Falken Zeix Ze-512 In The Snow!

[ArmyofOne]

Well, today we got our first few inches of snow. It stuck to everything and i had to go out in it anyways to drop the escort off at the paint shop (getting a few rust spots sanded off and chipgaurd installed and painted to match), so i figured i would take the car for a little spin. My buddy following me in a 1997 Chevy Blazer, had brand new (i mean put on yesterday) Firestone Destination A/T radials, and i was getting around better than he was when he was in 4WD.

The Escort was stuck to the road. and the roads were slick too! I had an occaisional slip, but nothing too drastic. It was blizzard conditions for a few minutes with ice already formingon the roads and i was pushing right along. i pulled into an empty parking lot and slammed on the brakes. I surprisingly had to do very little pumping to come to a stop from 15 MPH. (I have no ABS). My buddy in the blaazer, slid right past me, with ABS, for another 30 feet or so. further into the testing back ont he roads, we ran into some snow drifts on a state hwy. speed limit was 55, i proceeded cautiously at 35 or so, went around a curve with no problem. my buddy's blazer nearly slid off the road. Everyone was sliding everywhere, cars were in ditches all over the place, but the falkens stuck to the road like GLUE.

Overall, i woudl say the Falkens performed FANTASTICALLY in the snow. Again, i would reccomend them to anyone looking for an incredible ride, Low road noise, (the ride in my escort is quiet as the dead) Excellent price (i paid $64 a piece for 195-65-R15's) and incredible wet and snow traction, the Falken is a great choice.

any specific questions?

[Lexusfreak]

Well said Army, I concur with your findings as an excellent choice for an all season tire that performs well in the winter conditions. B)

[BLAZER]

I have the ZE 512 on my GS. they are remarkably quiet. have yet to try them in the snow.glad to here your results.

[SW03ES]

I surprisingly had to do very little pumping to come to a stop from 15 MPH. (I have no ABS).  My buddy in the blaazer, slid right past me, with ABS, for another 30 feet or so. 

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Thats not so much a function of the tires as it is the fact that ABS is at its least effective in the snow.

Glad they're workin out!

[91L3xus]

I've been looking into Falkens also for replacements of the Aquatreads ( <_< ) which I just never got around to replacing. From what I just read they seem to be a good and cheap buy, and I like the look of the tread too. Maybe your car handled better because it's so light, especailly compared to a 4x4 Blazer. More weight in motion = more intertia = harder to stop.

[MadMax96]

I have those Falkens on my 02 Maxima SE. They were a huge improvement over the stock Potenzas which sucked from day one. They are a great A/S tire for the price. Since I had to replace tires during my lease, the goal was to spend as little as possible.

I've had them on for about a year and they are wearing only ok... but you get what you pay for. What stinks for me is that in the size my Maxima requires there isn't much of an A/S tire selection (225/50-17), or at least a year ago there wasn't. It was either the Falkens or the Pilot Sport A/S for double the price. Being a lease, the choice wasn't hard. ;)

The torque from the 3.5L engine can be a bit overwhelming especially without any sort of traction control. But these tires did pretty well.....

The Maxima is being returned this week and I will miss the fact that I could light up those tires from now until next week if I wanted... heh.. :D

[Lexusfreak]

I surprisingly had to do very little pumping to come to a stop from 15 MPH. (I have no ABS).  My buddy in the blaazer, slid right past me, with ABS, for another 30 feet or so. 

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Thats not so much a function of the tires as it is the fact that ABS is at its least effective in the snow.

Glad they're workin out!

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Army mentioned he does not have ABS sw.

[ArmyofOne]

I surprisingly had to do very little pumping to come to a stop from 15 MPH. (I have no ABS).  My buddy in the blaazer, slid right past me, with ABS, for another 30 feet or so. 

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Thats not so much a function of the tires as it is the fact that ABS is at its least effective in the snow.

Glad they're workin out!

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Army mentioned he does not have ABS sw.

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no, i dont, but the blazer does. i HATE ABS systems, i can pump my own brakes just as fast, i dont want a computer to do it for me.

[bartkat]

I'm just glad you're up there in the snow county instead of me. :D :D

[melhadri]

Goin to pick me up a set of Faulkens 512's in a size 205/65/15 H Speedv rating for my 98 ES300 this wkend. Manufacture recommends V rated tires but I assume this is an extremely high rating for an ES platform??? I'll post some feeback later this yr.

[Lexusfreak]

Goin to pick me up a set of Faulkens 512's in a size 205/65/15 H Speedv rating for my 98 ES300 this wkend.  Manufacture recommends V rated tires but I assume this is an extremely high rating for an ES platform???  I'll post some feeback later this yr.

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Nope, my 01 ES is recommended for a V speed rating, but should you only be able to get an H speed you will be more than fine. B)

[ArmyofOne]

Goin to pick me up a set of Faulkens 512's in a size 205/65/15 H Speedv rating for my 98 ES300 this wkend.  Manufacture recommends V rated tires but I assume this is an extremely high rating for an ES platform???  I'll post some feeback later this yr.

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Nope, my 01 ES is recommended for a V speed rating, but should you only be able to get an H speed you will be more than fine. B)

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unless you plan on doing over 110 regularly. :whistles:

[Lexusfreak]

Nope, my 01 ES is recommended for a V speed rating, but should you only be able to get an H speed you will be more than fine.

B)

unless you plan on doing over 110 regularly.:whistles:

In & around the city of Toronto? lol Not a chance bud. Most of the time I could probably get away with a P speed rating (93 MP/H) around here ;) H speed is good for 130 MP/H. :)

[ArmyofOne]

Nope, my 01 ES is recommended for a V speed rating, but should you only be able to get an H speed you will be more than fine.

B)

unless you plan on doing over 110 regularly.:whistles:

In & around the city of Toronto? lol Not a chance bud. Most of the time I could probably get away with a P speed rating (93 MP/H) around here ;) H speed is good for 130 MP/H. :)

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LOL.

This weekend guys, i put the falkens to the ultimate test. 26 inches of THICK HEAVY WET snow, the kind that fills in your tread and is soft but frzen at the same time. makes it really hard to go anywhere.

well, on my way down to Wellsville this weekend, I was driving south on I-81. and right about 20 miles out of Watertown, BOOM...Lake effect. Lots of it. I couldnt see 4 feet in front of me, I was reduced to 25 MPH in a few spots. Cars around me were sliding everywhere. I would watch the taillighs in front of me and on several occasions, I saw tailights become headlights and headlights become tailights veering off to the left or right and stopping. All the way up to ~40 MPH in 3 inches of slush and about 20 inches of snow on top of that, the falkens were pinned to the pavement. Not once did i slip. Im VERY impressed. i was worried that having a thin tread would cause them to be more prone to slipping, but these tires are like glue. I only slowed down because i couldnt see maybe a carlength ahead (in broad daylight i might add). But at ~40, everytime i cut the wheel left or right, she cut right through, stayed on track. the roads were slick, no doubt about it, but the falkens were only sliding if i made them do it on purpose.

When i came back to base sunday night, I played around in some parking lots, the roads were freshly plowed witha few 3 foot snow berms piled up. Plowed right through em. no problem. I love my tires :) I have been through snow so deep i was pushing it up over the hood (my car sits low, like a civic) and was still maintianing traction. good stuff.

On a side note, I think my escort gets around better in this stuff than my friends Grand Cherokee. That thing struggles ALOT in the snow.

I've been looking into Falkens also for replacements of the Aquatreads (  ) which I just never got around to replacing. From what I just read they seem to be a good and cheap buy, and I like the look of the tread too. Maybe your car handled better because it's so light, especailly compared to a 4x4 Blazer. More weight in motion = more intertia = harder to stop.

Ask anyone who has driven on ice, Lightweight+ Ice = BAD! More weight is actually better. takes a little longer to stop but you have better grip.

[SW03ES]

Army mentioned he does not have ABS sw. 

 

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Right, he doesn't but his friend does. ABS takes longer than standard brakes when applied properly to stop in the snow. Thats why his friend's Blazer kept on going after he was stopped.

Not to mention its probably twice as heavy.

[Lexusfreak]

Army mentioned he does not have ABS sw. 

 

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Right, he doesn't but his friend does. ABS takes longer than standard brakes when applied properly to stop in the snow. Thats why his friend's Blazer kept on going after he was stopped.

Not to mention its probably twice as heavy.

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Truer words were never spoken. B)