A Racing Tire for the People
Written: May 13 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Exceptional grip, road feel, and stiffness; excellent price
Cons: Excessive road noise; picks up gravel; summer compound
The Bottom Line: The Azeni is a no-nonsense, uncompromising, racing tire for the street. For autocrossers, it can’t be beat in price or performance.
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| Kelway76's Full Review: Falken Azenis Asymmetrical Passenger/Performance T... |
One look at the Falken Azeni, and you already have some idea about its intent. In place of the array of hundreds of grooves and channels that dominate the contact patch on most tires, are huge solid tread blocks, divided by only a few grooves that run diagonally across the tire to put the maximum amount of rubber on the pavement. If you’ve never seen or heard of the Azeni, you must have never been to an autocross event, where it is so popular in that it goes on nationwide back-order every spring. In the Street Touring classes (where racing compound tires are not allowed), the Azeni is the tire of choice. The Falken Azeni is a serious performance street tire that sacrifices all other amenities to be the king of grip.
The Azeni has grip. I won’t use any of the analogies that are so common, like “sticks like flypaper” or, “like bubble gum on hot asphalt”, but I’ll just say it has more grip than you will ever need on the street. And if you do, well, just be glad you’re not in jail. It is on the track, however, that you learn what this tire is about. While it doesn’t have the same amount of grip that a true Racing-compound tire has, it has as much grip, if not more, as any other street tire. Going from an “S” rated tire, like I did, to the Azeni (which is “H” rated, by the way), was a real eye opener. Instead of an insane amount of tire howling and an overall feeling of being out of control, I was actually able to compete. In my first event on Azeni’s, I finished 3rd out of 9, in my 10-year-old NX2000. The two guys that beat me were also on Azeni’s. I won the next event with no other changes (1st out of 4).
The Azeni is cheap. I got mine from Discounttiredirect.com for $52 each (195/60/14). Falken could easily tack $20 onto the price of every Azeni it sells, and it would still be a bargain. The performance may be the strongest selling point, but the pricing doesn’t hurt. There may be other tires with similar performance, but there is no other tire that can match the Azeni’s performance per dollar. This means that all of us racers on a budget will keep buying Azeni’s, year after year.
This kind of performance is not without it drawbacks, however. If you buy the Azeni purely for Autocrossing, you will be delighted; if you don’t autocross… well you might want to think about it. The aggressive tread pattern that works so well in the corners generates a lot of noise at certain speeds. While the ride is bearable, it is very firm. The tires also track a little, wanting to follow irregularities in the road, requiring you to pay a little more attention. Those large grooves that make the aggressive, cool looking tread pattern also have the added benefit of picking up tiny pieces of rock and gravel and holding them just long enough to sling them back out at the rocker panels and inner fenders of your car. And, though I’ve not had them long enough to really know yet, I would imagine that they are not too great in cold weather, since they are summer compound tires. This probably won’t affect you guys in California, Texas, and Florida, but the rest of us might need to look into changing them out for all-season tires after the last leaf has fallen.
I am really high on the Azeni’s. I drive on them every day, and they work great. I like the way they feel, the way they look, and the way they drive, especially at the track. I imagine that if you are reading this and are shopping the Azeni, then you are either an autocrosser, or just want a high-performance street tire. If you autocross, this is the tire you want. If not, just weigh the pro’s and con’s. If you are willing to sacrifice some practicality for all out performance, this is the best place to be.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 52
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Epinions.com ID:
Kelway76
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Member: Kelly Myers
Location: TN
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 4 members
About Me:
TIMEO DANAOS ET DONA FERENTES.
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