Tyre recommendation?
Discussion
You must get onto the falken FK452, this is the best kept secret in the tyre world to date, before i went onto this tyre i swore that i would never have anything other than michelins, i am about to have my third set fitted (1 set on 330d sport, second set due on Z4 3.0) and will never pay over the odds for "branded" stuff ever again...
[TW]Fox said:
I'm not willing to trust the Falkens - they are half the price of the F1's and are never featured in any of the reputable tyre tests so beyond forum hearsay there is no indication of their performance level bar the moniker 'You get what you paid for'.
Which is exactly why they are the best kept secret at the the moment, , it will come that the 452 will be pitted against the big bucks tyre brands and when it does i will be first in the que to say "I told you so", and i therefore say to people who cannot see beyond brand snobery you carry on paying twice as much for your tyres and getting no better performance than I'm getting..... 
[TW]Fox said:
The day they beat Eagle F1's in an independant, reputable test is the day I will immediatly switch to them - until then, there is no proof and I'm not going to drop £550 on something which I have to keep for at least 2 years without hard proof its worth the money 
Now here is the point exactly, your £550 is michelin money, a full set of 225/40/18fronts and 255/35/18 rears are costing me £300, i had F1's on my previous 330D sport and previous to them it had the OEM Pilots and i tell you now the 452 is a better performing tyre, as for what you say "proof" there is no better proof than talking to people who are using them day to day, why o why you think people should lie about this i just can't get my head round and if your taking 2 years to get through a set of tyres your hardly taxing them anyway.... Oh dont get me wrong, I'm not for one minute accusing you of lying. I just wouldnt trust my own opinion on tyres let alone others - different people have different standards
I have a mate for example who swears the Ceat Tornado's on his Golf are absolutely fantastic. Is he a liar? No, of course not, he's just perhaps not as subjective/skilled a driver as it would take to notice the difference in non emergency situations.
I just read what the pro's write during independant tests, check the facts they find as they go along, and buy whatever they rank as Number 1. If Pilot Sport had won both Evo and Autocars latest tests for example its those I'd have fitted on my car instead.
I have a mate for example who swears the Ceat Tornado's on his Golf are absolutely fantastic. Is he a liar? No, of course not, he's just perhaps not as subjective/skilled a driver as it would take to notice the difference in non emergency situations.
I just read what the pro's write during independant tests, check the facts they find as they go along, and buy whatever they rank as Number 1. If Pilot Sport had won both Evo and Autocars latest tests for example its those I'd have fitted on my car instead.
Granted mate, the thing is i think that there's always something else that is not considered in these cases and thats very apparent here, i have never seen a falken tyre in any tyre test by whoever, i do a few track days each year and have found the 452's superior to the F1's, PS2's and Reo4o's, and beleive me i swore by the branded stuff previous but i went out on a limb having had them recommended to me by an E46 M3 driver who visits the ring regularly and for sure i will not go back to over priced branded stuff..
plowy said:
[TW]Fox said:
I'm not willing to trust the Falkens - they are half the price of the F1's and are never featured in any of the reputable tyre tests so beyond forum hearsay there is no indication of their performance level bar the moniker 'You get what you paid for'.
Which is exactly why they are the best kept secret at the the moment, , it will come that the 452 will be pitted against the big bucks tyre brands and when it does i will be first in the que to say "I told you so", and i therefore say to people who cannot see beyond brand snobery you carry on paying twice as much for your tyres and getting no better performance than I'm getting..... They tested
Avon
* CR 322 (165/70 R14T)
* ZR3 (195/65 R15H)
* ZV3 (205/55R16V)
Barum
* Brillantis (155/70R13T)
BFGoodrich
* G-Force Profiler (225/45 R17 Y)
* Profiler 2 (185/60 R14H)
* Touring (155/70R13T)
Bridgestone
* B 330 Evo (165/70 R14T)
* B250 (155/70R13T)
* Potenza RE050 A (225/45 R17 Y)
* Potenza RE050 MO (225/45 R17 Y)
* Turanza ER300 (185/60 R14H)
* Turanza ER300 (195/65 R15H)
* Turanza ER300 (205/55R16V)
Ceat
* Spider (155/70R13T)
Continental
* EcoContact3 (155/70R13T)
* EcoContact3 (165/70 R14T)
* EcoContact3 (175/65 R14T)
* EcoContact3 (185/60 R14H)
* Premium Contact2 (205/55R16V)
* SportContact3 (225/45 R17 Y)
Dunlop
* SP 30 (155/70R13T)
* SP 30 (175/65 R14T)
* SP Sport 01 (185/60 R14H)
* SP Sport 01 (195/65 R15H)
* Sport Maxx (225/45 R17 Y)
Falken
* Ziex ZE 512 (205/55R16V)
Firestone
* F 590 Fuel Saver (165/70 R14T)
Firestone
* F 590 Fuel Saver (175/65 R14T)
* Firehawk TZ200 (185/60 R14H)
* Firehawk TZ200 FS (195/65 R15H)
* Firehawk TZ200 FS (205/55R16V)
Fulda
* Carat Attiro (195/65 R15H)
* Carat Exelero (225/45 R17 Y)
* Carat Progresso (205/55R16V)
* Diadem Linero (165/70 R14T)
* Diadem Linero (175/65 R14T)
Goodyear
* Eagle F1 (225/45 R17 Y)
* Excellence (185/60 R14H)
* Excellence (205/55R16V)
* GT 3 (165/70 R14T)
* GT 3 (175/65 R14T)
* Hydragrip (195/65 R15H)
Hankook
* Optimo K715 (155/70R13T)
* Ventus Prime K105 (205/55R16V)
Kleber
* Dynaxer HP 2 (175/65 R14T)
* Dynaxer HP 2 (185/60 R14H)
* Dynaxer HP 2 (195/65 R15H)
* Viaxer AS (165/70 R14T)
Kumho
* Ecsta SPT (205/55R16V)
* KH15 (185/60 R14H)
Marangoni
* Vanto (205/55R16V)
Matador
* Stella MP15 (155/70R13T)
Michelin
* Energy E3A (165/70 R14T)
* Energy E3A (175/65 R14T)
* Energy E3A (195/65 R15H)
Michelin
* Energy E3B (155/70R13T)
* Pilot Sport MO (225/45 R17 Y)
* Pilot Sport PS 2 (225/45 R17 Y)
* Primacy HP (205/55R16V)
Nangkang
* ULTRA SPORT NS-2 (205/55R16V)
Pirelli
* P3000 Energy (155/70R13T)
* P3000 Energy (165/70 R14T)
* P3000 Energy (175/65 R14T)
* P6 (185/60 R14H)
* P6 (195/65 R15H)
* P7 (205/55R16V)
* Pzero Nero (225/45 R17 Y)
Pneumant
* PN 250 (155/70R13T)
Sava
* Effecta Plus (175/65 R14T)
* Perfecta (155/70R13T)
Semperit
* Comfort Life (155/70R13T)
* Direction Sport (225/45 R17 Y)
* Speed Comfort (185/60 R14H)
* Speed Comfort (195/65 R15H)
Uniroyal
* Rainsport 1 (225/45 R17 Y)
* Rallye 550 (185/60 R14H)
* Rallye 550 (195/65 R15H)
* Rallye 550 (205/55R16V)
* Rallye 680 (165/70 R14T)
* Rallye 680 (175/65 R14T)
Vredestein
* Sportrac3 (205/55R16V)
The best tyres for dry and wet grip, quietness and wear rate are shown below
The pricesshown are RRP
Michelin Pilot Sport PS 2 (225/45 R17 Y)
* Price: £152
* Score: 73%
Michelin Pilot Sport PS 2
Bridgestone Potenza RE050 A (225/45 R17 Y)
* Price: £123
* Score: 71%
Bridgestone Potenza RE 050 A
This tyre offers wet grip that is among the best in this size and balanced overall performance.
Bridgestone Turanza ER300 (185/60 R14H)
* Price: £56
* Score: 70%
Bridgestone Touranza ER300
A well balanced tyre with excellent dry and good wet grip.
Bridgestone Turanza ER300 (195/65 R15H)
* Price: £72
* Score: 70%
Bridgestone Turanza ER300
Good for wet and dry grip, comfort, noise and wear.
Continental SportContact3 (225/45 R17 Y)
* Price: £142
* Score: 70%
Continental SportContact3
Generally good for grip, comfort and noise, but poor for rolling resistance
Pirelli P3000 Energy (175/65 R14T)
* Price: £51
* Score: 70%
Pirelli P3000 Energy (175/65 R14T)
A balanced tyre with good grip scores. Very good wear rate, too.
BFGoodrich G-Force Profiler (225/45 R17 Y)
* Price: £113
* Score: 68%
BFGoodrich G-Force Profiler
This tyre is very good on dry roads, though it's a little weaker in the wet, particularly for resisting aquaplaning. It gets a good environmental rating.
Bridgestone Turanza ER300 (205/55R16V)
* Price: £79
* Score: 68%
Bridgestone Turanza ER 300
The Best Buy 205/55R16V Bridgestone Turanza ER300 is a balanced performer, with excellent dry grip.
It wears quite well but is noisy. It is fitted to various medium and large cars
Continental EcoContact3 (155/70R13T)
* Price: £40
* Score: 68%
Continental EcoContact 3 (155/70R13T)
The Best Buy 155/70R13T ContiEcoContact 3 is the best tyre in this size and is fitted to various models of supermini and city car. It achieved four-star ratings in every performance category apart from noise, and even here it doesn't disgrace.
It isn't the best for its polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), but it's far from being the worst either.
Michelin Primacy HP (205/55R16V)
* Price: £86
* Score: 68%
Michelin Primacy HP
The Best Buy 205/55R16V Michelin Primacy HP hugs the road, wears really well and gives long life.
It's not a cheap choice, as this brand commands a premium price - but it is widely available with nearly eighty per cent of retailers stocking it, so there may be scope to play them off against each other on price.
Pirelli P7 (205/55R16V)
* Price: £76
* Score: 68%
Pirelli P7 (205/55R16V)
The Best Buy 205/55R16V Pirelli P7, is a hard-wearing tyre with great wet road performance. While dry braking isn't the best on test, it does stop you effectively.
It is fitted to various medium and large cars.
Pirelli Pzero Nero (225/45 R17 Y)
* Price: £141
* Score: 68%
Pirelli Pzero Nero
A good performer on wet or dry roads. Let down by its poor wear rate.
Continental EcoContact3 (165/70 R14T)
* Price: £50
* Score: 67%
Continental EcoContact 3
Highly balanced tyre with excellent wet grip and good dry grip.
Continental EcoContact3 (175/65 R14T)
* Price: £52
* Score: 67%
Continental EcoContact3 (175/65 R14T)
Good on wet and dry roads and acceptable or better in other areas.
Continental Premium Contact2 (205/55R16V)
* Price: £82
* Score: 67%
Continental PremiumContact 2
Best Buy 205/55R16V ContiPremium Contact2 tyres grip really well, and dry handling is second to none.
They are fairly quiet and the Eco-rating isn't bad either.
Bridgestone B 330 Evo (165/70 R14T)
* Price: £55
* Score: 66%
Bridgestone B 330 Evo
Well-balanced tyre with excellent wet grip and good dry grip.
Goodyear Hydragrip (195/65 R15H)
* Price: £68
* Score: 66%
Tyres
A well-balanced tyre, just slightly weaker for wear than the rest of its performance.
Hankook Optimo K715 (155/70R13T)
* Price: £30
* Score: 66%
Hankook Optimo K715
The Best Buy 155/70R13T Hankook Optimo K715's long life and low price make it the Best Value model in this size.
The tyre can't match the ContiEco Contact 3's road grip, but it's a good all-round performer.
Unfortunately the only Falken tyre they tested was the Falken Ziex ZE 512. It doesn't make for good reading
Which tyre test report said:
The 205/55R16V Falken Ziex ZE 512 is fitted to various medium and large cars, but its performance is the worst of all the tyres we've tested in this size. Wet grip performance is so poor that we recommend you Don't Buy it at all.
plowy said:
The 512 is an ancient tyre from at least 10 years ago, they have moved on a bit since ..
They are still in the current Falken tyre range.Falken Tyres website said:
Falken Ziex ZE 512
Falken- The ultimate tyre for daily use
- The ultimate tyre for the high powered family car.
- Avantgarde engineering in the running surface and sidewall designs, inspired by the wing shape of a falcon in flight
- Innovative compound technology with silica significantly improves handling in wet conditions and increases performance
- Extra-hard shoulder and new profile design prevent uneven wear and delivers a smoother ride
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