just got a set of Falken ZE Ziex 512s in 215/50/17 put on my TLS. looks wise, BEAUTIFUL. the sidewalls look really sporty now, especially since i put some tire shine on them. the tread design is also very sporty and eye appealing. the sidewalls do look a little smaller in diameter, even tho its supposedly 25.4" compared to the stock 25.5". the wheels/tires look overall a tad smaller. sidewalls also seem softer than the stocks from looks. when you push down from the hood, the tire seems to "give" and sag at the outer edges of the rim, increased pressure to 40psi from the 32psi originaly put in (max pressure is 51), but there was still some saggin, hrmm maybe its the tire design. wonder if it'll affect handling. havent had a chance to push them yet or drive them on the highway. will update again later for that. but overall im happy /w the purchase. got them at Tires Plus who price matched them pretty competively, at $87/piece. was originallly planning on getting the Sumitomo's HTR+, which is basically the same price and highly ranked as the best bang for the buck, but heard there were some possible balancing and cold spot issues. hopefully i made the right choice. we'll see in 20...30...K miles.

 

Great, please keep us posted. I was looking into thisnew style for the summer..

Thanks!!

 

Those were rated #1 by Consumer Reports. v

 

You do realize that our cars require an extra load designation in this size....93 v is the load index and speed rating....

 

So how are they now after a few months? Would you get them again if you had to? I'm also looking at the new Kumho ASX or new Yoko H4s all in 235/45.

 

I went with the Z512 225/47/17s. Mostly because I didn't want to spend the big bucks for the Toyo T1-S, and they had a great write up and comparison verses Dunlop SP9000 and similar tires.

So after 4 weeks with them here's what I think.

Much quieter than the T1-S.
Ride smoother than the T1-S . . absorb the bumps and such well.
Straight line acceleration seems to be better than the T1-S, but that could be in part because my tranny is going.
The Z512s are just slightly heavier than the T1-Ss by just over a 1lb.
Cornering not near as well as the T1-S. I think the Z512 have a softer sidewall and less agressive tread than the T1-S.
Emergency lane changes - no comparison. There's a lot more body roll with the Z512s. I could agressively toss my TLS around at 55MPH and not break lateral traction. I'd be scared to try that speed with the Z512s.

My recommendation is that these are premium luxury performance tires . . . not Ultra-High Performance. They just don't have what it takes for guys that love twisties. If you don't do a lot of curves then these are decent tires. That said, I'd probably go with a different tire just because I like to take corners pretty agressively from time to time.

Ruf

 

After about 4K miles, here are my thoughts. yes the sidewalls do feel "softer" but they corner and handle way better than stocks still. off the line traction is better, u can feel the tires tryin to grip instead of just straight peeling out /w the stocks. quiet on the highways, stocks were quiet too, nuttin really noticeable. but one minor complaint i do have is when u decelerate quickly from about
20-0mph, you can hear the tires tryin to grip, and you end up /w this "wwwhhhh" sound. sometimes its annoyin, sometimes its cool cuz you kno the tires are workin. treadware is great, and i do tend to drive hard. visually the sidewalls are very sporty lookin, makes the wheel/tire look aggressive. overall /w price and everything factored in i'd give it a B. will prolly go /w a different tire next time jus to try something new out. i like the toyo proxy 4s right now, only ~$20 bucks more too.

 

moomaster, i also had concerns about the load rating for the cl tires. there just doesn't seem to be any performance tires, except the stock michelins, that have the same specs--215/50/17 93v.
i was going to purchase some bridgestone potenza s-03 that are 235/45/17 94v. will this work?