end of last summer, my rear tyres needed replacing over Xmas after around 11k-12k. The front tyres, that were replaced as a set last year, are still going strong, however I will replace them before my trip to Cadwell in April to ensure that I will have legal rubber to drive home on. By then they will have covered at least 14k miles.Going by your name, Dave, I'd guesstimate that you should expect at least 12k from a front pair, and maybe 20k from a rear pair ... Obviously that is all dependant on how you drive.
These are for a Mk1 V6 Mondeo. & she WILL be slowing down on corners 
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff