Three tires: Any opinions?

W

White95Max

New member
I'm getting new wheels in the spring and putting Ultra High-Performance Summer-Only tires on them...size 225/55/16.

My current wheels will be used for snow tires.



My criteria?

1. I like a somewhat aggressive tread pattern

2. Z speed rating is nice

3. Price = preferably under $100



Here are the three tires I'm considering:

BF Goodrich G-Force Sport

Falken Ziex ZE-512

Falken GR Beta FK-451



I'd like to hear any comments on any of these tires.

Feel free to recommend other tires as well.
 
You might also want to check out the Yokohama AVS ES100. A really nice, moderately priced (under $100/tire in the size listed) performance tire. I've been running them for about a year and really like them. Good wet/dry traction and seem to be holding up well too.
 
you can't go wrong with falkens, i ve had the 502's for my first car, very very durable. daily driver for NYC potholes and held up great to potholes that 5 new Sumitomo's couldn't handle in 3 months.



for my car now, i am using the 512's. they are just as good if not better. its on 18" rims whereas the 502's i had previously, were on 17's. never paid attention back then to the tread life on the 502's but the 512's are phenominal.
 
How is the grip of the 512s on dry AND wet?



Is your car a 5spd? GST/GSX? Mods?



I only plan to use these tires from about April-October, so cold traction and snow traction doesn't matter. Do you wear these tires all year round? They do say that they are All-Season tires.



Basically I want a tire that can handle full throttle on the dry pavement in a straight line from about 15mph in first gear. My Potenza RE950s can only sometimes handle it. If my wheels are turned at all during this test, the Potenzas just rip loose. But the RE950s are All-Seasons too, which is why I was thinking a Summer-Only tire would be better, since the engineers could specifically concern themselves with warm pavement grip, and not worry about snow/ice traction.



I'm not against All-Seasons, since it might be nice to have tires that are still pliable in cold weather...living in WI and all...
 
I have Bridgestone SO-3 Pole Positions that are one of the best street performance tires around. They have very good grip on the turns, have fast response, quick turn-in, low noise, decent ride, progressive break away, high limits on grip, excellent wet handling and even better dry handling. Much better than Kumho ECSTA 711 which did not have nearly as much grip. SO-3s are summer only.
 
I have Bridgestone RE750's on my '97 Maxima SE in 225/55/16. They're W speed rated (168 mph) Ultra High Performance Summer Tires. I can easily say they are the best tires I've ever run. Look at the comparisons on Tirerack.com, and the RE750's came in 3rd out of 47 tires in its class. Wet and dry traction is absolutely superb. I have over 15,000 miles on mine so far, and I haven't hydroplaned yet. I also haven't broken them loose in the dry. They've got a 340 treadwear, "A" Temp, and "AA" Traction rating. 15,000+ miles and mine don't have any really appreciable wear.

Living in Louisiana, I haven't had to worry about snow or really cold days (our lows only get in the 20's). At 20 degrees, I haven't had any problems with them getting hard and slick. But since they're not all seasons, I would be very cautious driving in snow with them. But if you are keeping the RE950's, you will probably be swapping out for winter.

I got mine over a year ago for about $120/tire at a local Firestone, they may be cheaper now.



Dave
 
White95Max said:
I'm getting new wheels in the spring and putting Ultra High-Performance Summer-Only tires on them...size 225/55/16.

My current wheels will be used for snow tires.



My criteria?

1. I like a somewhat aggressive tread pattern

2. Z speed rating is nice

3. Price = preferably under $100



Here are the three tires I'm considering:

BF Goodrich G-Force Sport

Falken Ziex ZE-512

Falken GR Beta FK-451



I'd like to hear any comments on any of these tires.

Feel free to recommend other tires as well.
Click to expand...



Of the choices mentioned I would go with the BFGoodrich G-Force Sports. I don't have any experience with this particular tire but, I have been running the G-Force line on my cars for a number of years. My Mustang currently wears BFG G-Force KDW.



You mention you want a summer only tire but later mention the wet. In my opinion you can't do any better than the BFG KDW. They are a bit above $100 at $125 but, in my opinion they are well worth it.



The KDW is Y rated which is actually higher than the Z rating. Z is rated to 149 and above and Y is rated to 186. Another bit a trivia is that BFG is owned by Michelin.



http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/bfgapp/catalog/tires/gforcetakdw2.jsp



http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...=false&partnum=255YR6GFTAKDW&fromCompare1=yes



BFG KDW

gforce_kdw2_large.jpg
 
I'd go with the GRB-451 (in fact I *have* gone with the GRB-451! They'll be on my car this summer). EXCELLENT tire for the price. I have no experience with your other listed choices there. But I'm confident you'll have no complaints if you choose the Falkens.



I'd look at www.tires.com for the Falkens - good prices and free shipping on most tire orders.



Good luck with your decision.
 
I was considering ContiExtremes when I read a post referencing the Nov '03 issue of Consumer Report. Based on their testing criteria the Falken ZE-512's came out on top & I bought a set from www.vulcantire.com in PA. Very good prices & Sean is ready to answer any questions you might have.



They're wearing great, excellent traction when it's wet, and I've never had the hydroplane-type feeling that I used to get with some TA's when hitting a puddle on the NYS Thruway.



Can't comment on what kind of grip you'll get jumping on it from a 15mph press 'cause that takes just too many variables into consideration.



They're also pretty quiet for a uni-directional tire and I suggest you search your area for someone who has a Hunter GSP9700 RoadForce balancer .... best in the business.



Here's the link to locate a GSP9700 near you:



http://128.242.141.111/pub/search/findgsp9700.cfm
 
1) Falken Azenis are reputedly the best performing Falken tire, and many people believe that they are the best performing dry road tire available. They have a poor wet traction reputation, but that generally doesn't come into play until they are about 40% worn. There will be a new Azeni Sport first quarter of '05 that addresses the wet traction issue, and they have a KILLER tread pattern:



DSC008611.jpg




Here is a decent picture of the tread pattern of the OLD Azeni Sports:



FrontDSCornerBW.jpg




2) The Bridgestone S-03s are a GREAT performance tire, just this side of a track tire for daily use. These are the tires I currently have on my car. The wet traction is almost equal to the dry traction. The downside of the S-03 is noise and a tendency to tramline, and they will deform easily at temps under 60*, so the first couple minutes of driving can be a little bumpy.



3620dscf0293-med.jpg






3) The Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 is like a Bridgestone S-03 without the noise and tramlining. I've driven these two tires back to back to back on my car, a set of S-03s, then the GS-D3s, then the S-03s, once going from NEW GS-D3s with 1500 miles to NEW S-03s (long story). The GS-D3s have a much cooler tread pattern, are just a tiny bit slower on turn-in, have about the same grip, and have the same feel at the limit, giving away grudgingly and very gradually. The difference in turn-in can be described this way: The GS-D3s are EXTREMELY quick, the S-03s are SUDDEN. I personally prefer the GS-D3s because they are so much quieter and smoother riding; that outweighs the slight advantage at turnin of the S-03s. If you love the S-03s you'll LOVE the GS-D3s.



f1gsd3b.jpg
 
White95Max said:
I'm getting new wheels in the spring and putting Ultra High-Performance Summer-Only tires on them...size 225/55/16.

My current wheels will be used for snow tires.



My criteria?

1. I like a somewhat aggressive tread pattern

2. Z speed rating is nice

3. Price = preferably under $100



Here are the three tires I'm considering:

BF Goodrich G-Force Sport

Falken Ziex ZE-512

Falken GR Beta FK-451



I'd like to hear any comments on any of these tires.

Feel free to recommend other tires as well.
Click to expand...



I just recently purchased the Falken 512's fo my Mustang and they have been excellent so far. Wet and dry grip have been really good, the ride is very smoth and also very quite. I have a convertible so tire noise can be very annoying. I got the tires at Sears for $381.00 mounted, balanced and new chrome valve stems (245/50/16). They beat the price that Discount Tire was showing online. These tires repalced a more expensive Dunlop SP 5000 and is a much better tire. Another tire I was looking at was the Fusion ZRi, which is made by Firestone. It's strictly a summer tire though, but that's what you want.:D
 
I've heard really good things about bridgestone's new fuzion tires. I know they are aimed at the ricer crowd, but they are a good tire at a great price. I know a lot of 944 owners have given them a shot and have read really good reports about them. They are $78 a piece from tirerack:



http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes.jsp?make=Fuzion&model=ZRi



I have run dunlop sp8000 and yokohama AVS intermediates on my 944 turbo and have enjoyed both of them. The yokos seemed to wear a little better and traction/noise is very similar. I picked up the AVS intermediates for only $55 a piece when tirerack was closing them out last year, so keep an eye out for specials.
 
Dave H - I saw the RE750s and considered them, but the only problem was the price. With the G-Force Sports' great reviews and low price, it's hard to go wrong with those tires. I WILL read the reviews on the RE750s before buying my new tires though. They do look very nice.



BTW, my current 15s will be used for SNOW tires. These tires would be off before the first snow.



Although SO-3's are awesome tires, they cost about twice as much as the G-Force Sports. I can't see myself justifying that cost...I don't have the power on tap to need the grip that those tires provide.



About my car: it's a 95 Maxima SE with a 5spd M/T and CAI. So I thought the RE950s would be adequate for this car when I bought them last year, but for the most part I haven't been that impressed with them.
 
Regarding Falken tyres, in my opinion and experience I would never buy Falkens again. They were unresponsive, not very grippy in any conditions, easily punctured, noisy and I flat spotted all 4 after a minor lock-up.



I bought them after quite a few people and dealers recommended them and could not believe how bad they were. I got the dearest type available that suited my car (directional) and when I challenged the recommenders they said, "oh we meant the basic type".



I reckon you get what you pay for and Falkens are cheap in cost and quality. Buy the dearest you can afford as they are all that is between you road.
 
I am looking at either the Potenza RE750s now, or the G-Force Sports.

The RE750s are about the most I would be willing/able to pay for new tires.
 
To throw another tire into the mix, you might want to look at the Kumho ECSTA ASX. I put a set on my BMW and can't say enough good things about them. Very quiet, they ride great, and the grip surprised me. These aren't the tires that I'd choose to run on the NSX, because there are other tires out there that offer more performance. But, on a four door sedan that you're driving everyday, they are great. Check out the reviews at tirerack.com.
 
As far as the Ecsta ASX, I am looking for a dedicated Summer-Only tire. The ASX is listed as an all-season tire. I am getting dedicated winter tires, so I figured I might as well have the best type of tire for summer too...those being summer tires.

I have all season high performance tires on now, and they don't have the grip that I want. I feel that a summer-only tire would be more likely to have awesome grip on the warm pavement. That's all I want. The performance in the cold or snow makes no difference to me because the summer tires/wheels will be inside waiting for spring.
 
If you're looking for opinions, check www.1010tires.com.



They'll ship to the U.S., but that's not really why I'm recommeding the site. The users post a lot of reviews, and give ratings on various performance points (wet, dry, snow, noise, etc).
 
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