Got new Falken 452 and have about 450 miles on them now. First impressions are that they are a very quiet tyre. STereo is down to 6 at 100kmh(60mph) and car rides smoothly over minor bumps now. Initially tyres were very slippery due to mould release compound, but now that this has worn off, tires grip very well. There is very little tyre squeal at the limit of adhesion and appears to grip nearly as well as the 040s. Hard to compare properly as 040 only had about 3/32 tread left and new tires have 10/32 so they will always have slightly less grip due to larger tread blocks. Traction control hardly comes on now in very spirited driving compared to 040s. My car is a daily driver, so I need a tyre that I can live with day in and day out. This tyre does this and still has got great road grip. I hear that they get greasy when they heat up on the track , so if you track your car , then this is not for you, but for a daily driver they are a great tyre.

 

I like mine ,had them about 10,000 miles now. Very quite and smooth and I haven't lost traction in a corner yet. I like them! I have the 245/40-18's

 

Have 900 miles o nthem now and have improved turn in andgrip in the dry. Has been raining now and driving in wet through tight corners and found that these tyres have excellent turn in in the wet, and do not slide much at all in wet. Traction control hardly comes on now compared to the 040s in the wet. Great tire for a daily driver. Time will tell how long they last. I got 27000m out of my 040s.

 

I wish TireRack.com would carry Falkens. I would have considered these if I had seen them.

I saw them for $135 each on eBay. I ended up getting Kumho ECSTA SPT for $95 each.

 

I have about 10,000 km on mine & they have been sweet - 235/40/18s .

 

I'm on my second set and I love them. First I had the 451's then they came out with the 452's so I got them. I really like how they handle in wet weather, thats why I got them again.

 

Can anyone compare them to the similar Kumho ECSTA SPT?

 

I think the SPT is very hard to beat for 95 a piece. I'm going to try and finish off my potenzas so I can pick up a set of SPTs.

 

I just ordered my 452s from VividRacing.com...I got them in 225/45/ZR18 for the front and 245/40/18 for the rear. I'll let you know how they ride when I get them on my new Work XD9s

 

hmmm..... i guess that would be ok but why would you want a taller tire in the front than the rear?

 

Your tires are different rolling circumferences. I think you may send DSC and traction control crazy and have handling problems. Please reconsider your sizes and try to make them the same all round.

 

225x45x18 and 245x40x18 is what you use for a staggered setup. On a tire size the second number is the percentage of the height of the sidewall compared to width so my firewalls are 99mm and 101mm which are VERY close and will not cause a problem with the traction control.

 

not respectively of course.........

the 245 is going to be lower than 225 because of the profile difference.

i know its not much but i still don't like the idea of having a taller front tire than the rear

 

2 mm - are you serious ????

 

But thats what happens when you go staggered...there is no way around it because you need to put a wider tire on the wider rim. People have been doing this for years so it should really bother you.

 

yes i am but anyone can do what they want to with their car.

yep, its not so much as its obvious or anything cause ive seen tire setups just like that and its not even noticeable but ill always know that it is taller in the front and stupid stuff like that bugs me

 

yes but if you go 225 fr and 255 rear the difference is so small, you'll never notice...
the value of the sidewall can either be 45 and 40 respectively or 40 and 35. in both cases the difference of the wheel radius is down to a milimeter or less...

 

Check out the thread on Kumhos SPT going on in the Tire forum.

Make sure you try 34-35-36PSI to see what you like. Seems to be the sweet spot for those tires.

Now back to the Falkens.

 

Well my Falkens are on the car and it's snowing...you know what that means?!?! MY car is stuck in it's spot! Why did i take off my Blizzaks so soon?

 

have 235/40/18 as these are a better fit on the rim. Have 2000m on them now and am very happy. Car is quiet and now the release compound has worn off, the tires grip very well indeed. The car has more than enough grip for rapid cornering. Traction control hard comes on now at all, and has less understeer than on OEM bridgestones. Wear is good with only 0.2mm loss so far. I am very happy with these tires and would not consider going back to OEM at all. They are overpriced and very loud compared to these.