Great low cost option but some compromises are made
Written: Jan 27 '05
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Handling and Control: |
 |
|
|
Pros: low price and very respectable wear, nice looking low profile design
Cons: noisier than the competition especially on rough or grooved pavement
The Bottom Line: Buy these if price is an important factor and you primarily drive with the windows up and sunroof closed.
|
|
|
| mattk17's Full Review: Falken Ziex ZE-512 Performance Tire |
I needed to replace the performance tires on my 2002 nissan maxima SE and did alot of shopping tires to decide what tire to buy. I have used many different performance tires ranging from: goodyear, Michelin, bridgestone, Perelli, etc. but had never even considered the bargain priced offering from falken. After reading several reviews on the good low cost performance of the Ziex 512 line, I decided to give them a try.
I had shopped price and was blown away with the cost of replacing the rubber on my maxima. Those big fat sticky tires perform great but you do pay for it when they need to be replaced. After seeing some of the "name brand" tires pushing upwards of $200 per tire, I decided to go with the modest priced falken ones.
Ok, now on to the part where I tell you how great they are... Well, actually I am happy with the tires but will list the good and the bad things about them to keep it balanced (pun intended). I have put about 10,000 miles on them now and think you have to get some miles on tires before you can give any fair opinions on them. The first few thousand miles always seem to hide any weaknesses and this was certainly the case with the falkens.
THE GOOD: The tires perform excellant in wet weather. They grip better than my bridgestones and on par with the very pricey Mich tires I've used in the past. The tires resist hydroplaning well and once they start to slip, it is very predictable.
They also grip well on dry smooth surfaces. Off the line, they have no problem gripping on hard acceleration. In corners they have some squeal before breaking loose which I think is ok as it serves as a warning for me to back off.
I can't speak towards snow or ice since I live in Texas and well... never want to risk getting out in that weather since we all know us Texans drive like psychos in the snow.
THE BAD: Road noise is significantly higher than other tires I have used. It was not a problem for the first 5,000 miles but now road noise is an issue. It isn't too bad with the windows rolled up and the sunroof closed but if I open the sunroof and roll down the windows, it is noisy.
They also have bad manners over rough surfaces. If you have interstate with the rain grooves in your area, I would avoid getting these tires. They want to squirm alot on grooved pavement. Also the tires do not do well on choppy pavement. Going over a long bridge in my area, I can feel each slot in the pavement in the steering wheel. I never used to feel them with my old tires but the new ones do transmit bumps more.
OK finally, wear has been about average and given the low price, I think they will be good values. The major negative of more noise is not a big factor to me since I do not ride with the sunroof or windows down often. I would suggest you think about your driving habits before you buy them though.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $300
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mattk17
|
|
Member: Matt
Location: Texas
Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Guitar playing is one of my main hobbies. Also love all things outdoors.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.