can anyone compare Falken fk-452 tires with Hankook RS-2's, Dunlop Z1's or similar?

[dwadia]

I've been reading a LOT, trying to choose a new front tire (225/50/16) for my s13. The rears are Hankook rs2, and the fronts are too but my reason for changing is because i want a taller sidewall. My current is a 225/45 which gives too harsh a ride for me. I don't want to get another set of rs2's for the front because i'm not impressed with their wet grip at all (it's acceptable but nothing more), and despite their performance category i still think their ride quality has room for improvement.

I've read many good things about the fk452 and i'm leaning toward them, but i want to know how they compare to the rs2's which i'm accustomed to, especially in terms of ultimate dry grip and responsiveness/feedback.

Before people state the obvious, i know the rs2's obviously have more dry grip and better feedback... what i want to know is how much, will it be very noticable on the street? The difference in grip will be very important because they'll be used at the same time. And are the fk's gonna give my car a numb steering feel? I used to have Yoko es100's and they were a little numb for me, so i'm hoping to at least get something in between that and my rs2's in terms of responsiveness.

IF i got a tire in the same category as rs2's, it would be a Dunlop z1 star spec. Not anything else, so please don't suggest that i get Azenis, RE01r's or whatever. If anyone can compare the ride harshness of z1's to the FK i'd be very interested. The main thing making me even think twice on it is it costs $80 more for the z1's per pair and i don't know how much difference i'll see between the two on the street. And i do want some ride quality improvement over my Hankooks.

[FaLKoN240]

Falken 452 is pretty much a TOURING/sport tire.

Its a direct replacement for the Falken Azenis ST115 and Falken GR-Beta 451.

The Z1, RE-01R, Azenis, and RS-2 are tires in the same category really.

It has no comparison to Z1s it would be more comparable with the Dunlop Direzza DZ101.

[dwadia]

I understand and agree with what you're saying, but i still wish to compare the fk452 with the z1 and/or rs-2. Again, i know categorically what the differences will be but i'm more interested in people's street driving impressions, and how the tires feel (not ultimate grip). Not so much objective performance info, which is pretty straightforward. Let me put it this way, assuming i was keeping the same size tire, what differences would i feel going from an rs-2 to an fk-425 for street use only? This means sometimes i'll drive aggressive... but it's still not a track where i'm pushing limits.

[brokeAs240sx]

casual driving, you won't notice crap.

I currently run fk452 (295/30R18) in the rear. Before that, I ran rs-2 (265/35R18) in the rear. rs-2 > fk452 even w/ the 30mm difference for autox for sure. Daily driving you won't notice any difference.

I can't provide any quantitative difference because I don't have any test equipment other than my butt dyno. Can't compare my autox lap times among tires because I also changed the fronts & tires were used at different events.

All said and done, if you aren't tracking your car, there is zero reason to be paying the extra price for rs-2 or z1 unless you just have money to blow.

[LongGrain]

i have FK452's and they are fine.

[dwadia]

brokeAs240, that's great info, thanks. What were you running on the fronts with both the FK and the RS-2? Have you ever tried FK's on the front? You're right that i won't use all the grip the rs-2's provide on the street, and i'm just wondering how much less responsive and "numb"-feeling the FK's will be but i think that would be hard to know from rears only...

[slider2828]

Come on FK's are not RT615s.... You can't notice crap on the rear..... More noticeable on the front.... Sidewalls on the RT's are horrid, I ran RE01's turn in is awesome sidewalls awesome just $$$ Z1 Starspecs are the best so far... Good price, good sidewalls, good grip and breaking. FK's are not a heavy breaking tire, so with good pads like HP+ and 300zx, it won't be enough.... RT's at least, so lets not just talk about ride, but turn in, breaking distance, turn in grip which FK will be deficient also if modified car....

[brokeAs240sx]

of course tires are more noticeable in the front, but that doesn't mean you can't feel the difference in the rear. Again, I state that you feel these differences at the limit on track/autox/etc. I'm not talking about daily driving.

Let's see, throttle steering through sweepers & amount of oversteer induced/controlled gassing your car out of a corner. Take it as you will, but that is from my own experimenting w/ different tire setups over just the past few events.

Fronts I've run everything from ss595, 595rs, rs-2, re01r & random other tires. I haven't run fk452's in front so I cannot tell you how they compare against anything in front, but from my limited exposure to fk452's on other ppl's cars, I've noticed that they seem about the grippyness of ss595 more or less.

The "numbness" feeling you talk about is all relative.

The only disadvantage of the OP buying Z1's are that they will wear out significantly faster than fk452 or comparable tires. For dailies, this comes into play & has to be considered as part of cost vs grip.

[dwadia]

well... yes my car is modified. s15 sr, kyb agx with Tanabe gf210 springs, sway bars, q45 brakes & rx7 wheels with 225's front and 245's rear. Of course other mods too but those are the mods which would most directly affect tire choice.

I do get on the brakes pretty damn hard sometimes... it's just not repeated over and over in a matter of seconds like it would be on a track. And its an s13, not a 300zx, but the front tire IS the size of a 300zx which makes me think the FK might have adequate traction for some heavy braking. But please tell me if you disagree.

Turn-in feel is important to me. That said, i would rarely take a curve on the street at 10/10ths pace like i would if i were on a track. Maybe 8/10ths happens from time to time ;) So, it's more turn-in feel that i'm concerned with than ultimate turn-in grip.

About the rate of wear, i just don't care. I don't put too many miles on my car and even z1's would last me at least 2 years (on the front anyway). However i do care about the price of the tire itself, which perhaps is skewing my judgement toward the FK452. I just don't want to spend the extra money on z1's if i'm gonna see a negligible difference for my application.

[slider2828]

Definitely Z1 Star Specs.... Once you have it you won't go back. Its definitely noticeable not neglieable....

[dwadia]

Slider2828, have you driven on the z1's? If so how do you find them in rain?

[slider2828]

One thing you SHOULD know Z1 and starspecs are a little different. The starspec tread is a little different and really nice..... I think Z1's are the older tread pattern but close... Based on tread pattern I think pretty good.... I dunno it hasn't rained since I have gotten back from Japan or the track.... But it should be good....

[dwadia]

The "numbness" feeling you talk about is all relative.


You're right; my idea of too numb is a 225/50 yoko es100 (not sure if you've ever driven on them). My idea of good feedback and responsive is the hankook rs-2's. So a little less feeling than those is acceptable to me, but it should be better than an es100 otherwise i won't like it. Let's say halfway in between those two, that would be fine.

Slider, i know, i was just being lazy and not typing it out hehe... the ones i was referring to are z1 star specs, the new ones, not any other z1's Dunlop may make (which i'm unfamiliar with anyway). I'm not sure yet, i might just cough up the extra $$ and go with them. I know they've gotten great reviews, although mostly by people who drive harder than me.

[slider2828]

Well I can tell you they last longer than es100's I hate those things on my TL and would never buy ES100's Ever..... I think the better tire you are looking for is rt615s.... I think that is the best fit you are looking for.... StarSpecs are just a little better, but I track my car, so its a different story, I know what the differences are. RT615's you won't be sorry,

[dwadia]

haha yes someone would have to be selling new es100's for $10 a piece for me to consider them! The main reason i'm not considering rt615's is because from what i've read they're marginal in rain (wet seems ok, but not standing water). I think the z1's... or even my rs-2's for that matter... would be better than them in water. And the cost difference between rt615's and z1's is not much. If i don't get the FK452's i'll get z1's. I guess $80 extra isn't gonna be such a big deal in the scheme of life :)

[slider2828]

Nah the RT615's are ok seriously in the rain. Not the best but definitely not bad. RT's from vulcantires.com is only 100 bux.... which is definitely not bad....