Opinions on Falken ZE912's

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Kinsy
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Opinions on Falken ZE912's

Post by Kinsy »

I know a lot of people on here swear by the older Falken 452's but these are tricky to get hold of these days and appear to have been replaced by the 912's. My new car (Rev3 N/A) came with these on; previously i've sworn by Toyo T1-Rs but as the Falkens came with plenty of meat on them i stuck with them.

In the current conditions (cold, wet) in my old car (Rev4 N/A) i couldn't pluck up enough courage to push the Toyos beyond a certain limit and never had any moments of serious oversteer. Having had ditchfinders on when i bought my first '2 i've always been a bit of a wimp in the wet but with the new car and having a lot of practice going sideways at slow speed in the snow my confidence has grown with the handling quite a lot.

These new Falkens appear to give less grip at slow speed, and are particularly prone to spinning up when putting power down on corner exit than the Toyos. But the feel when they do let go is so much more progressive and easy to manage even at high speed than the Toyos, so i actually find myself pushing harder into corners and on corner exit. My old car and new car should in theory be very similar on the handling front as far as i can tell as there was no major revision of suspension components between the two revisions. The old car had Apex springs on the front only (we never got the rears on as the droplinks wouldn't budge) but the new one has them fitted all round. The new car definitely has more bhp and torque than the old one which pushes the tyres more but i can't believe there's difference enough to overwhelm the tyres so much.

To give you an idea of the difference between the cars:-

Old: Rev 4 T-bar, N/A, Air con, Apex springs front only.
New: Rev 3 T-bar, N/A, Apex springs all round, Mongoose, decat, home-made induction

The Falkens will need replacing in the next 2-3 months as they're getting eaten up and i'm seriously debating whether to save some cash and get Falkens on the rear again, but i was wondering if anyone had any other opinions on the ZE912's in comparison with the Toyo T1-Rs.


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MattBlack

Re: Opinions on Falken ZE912's

Post by MattBlack »

The ZE912 model is not a replacement for the FK452. Both are current Falken tyres and they are for different purposes. The FK452 is the soft performance tyre, the ZE912 is the harder, cheaper tyre which appear to be mid-way between performance and economy tyres. As for comparison with the T1-R I cannot comment, though the T1-R are meant to be in the same range as the 452.

My car came with fairly bog-standard P6000s, which similarly to the ZE912s are meant to be semi-performance. These were partially worn, but totally "censored" next to my new Falkens.
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oldskoolhrdcore
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Re: Opinions on Falken ZE912's

Post by oldskoolhrdcore »

i like the 912s alot, had them on the rear of my old two and have them on the rear of my turbo, lots of grip, have toyos on my other 2 and they are just more sticky, i suppose it makes sense that at the edge of grip the toyos would unstick rather than progressively slide like the 912s, bit like low profile tyres.. i could be completely wrong though, im just guessing lol

if anything id go falken for the pure fact they last alot longer
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Vargas

Re: Opinions on Falken ZE912's

Post by Vargas »

I have not tried the Falken 912`s but I am using the 452`s and really rate them :th:
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Kinsy
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Re: Opinions on Falken ZE912's

Post by Kinsy »

I've not had a really good go with these properly in the dry but they do seem at least as good as the Toyos. I'd like to try the FK452's but they cant be had for love nor money (at least online) in the standard sizes on the rear.

If they last longer than the Toyos (i was about to fit my 3rd set the day my old MR2 was driven into, they were on my passenger seat!) while being £20 cheaper per corner i'm happy to stick with them.

Guess ill find out in a couple of months when it warms up a bit how good they really are.
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Olly

Re: Opinions on Falken ZE912's

Post by Olly »

MattBlack wrote:The ZE912 model is not a replacement for the FK452. Both are current Falken tyres and they are for different purposes. The FK452 is the soft performance tyre, the ZE912 is the harder, cheaper tyre which appear to be mid-way between performance and economy tyres.
+1

Falken once sent me some 912s instead of the 452s I'd requested. I read up about them and as a result sent them straight back. They are indeed an economy/mid-range tyre and are not in the same league or made for the same purpose as the 452s (at least not on a 300bhp tubby).

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Re: Opinions on Falken ZE912's

Post by topgun »

452s hard to get hold of erm i don't think so mate,ive been using them for 4 years now and never had a problem getting hold of them,i get mine from ProTyres :th:
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Re: Opinions on Falken ZE912's

Post by Kinsy »

Hard to find as in the major online tyre sellers do not stock them, such as Camskill, blackcircles, etyres etc. Protyre (http://www.protyre.co.uk) dont appear to sell online, just try to send you to a fitting centre? (the nearest one to me is 50 miles away, i live in the Midlands).

I can get tyres fitted for free as i have plenty of friends in the trade, i just need an online supplier as they're going to be far cheaper than going to a tyre dealer anywhere near me (and the likelihood of them stocking 225/50/15's are slim!).

I was wagging my tail out of every junction this morning as i went the fun way to work!
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Re: Opinions on Falken ZE912's

Post by TonyleFrog »

topgun wrote:452s hard to get hold of erm i don't think so mate,ive been using them for 4 years now and never had a problem getting hold of them,i get mine from ProTyres :th:
D'oh! When was the last time you had standard 15" wheels on any of your cars? :rolleyes:
Never seen that in the three and half years I've been a member of this club!
Camskill for example don't list FK 452s in 15" - only ZE912s. Old age is catching up with you mate!
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Re: Opinions on Falken ZE912's

Post by Craig-rev3 »

Yup, 452's don't come in standard sizes. 912's are the only Falken option for the standard 15's. Theres quite a few options for the fronts but finding decent rears outside of the T1-r's is pretty much non existant from all of my searching around.
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noiseboy

Re: Opinions on Falken ZE912's

Post by noiseboy »

I recently changed from the Toyo T1-r to the Falken 452's and have to say that I prefer the Toyo's but they don't last as long. The Falkens are still a good tyre and are cheaper.
I am I have to admit though a fairly enthusiatic driver as :Ril: (Tony) can tell you..... ;)

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Re: Opinions on Falken ZE912's

Post by topgun »

noiseboy wrote:I recently changed from the Toyo T1-r to the Falken 452's and have to say that I prefer the Toyo's but they don't last as long. The Falkens are still a good tyre and are cheaper.
I am I have to admit though a fairly enthusiatic driver as :Ril: (Tony) can tell you..... ;)
Saying that what has happened to Tony (RIL) havn't seen him for ages
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Re: Opinions on Falken ZE912's

Post by Howlin_Mad »

Unfortunately, the options for 15" wheels are becoming more scarce - manufacturers are slowly pulling them from their lineup as the majority of their trade is for newer cars that all use 17's plus - even the options for 16's that i run are slowly dwindling. :sad:

It's just a bit scary to think that all 15" MR2's might be running on Nankangs in a few years time :shocked:

It's a shame, but as a business it's a no-brainer unfortunately. What makes more sense? Produce 5 million tyres in a 17" size that will fly out, or continue making 50,000 in a 15" that may sit on shelves in a factory.

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Re: Opinions on Falken ZE912's

Post by Odin_S »

I will sing the praises of Falken tyres, I used 512 which became 452. BUT...they are what i call chocolate tyre amazing grip but do not last long enough. My last rears lasted 6months. and before you say, i wasnt burning up the streets :p
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