I frequently see claims of the Falken FK452 being a wonderful tyre, only for someone to come along and rubbish that. Because of the big split in opinion, it was extremely difficult to come to an informed decision without actually driving a car with them on. One conclusion I came to was that they weren't absolutely terrible and they were at least worth the money.
I've been looking to get rid of the runflat tyres on my car for some time now due to the crashy ride and the snappy breakaway. So, having been made an offer I couldn't refuse, 4 brand new FK452's for £360 fitted and balanced, I had them put on. Since I've had a change of circumstances and am constantly broke nowadays, having a full set of tyres for less than half the price of the Bridgestone Potenza runflats was very welcome.
The first observation made within 3 seconds of moving after having them fitted was that the ride is like night and day. Small bumps in the road are soaked up rather than amplified up your spine. You could decribe the ride comfort as "bareable" now
I'll not comment on the grip for the first couple of hundred miles until the tyres were gripping properly. The steering feel however was noticeably different. I've heard people harp on and moan about how the electric power steering in the Z4 was absolutely terrible and shocking and how it ruined the car. They were over exaggerating. It was nowhere near as bad as they were making it out to be. Most of them were regurgitating crap they'd read on a forum.
Maybe not though. Maybe they drove a Z4 with FK452s fitted. The steering has become noticebly more vague and sloppy. There is less feedback and there appears to be a delay in turning in while the tyre flexes. It's almost like driving on tyres made of chewing gum.
It's not THAT bad but it's definitely a major downfall. Maybe it's the same with all non-runflat tyres.
After a couple of hundred miles I think I can begin to appraise the grip. I'm waiting for it to rain so my opinion on wet grip will have to wait.
Dry grip is good. In fact, it's pretty good. It's not great. It's certainly more than acceptable when I'm pushing on. On the Z4 I'd imagine the Falkens are at the higher end of their performance requirement and taking this into consideration they perform very well. When taking roundabouts hard, the DSC light blinks a bit more often. The front end seems to break away a bit sooner before the rear gives up. The big difference between these and the runflats is the progressiveness of the loss of grip. With the runflats, you'd go from 100% grip to about 2% in the space of a millisecond. With the Falkens, it's much more progressive and predicatable, making the driving more enjoyable in my opinion.
When I have the traction control turned off but leave the DSC on, the car is significantly better and more fun to drive. You can feel it being right on theedge and maybe even kick out the back end and get a bit of a slide going in a very controllable manner. I've been enjoying a bit of roundabout surfing much more than I used to!
Whilst the bottom line is that they grip less in the dry, they provide a better platform for all out driving. In an emergency situation though, I dunno.
So, to summarise:
- They aren't as amazing as a lot of people make them out to be.
- The do not grip as well as higher end tyres.
- The sidewalls feel like they flex a lot and can make the steering feel vague.
- Your e-penis is docked 3 inches.
+ They aren't as crap as some people make them out to be.
+ Cheap.
+ Massive increase in ride quality compared to runflat tyres.
+ They can make the handling more predictable and dare I say it, more fun.
+ Cheap.
If you can justify the extra £££ on higher quality tyres then go for those. They will grip better. They will probably handle a bit better and they will probably feel better.
If you can't justify the £££, the FK452 isn't a bad shout.
I've been looking to get rid of the runflat tyres on my car for some time now due to the crashy ride and the snappy breakaway. So, having been made an offer I couldn't refuse, 4 brand new FK452's for £360 fitted and balanced, I had them put on. Since I've had a change of circumstances and am constantly broke nowadays, having a full set of tyres for less than half the price of the Bridgestone Potenza runflats was very welcome.
The first observation made within 3 seconds of moving after having them fitted was that the ride is like night and day. Small bumps in the road are soaked up rather than amplified up your spine. You could decribe the ride comfort as "bareable" now
I'll not comment on the grip for the first couple of hundred miles until the tyres were gripping properly. The steering feel however was noticeably different. I've heard people harp on and moan about how the electric power steering in the Z4 was absolutely terrible and shocking and how it ruined the car. They were over exaggerating. It was nowhere near as bad as they were making it out to be. Most of them were regurgitating crap they'd read on a forum.
Maybe not though. Maybe they drove a Z4 with FK452s fitted. The steering has become noticebly more vague and sloppy. There is less feedback and there appears to be a delay in turning in while the tyre flexes. It's almost like driving on tyres made of chewing gum.
It's not THAT bad but it's definitely a major downfall. Maybe it's the same with all non-runflat tyres.
After a couple of hundred miles I think I can begin to appraise the grip. I'm waiting for it to rain so my opinion on wet grip will have to wait.
Dry grip is good. In fact, it's pretty good. It's not great. It's certainly more than acceptable when I'm pushing on. On the Z4 I'd imagine the Falkens are at the higher end of their performance requirement and taking this into consideration they perform very well. When taking roundabouts hard, the DSC light blinks a bit more often. The front end seems to break away a bit sooner before the rear gives up. The big difference between these and the runflats is the progressiveness of the loss of grip. With the runflats, you'd go from 100% grip to about 2% in the space of a millisecond. With the Falkens, it's much more progressive and predicatable, making the driving more enjoyable in my opinion.
When I have the traction control turned off but leave the DSC on, the car is significantly better and more fun to drive. You can feel it being right on theedge and maybe even kick out the back end and get a bit of a slide going in a very controllable manner. I've been enjoying a bit of roundabout surfing much more than I used to!
Whilst the bottom line is that they grip less in the dry, they provide a better platform for all out driving. In an emergency situation though, I dunno.
So, to summarise:
- They aren't as amazing as a lot of people make them out to be.
- The do not grip as well as higher end tyres.
- The sidewalls feel like they flex a lot and can make the steering feel vague.
- Your e-penis is docked 3 inches.
+ They aren't as crap as some people make them out to be.
+ Cheap.
+ Massive increase in ride quality compared to runflat tyres.
+ They can make the handling more predictable and dare I say it, more fun.
+ Cheap.
If you can justify the extra £££ on higher quality tyres then go for those. They will grip better. They will probably handle a bit better and they will probably feel better.
If you can't justify the £££, the FK452 isn't a bad shout.
