I really must get rid of the rubbish budget Chinese tyres on my Mondeo III Estate, wet grip/braking in particular is hopeless.
I'm not convinced I need premium brands at £120 a corner and had been thinking about Vredestein Ultracs which I've liked in the past.
However Falken tyres are mentioned by several folks as good on a Mondeo and I'm just looking into them. The two possible types are ZE912 and FK452. I can get either fitted/balanced for £70 which seems almost too cheap if they are any good.
Wet grip is important to me.. also towing traction pulling a boat off a damp slipway.
Any thoughts or experiences of the Falkens??
Thanks,
David
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Had the FK452s on my old Mondeo III after a recommendation by Cheddar (IIRC) and was very impressed with them, I found them to be pretty quiet, and good grip in all conditions, but I don't know how they would cope with the slipway scenario.
We also have a set of the ZE 512s on SWMBOs Citroen Xsara and they also appear to be pretty good as well.
Of the 2 types however, I think for me the FK452s get it, and will probably get them when the tyres on my Scenic need replacing.
Hope that helps.
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£120 per corner??? That sounds far too much.
I replaced two tyres on my 03 Mondeo last week. Goodyear Excellence at £65 per corner inclusive.
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Are these for the 17" wheels MM ? I also use these on my Mondeo estate if so. I can also remember Cheddar recommending the Falkens. For what it's worth I had always had Contis on mine but was offered a deal on Pirelli P7s. Well, I say a deal, they were still £111 fitted. Upside though is that they do seem to be lasting very well and just "feel" better. Subjectively, they seem quieter and grippier than the Contis and as I do a reasonably high mileage, in all weathers, and usually with a full load, I don't mind paying a wee bit more.
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Thanks guys... all good info. Yes this is a Ghia X Estate with the 205/50x17 93W XL tyres hence the £100+ quotes for upper midrange/premium tyres.
For my driving I'd be happier with some 195/65s or similar and smaller wheels.
David
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I had a pair of ZE512s on the front of my old mk2 Mondeo. Well worth the £42 each I paid (195/60x15), but then I wasn't driving for fun, just plodding up a motorway.
Cheers
DP
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Funny you should say that MM. I have the same car as you. I have mused about buying some cheap 16" steel wheels from e-bay or something ( as fitted to the LX model ) to put on for my busy months when I do silly miles. The standard tyre for those is a 205/55/16 and is much cheaper. Haven't got around to it though.
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I've a friend with a 2002 LX who would love to swap his Michelin shod standard steels for my alloys... I've thought about it a few times.
Do your alloys lose pressure quickly Shoespy? This is the first car I've had in years where you have to top up all the tyres weekly... I assume due to slightly porous rims?
David
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Hi David - Yes a couple of mine used to leak. This wheel ( the "snowflake" one ? ) is very sensitive to the type of valve used . Only the original screw in metal Ford ones give a proper seal. Quite expensive though at a about a short fiver each. I always keep a couple in the car now in case I need a tyre in a hurry. Way to test your current ones is to pour some water over the valve and look for tiny bubbles. If you see some, it's the valve.
Tell your friend that there was a set of those alloy wheels on flea bay yesterday complete with part worn tyres for about £275 I think.
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Ahh that's useful, I have one bolt in valve and three standard rubber ones. I'll get some from Ford ready for the new tyres.
Mine are nine spokes from a distance but closer to each spoke is two spokes... the standard 17" alloy on a Ghia X from the 2001/2 era I guess?
David
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I think Falken are a sort of budget version of a Dunlop tyre aren't they? They are the same outfit (Sumitomo Rubber). Made in the far east somewhere I should think.
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I bought Falken 452s for my ST. 225/40/18 from Camskill for 60.50 each. Add a tenner for fitting.
They have been on for 3500 miles now and are showing no signs of wear and I am not exactly shy with the use of the throttle!
They grip well. Where my original Conti 2s would light up the TC these just bite in and go. The contis I had before lasted 8000 miles on the front. 21000 miles on the rear (these still had a bit left).
With regards to the valves, the metal valves I had on mine constantly leaked, so I went down to my Ford Dealer Rapid Fit centre and asked them to put rubber valves in and that solved the problem although they don't look as smart.
Edited by ST Driver on 21/05/2008 at 10:38
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Useful info STDriver. Do you find the Falken 452s wander/tramline much? I've had that before with aggressive V-groove treads. What about noise levels?
Do they have good initial traction in the wet, even with my standard 2.0 petrol the Chinese specials I have at the moment embarrasingly spin on modest takeoffs, more than any car/tyre combination I can remember.
I think I'll leave the valve choice to whoever fits them then they can be responsible if they leak.
Interesting comment qxman about Sumitomo Rubber. A further web search shows they are involved with manufacturing/marketing tyres for Falken, Dunlop, Goodyear and two other far East brands. These global partnerships are pulling the rug from under traditional strong brand loyalty.
David
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I agree with getting rid of rubbish chinese budget tyres, the wet braking grip is awful. I would have thought it so poor as to not pass as legally allowable. I now have some two for the price of one Avons from National tyres. I don't know if they do your size on that offer. Good value, better grip than Firestone fuelsaver and in another league compared to the chinese.
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I haven't found the tyres to tramline much. Sometimes under braking on the approach to one particular roundabout I go round on the way home from work where the road has been grooved. That may not be an issue with the petrol lump though as I think the diesel is heavier. I haven't been aware on the motorways either and they don't seem any noisier than the Contis.
I haven't noticed wheelspin to much and I do occasionally turn the TC off to play! My brother (Hillman1) may be able to answer as he had the 2 litre version (I think)Admittedly if i go round a roundabout in 3rd and floor it the thing will go straight on but it did that with the Contis anyway!
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MM,
Didn't have any problem with tramlining that I can recall with the FK452, but I have noticed it a bit with the ZE512s- still not much though.
Noise levels on both are good, I don't think I noticed any difference between the Falkens and the Conti Sport Contact that I had before on the Mondeo (I had the 2.0 petrol hatch)
Hope that helps,
Nick
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Thanks for the extra info guys. Just ordered a pair of Falken 452s for the front. Hope to have them fitted by the time we leave for half term hols towards Wales from East Anglia.
Hopefully will have a report to post when we get back. If we scrub off the release agent on the way I'm sure some rain will blow over from Wales for a good wet test!
David
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New Falken 452 tyres fitted sooner than expected, couple of hundred dry miles covered to run them in and it's pouring today so just been out round the lanes for a 40 mile wet test.
I put these new ones on the front as I know how I want my car to handle and the rears still have 6mm so hardly worn out. I'm wary of folks that give a tyre report from fitting just a pair but because all the problem of the existing ones were related to steering, traction and braking I think the assesment is fair.
Very impressed, I would say the 452s come second only to my all time favourite wet tyre the Goodyear Ventura. They are in a completely different league to the budget tyres I took off which were a Fullrun and a Firenza (blame these on a previous owner who always had the cheapest tyre).
The early wheelspin taking off in the damp has gone, wet greasy roundabouts are a pleasure, braking grip is transformed, deep standing water on one side of the car only has minimal pull and sheets of standing water across the whole road are fine at 70mph.
Dry grip is fine but I never look for the limit in the dry anyway. The turn in feel is a little softer than the previous tyres but completely acceptable. They are fine for noise but just a little coarse sounding in a hard turn, on hard braking and on noisy surfaces.
I have found the soft turn in and noise when under stress can be a character of many aggresive V-groove tyres like these.
If they were a premium brand at £100+ a tyre I'd be more than happy... at £75 each fitted and balanced they are a real bargain.
Note they ended up being Y speed rating as the W is currently hard to get in my 205/50x17 size I was told.
David
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Glad you are impressed.
All the best.
Nick
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Just a long term update for anyone thinking of Falkens. I've just changed them at 3mm after only 12,000 miles as the aquaplaning and wet grip became hopeless once they'd worn below 4mm. Also they' become useless taking our trailer onto wet grass. Their dry road grip and turn in response had improved though. They were overall reasonable value for money I suppose at their low price but I decided next to try the Goodyear Optigrip wet biased tyre at £115 a corner. Will report initial findings on those soon.
David
Edited by M.M on 30/04/2009 at 15:10
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I've seen several comments on another forum where people have said the Falken 912 is better than the 452.
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Good. I've just put a pair of 912's onto the rear of the Mondeo (205/55/16 @ £65 each fitted). I wanted something less pricey than Continental that were £78 each. The Conti tyres seem to wear quite a bit faster (down to 3mm after 12k) than any other tyre that I've had on the car (NCT5, Potenza RE720).
SWMBO usually drives the car. I've had no complaints.
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