Greetings! My orig runflats are down to their last treads and want to move away from the harsh (my opin) ride. Want to try (per another member's comments) these Falkens. Size is a little off (currently 205/45/17 to 215/40/17), so would this be a rubbing problem on the wheel wells?

I recently purchased Avon Tech M550 A/S for my Infiniti G35 with decent results so far, but was thinking of getting the Falkens from Discount Tires.

Appreciate any inputs. Thanks!

DC_Ray
2005 MCS
2003 Infiniti G35S

 

be aware that those falkens are very poor in the rain. They are REALLY grippy, excellent autocross tires, but their water evacuation is poor, and they only start at 8/32" tread. If you drive your mini in the rain frequently, be careful, or pick a different tire. These tires are really designed for autocross more than anything else, many call them "cheater tires", since they are "street" tires designed for autocross. . .

 

You should also look in the Tires, Wheels, and Brakes forum. I look in there all the time and there is alot of info.

 

I've been running 215's for a while now. No rubbing. I've currently got 215/45 17 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3's and no problems. (I wish I had gone with the 40 series though for a shorter sidewall...)

 

i currently run 215/45/17s on td wheels. stock no rub - lowered they will rub.

it does depend on the manufacturer tho and how the tread is designed.

215/40 - dunno, but i am looking into that size for a set of either azenis or hoosiers

 

The RT-615 is a great tire for maximum grip. But if you didn't like your run flats because the road too rough, I doubt you'll like the Falken RT-615's. I'd look at the Hankook 212's. They ride better than the RT-615's and have close to the same grip.

As far as rain driving goes. If you drive in heavy rain A LOT, then I would look elsewhere. But if you don't get much rain like we do (desert climate), then you should be fine with either the Falken or the Hankook in everything except very heavy rain (deep puddles).

 

Thanks to all that responded!!! Guess I may have to play safe w/ an all-season tire since we live in DC metro.

 

An excellent All Season tire that performs very well especially for the money is the Falken Ziex 512. I've got Azenis on my AutoX wheels right now, and they are much stiffer and better performing, but the 512's are one of the best kept secrets.

Richard

 

I agree with OctaneGuy. The 512's are pretty good. Another tire that's equal to the 512 is the Kumho ASX. It's also an all-season, but you can purchase it (review it) on the TireRack. It's the same price (give or take) as the Falken's.

Either would be a great choice! (I just like working with the Tire Rack. They really take care of you if you have problems)

 

My Toyo Proxies 4 are good in the rain. Much better than the Pirelli RFs they replaced.

 

Most car magazines that have recently reviewed different performance tires, the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 has been the overall winner everytime. I just got them on my car 2 days ago, but so far they are great and a lot quieter riding than my previous BFGoodrich KDW2s.

 

I used 16" (205/50R16) Falken ZE512 Ziex's as a replacement for the OEM 17" wrung phlats and I was very pleased with them, especially in the rain. The 16" tires were mounted on 16" Rota Slipstream wheels.

The Ziex's have now be replaced by Hankook Ventus V4 at John Behe's recommendation and I find them to be as good (or better) than the Ziex's. You might want to give John at LuckyDog Garage a call as an alternate to Discount tire. If you don't know about LDG, it is in Glenwood on MD97 (a.k.a. Georgia Ave) about a mile south of I70.

 

You will not get a better ride with the Falken 615 tires. They have very stiff sidewalls as they are, as others have mentioned, a street racing tire. Very grippy, and just ok in the rain. Because of the side wall they ride much like a runflat. Now if you like performance, they are a great tire, but can be a handful in the rain or cool weather (road surface temps less than 40 deg).

I also owned a set of 512's all seasion and really liked them. Nice ride, good wet weather performance most of the life of the tire. They were great in the snow the first year but snow performance went down as quite abit once the tire was through half its tread (as one would expect). As I got down near the ware bars I even autocrossed on them. They had very good grip (for an all seasion) through out their life (down to the ware bars).

John