I'm still not sure what tires I want when I need replacements. I first thought the 512s but it seems like all the opinions are either love or hate. The one downside being the sidewall strength. Apparently the Potenzas have strong sidewalls in comparison and the 512s lack this strengh. Is it good reason to eliminate the 512s for all-season tires due to weak sidewall strength? I want good handling and my current tires are Cooper Touring tires from the original owner.

 

What are the Cooper Touring's sidewalls like? Do you like them? I guarantee the Cooper's sidewalls aren't anywhere near the RE92s' stiffness. As you don't know what the car handled/steered like with the stiffer tires, you may be okay with the 512.

As they say, what you don't know, won't hurt you...

 

I live in an area w/ bad roads. I've nailed potholes/bumps left and right and no bubble yet on my 512s. IMO, it's better to use these tires for spring/summer/fall and have snow tires for winter. These didn't perform quite so well this winter.

 

OT, but on S techs Ammi??? The soft sidewalls of the 512s are doing all the work the suspension should be doing!

 

That's my problem, I don't have anything to compare them to because I never had the stock rubber. I guess the sidewalls are good, but I really don't know. I guess the 512s should work, after all they're pretty cheap compared to the other name brands.

 

The 512s may even be more expensive than the Coopers... The only way to go cheaper would be Federal, Wanli or Hankook.

 

I don't think I'm gonna get Coopers. I think the original owner bought them over the stockers because of how cheap they were. I plan on keeping my new set for at least another 30k miles so I want something good. If I can get them installed for under $600, I'm cool.

 

Well In a couple days ill see what its like to drive very expensive tires, Ill report back on the difference. Goin from shot Goodyear RSA's to F1's. 245/45R18

 

I've had the 512s on my 5th gen for a few weeks and they have performed OK. No problems balancing, they ride great, have handled some nasty winter weather in NYC pretty well and are quiet. They do seem a little loose at higher speeds but I really haven't noticed that the sidewalls are overly soft, but they are not stiff and the handling reflects that. We had a really bad ice-storm a couple of weeks ago and they got me where I had to go with no prob - that same ice warped up my OEM rotors, though. I've had the same tires on a Civic for about a year and I love them. There are much better tires on the market, but for the money, you can't beat the 512s for a decent all-season tire (I'm not sure about the performance part).

 

What tire are you talking about? who makes a '512'?

 

Falken Ziex 512s

OT, whereabouts the B-Lo are you? I grew up in Silver Creek and my sister lives in West Seneca.

 

Sweet, Orchard Park, right by WS...WOW thr 512's sure got a 'nice' price!

 

These deserve a look, awesome tread pattern...these designed for drifting?
http://www.falkentire.com/updates/615_micro_info.html

 

why when i go to the company site I see the RT-215 and the FK-451 but no 512? 215's look the hottest, but no 18" Eh I dont like the look of the 512, not agressive enough for me. If I could have my cake and eat it too Id have 3 sets of rims for buffalo weather..17" with michelin snow tires, 19" BBS 3-piece alloys wrapped racing slicks for the dry, and stock rims with F1's for the wet

 

I don't have the funds to have summer tires or rims or a drop for that matter so I'm just keeping stock wheels and all-season tires. The 512s may not be aggressive enough but I won't have to change them season to season.

Yeah my sister lived in OP before she got married, now her and her husband are teachers in WS. Man it's still cold up there isn't it, It's pretty mild in the nati but I'm coming up for Easter.

 

I was under the impression the 512s are lousy in snow. Not sure that they are the best tire for Cincinnati winters. I can't believe how some orgers chintz out on tires. If you want your tires to last and appreciate low road noise and good handling then spring for some decent tires. Would you buy the crappiest beer? Same difference in my view, lol!

 

The 512s are not lousy in the snow. I had them on my 95 max. Not snow tires but better then average.

 

Well that is not what I have read on this Board plus they're only good for 30K aren't they and the sidewalls are soft, so why anyone would buy them and not get a real tire is a mystery to me. You get what you pay for!

 

Pirelli Pzero Nero M+S are better tires all around but are more expensive. How much better? I dont know but the best price I could find on the Falkens was $89/tire and the pirellis $126/tire. I agree with 95max on the 512s in the snow.

 

If he wants to stay w/in spec at 225/50R17, the Pirellis are out of the question.

As for "chintzing" on tires, the problem is that the choices are pretty much nill if you want an A/S tire. Either you go cheap with Hankooks, Falkens, etc., or go all the way to the LS-V to Pilot Sport A/S price range (even the POS RE92s are about $170 a tire). There's no middle ground.

 

Well I'm restricted in tire choices too because I'm sticking with my OEM 15" sawblades and have narrowed my decision down to BF Goodrich Traction TAs or Yokohama Avid H4S in an all-season tire. Please see my post in the Tires forum. Any and all feedback to my queries found there is appreciated.

I'm not interested in snow tires because I try not to drive the Maxima in the snow. I have another daily driver hence only 57,700 miles on my 95SE.

 

 

Huh?

 

 

Got the 245/45ZR18 Goodyear F1's on the car today. 40 degrees out and cloudy today, one thing I can say is these tires are smooth and silent. The car steers better and feels more refined. The RSA's sounded lousy and noisy on uneven pavement and made my car ride like a POS on some roads. Im very Happy I got the best performance tires out there because now I realize how much better a tire can get and how it can change the quality and feel of the car. Now the car drives as its supposed to. I got a fantastic deal too because the RSA's sidewalls split (known problem) they gave me $195 for each one, I talked them down $25 on each F1. Came to $450 for 4 new F1's mounted and balanced. Ill be needin a rim/tire package in about 8 months. Cant wait to drive these tires after they break in and it warms up. Even in this temperature, when you gun the maxima, they hook up quicker and there is way less drama at launch. A very refined and awesome looking tire.

 

Better start shopping for snow tires for the snow belt. I'm sure you can get some good deals this time of the year...

 

Im gonna prolly get a pkg off tirerack, they really cant be beat...and they will come ready to bolt on. Cuz I cant go any smaller than 17 its still gonna be about $800

 

IMO they are lousy. No grip while trying to drive off at a light and this was with an inch of snow. I'd go sideways first before moving forward.
I slapped on my Blizzaks MZ-01s that night and all was good.

I have had the 512s on for a couple of years now and I'm almost at the tire wear indicators already. Of course, 2 auto-x events in those 2 years must have helped hasten the wear! Its time to look for a better replacement.