Falken FK452

[DANZZT231]

Hey guys,

It has been a long time since I posted anything on this forum. Anyhow, I figured I may aswell report on the Falken FK452 after 1.5 years of usage.

Throughout the use, the FK452 served me well. Plenty of mountain run and highway driving from Gold Coast to Brisbane/Sunshine Coast and back. So after 1.5 years of duties the FK452 is due for replacement. 1.5 years is not a lot, but my wheel alignment is extreme for day to day. Regarding milage, I say about 20,000km.

Since last January 2010 the Celica served me as get-to-office-and-home, highway cruiser, and no spirited driving. So no abuse these last 9 months, however sometimes in January or February I did actually changed the wheel alignment slightly. Still extreme, but a bit better.

About a month or two ago I noticed there is a lot of noise on the freeway, and so I knew this tyre is about to go. Still, I have no issue of using it as daily driver, and the grip was actually still pretty damn good. However, two weeks ago I noticed front tyre was losing much its tread and now its completely gone. Made it even worse, its just the front right tyre, while the other three looks ok but definitely needs replacing anyway. I blame this on the alignment. However, I do think once this FK452 reached certain tread percentage it will rapidly chew the remaining left.

Obviously at this point hard driving is a big no, but I supposed for daily drive even at this worn out condition the FK452 still communicates. Surely it is a bit oily and loose, but hey it is worn out. It was pouring like mad last weekend over here in Gold Coast, and it still able to go fairly well but this is always the selling point of FK452 - the extremely good wet weather condition handling.

Comparing this to RE050A, the FK452 is not the better tyre. The RE050A has a better feel of the road, is more progressive and smoother on handling, on par when it comes to wet condition, don't wear rapidly near its end of life and stays quiet until the end. But the asking price of RE050A is just crazy, while the FK452 cost half but in my opinion is 90% as good as the RE050A.

So the question is, will I buy this tyre again? Yes I will, but next time around it will do without the extreme wheel alignment I have at the moment. I am certain the tyre can last another 20,000km if the wheel alignment is somewhere within OEM specification. Which I believe is what this tyre is meant for to begin with.

Now it is time for a different tyres.

Tyres I had previously:

Bridgestone G3 - (good sports tyre, replaced by RE001)

Brigestone RE050A - (Very good all-purpose tyre)

Falken Ziex 326 - (poor man sport's tyre)

Falken FK452 - (Very good all-purpose tyre)

Goodyear Eagle F1 (GS-D2?) - (this is the worse tyre I ever had, it can let go any moment without notice and its noisy!)

At this point, I have a two options:

1. RE001

2. RT615

They are two different tyres indeed, and to be honest the RE001 is the better one for day to day. But the RT615 is rather irresistable with its performance focus, something I am keen on trying with the Celica. I give myself approx 1.5 years with these tyres, and I hope by tomorrow my mind is made up and get me some nice rubber once again.