TimGinCentralNJ Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 I'm nearing about 12k on my 512's (the non XL-rated version) and have been noticing wear and feathering on the outside edges--mostly on the fronts. I'm a fanatic about tire pressure and alignment, so I've gotta' assume the feathering on the outside edges has to be from my cornering too fast but let's face it--with this stock suspension, I haven't been going all that fast anywhere. As a comparison, I got close to 35k on my orig RE92's but did notice minor wear on the outside edges of those, too, so I have to think it's probably due to the 512's being a lot softer rubber compound. Was just curious to hear where current and former owners of 512's had noticed their tires wearing. TIA, Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewLegGT67 Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 My 512 have about 7k on them. They are wearing evenly. The only suspension mod I have is a Perrin 22mm RSB. Also, I got the 225/45/17 because of the crappy NJ roads(more protection). I've had them on the stock rims but I upped the psi to 37f/35r because of the talller reinforced sidewalls. I felt I needed a stiffer sidewall with the 225/45/17. For the last month I've been running the Falken 512 on some Rota Tarmac2 rims, which are 17 x 7.5. The psi is 36f/34r. I'm probably the only person that has Wu-Tang Clan and Paul McCartney on their mp3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoozeRS05 Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Mine were fine, lasted about 25k miles I think, which is pretty good IMO. Running bils/swifts, rsb, brackets & links, front lower brace, but I had them in a 225/40/18. Didn't really care for them except in wet weather grip, and the pocketbook. I'd recommend bumping the psi to 37f/35r too. EB's Subaru journal - 2005 LegacyGT Wagon & 2014 Forester FB25 (2008 specB - RIP) IG@legacygtliving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSiWRX Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 225/45/17 (XL rated) on factory LGT rims. Had them both on my LGT, which sports a set of iONs, as well as my wife's WRX (painfully, painfully stock). No issues at all with uneven wear. Granted, we're both rather conservative drivers....... My fill pressures were/are quite high, though, both in the WRX and the LGT. The tires currently have a cumulative of about 9K miles. I dismounted them from the wifey's car after she managed a puncture earlier this spring. <-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges '16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XVR_legacy Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 not to intrude on your thread but how does everyone like these tires? I am thinking about getting them. -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunburnNYC Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 I'm nearing about 12k on my 512's (the non XL-rated version) and have been noticing wear and feathering on the outside edges--mostly on the fronts. I'm a fanatic about tire pressure and alignment, so I've gotta' assume the feathering on the outside edges has to be from my cornering too fast but let's face it--with this stock suspension, I haven't been going all that fast anywhere. As a comparison, I got close to 35k on my orig RE92's but did notice minor wear on the outside edges of those, too, so I have to think it's probably due to the 512's being a lot softer rubber compound. Was just curious to hear where current and former owners of 512's had noticed their tires wearing. TIA, Tim maybe take out some camber? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSiWRX Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 not to intrude on your thread but how does everyone like these tires? I am thinking about getting them. As with many others here, I also like them primarily for their wet-weather capabilities, as well as their low-cost. These tires really do excel in stright-line highway-speed hydroplane resistance. I drive pretty conservatively, and I've had friends of mine - who are fellow car-enthusiasts - raise their eyebrows at my wet highway cruising speeds when on these tires. Their slush and powder snow traction is OK. Paired with the Subaru AWD and with a careful eye on pressures, you will be fine. I find that their performance in the slippery stuff is actually much better on the previous-generation Impreza platform than on the LGTs, but the latter is far from "unsafe," particularly if driven in a conservative manner, during such bad weather. It's far from a "summer tire," in terms of dry-weather performance, and yes, even the XL's sidewalls are on the soft side. But again, for "normal drivers," this isn't much of a consideration. Given the price, it's hard to beat. The one caveat, though, is tire-wear. These things do wear fast. --- If you're looking for better temperate-weather capabilities and even better rain performance, the 912s are supposed to be quite a bit "better" than the 512s, in an evolutionary sense. However, when it comes to wintry-precip., the 512s apparently do a bit better. <-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges '16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewLegGT67 Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 I like mine as far as A/S tires go. Also, I had mine mounted at STS Tire and had them do the recommended alignment after switch from the stock tires. I'm probably the only person that has Wu-Tang Clan and Paul McCartney on their mp3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimGinCentralNJ Posted May 12, 2008 Author Share Posted May 12, 2008 maybe take out some camber? Dumb question, but should I really have to deviate from stock alignment specs to resolve this? Am fairly sure my dealer wouldn't accommodate the request anyway I've also been running 38F/36R in an attempt to lessen the wear, but not sure it's making much difference. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunburnNYC Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Dumb question, but should I really have to deviate from stock alignment specs to resolve this? Am fairly sure my dealer wouldn't accommodate the request anyway I've also been running 38F/36R in an attempt to lessen the wear, but not sure it's making much difference. Tim well in my experience * I'm no expert* feathering on the outter edge is either too much camber or a "toe in" situation. If you corner hard quite often I do believe a little less camber may help you handle better and get a more "even wear" on the tire. Yeah this would NOT be a dealer fix... if there is a reputable road racing shop around I would go talk to them about your driving style what alignment tweaks may help you out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XVR_legacy Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 As with many others here, I also like them primarily for their wet-weather capabilities, as well as their low-cost. These tires really do excel in stright-line highway-speed hydroplane resistance. I drive pretty conservatively, and I've had friends of mine - who are fellow car-enthusiasts - raise their eyebrows at my wet highway cruising speeds when on these tires. Their slush and powder snow traction is OK. Paired with the Subaru AWD and with a careful eye on pressures, you will be fine. I find that their performance in the slippery stuff is actually much better on the previous-generation Impreza platform than on the LGTs, but the latter is far from "unsafe," particularly if driven in a conservative manner, during such bad weather. It's far from a "summer tire," in terms of dry-weather performance, and yes, even the XL's sidewalls are on the soft side. But again, for "normal drivers," this isn't much of a consideration. Given the price, it's hard to beat. The one caveat, though, is tire-wear. These things do wear fast. --- If you're looking for better temperate-weather capabilities and even better rain performance, the 912s are supposed to be quite a bit "better" than the 512s, in an evolutionary sense. However, when it comes to wintry-precip., the 512s apparently do a bit better. Is the dry weather handling atleast somewhat good. I mean im sure they are better than stock tires. Thanks for all the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoozeRS05 Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Given the price, it's hard to beat. That about sums it up.. Get them, unless you can do another $10-$20/tire, at which point I'd get ContiExtremeContacts, which is what I did.. EB's Subaru journal - 2005 LegacyGT Wagon & 2014 Forester FB25 (2008 specB - RIP) IG@legacygtliving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onesillyracer Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 i will never buy these tires again. only lasted about 16k on my car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nKoan Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 Mine wore on the insides bad, but it was due to a bad alignment, too much toe out. got somewhere between 10-15k on these tires. Probably could have gotten 5k more if I had a proper alignment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSiWRX Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 In the past, I've gotten about 25 to 30K miles out of the 512s. But then again, I'm typically a pretty conservative driver, and I'm also rather religious about monitoring tire-pressures and rotations. YMMV, and certainly, these are not the most durable low-cost tires. XVR_legacy - Don't worry, these tires are more than just a little better than the factory RE92s, in terms of dry-weather capabilities. Again, I rarely drive that hard, any more, but on the few occasions that I do/did, yes, I can tell you for-certain that they're much better than the RE92s in just about every respect in the dry, and heads-and-shoulders above in terms of wet. Still, be forewarned, at typical "Stage II" power levels, the LGT will easily be able to break loose all four in the wet in the lower gears, and if you really got happy on the go-pedal, in the dry, too. These are all-season compromises - not outright "summer" tires, and expectations should not be as much. And while they've never gotten me stuck in the snow (my LGT managed to "self-extricate" after I "beached her" in the berm on my driveway apron, after a tremendous snow-storm and the following city-plow action), they're also *definitely* not "winter tires," either. <-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges '16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimGinCentralNJ Posted May 13, 2008 Author Share Posted May 13, 2008 Is the dry weather handling atleast somewhat good. I mean im sure they are better than stock tires. Thanks for all the help Yeah, I don't think there's any area where the 512's don't surpass the OEM RE-92a's with flying colors--the one "miss" IMO is that the sidewalls aren't quite as stiff. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean that the 512's are all over the place...they're a very well controlled, comfortable tire which has great traction (both wet and dry--although I personally thought they suck in the snow as any good high-performance tire should), but I don't feel their handling is as "crisp" as it could be. The good news here is, Falkens seem to be very "tune-able" to some degree by messing with tire pressures. I've also noticed this on the Falken FK-452's I'm running on my old 7-Series. I'm wondering if this is just the nature of all these less-expensive brands, like the General UHPs, Falkens, Coopers, etc. They're cheaper because they don't incorporate the technology or the materials (or as much of the materials) which the higher-end name tires do, but people are willing to give up some performance to save almost 50% on price. For example, if you walk into a tire shop and feel the sidewall of the a Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, then compare it to any of the brands above...you'll see what I mean. The Michelin has a nice firm sidewall, the others just don't in comparison.... ...but then again, who's got $800 to drop on a set of tires for an AWD car which typically tends to munch through tires pretty fast. NOT ME!! Like life, it's all about compromises I guess. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XVR_legacy Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 Well thats the other tire i am thinking about (Falken FK - 452's) I had the older 451's on my other car and loved them. I know they are two different style of tires but im not sure on which one i want to go with Thanks guys for all the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimGinCentralNJ Posted May 13, 2008 Author Share Posted May 13, 2008 Well thats the other tire i am thinking about (Falken FK - 452's) I had the older 451's on my other car and loved them. I know they are two different style of tires but im not sure on which one i want to go with Thanks guys for all the help Hey XVR- I do know the 452's were brought in as an "improvement" over the 451's in performance based upon feedback they'd gotten from their customers (much like how the 912's were brought in to replace the 512's), but I never tried a set. I'm pretty sure the 451's have been discontinued, too. The one thing which caught my eye about the 452's is the fact Falken's marketing dept stated they were created to officially "go after the BMW/Benz/Audi high performance luxury car market", which would stack them up against Michelin, Conti, Pirelli, etc so I figured given the competition...the 452's couldn't be all that bad. Overall, I'm pretty happy with them. Again, stacked up against my beloved-but-way-too-expensive Michelin PS A/S', their sidewall isn't quite as stiff--but they're definitely a solid tire which is great on dry and wet. One thing to note is that they're NOT an all-season tire...not sure if that weighs in your criteria or not. Good luck and keep us posted on your decision. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSiWRX Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 ...although I personally thought they suck in the snow as any good high-performance tire should), I didn't think that "sucked," necessarily, but yes, they definitely aren't cut-out for wintry precip. Just a look at their tread-pattern confirms that. Using due-caution, and with the tires properly inflated (more on this later), one should be OK. And strangely enough, I did feel that my setup, run on the wifey's WRX, was *much* more capable in the wintry stuff. No idea why...my only guess is the previous-generation Impreza platform just took to this setup, better. but I don't feel their handling is as "crisp" as it could be. Definitely. The soft sidewalls of even the XL model contributes much to this, as does my switch up to the 225s on the factory rims' width. The good news here is, Falkens seem to be very "tune-able" to some degree by messing with tire pressures. Double-edged sword. I've found that with the 512s on my setup, a difference of just 2 PSI was enough to *noticeably* change performance in both the wet as well as in wintry precip. Seriously, dropping just 2 PSI meant I could spin my tires at-will in any of the lower gears, and remember, Winky's only "Stage II." You can well imagine what this would be like in an even higher-powered setup, which many LGTers now have underhood. <-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges '16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimGinCentralNJ Posted May 13, 2008 Author Share Posted May 13, 2008 The soft sidewalls of even the XL model contributes much to this, as does my switch up to the 225s on the factory rims' width. Well add to that the fact I've also got taller sidewalls (55 series) and am also not running the XL-version. Yah...."not so crisp" Do you happen to know if the "reinforced" version of the 512 which I've read about was in fact the XL version--or was it something different altogether? Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XVR_legacy Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 TimGin- I am only going to use them for summer tires but dont want to spend a whole lot of money on tires....i have always found that Falkens are a great tire for their price. I am just looking for a nice riding good handling tire..... -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSiWRX Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 Well add to that the fact I've also got taller sidewalls (55 series) and am also not running the XL-version. Yah...."not so crisp" Well, that doesn't help..... Do you happen to know if the "reinforced" version of the 512 which I've read about was in fact the XL version--or was it something different altogether? Uncertain. All I know is that on both of my last two sets, the "XL" extra-load capacity stamp was there, and that I also have the "Reinforced" lettering on the sidewall, too. Sorry...... <-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges '16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewLegGT67 Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 Well add to that the fact I've also got taller sidewalls (55 series) and am also not running the XL-version. Yah...."not so crisp" Do you happen to know if the "reinforced" version of the 512 which I've read about was in fact the XL version--or was it something different altogether? Tim My Falken 512 have the REIN on the side. If you don't see it on the tire I would think they are not the ones with the reinforced sidewalls. I not sure of the XL versions. I'm probably the only person that has Wu-Tang Clan and Paul McCartney on their mp3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimGinCentralNJ Posted May 13, 2008 Author Share Posted May 13, 2008 My Falken 512 have the REIN on the side. If you don't see it on the tire I would think they are not the ones with the reinforced sidewalls. I not sure of the XL versions. Thanks, that's great information. In my mind, that means that "XL" rated tires and the reinforced version are two independent things. Personally, I'd love to see what the unmounted sidewalls felt like on each of the four possible combinations thereof...wonder if there's significant difference in stiffness between my model (non-XL, non-REIN) and the most stiff model (XL and REIN). Ok, my brain hurts now Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimGinCentralNJ Posted May 13, 2008 Author Share Posted May 13, 2008 TimGin- I am only going to use them for summer tires but dont want to spend a whole lot of money on tires....i have always found that Falkens are a great tire for their price. I am just looking for a nice riding good handling tire..... -Brian In that case, I would recommend trying the FK-452's. Quality and ride-wise, they're great tires. Maybe you can source a set from a tire sales place which let's you try them for 30 days (?). Just a thought Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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