Falken Tires

[BigRed]

I just got my Falken ZE512 tires in the shop today and I have to say Im impressed! They are VERY pretty on both the tread and the sidewall. I gotta get my SLOW wheel company to get me back my refinished rims to go try them out though!

Anyone have or knows anyone with these tires? As far as we're figuring Im the ONLY one in North America with a 255/50 R16 ZE512 (I had to wait 2 months for them to come out of Japan) Even the Falken Rep never heard of them making that size!

Hehe Custom tires! Cool!

 

[jeff blitz]

hey,

Gotta love new tires but i just bought the Goodyear GS-D3's and love the look and the traction. I'm not saying mine are better or anything but lets stay in touch to compare them.

jeff

 

[BigRed]

Of Course!

 

[92ghost]

Hey, thought I would jump in on this post. I just purchased the Kumho Ecsta tires for my 92. Got the 285 40 17's @ 4 and will have them installed Wednesday of this week. I purchased them through Tire Rack for $119 ea. due to tight funds (started a business). Anyway, I'm curious about other tire manufacturers and the performance they give especially the Goodyear GS and the Falken's. I know the cost is considerable (for the Goodyears) but is the performance that much more?

Any comments...

 

[BigRed]

FINALLY got my rims in and may I say SWEET!

They are CHROME I wasn't expecting that at all!! And they are perfect in all details!!

I had the Falkens put on and balanced internally and when they were done there was hardly and weights in there! The machine shop balanced them perfectly! Also the Falken tires must balance nice to!

Got them installed and charged up the car fo a little spin

OMG!

I didn't even own a sports car let alone a Vette till now....

I mean it is a TOTALLY DIFFERENT CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It felt like a C5 The steering was like a swiss watch!!!

(Brand new alignment,Rack & pinion, and Power steering pump done just prior to the rims to)

Im going to pull it out Sunday to get totally cleaned and waxed I'll take some pictures if anyone so cares to see them.

Only thing to peev me off a little is on the rear bumper I noticed a starburst crack in my brand new paint...oh well Lifetime warranty on the paint I'll have to take it in.

And the Falken tires are WORTH it GO BUY THEM Im not kidding!! Over my Michelin XGT V4's these are unreal. They look GORGEOUS and they grip VERY well. I took an on ramp during my little test flight at about 100 Kph and they barely even moved. The Michey's broke loose on that corner at 95 or so.

The ride is VERY nice to (aside from hitting pot holes and cracks but thats vette) On the highway you can seriously fall asleep. No whine,groans,vibes nothing....silence its wonderful.

Even the cab doesn't chrip squeek or rattle hardly now.

BTW my rims unknown to me were GARABGE! The last owner was a mental reject let me tell you. My machine shop called me today around Noon to give me hell. They said when they started the job they finished the first rim and IF the OTHER rims were as bad as that one was they were going to scrap the job and MY rims and tell me to go buy new ones. Lucky me the others were BAD but not as bad as the first one. I didn't even know how bad they were. Everyone said vettes ride bad and I kinda accepted that but now they can all go

KISS MY ARS!



​

 

[vettin1]

That sounds sweet! Gotta love it when a "plan comes together". With my baby, I can definetely tell when she's happy.

I'm running 275/45/ZR17's (17x9.5) Goodyear Eagle F1 Steel on the 96 GS collector rims. I LOVE these tires (for $325 a tire I better love them). Took a look at your the tire specs you posted and now I'm wondering if I could have saved some money, oh well it's a vette, it's worth it.

Good luck with your setup and happy driving

 

[limomanb]

Have the same tires as Big Red...only I did not have to wait two months for them to come out of Japan. Discount Tire had 'em right here in Southern California. Price was $571 all in. I did some research on these tires beforehand and I'll be honest...it wasn't good. It seems as though users report that their car felt like it was "all over the road" with this tire. One person even reported feeling "unsafe" and that "these tires are downright dangerous".
I decided to give them a shot due to limited selections available. Discount Tires will take the tires back if you aren't happy with them too....so far they've been OK. my car isn't exactly "all over the road" or "unsafe". New tiresalways seem to feel good ...especially the stick you get for the first few months...time will tell for us BigRed.

 

[limomanb]

Big Red- Maybe you and I ARE the only one's in North America with the Falkens.

 

[84TXVette]

Big Red- Maybe you and I ARE the only one's in North America with the Falkens.

Nope... I just replaced my Falkens on my 84. I was happy with them. But, I drive 64 miles to/from work each day and went with a tire that will last longer this time.

 

[limomanb]

OK...there are at least 3 of us now...and probably more. I wonder why BigRed had to wait 2 months for his to come out of Japan.

 

[BigRed]

No Idea they sure made it sound like I was ordering something special! so far they are very nice and very comparable to my XGT V4's I had on there before (only for half the price!)

Gotta round up some pictures still

 

[Topless]

I have run General, Goodyear, Falken, Sumitomo, and Dunlop on my vette. The Falkens were the ZE502's. I loved them for daily driving. They have excellent grip, and good tread life (300+). The Dunlps (sp5000) cost more, have similar ratings, and suck eggs. The Falkens even when they were almost worn out grip in the snow!