My opinion of falken fk452

[shane@mbtech]

I Have been using my csl regularly in the last few weeks along with my normal m3, coming back and 2 to work, 52 mile round trip,

I have been pushing both quite hard on the same roads in the same temps in the same damp cold greasy conditions.

TBH its the first time ive really pushed the csl on the road on the falkens, ive driven it fast before but I'm now using it quite often, so I have starting pushing really hard on familiar roads. I even put the falken/csl's on the m3 for true comparison/.

My csl is on Falken FK452 235 35 19 265 30 19
My m3 is on contisport 3 235 35 19 255 35 19

Im no racing god but this is my honest opinion of the fk452,

They have very very little, if any feel, they are very vague and give no grip limit no feedback, wooden feel, wooden feel, wooden feel then the back flicks out.
Not nice in the cold at all, they are slightly better in the warm but still lack feel although the grip level was better in the warmer months, the difference immense between the contis and falkens.

Compared to the contis they are poor, they lower the ride quality, make the car feel harsh and crashy. The contis have far more grip, better turn in more progressive grip levels, and when the slide did come it was predictable.

I put them on my car as I dont use it regularly, they were also £440 for the 4 tyres.

They are fine as a stop gap tyre, they would suffice as an everyday user on the csl as long as you dont push on in wet/colder weather but be cautious in driving it conservatively also. In the summer they were ok, just ok. No match for ps2, conti etc etc though.

I have run various high powered rwd cars over the years and have used many many tyres travelling the same route to work, the falkens are not something I would class as a performance tyre, commuting tyre yes. Performance tyre NO

I know a few swear by them but if you are trying them in the hope they will be close to the grip levels of mich conti etc, they will not,

I personally posted that I found them ok, especially for the money, in the dry/warmer months I stand by this.

But in cold or damp cconditions they feel poor to me compared to other makes

[weedavey]

Informative write up. Will bear this in mind.:beer:

[Dan]

I completely agree mate, I have Continental Contisport Contacts or something on my current M3 and find they offer excellent levels of grip in both wet and dry conditions.

I have had FK452's before on other cars and did funnily find them hard and quite unforgiving, my mate also had them on his 3dr Cosworth and to be honest they were shite, car stepped out all over the place and gave no indication of when it was going to, not good!

[DuncanR]

I completely agree mate, I have Continental Contisport Contacts or something on my current M3 and find they offer excellent levels of grip in both wet and dry conditions.!

How do the above tyre compare against PS2's, as thats the only tyre I have experience of, and what I know is that they are round ..black ...and made of rubber I think !!:whistle:

[danp]

I didn't think the Conti's ever got any good press, unlike the Falken's!

[jibm]

are we talking about conti's 2's or 3's?

big difference IMO

[jibm]

but still no way as good as PS2:thumbs:

[DuncanR]

but still no way as good as PS2:thumbs:

I guess thats my answer then ! no technical jargon to sift thro there jibm !:thumbs:

[danp]

are we talking about conti's 2's or 3's?

big difference IMO

Was at the PH thing at MB World last weeked, and in the drifting competition ;-) also went out with one of their instructors (F2 driver) round the track and skid pan.. he said they rip the Conti's (3 I believe) straight off the AMG 6.2 V8's as they are so bad, and put on Pirelli (he also admitted that they are sponsored by Pirelli ;-)

[Dan]

How do the above tyre compare against PS2's, as thats the only tyre I have experience of, and what I know is that they are round ..black ...and made of rubber I think !!:whistle:

I've never used the PS2's, Pirelli I presume? I think the Conti's I have are 2's, will take a look later when I go out to car after work! :hahaha:

[danp]

I've never used the PS2's, Pirelli I presume? I think the Conti's I have are 2's, will take a look later when I go out to car after work! :hahaha:

Nah.. Michelin Pilot Sport 2, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup being the super sticky rubber that you had to sign a disclaimer for (confirming that you accept that you'd spin and die immediately if used in the wet/cold ;-)

[AlexGTT]

I have to say I've had nothing other than Cups on my car since I've had it but had some PS2's put on in Germany last month to make the going more reasonable :whistle: on the Ring. I'm mighty impressed. They dealt with a monstrously wet Cadwell last week and were briliantly sure footed. I wouldn't put anything else on the car over Winter.

[glendog74]

I agree with Alex ^^^

About time there was an honest review of the Falkens. As a road tyre through the winter they are probably fine i would imagine, especially if you use the CSL as a daily driver or commute loads - i.e. when you aren't pushing on too much! On price alone, they are hard to beat of course.

Personally, i do rate the PS2s highly and have used them on my car over the past 2 years both on road and track in all weather conditions. I find they are the perfect compromise between a great performance road tyre which also happens to perform pretty well on track too with decent progressive behaviour and wear characteristics, whereas other 'lesser' tyres would fail to deliver on track... :whistle:

You can't beat Pilot Sport Cup tyres in the dry though! :drool: :supz:

[s.mac]

I'm a fan of Goodyear, GSD3 or asymmetric, although I was looking at getting a set of Falkens and putting the difference in cost to another set of cups for next year :whistle:

[mattCSLnut]

I'm a fan of Goodyear, GSD3 or asymmetric, although I was looking at getting a set of Falkens and putting the difference in cost to another set of cups for next year :whistle:


I'm a big fun of GoodYear Eagle F1 as well, GSD3 and the Asymetrico (as currently fitted to my SG CSL) GoodYear F1s work very well on all BMWs, M Powered or not. I had a set of GSD3 fitted to my previous E46 328i Touring and they transformed it's grip & handling around the Ring, no end :thumbs:. IMHO, this is not the best time of the year to be testing what are basically summer tyres as they stop working to full potential, below 5 deg C. It's why there are such things as Winter tyres, though most people in the UK wouldn't know what that is. :whistle:

[Dan]

I had Goodyear GSD3's on my old Sapphire Cosworth and they were very very good, rated them in both wet and dry conditions, wouldn't have a problem with having them again!

I'm dying to find out how good Cups are though, but maybe I'll wait until next year for that! LOL

[mattCSLnut]

I had Goodyear GSD3's on my old Sapphire Cosworth and they were very very good, rated them in both wet and dry conditions, wouldn't have a problem with having them again!

I'm dying to find out how good Cups are though, but maybe I'll wait until next year for that! LOL
Good thinking there "Batman" :hahaha: I'm thinking of building a set of O.E. M3 18" wheels wrapped in TOYO R888 and testing them around the Ring :thumbs: come Spring time.

[Dan]

Good thinking there "Batman" :hahaha: I'm thinking of building a set of O.E. M3 18" wheels wrapped in TOYO R888 and testing them around the Ring :thumbs: come Spring time.

How you gonna 'build' your rims then Robin? (glad you called me batman I didn't want to be the gay one! :bigcry:;))

R888's are another good tyre I've got experience of! PMSL Saph's eat ALOT of tyres if you've not already guessed! :bigcry::bigcry::smokin:

[mattCSLnut]

How you gonna 'build' your rims then Robin? (glad you called me batman I didn't want to be the gay one! :bigcry:;))

R888's are another good tyre I've got experience of! PMSL Saph's eat ALOT of tyres if you've not already guessed! :bigcry::bigcry::smokin:
R888 not really liked on here. Most say Michelin "Cups"

[Dan]

For obvious reasons I guess lol Are the Cups a full cut semi slick though? Thought from pics they only have the outer edge cut so to speak?

Edit, you can also buy R888's in some lovely soft compound and they are awesome, don't last long but are awesome! :hahaha:

[shane@mbtech]

R888 not really liked on here. Most say Michelin "Cups"

The 888 are ok, but they go off quickly. Im currently on a048s ( a new set of dzo3s are sat waiting to be mounted next year, the a048's have very similar grip to the 888's, a tad better imo, but the a048 last a hell of a lot longer before you get them going off. 888's at oulton last about 3 ish hard hot laps before starting to stray.

Im yet to try the cups, costco would not sell me them???????? so ordered dzo3s

[Nords]

I had Goodyear GSD3's on my old Sapphire Cosworth and they were very very good, rated them in both wet and dry conditions, wouldn't have a problem with having them again!

I'm dying to find out how good Cups are though, but maybe I'll wait until next year for that! LOL

I have the Goodyear F1 assimetric on the CSL at the moment and I don't like them very much. A full set were £800 as opposed to the PS2s at £1K so gave them a try. PS2s or Conti3s are better in my opinion. As for the Falkens, a £400 a set, it isn't too much of a surprise that you get £400 worth of grip!
:whistle:

[Dan]

I have the Goodyear F1 assimetric on the CSL at the moment and I don't like them very much. A full set were £800 as opposed to the PS2s at £1K so gave them a try. PS2s or Conti3s are better in my opinion. As for the Falkens, a £400 a set, it isn't too much of a surprise that you get £400 worth of grip!
:whistle:

I've never ran the Asymmetric's so can't comment really, the GSD3's I had were good for ev everyday driving, although I've never ventured out on track with them...

[AlexGTT]

For obvious reasons I guess lol Are the Cups a full cut semi slick though? Thought from pics they only have the outer edge cut so to speak?

Edit, you can also buy R888's in some lovely soft compound and they are awesome, don't last long but are awesome! :hahaha:

Try the Cups. Scrub them in nicely, warm them up correctly, don't overheat them and for a track biased road tyre you won't look back. Just make sure your geo is set up correctly to make the best of them.:smokin:

[daniel]

Has anybody tried the federal 595-ss or 595-rs? I am tempted by a set of the 595-rs for road use.

http://camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m12b0s670p10782

[DuncanR]

there a good few reviews online about those Federals, might even give them a go myself ! then just drive the car as if you had Cups fitted :hahaha:, perhaps get a sticker for the dash saying
"give it the beans, running on Cups":thumbs:

[s.mac]

Everyone has there own opinion, which is the way it should be :)
I got my car with a new set of PS2's and took them straight off. I thought they were crap when I used them before and they were no better on the CSL... in the conditions I was using them in ....

I have a few set of wheels and I like to try out different brands of tyre, it's the only way to find out what you want and in what conditions :)
There are some good budgets out there, Hankook tyres are one

[mattCSLnut]

Everyone has there own opinion, which is the way it should be :)
I got my car with a new set of PS2's and took them straight off. I thought they were crap when I used them before and they were no better on the CSL... in the conditions I was using them in ....

I have a few set of wheels and I like to try out different brands of tyre, it's the only way to find out what you want and in what conditions :)
There are some good budgets out there, Hankook tyres are one

Well said :thumbs:. Tyre choice is a very personal thing hence why there's such a vast choice on offer. Obviously there are some shocking "Ditch Finders" out there to be avoided. :whistle:

[s.mac]

Obviously there are some shocking "Ditch Finders" out there to be avoided. :whistle:

Yep :hahaha:

[bromers]

Barum's are the best :)

I actually quire liked Falkens because they were predictable but had lower level of grip than Cups.

[mattCSLnut]

Barum's are the best :)

mattCSLnut: ... and lets not forger "LingLong" ditch finders





I actually quire liked Falkens because they were predictable but had lower level of grip than Cups.

mattCSlnut: I'll bet the Falkens grip better in the wet & cold then the Cups :whistle:

[shane@mbtech]

Barum's are the best :)

mattCSLnut: ... and lets not forger "LingLong" ditch finders





I actually quire liked Falkens because they were predictable but had lower level of grip than Cups.

mattCSlnut: I'll bet the Falkens grip better in the wet & cold then the Cups :whistle:


Bet they are not far apart:thumbs:

[mattCSLnut]

Bet they are not far apart:thumbs:
You mean "LingLong" ditch finders and Cups ??? :whistle: :hahaha: :hahaha:

[shimmy]

Falkens are POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


Bealo has them :)

Hes done 3 trackdays and they look like new - they're like lumps of concrete painted black

[phat///M3]

Hes done 3 trackdays and they look like new - they're like lumps of concrete painted black

Haha :thumbs:

[Bealo]

As said before each to there own.

I am happy enough to use these on the road and on a damp track instead of the cups.

I think you should leave the spirited driving on the track aswell.

Overall all they do the job i want from them and don't cost the earth.

[mattCSLnut]

As said before each to there own.

I am happy enough to use these on the road and on a damp track instead of the cups.

I think you should leave the spirited driving on the track aswell.

Overall all they do the job i want from them and don't cost the earth.


Well said Bealo :hahaha: "Jak sie mash" :whistle: