Falken Ziex Ze 512 vs Hankook Ventus Sport K104

[bbrich57]

Nice tire! Look like a BFG I had years ago.
Keep us updated on the Fuzion's. I've read various reports about them... some good, some not so good. Most of the good was TireRack hype, I'm sorry to say. The bad was mostly about wear and dry rot.
I'd be interested in your long term opinion.

 

[aMaff]

I've never driven on the Kooks, but I have 512s and love 'em. Definately getting them again. The do run a little narrow tho. I have 205/40's now, and on a 17x7 they're stretched pretty far. The tires I had before were the same size and were the "right" size, so I'm gonna go for 215/40's when I'm ready for new ones (next couple thousand miles or so). They're a great street / performance tire. Just about silent during "normal" driving, and once you start beating on them a little more, they communicate nicely.

EDIT: To answer the orignal question of them being all season tires. They are great in the wet (for spring / fall). The only time it ever gets squirrely on me in the wet is when you hit larger puddles, but that's with every tire. As good as they are in the wet, they're sticky enough to be considered very good summer rubber. For the price, I don't think you can find an all around better tire. Quiet, sticky, and don't complain about rain.

 

[03EmeraldMica]

I had the 512's on my car and almost got 25,000 miles out of just on the rear i never rotated them. They are a very hard tire, at times neck jarring depending on your road situation in your area. If your looking for just a summer tire then maybe u should consider Aziena's they are the handleing masters...

 

[aMaff]

I had the 512's on my car and almost got 25,000 miles out of just on the rear i never rotated them. They are a very hard tire, at times neck jarring depending on your road situation in your area. If your looking for just a summer tire then maybe u should consider Aziena's they are the handleing masters...

yeah, but they're REALLY slippery in the wet. And if you think the 512's were stiff....

And I honestly think they could use a stiffer sidewall....

 

[hyperboarder]

Falkens are pretty cheap comparatively, and I love mine. I still have a bit of wheel hop, and I can break them loose, but I really feel like I know how they'll act in most situations. They're also pretty quiet, but they could just be drowned out by the other plethora of road noises I have.

 

[toucci]

Well, here try this on for size....

The P5's stock tires are ranked #1: Could all the negative nancy bashers be WRONG?

 

[pasadena_commut]

The P5's stock tires are ranked #1: Could all the negative nancy bashers be WRONG?

No, I think Consumers Union is. We had Dunlops on our Subie wagon and they wore down in no time, even with periodic rotation and balanced wheels. This was really light duty use, just driving around town and some extended highway driving. No racing, no autocross, no fast cornering. I don' t know how CU measures tire wear but it bore no relationship whatsoever to what we saw. We now have Yokohama Avid H4s on the wagon and those have been holding up much better. If you never drive in the snow (and we don't) the Yokohama is the equivalent of the #2 rated Michelin for a lot less money. I would have bought them for my P5 but they weren't available in the right size, so I went with the Falken's instead. No regrets so far, I've been very happy with the Falkens.

 

[bbrich57]

I am surprised by this.
My second hand experience w/Dunlops is exactly as the opposite. They are hard riding and wearing, but also handle like crap in anything but absolutely dry weather (remind you of anything? Hint: RS-A's.) A friend had them on an old BMW 2002 and couldn't wait to get them off.