[Brian Lacey]

Sorry, another tyre one and I think I eve know the answer ( NO ) but thought I might as well ask.

Car has Toyo T1R on at the moment--fine in spring, summer,autumn--totally useless in the snow !
Fronts are nearing the end but rears are still good for a few 000's k yet.
I believe that from what I have read the Falkens are a good compromise for all season driving ( two sets of wheels is not a financial option) BUT.... would it be a really bad idea to put new Falkens on the rear and the older, less worn Toyo's on the front ? Not a question of where to put the new, I know they go on the rear, but a question of the viability of mixing two different tyre makes/tread etc.. ?? !!
This spreads the cost somewhat but if I have to get four then that is what I will do.
225/50/R17 XYZ rated so which Falken is recommended by those who have 'em ?

Cheers

Brian

 

[AP]

I would not fit 2 different brand myself due to unpredictability in handling.
Regarding rolling radius I wouldn't worry myself. Tyres I use are Falken ZE912 225/50/17 V.
Just gone up in price though, were £66 last week :crazy:
FALKEN TYRES / CAR / FALKEN ZE912 ZIEX FALKEN ZE 912 - 225/50R17 94V TL :: £70.50 :: Car Tyres - MPV Tyres - People Carrier Tyres - 17" :: R17" - 225/50/17, 225/50 R 17 ::

 

[Telemarker74]

Just gone up in price though, were £66 last week :crazy:

Come over here guys... work in Switzerland, live in France; and buy your car bits in the UK... it's very good for the bank balance!

I had a mix of tyres on my Forester when I bought it and it handled like a box of rocks... I would avoid it like the plague if you can Brian.

 

[fpan]

As said not a good idea to mix tyres.

 

[Brian Lacey]

As I thought then, best start saving for 4 tyres then.
Will probably try the Falkens for a change.

Cheers

Brian

 

[forestergump]

I love the Falkens. I have 452s on the front newish and some cheapass Korean **** on the back because I put them on in an emergency and I'm too cheap to throw them away even though they are absolutely awful. Handling is interesting to say the least. Had a bit of an unexpected slide on a big roundabout the other day and on the way home Mrs Gump said - 'so can we try it without the drifting on the way home please'. And she's used to the odd slide.

I figure the more they slide the quicker they'll wear out and I'm hoping not to wear the back end out on armco in the meantime.

I would always put the new ones on the front - if the back slides you can control it but if the front lets go well.....

Mind you I'm old enough to have learned in a rear wheel drive car.

 

[mykp]

I've got two different brands on mine, Bridgestones on the front (older) and Falkens on the back (new ones) and mines been fine.

 

[karma mechanic]

The Vredestein Sessantas aren't available in 225/50. but in 225/45-17 they are 79 quid at Camskill. I'd say they are a lot better than the Falkens. I got 25k out of the last lot on mine (225/45-18). They seem to be ok in slush and snow as well, or at least nowhere near as bad as some tyres I can remember...

235/45-17 are closer to 225/50-17 in size (-2%), but those are 88 quid.

 

[AP]

My Falken 912's have been on 2 years and just turned 27k. They have around 2000 miles left on them, my last set of 512's only lasted around 18k.
I will be ordering a new set in a couple of weeks, I am very pleased with all round good performance of these tyres..

 

[Ducalio]

I would always put the new ones on the front - if the back slides you can control it but if the front lets go well.....

I hope you keep well away from me and my family while you're wearing those cheapos down :shake:

 

[Brian Lacey]

Right, I have done some reading of the tyre reports and the Falkens seem prone to tramlining and the last thing I need is that added to the 90/10 power split on the T/tb.

The Toyos have been fine apart from totally useless in snow. I got them in 09/2007 - 20k miles at £92 per tyre all inc. The fronts are not going to last much more than 5k whilst the rears have a lot of life left. I am tempted to fit another pair to the front but the price has gone bananas for the T1 Rs.

So perhaps a compromise is a genuine all season tyre but choice is rather limited. Has anyone fitted an all season tyre rather than a summer one and how did you find them to drive on ?

I don't want to compromise on tyre safety but I live in the real world and finances are not unlimited !

Comments please.

Cheers

Brian

 

[Telemarker74]

I would always put the new ones on the front - if the back slides you can control it but if the front lets go well...

The rear of the car is where the cornering stability comes from. Always put new tyres on the rear.

 

[NorthDownsScooby]

The rear of the car is where the cornering stability comes from. Always put new tyres on the rear.

Strange I had heard that you should always put new tyres on the front, cos that is where the BRAKING comes from !!!

 

[Telemarker74]

Strange I had heard that you should always put new tyres on the front, cos that is where the BRAKING comes from !!!

And you wave bye bye to your rear end as it overtakes you when you brake with old tyres on the back... Michelin recommend new on the rear.

 

[NorthDownsScooby]

And you wave bye bye to your rear end as it overtakes you when you brake with old tyres on the back... Michelin recommend new on the rear.

While braking in a straight line though, which is of course the only time all us pros on here would ever dream of touching the brake pedal....? :biggrin:

Mercedes now recommend fitting new tyres to the front, but that's mainly due to ESP effectiveness.

I know the traditional view has always been fit to the rear cos it's going to save more numpties when they stamp on the brakes going round a roundabout or something, but hasn't that advice now been superceeded...?

 

[Telemarker74]

While braking in a straight line though, which is of course the only time all us pros on here would ever dream of touching the brake pedal....? :biggrin:

True... although there aren't too many straight roads around here... :icon_wink:

 

[TarmacBoy]

Subaru recommend that you rotate your tyres to keep the rolling radius as close as possible. If you go for two tyres, changing size would probably not be a good idea. Using tyres with different rolling radius could have an effect on your traction control system.

And you wave bye bye to your rear end as it overtakes you when you brake with old tyres on the back... Michelin recommend new on the rear.

All the tyre manufacturers recommend that new tyres go on the rear of the car....if you look into why they say this, in the main it's to protect themselves. They are very aware that they sell tyres to muppets who have absolutely no idea how to drive a car and have to cover themselves accordingly.

Personally I'd rather go into oversteer than understeer...but I guess that's personal preference

:awaits the inevitable 5th gear tyre test video:

 

[Brian Lacey]

I am not going to mix the part worn Toyos with a pair of new tyres of a very different tread pattern / make.
I will get 4 new tyres.
The choice seems to be between Falken 912's or a reputable All Season tyre. I will search out a bit more as I do not need to do it just yet !
Thanks for all the comments/links etc.
Just one question, those of you with Falken 912's fitted have you noticed any tramlining when motoring along ?

Cheers

Brian.

 

[fpan]

There seem to be contradicting views as to where to fit new tyres, I have also known that new ones should be fitted to the front as NDS says.
But I think it's best to rotate the front-back every 6k miles so as to have even wear and then change all 4 of them rather than not rotate at all, wear the front and replace 2 only.

 

[The Rookie]

912's on the front, Pirrelli's on the rear, previously had a Pirelli/Michelin mix, it won't necesarily make it handle badly, in fact on my old (very old now) MkIII Escort I used to have the best tyres on the front to make the rear a little more 'mobile' on purpose....just make sure they go the right way round for the handling characteristics you want!

F1 cars have different tyres front and rear after all!

Simon