tires - falken, hankook, or nitto

[JoHn E]

Im looking to get a set of new tires (225/40 18) and right now no places I know are in stock for Federal 595s in that size

my tires are pretty worn and i dont think its a good idea to wait for the federals to come back in stock

right now im trying to research and decide between these (which are all around the same price range)

Falken Ziex ZE-512 (http://zilvia.net/dtcs/tires/falken/size/viewProductDetail.do?pc=28760)
Falken Ziex ZE-912 (http://zilvia.net/dtcs/tires/falken/size/viewProductDetail.do?pc=18159)
Hankook Ventus HRII H405 (http://zilvia.net/dtcs/tires/hankook/size/viewProductDetail.do?pc=11545)
Nitto NT NeoGen ZR (http://zilvia.net/dtcs/tires/nitto/size/viewProductDetail.do?pc=40223)
Nitto NT 555 Extreme Performance (http://zilvia.net/dtcs/tires/nitto/size/viewProductDetail.do?pc=40143)

if any of you guys have experience with any of these can you let me know how you liked them or didnt like them?

[wh0aitznic0]

I've heard the 912's are really good and inexpensive.

[onlydrinkkoolaid]

whatever you do dont but the falken tires I work for DISCOUNT TIRE those would not be the tires I would recommend. I see a lot of guys setups for the cars and for the price go with the Hankook.

falkens dont last
Nitto dont last
Hankook would do you better simply because the seem to hold up better

[K_style]

Consider Hankook K110 EVO V12

that one is awesome...

[huey29]

I have a set of Hankook's now and i have been pleased with with especially for the price

[Forge_55b]

what are you going to do with the car?

[Drifting-pedobear]

i use Hankook Ventus HRII H405 (http://zilvia.net/f/../dtcs/tires/hankook/size/viewProductDetail.do?pc=11545) cheap, good smoke, and stretch very well. havenet chunked or flared.

got mine from city tire. send him a PM

[sm0611]

Im going to have to disagree with the nittos dont last statement. I have been running nt555's for the past four years and they are awesome tires

[ayuaddict]

Okay first of all Federal 595s are not exactly a desirable tire.

In which case, the Falken Ziex 912s would probably be the closest to the Federals as far as price/performance/wear go.

[smelly240]

the nt555 are not really in hte same group as those others.

[fliprayzin240sx]

Dunlop Star Specs FTMFW!!!

[smelly240]

I also run starspecs... but they're not in the price range of those other ones

[BoostSlideWayz]

I have the 512s on the supra and im happy with them .. they stick to the road really nicely. was taking it out on a saturday drive out in the canyons and the tires just felt solid. my vote is 512. Im glad i got those tires im sure you will too.

[thefro526]

I had Falken 912's on my E46 for the Summer and they were pretty good.

Wore a bit fast, but then again I wasn't too nice to them so it was to be expected.

They suck in the rain too. Minimal traction at best. Every time I turned around Traction Control would be doing strange things.

[2forty less]

hankook V12 EVO's ftw, they are a really sticky tire and have a fairly high tread ware. and the arent that expensive

[Kwonza Says]

I have one 912's 225/40/18 for $50!! : ]

[DataXUnknown]

^I vouch for Kwon. Buy his! Can't beat $50

I went from the Falken Zeix 912's, to the Hankook Ventus R-S2's and I definitly like the Hankooks better. I know the R-S2's weren't on your list there, but just sayin.

[Pacman]

I've had the Hankooks on a stock size and will say that they were a decent tire. The sidewall was kind of soft. Only real complaint. Wore even, not too noisey, and stuck decent for the price. I'm going to get a set for my rims (it's what I can afford at this time).

I was going to get the General Exclaim UHP tire as I heard real good reviews about them. The parts guy had them on his GTi and they were a good tire. Was going to get them, but need something even cheaper (but not as cheap as Sumitomo).

I really wanted the Dunlop Direzza DZ101, but too expensive at this time. A REAL nice tire for tread design. And of course, Z1 Star Specs are the shit (as fliprayzin240SX mentioned), but expensive.

My .02.

[SlideWell]

Federal 595

[codyace]

The end question is what is your usage of the car? Street? One track event a year? No track? Parking Lots? Etc etc?

THe Ziex 912's (which are awesomely cheap) are a decent tire. I run these on my Maxima all year and have no complaints at all about them. Decent grip, nice in the cold, great in the rain, and livable in snow situations. First set lasted me nearly 40,000 miles which was great as I (as lame as this sound) do rip around pretty well with them. To me these are a STREET tire, and would be good for a moderatly powered car.

The Federal 595 (RS and RSR) I've used and can say they were a decent cheap tire. These will be affordable and they come in decent sizing as well. Wore a bit fast (cheap tire) but pretty good bang for buck. Stay home if it snows. They were no match to 400 whp, but what tire really is. They did hold power better than the RS2 tho.

The Hankook RS-2's are a fantastic tire for the price. Blow the Azenis (old and new) out of the park. Good in the rain, decent on track (grease up, but as expected they are a street tire...still much better than the Azenis). Terrible in the snow obviously. Shame they couldn't keep 2nd gear sorted out with big boost.

I've personally never used StarSpecs on my car, but have driven a few cars with them on track. To me they are NOT worth the price. Their performance is marginally better than the RS2. Good tire, but again overpriced.


I currently have Nitto NT05's on my car. Have 3 track days on them, and 3000ish street miles, and they are still holding up decently. These are obviously the best tire of the above (and fairly priced for what you get) They seem to hold 2nd gear decently (light yeras better than the rest) too. Not bad in the rain, did a morning session at Pocono and had no complaints...These are the NT555 replacemnts