Falken 452s

Matt · Falken 452s

Ended up getting these for what I think is a reasonable £80 a piece through Protyre and they had them in stock, so no waiting for orders.

They still feel a little odd being new, but already the ride feels a few levels softer on sharp edges and a slight increase in tyre noise is worth it for a better ride, imo.

Best of all, for £125 for the pair, another garage was ready to get me in to fit Nankangs. I think not, but thanks all the same!

Anyone else got them and what do you think of them, especially when fast cornering? ISTR them being mentioned on here?

Apex clipper

Yeah!...What are they like? I've heard some good reports on this tyres.

Matt

Definitely feel good under load; my previous Kuhmos felt like the sidewalls were squirming and these feel a lot more substantial on turn-in, although this was at town speeds. I may well have to take it out properly tomorrow if it stays dry, as it seems to have made good improvement over the car's ability.

My Dad's going to see if they do them in this size he needs when the P-Zeros need replacing.

"him"

TimR

I got them on the front of the Fiat about 3 weeks ago.

They're fantastic in the wet - I went through a small stream across the road yesterday and where the previous tyres would've made it extremely 'interesting' the Falkens shrugged it off as if the road was dry.
They can take full power in 2nd and not spin up - again the previous tyres would've lost traction as soon as full boost came in and often struggled in 3rd as well.

As for the dry and cornering, well they're brand new and I can feel a little more squish from the treadblocks (I hope that doesn't sound too Queefish

) but they seem to hang on well without any squeal.

My one dislike is that they don't offer anything like as much protection to the alloys as the Federals that were on it. I also have slightly different Federals on the rear and they look - because of the extra rim protection strip - like they're 2 sizes wider.
I suppose I'll just have to be more careful parking.

On the subject of Nankangs I had some of those on the front of the Fiat when I bought it and they were shit.
Even on a hot summer day they couldn't cope with full throttle in first and had limited cornering grip.
That may be 5 years ago but I'm sure they are cheap for a reason.

Matt

Much the same observation of Nankangs in a car with 100bhp less. They are currently on the back and it makes the rear feel quite light when you start to work the chassis. They'll be changed to Falkens all going well within a month.

Blarno

Ditchfinders hone your driving style.......

.....right up until you hit the armco.

Mark

The Falken 452's that I had fitted to the Porsche were very good. Much better than the Goodyear F1's that were on before, in fact.

Never tried them on a front wheel drive car, though.

Bryan M

Just fitted some to the front of the Audi - seem fine but a little new to tell - grip improving all the time though

ALF

They always seem consistently rated on places like Pistonheads, in terms of performance for your £. I've no idea if it is true, but I have read that they are a Toyo T1-R built under licence (not sure if they are identical or different in compound) and the (unusual) tread pattern does look identical. T1-R's tend to rate in tests at around the bottom of the premium tyre bunch, but they are at least in touch with the rest and cost far less (especially in Falken guise). And how "good" a tyre is is a very subjective thing.

If, like me, you have a car that has something of a surfeit of grip, and do a lot of miles so costs need considering, tyres like the 452 make a lot of sense. What really caught my eye a couple of years back was how well the Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas did in the Evo tyre test - second overall - they are also worth a look, if not quite as cheap.

I've used the Toyo T1-S on a car on which I also tried SO2's, Conti SC2's, and others, and liked them - a bit vague on turn-in in the dry, great in the wet.

TimR

Is the Toyo T1-S the original directional one they did?

I had them on the Punto HGT and they were fine until about 60% worn then the wet weather grip just disappeared almost overnight.

ALF

Yes, it is a very "V-pattern" tyre that looks a bit like the SO2 and all the ones that followed it (GSD3, etc). Toyo patterns shift water - so little aquaplaning from new - but like you say the actual compound is not that grippy in the wet so when they wear a bit, they become interesting. They never do that well in wet tyre tests as a result.

The SO2 and SO3 pole positions I've used have a dual compound - the last 3-4mm are made from softer rubber to compensate for lower tread levels and potentially worse wet weather grip. As a result they stick very nicely in the dry when due for replacement!

Matt

Liberal amount of throttle when exiting junctions and no flashing TC light. This was in sodden conditions. Bloody marvelous!

On the way into work, which was damp at best, it felt remarkably neutral for a FWD car on throttle too.

Turbonutter