falken tyres -any good?

Lirin

I had Falken's (912's) on mine- for the price, they're very decent in most weather- nice all rounder. Quite good grip in damp/wet conditions.

timbo58

I have Falkens on my 2002 Audi TT, £63 each online which was half of what I had been quoted for my previous P-Zero nero Pirellis.
The Pirellis were far superior in damp conditions and are awe inspiring grip-wise, but the falkens are completely OK 99.9% of the time unless the car is pushed very hard speed wise on bends then you can feel the grip lacking just a little.

Lirin

Think at the time, the Falkens were all I could afford- they're fairly reasonably priced, and while not as good as some, are definitely a good all-rounder without spending a fortune. Lot better than the Sceptors my alloys came with, which were useless in pretty much every condition...

xyz123

thanks to all who replied. i am going to go with falkens.

mikey72

xyz123 wrote: »

thanks for that. i looked there before and to be honest got confused with their rating system. they have 5 stars shown and then in brackets a numerical rating shown. but starts and numerical ratings dont seem to match. for example very first result (which is average of all results) shows it receiveing a 3 and a half star but the rating says it is 2.48....

The numbers are stars are explained, but only when you leave a report. 1 equals 5 stars, the best, 3 equals 3 stars, 6 equals no stars, the worst, etc.
So 2.5 equals 3.5 stars.

xyz123

mikey72 wrote: »

The numbers are stars are explained, but only when you leave a report. 1 equals 5 stars, the best, 3 equals 3 stars, 6 equals no stars, the worst, etc.
So 2.5 equals 3.5 stars.

thanks for that. this numbering seems counter intuitive.

Jakg

d3matt wrote: »

A good value tyre brand is Kumho. Not widely recognised in the UK, but Mercedes factory fit these to many of their models. I've used the Kumho Ecsta Sport KU31 on a couple of Saab 9-5s and I've found them to be excellent tyres and half the cost of most of the premium brands. The KU31 has also done very well in the tyre tests

My car (MG ZT - 1.6 ton saloon) came with KU31's at the front. I've replaced these with Falken FK-452's and they are a little better, for barely any more money.

However, these recommendations are for a big, heavy saloon - for something smaller like the OP's car something with softer sidewalls might be better.

xyz123

Jakg wrote: »

My car (MG ZT - 1.6 ton saloon)

for something smaller like the OP's car something with softer sidewalls might be better.

any recommendations / pointers as to which tyres have softer sidewalls. sorry but am not very knowledgeable when it comes to these things.

d3matt

Tyres have a load rating. On most normal cars, you don't need to worry about this. But if you tow, or have an estate car that you do load up to the max or certain heavier cars (like a Discovery 3 or 4), then you have to watch the load rating as you could end up with tyres that are under-rated and don't meet the manufacturer's recommendations. You could also then end up with insurance troubles if you had an accident. Land Rover Discovery 3/4 and Range Rover sport owners have to watch this. I was previously an owner of both, so knew the score.

Many tyres come with the standard version and an XL or Extra Load version which are rated a little higher. They don't normally cost any more.

I always buy the XL versions, as I assume these are a little more robust and maybe have slightly stiffer or stronger side walls. I've seen many tyres bulge out the side and need replacing from hitting a pot hole. I assume that an extra-load tyre may be a little more protected from such damage. I've found that an XL tyre probably doesn't give any noticeable difference in the ride. Changing the tyre pressure probably compensates if needed.

You can find out about the tyre ratings here and more about the identification lettering and numbering on tyres here.

darich

Have a look at http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/

I've just put Kumho tyres on my car - removed Avons.
I immediately noticed that the Kumhos are quieter but they've only been on the car a few days so can't say any more than that.

Falkens fare quite well on the above site.