What Tyre - Falken FK452s on a Mk3 Mondeo?

[McSam]

Hi guys,

Sorry to throw another tyre thread into the mix. I need, for my mum's 2006 TDCi130 Mondeo, four tyres in 225/40 R18, and within a couple of days, though I'm happy to wait for Camskill to deliver.

Last time I needed tyres in this size, I found the Falken FK452 very highly recommended and went ahead and bought them for my 1280kg B5 A4, they were excellent. They remain among the cheapest non-ditchfinder tyres around, which is amazing really, since I was very impressed with their performance.

The only question mark in my mind is whether they'll still do a decent job on a considerably heavier car like the Mondeo? I'm happy to go ahead and order four now, at £75 a corner, unless there are other good affordable alternatives or I should avoid tyres with a soft sidewall like these when looking at a 1500kg+ car.

Good value is paramount since the car is to be sold soon, but I still want decent rubber going onto it!

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me

[HustleRussell]

Fit Matador MP46. Seriously.

[McSam]

Hmm, really? What have you had those on?

At £84 a corner versus £75 for the Falkens, you may struggle to convince me against a known quantity

[dave87]

Got the Falkens on my 530i - so it should be fine on the Mondeo which is lighter, and less powerful?

I think they've just released the FK453 - how do they compare in price?

[HustleRussell]

Mk3 TDCI 130 Mondeo with 17" wheels. I don't doubt the Falkens are good but for various reasons I tried the Matadors (I wanted quietness and smoothness and previously liked my Continentals which had a simular circumferential tread pattern). Highly recommended.

[McSam]

dave87 said:

Got the Falkens on my 530i - so it should be fine on the Mondeo which is lighter, and less powerful?

I think they've just released the FK453 - how do they compare in price?

Ah, if they stand up well on an E39, I should be fine, then

How do they feel as you turn in hard? I don't think this is going to happen often in the car in question, but I'm just interested! I heard some reports about rather more sidewall deflection than you'd hope for.

The 453s aren't available from Camskill, though Blackcircles do have them at £98 (£87 for 452s from them)

HustleRussell said:

Mk3 TDCI 130 Mondeo with 17" wheels. I don't doubt the Falkens are good but for various reasons I tried the Matadors (I wanted quietness and smoothness and previously liked my Continentals which had a simular circumferential tread pattern). Highly recommended.

Hmmm, alright then, it's nice to hear from someone with the exact same car! I'll have to look into those and see if they're worth the £40 premium. Thanks a lot for that.

[martin mrt]

I had them on my previous E91 335d, highly recommend them, they came in at half the price of Michelins and did exactly the same job without any complaints

[dave87]

McSam said:

Ah, if they stand up well on an E39, I should be fine, then

How do they feel as you turn in hard? I don't think this is going to happen often in the car in question, but I'm just interested! I heard some reports about rather more sidewall deflection than you'd hope for.

The 453s aren't available from Camskill, though Blackcircles do have them at £98 (£87 for 452s from them)

I've not noticed any issues - it corners well (and better than the Dunlop SP Sports on the car before). Mine are in 235/45/17 and 255/40/17 so ymmv if they have a taller profile, but the size you quote would mean a shorter profile than I've got.

[NateWM]

Hankook Ventus V12 EVO K110.

Brilliant tyres.

[d3m0n]

I had Falken, Khumo and Conti's on my MK3, would have to say the Falkens and the Khumo's were better than the Conti's. So its not always a case of pay more get better the Khumo and the Falkens were nearly half the price of the Conti's

[thebigmacmoomin]

Dad uses 225/40/18 Uniroyal RainSport2 on his Mk3 Mondeo ST TDCi with no complaints. I used them too in the same size on my Focus ST. Dad paid £115 fitted last week per corner.