Are the falken tires any good?

MAXRPM

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Maybe this has been posted or not, but I was not able to find it, I am trying to decide whether I should buy a set of Falken 17" 502's, if anyone has bought these tires and used them,, or should I take a diferent route, your opinion is appriciated,
 

IndigoBlueWagon

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I had Falken Ziexs on my A3 and they were OK but got very loud after a few thousand miles. In fairness I think I did a track day on them so perhaps that was the problem.
 

BolaB4V

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I dont know about the 502's but if they're anything like my ZIEX ZE912's
Id stay away form them. Wally World has a a few
GoodYear, Michelin, Bridgestone brands available for a decent price if you dont mind W-M installing them.
 

paramedick

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Loads of grip-check
Good looking pattern-check
Decent price-check
treadwear-FAIL

Seriously, I just took off the set of Ziex 912s that were on the Passat. 65,000 mile treadwear warranty. Worn out at 22,000 miles. I don't abuse tires, just drive normally. The folks I purchased them from were not surprised, and adjusted them to a new set of Yokohama Avids.
 

dddiesel

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I had Falkens and they were okay... but loud. I also only got 38K out of them.
 

BrianCT

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MAXRPM said:
Maybe this has been posted or not, but I was not able to find it, I am trying to decide whether I should buy a set of Falken 17" 502's, if anyone has bought these tires and used them,, or should I take a diferent route, your opinion is appriciated,
I ran the Falken 452's in a 17" 225/45-17. Nice tire in a single ply side wall, inexpensive and quiet, but after 10,000 miles it became the in-law that would never leave.:(

Loud, wobble, tracked road crowns, steering was in need of a exoticism and uneven premature wear. Not worth it.

I did study the fact that even if a tire manufacturer states a "tire size" that it's not really exact. You can see here with 3 tires all different that I've used and all three are 225/45-17's but different widths, heights and ...you get the picture.:(

Falkens are a trend tire to stretch across wider rims in the lowered, Stretched Crowd. Go search Stretched Tires on YouTube. Falkens are a favourite.:D
 

MAXRPM

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It seems that most of you guys had problem with the Falken, so which tires do you think is the best bang for the bucks in a 17" size and which store do you think may have a good price? I am trying to get a set of tires at a decent price without being noisy, wobbly and having a premature wear,,I am looking at a tire with a low rolling resistance in a 17".
 

k1xv

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I like Yokohama Avids
 

BadMonKey

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JB05 said:
What is an LRR tire?
Low Rolling Resistance

Michelin tires are the way to go IMO, they are pricey but you get what you pay for. I've loved every set of pilots, I even run them on my motorcycles.
 

MAXRPM

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BadMonKey said:
Low Rolling Resistance

Michelin tires are the way to go IMO, they are pricey but you get what you pay for. I've loved every set of pilots, I even run them on my motorcycles.
I went to Costco to check out their aresenal of 17" and they only carry one Michelin brand in a 225-45-17" and it is $186.00 per tire plus tax and $60.00 for installation, price tag total for 4 tires will be $865.00 minus the $70.00 off cupon= $795.00, this price is way too high for my budget., and it is only rated for 45 k miles.
 

BrianCT

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MAXRPM said:
I went to Costco to check out their aresenal of 17" and they only carry one Michelin brand in a 225-45-17" and it is $186.00 per tire plus tax and $60.00 for installation, price tag total for 4 tires will be $865.00 minus the $70.00 off cupon= $795.00, this price is way too high for my budget., and it is only rated for 45 k miles.
Bridgestone Potenza $117 ea, Yokohama Avid W4S $105 ea, Exclaim $90, Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 $102 ea.

Do a search by size then price as seen here if it's still functioning
 

BadMonKey

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MAXRPM said:
I went to Costco to check out their aresenal of 17" and they only carry one Michelin brand in a 225-45-17" and it is $186.00 per tire plus tax and $60.00 for installation, price tag total for 4 tires will be $865.00 minus the $70.00 off cupon= $795.00, this price is way too high for my budget., and it is only rated for 45 k miles.
All 17" tires are expensive, I just dropped $1,200 for a set of 17" truck tires BFG A/T's. Considering what rides on the tires I think going cheap is a mistake. Buying tires based purely on their millage rating is also a mistake for a number of reasons. The biggest one is the construction of the tire can fail long before the tread wears out.
 

Wasserpest

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My last set of Falken tires was much quieter than the original (Goodyear, replaced at 45,000) tires on my Jetta, and lasted almost 70,000 miles. DTD had a nice coupon a while ago, so I went with Falken again. Hope they will last just as long as the previous ones, but at ~$30 a piece, no big deal if they don't make it that far. Anyway, just one happy owner. ;)
 

BrianCT

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Wasserpest said:
My last set of Falken tires was much quieter than the original (Goodyear, replaced at 45,000) tires on my Jetta, and lasted almost 70,000 miles. DTD had a nice coupon a while ago, so I went with Falken again. Hope they will last just as long as the previous ones, but at ~$30 a piece, no big deal if they don't make it that far. Anyway, just one happy owner. ;)
Which model Falken and size?
 

NB_TDi

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$52 a tire and I got 35k miles on 'em. They are due to be tossed but come on...$52 a tire.

I didn't expect them to last for the life of the car.
 

Wasserpest

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BrianCT said:
Which model Falken and size?
Brian - I am referring to 15" tires, so that might not apply to 16 or 17". The earlier set I believe were ZIEX 512, those lasted long and were very quiet compared to the originals on my Jetta. Now I have ZIEX 912 for around 10000 mi and I hope they will be similar to the 512, but it is too early to tell.
 

dddiesel

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I replaced the Falkens with Michelin Primacy MXV4's, but I've got 15" not 17". I love 'em. 60K tread wear too!
 

MAXRPM

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These 17 tires weigh a ton, compared to the 15", I believe the lightest I've seen have been 25-26 lbs each, hopefully I see lighter tires than 26 lbs when i purchase my 17"
 

bigdogdan2

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BrianCT said:
Are there any decently priced LRR for the 17'' tires? 225/45/17. I looked at the ones that Brian mentioned but didn't see LRR ones. Which other brands make LRR. I didn't realize the price difference or type of tires before buying my 17'' wheels from the dealer. There are a ton more choices for 16'' and quite a bit cheaper...
 

BrianCT

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bigdogdan2 said:
Are there any decently priced LRR for the 17'' tires? 225/45/17. I looked at the ones that Brian mentioned but didn't see LRR ones. Which other brands make LRR. I didn't realize the price difference or type of tires before buying my 17'' wheels from the dealer. There are a ton more choices for 16'' and quite a bit cheaper...
Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 $102 ea
 

BobZ

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Had the Falken Ziex 512 for 45,000 miles - good gripping tire but replaced with Firwhawk GT (not exactly sure if there is more info needed than the "GT" portion?) but I have 20,000 miles on them and they still have a lot of beef on them. Mileage (mpg) seems better with Firehawks and were very good in snow and happy with them in rain. Got them at tires+ and they negotiate price :)
 

MAXRPM

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I have been reading reviews about tires,,, and it seems like the best bang for the buck are the Hankooks, overall the price is half on what you pay for the high rated tire out on the market Like Michelin and Yoko everybody seems to be happy the way they ride and last ,,,,,, I have had them on commercial vehicles before and they were great, now I am reading excellent reviews about these tires for lighter vehicles now, what do you guys think?
 
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BrianCT

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BobZ said:
Had the Falken Ziex 512 for 45,000 miles - good gripping tire but replaced with Firwhawk GT (not exactly sure if there is more info needed than the "GT" portion?) but I have 20,000 miles on them and they still have a lot of beef on them. Mileage (mpg) seems better with Firehawks and were very good in snow and happy with them in rain. Got them at tires+ and they negotiate price :)
Your 512's are the improved version of the 452's. I thought the 452's were an excellent tire the first 10,000 miles, as previously stated. Many said that the 512's really were improved. The Ze-912's in 225/45-17 had great reviews too.

MAXRPM said:
I have been reading reviews about tires,,, and it seems like the best bang for the buck are the Hankooks, overall the price is half on what you pay for the high rated tire out on the market Like Michelin and Yoko everybody seems to be happy the way they ride and last ,,,,,,
I bought two sets of winter Hankooks from Discount Tires 101 2007 winter during their Buy 3 and get the 4th Free promo. My friends who I ordered them for have enjoyed them... The hot Hankook are the Ventus V12's. Some excellent feed back here on V12's concerning road noise. Remember though, everything sounds great when new.:D

The Michelins are hand down the quietest tire out there and longevity wise one of the best over all. The fuel mileage is obviously an advantage too. I never liked the Michelins, but there are some members who just swear by them.

I gave more sets of these tires away for free after friends told me how skiddish they were on wet pavement.
 
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