Falken S/T Z01

[QWK SVT]

Some may recall I started lookng into the Federal Tires option, but came up short. No experience from anyone with a car (or truck) heavier than a Subie Imprezza left me a little worried about how the tires would cope with the weight of the Marauder. The fact that local dealers that carry the tire couldn't get our sizes in a reasonable timeframe also was a little concerning... So, I think I've changed directions.

The specs for the Falkens look good:

Size---------------255/55/18-----235/50/18
Load / Speed--------109W-----101W
Approved Rims-----7.0-9.0----6.5 - 8.5
OD-------------------------28.9-----27.3
Tread Width------------10.4-----8.2
Tread Depth----------11/32-----11/32
Max PSI (cold)-----------50-----50
Max Load---------------2271-----1819

I know chader has these on his Marauder... Anyone else? I'd like to get some feedback from anyone with these on ALL 4 corners.

chader, this was quoted from the General Tires thread - but I figured a thread specific to these tires would be better:

http://www.tires-easy.ca/start.html I don't know how to pull the actual tire from this site but if you click here and look up 255/55/18 Falken S/T Z01,this is what I run and so far I love them

I found a local tire shop that quoted me $730 for the set (235-50-18 and 255-55-18), so it actually worked out to be cheaper, but pretty close. I'm desperate to shed the winter shoes, but need new fronts in the worst sorta way.

Do you have enough miles on the tires to give your full impressions (standing start, lateral handling, breaking, rain and tire noise)?

[chader]

I paid $676+tax.And thought that was a smoking deal.I paid for them a while ago so they may have gone up.I have not had a chance to give them a real good test,I am trying to go easy on them but I suspect that will not last long.They are quite quiet at highway speeds.I had them road force balanced and I really notice how smooth the car is at 130 mph.On the g-tech I have been able to consistantly launch at about 3-400 rpm higher then I could with the stock BFG's and the car is faster in the 1320.It is also a lot cooler then the last time I played around.One thing I'm not sure about is what pressure to run in the rear.I ran 25 lbs or less with the BFG's to try and save the centers from wearing so premature.I am hoping that this will not be an issue with the Falkens.So far the handling and braking feels great,or as good as one can expect with a 4500 lb car.
All in all for the price you can't go wrong.
I just need to make the wheels look as good as the tires??

[STLR FN]

I've had em for a year now and love em. I paid $124 for the fronts and $105 for the rears.

Chader I've been runnig 38 in the rears and I'm just starting to notice wear in the rears.

I have found them to be a little squirrly in wet weather but I think it's more due to my heavy right foot.

[chader]

I've had em for a year now and love em. I paid $124 for the fronts and $105 for the rears.

Chader I've been runnig 38 in the rears and I'm just starting to notice wear in the rears.

I have found them to be a little squirrly in wet weather but I think it's more due to my heavy right foot.

Wow $105 for rears.If I could get them for that I would not care how they wear.You Americans are lucky when it comes to buying things like this.I guess I will bump up my tire pressure a bit.
I really like the way these tires look aswell.

[QWK SVT]

Based on the comments so far, it looks like I'll be ordering a set, this weekend!


I paid $676+tax.And thought that was a smoking deal.

chader - Sound like quite a good deal... Helps that you don't have PST to pay ;)


I've had em for a year now and love em. I paid $124 for the fronts and $105 for the rears.

Chader I've been runnig 38 in the rears and I'm just starting to notice wear in the rears.

I have found them to be a little squirrly in wet weather but I think it's more due to my heavy right foot.

STLR FN - just to confirm, the wear you're seeing on the rears is evenly spread across the tire (not just in the center)?

[STLR FN]

Based on the comments so far, it looks like I'll be ordering a set, this weekend!



chader - Sound like quite a good deal... Helps that you don't have PST to pay ;)



STLR FN - just to confirm, the wear you're seeing on the rears is evenly spread across the tire (not just in the center)?
Pretty much across the board.

The rears are now 101.80 at tire-easy.com

The fronts I got at Discount tire after they price matched Sears' 124.00

[Pat]

Wow, that Z01 is a very aggressive and low profile tire looking at the pics on easytire.com. Don't think I want to go that far out at least not on just two of the four. Maybe a matched set would be better.

I was looking at the Z04 for my rear tire replacements. Falken's seem to have a balance issue in some larger applications according to the reviews.

No bad reports in the 255/55/18 size.

Regards,

[chader]

Wow, that Z01 is a very aggressive and low profile tire looking at the pics on easytire.com. Don't think I want to go that far out at least not on just two of the four. Maybe a matched set would be better.

I was looking at the Z04 for my rear tire replacements. Falken's seem to have a balance issue in some larger applications according to the reviews.

No bad reports in the 255/55/18 size.

Regards,
THe picture on Tire-easy is decieving.They don't look like that on the car.If I can figure out how to get a picture on the forum,I will post some.

[QWK SVT]

That's just the one picture, with an ultra low tire profile... Here's a picture with a lot more sidewall:
http://www.tiretrends.com/include/get_image.php?id=5081

I guess I'll know soon enough - I have a set ordered, and will be installed tomorrow.:burnout:

[wchain]

I was looking at the Z04 for my rear tire replacements. Falken's seem to have a balance issue in some larger applications according to the reviews.
No bad reports in the 255/55/18 size.
Regards,

Stay away from the STZ/04.

They are the reason my DTR is totaled. Way too much sidewall flex. Changing lanes feels like the car is going to tip over, slow response and lots of flex, downright dangerous in emergency maneuvers. The first day I installed them I did not like how they felt at all, and the next time I drove it, was the end of the car.

[Pat]

Stay away from the STZ/04.

They are the reason my DTR is totaled. Way too much sidewall flex. Changing lanes feels like the car is going to tip over, slow response and lots of flex, downright dangerous in emergency maneuvers. The first day I installed them I did not like how they felt at all, and the next time I drove it, was the end of the car.


Thanks Wes,


Regards,

Pat

[QWK SVT]

I installed the tires on Saturday, but only have about 15-miles on them, so far... I was still wearing my snow shoes prior to this, so there was a noticeable improvement, but I need to compare data versus the old set of summer tires (I have some Beltronics VectorFX2 logs which should suffice).

I went WOT once (from adead stop to about 50mph), and the tires felt great - very little spin from a stop, with a noticeble chirp going to second. It rained this AM, so my drive to work was relatively slow (under 45mph at all times), but they felt very stable, during that brief period of time.

I will try to post pictures of the tires on the car tonight, or tomorrow, but otherwise, I need some seat time to really review these tires. So far, I'm quite pleased.

[STLR FN]

I feel with the demise of the BFG KDW2's that these can be a very good replacement.

[MichaelGarmon]

I have these on my marauder. Put them on about 100 miles ago. They are great so far, but Im not really far enough into them to truly give an opinion. Haven't drove in rain yet, either (Love sunny Florida!) I can, however, say they look nice and the size between front and back isn't really noticeable as far as the tire height go.