Rossi430

I found these on Tires.com. Anyone have any experience with these ?

Falken - Ziex ZE-512
All-season performance. W-speed rated.

235/40ZR-18 95W REIN
Reading the Tire Size

$118.00 ea.

Specifications:
Treadwear: 360
Traction: A
Temperature: A
Speed Rating: ZR

Meets or exceeds original equipment speed rating

E320Star

no experience. I love my Yokohama A430. Thye are the best. 3rd time using yakohama's. I got them for 120 per tire installed.

Stricks

Ask a dealer who sells them, that you know well, WHO makes them and to what standards. You'll smile!

Brunelleschi

I have the Falken GR-Beta's and love them. I don't know anything about the Ziex though, but I give props to Falken

Jim's500E

Falken makes good tires that are cheap in price.

I run a set of Azenis' on my track/auto-x car...a DOT legal tire that's close to a competition tire in performance. Ziexs' are very good for the street too, so I'm told by the Audi guys I hang with who run them. Try them...that price is kind.

BT320

I run a set of the ZE-512s on my daily driver/ beater car. They're nice and quiet, give great grip, and were very affordable. I think Consumer Reports gave the ZE-512 top ratings when they compared tires. You can't go wrong with 'em.

TTSUPRAtoE55

I used to run falken gr-betas on my supra as an everday tire because they were cheap and lasted a long time compared to bridgestone S0-3 i normally used. They have decent grip and i never had any problems with them during the time i used them. I haven't tried the ziex but i would imagine they are decent if it is just for an everyday driver.

guidoM60

I had some Ziex-512's on another car and had great luck with them! Good cruising tire, quiet and smooth ride. Softer sidewalls and probably not the best for cornering but I drive all freeway miles and they worked well.

zam2000

Read the review on tirerack.com, they're mostly junk, especially when dealing w/ curb (bubble).

I would spend another $40 and get the Goodyear F1 GS-D3. Beat even Michellin SP or SP2

Rossi430

I looked on Tirerack - I did not see anyhting on Falken. Where are you finding it on their site ?

Alexbenz

falken tires are pretty decent, they were ****y when they first came out but there stock has gone up, tires reviews are like the movies reviews, you'll hear this and that about them, i have falkens at the moment and they have lasted for a very long time even with the car lowered as low as i am... i like them...

BlownV8

I haven't run Falken tires for many many years but I liked them when I had them on my car.


I completely disagree with the F1 GS-D3's. You must be a Goodyear guy if you like those tires. They were so damn loud on my car that I couldn't stand it. I actually pulled over one time going across a concrete bridge because I thought I blew a tire. Turns out, on uneven pavement or pavement that has been scored for drainage, the tires sound like they are flat. Handling was OK but that's all I would give the Goodyear GS-D3's. I'd say the GS-D3's were the second worst tires I've run, by cost, and Nitto NT555 extreme ZR's were the worst.

stemags

Thats the first time I heard someone complain about noisy F1s.Ive had them for 2 yrs, and I cant agree,but hey,to each his own.For what its worth,to have a tire perform at high speed like the F1's,even in rain, a little noise is nominal,cause the car is quiet anyhow.

BlownV8

You are the first person I've heard who didn't complain of the noise.

zam2000

The F1 tires has the HIGHEST rating on tirerack.com, based on user reviews: excellent rate on traction, noise, wear, handling, durability.

No other tire brand achive that

stemags

Well,maybe we should post a poll,Like Zam up there,Im a big fan of these tires from the first time I used them,like I said before Blown,to each his own and F1's arent for you.

BlownV8

From Tire Rack reviews on the Goodyear GS-D3's. It is obvious that I was not the only one who hated these tires. I drive more than 60,000 mile a year and I go through around two sets of tires a year and I can tell you that these tires were not worth the money. Sure there were positive reviews but the ones below echo my sentiment on the tire:

1 rear tire is defective (has a "bump" in it), goodyear wants me to go through hoops to get any sort of replacement which i definitely dont have time for and therefore i will exercise my consumer voice by never buying a goodyear again and telling everyone i know to also never buy a goodyear. Note: I have not discussed this problem with tire-rack. This tire would probably be ok on a car with a soft suspension, however, it is a bad idea to use this on a vehicle with a hard sport suspension (i.e. my car) -- Review Submitted 2005-01-15


I took a trip of about 2000 miles this past summer. These tires were ok but I wouldnt recomend these tires to anyone. I say I have about 8000 miles on them but I wouldnt doubt it if i had less than that. these tires wore really fast. I have yet to find a tire for this car that actually work. -- Review Submitted 2005-01-22

bought these tires entirely on the recommendations I saw here. However, I was mostly interesting in good sports tires but with good ride and noise ratings. After driving on these tires for a week, the noise generated by the tires is terrible. The tire noise is like the "drone" sound one hears in an aircraft. Im going to try and swap them out for a quieter tire and eat the difference. Otherwise the tire grip on wet and dry roads is excellent. -- Review Submitted 2005-01-12


These tires are almost as noisy as the worn out S-03s I just took off. Not as responsive (as new tires arent anyway) and roll up on the sidewall a lot easier than the S-03s. Just dont feel as secure with them. -- Review Submitted 2004-12-19


Good dry and decent wet traction, but scary hydroplaning issues. Also pretty loud on the road, and a bit rough riding. -- Review Submitted 2004-12-18


I have BF Goodrich g-Force T/A KDW tires on my other two cars and the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires are disapointing when compared to them. -- Review Submitted 2004-12-11


I purchased 4 tires. Two ended up being out of specs when spun on a road force balancer. Tire rack sent two new tires to replace the bad ones. One of the replacement ones ended up being out of spec. For a high performance tire this is not acceptable. Its actually quite dangerous at top speed to have an out of round tire. Tires of this caliber should be checked and double checked for roundness before leaving the factory. -- Review Submitted 2004-12-09


Sidewalls are way too soft, offer slow turn-in response and recover very slowly from road imperfections. Worst of all, the soft sidewalls are prone to developing bubbles and having sidewall blowouts. Happened to me with less than 5000 miles on the car... no potholes involved, just grew a blister and blew out -- fortunately at low speed in my parking lot. I would NOT recommend these tires to anyone, they are unsafe. -- Review Submitted 2004-12-02


The comments are for 225/45 and 245/40 sizes for the 17" wheels on my M3. The tires replaced the Continental Contact ContiSports which were getting very loud from 20 mph up, but especially at low speeds. The new GS-D3s were much quieter, rode better, and were light years ahead in wet weather. At 18,041 miles as of this writing, the more heavily worn rear tires are down to .220" tread depth, which means they could go to 42,100 miles before reaching the tread wear indicators. The fronts have .26" of tread depth left, and would go even longer. It is too bad they will last that long, because the tires have become incredibly noisy. It is so bad, I may have to consider replacing them. The growling noise sounds a like a failed wheel bearing and/or driving on snow tires. At lower speeds, such as 20 - 40 mph, the roaring noise is especially noticeable. Above that speed, everything else helps drown it out. Other people riding in the car notice the noise. Some think something is wrong with the car. It is THAT bad. No surprise really, since I thought the same thing when the previous Continentals made the same racket as these tires do. There is no apparent odd treadwear to explain the noise, unlike the Contintals which had a tread wear pattern that resembled the back of an alligator. Other than the noise, these tires are unbelievable in the rain. I STILL can not get used to the grip they have. It seems unnatural rubber can grip that hard on wet pavement. Top notch tires in all respects, except for the deafening noise. Sound pressure readings illustrate my point. With all windows up, engine ag idle, not moving, dba is less than 50. My meter does not read below this. At a steady 60 mph, on level road, dba is 67. At 70 is it about 68. But, at just 20 mph, in 5th, going slightly downhill, at a bit less than 1000 revs, the dba is 62, a huge increase from less than 50 at 0 mph. All you hear is the loud rumbling, growling tire noise. I know performance tires m -- Review Submitted 2004-11-17


Very unhappy with these tires. Seems like there is no tread. Feel every road crack and bump. Very noisy on any road surface. -- Review Submitted 2004-10-10


Very squirmy on twisty roads, even with high pressure. Howl like a strangled dog(s) even on good roads! Very disappointed with this stock delivery with the car, although a very good tire in comparison to some. -- Review Submitted 2004-10-05

stemags

Well,I dont own Goodyear stock,nor do I work for them,but I do think the majority of F1GSD3 owners like them well enough buy them again and they bare out the numbers and high marks these tires get.I would guess,that for every bad review,there's dozens of good ones,and if that wasnt true you would'nt be able to buy them.
But thanks for airing the opposing views,a smart tire consumer reads up on a prospective product,listens to others who use them,and makes an informed decision.

Ben'z

Hi, Blown,

May I ask you which tire you like best?

thanks!
Ben

BlownV8

I feel the absolute best tire I've had on my E55 is the Kumho Escta Supra 712's. They last a good 40,000 miles of hard driving, very smooth and excellent hydroplaning resistance. They are not track tires but are great tires that last a long time and have excellent traction and road manners. I've run Nitto Nt555's, GS-D3's, and Continental's on my E55 but the Kumho's have been the best so far. However, I think the best all around tire for both street and track would have to be BF Goodrich tires. I wouldn't run the Kumho 712's on my Porsche but for a four door high performance daily driver they are just right.

I suffered from all of the above issues with my F1 GS-D3's with the exception of the sidewall bubbling. That is a freightning issue for such an expensive tire. I really could not stand the way the F1's felt when you drove through deep puddles at interstate speeds. It rains a lot in Florida and the way these tires rode in very heavy rain was unacceptable. I thought they were supposed to do well in deep puddles but I was shocked at how unstable they felt. I know by looking at the Tire Rack survey results that I was not the only one who had these feelings.

Ben'z

Thanks for sharing!

OceanView

I tried these once and they are just so so.
The Falken GRBetas are much better. These are ZR rated and last 20K - 30K miles.

Try them out and see if you like them, if not, you can always change to something else next time.

Air Marshall Eldritch

Whaaaa???? Read the reviews for the D2s on tirerack. Average score was around 3 of 10. Worst. tires. ever.

Hope the D3s are better.

stemags

The tires in question are F1GSD3,not D2.Who knows,maybe he got a bad batch.It rains plenty in NY too,and they perform as advertised without fail.

zam2000

Are you sure you read it from tirerack ? not from some forum of "performance" Civic or Corolla ? ?

Here's the customer survey result of the D3 (and so far, it has one of the best record, BEAT every other brand by whole nine yards).

Dry Traction 9.3
WetTraction 9.1
Hydro Resistance 9.0
Snow Traction N/A
Cornering Stability 8.9
Steering Response 8.8
Ride Comfort 8.6
Noise Comfort 8.6
Tread Wear 8.1

On the perfomance tire line, comparing Michellin or Goodyear to Kumo is like comparing a BMW M3 to a Civic with dual 8-inches mufflers !!