Well after extensive serching and reading about new tires I have plumped for
Falken ZE-502`s in the std size of 205/50/R16

I refuse to pay ridiculous prices for tires and the SO2`s were far too much considering I needed four.
The Falkens have the following ratings:
Temp A
Traction A
Treadware 300
Now thats not bad considering I have saved myself £185 over the price of SO2`s and they`ll last longer.

The treadware marker suggests these are very hard, in fact even harder than ContiSport (which where dangerous in the rain).

Goodyear F1 is 200 and SO2 180.

Would be interested to get your impressions on wet weather / break away characteristics....

I had the falkens on my WRX and before them I had the SO2s I thought the falkens were as good if not better considering the cost, my new MY00 has got PZEROs and they are the mutz nutz mate.

I had 17" Falkens 'given' as part of a Wheels package. They were crap.

Wet grip almost non-existant, dry grip only any good when down to 3mm tread, only lasted for 11000 miles. I will NEVER put Falkens on any car again.

I now run SO2s (17") and the car's grip, turn in and general handling is in a different league.

Tyres are the last thing you should scrimp on!

Maybe there is a problem with Falken 17" (like the alleged s02 16" problem) as I had 16" Falkens on my WRX with no problem whatsoever. They gripped well in wet and dry, but I can't remember how many miles I got from them! (But I did do a few track days on them!)

there are two types of Falken tyres, ZE 502's with a silica based compound and the FK451 the 451's are cheaper and not so good but 502's are a new tyre and much better in the wet in know I had fitted 4 weeks ago

Just changed on MY99 from Original Bridgestone 205/50-16 to Falken 502 mounted on 17" OZ superturismo Size is 205/45-17
They where mainly choosen because of the price and the size. 215 is in my opinion to wide for the 7" OZ's
I have only done 3000 Km. in dry. I'm sattisfied whit the dry grip, but look forward to try them in the wet.
Lars
Lars

Jake,

I have a Falken 2000 tyre booklet in front of me and it sure doesn't look like the ZE-502 is the newer or better tyre.

You know how tyre catalogues start with performance stuff first and work there way down through the range until they get to their skinny Micra tyres, well first page is "NEW FK-451" with the following blurb:

"The premium tyre with silica based compound"

- Innovative tread design from motor-sports racing technology

- Excellent behaviour in aquaplaning condition without compromising handling, comfort, wear resistance and low noise levels on dry road

- Stiffer construction for precise handling response

Next page is FK-GRS (where S = german SS): "our supreme performance tyre"

Next page is ZE-502: "our perfect sports and allround tyre"

- modern tread design
- noise and aquaplaning reduced to the minimum
- superb kinetic performance
- maximum riding comfort

I personally think the ZE-502 tread pattern looks useless for wet weather -- lots of rubber not much room for the water to be expelled. The FK-451 sports an aggressive pattern like the Goodyear F1s or Toyo T1-S but with a central band of uninterrupted rubber.

I also have a German tyre test of the FK-451s on a Merc E320 (235/45 ZR 17) and it comes out well against the likes of the Goodyear F1s and Toyo T1-S.

IIRC the FK-451s have a treadwear rating of 280. Micheldever Tyres in Hampshire do them for £75 each all inc if anyone's interested.

Paul

GARY C .. I understand your sentiments but I refuse to pay £450+ for tires. Given the treadwear rating and traction rating ( all beit for the USA market ) I think the `lesser` cost tyre has to be looked at. Bob Rawle has Falken 451`s on his car and they have an even similar temp, traction and wear to the SO2`s.

I havnt even bedded them in yet but I`ll let you know.

K

i guess i got that wrong must be the other way round 451 are good and the 502's are skinny micra cr@p

Toyo T1S at 340 inc vat and fitting. Why bother with the S02? http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/wink.gif

Moray

Is that a special price just for you http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/wink.gif or can anyone get them at this price?

Kris, if I understand you correctly, you're saying that the Falken FK-451 has a similar treadwear rating to S-02s. This is most certainly not true. Bob Rawle posted that they are 280 compared to 180 for S-02s. Quite a difference.

Paul

To be honest , I cant be bothered anymore. I have made my choice and now have them on the car.I havn`t driven it all week so I cant say whether they are good or bad having been bedded in by Nikki.I havn`t paid top money so if they are Cr*p then so be it,I`ll live with it. Horses for courses an all that, but thanks for all your inputs.
K

Ive been using Falken 16" (V tread) tyres since last summer, through rain/ice/snow and have "given it large" on twisty roads in the borders with no trouble. They have covered about 12K and look like they will give <15K which will be nice. The verdict: nice tyres, even better price.......
Dan