I need you folks with Falken ZIEX ZE512s to comment on this one:

I've had the tires now for about 8000 miles. They offer awesome traction in both wet and dry weather. They are becoming rather noisy, though. In addition, I hear a rhythmic "woo-woo-woo...." sound at low speed. Took the car to the dealer today to make sure it wasn't my suspension (CV boot) or rotors. All that checked out, so they checked the balance on the tires and found it adequate (they tweaked it a little). So my question is:

How noisy are your Falkens? And do they make a similar low speed noise? Just curious as to what your experience is.

Thanks!
Bob

 

so far, with close to 3000 miles on them, they are still quiet.

 

1000mi and quiet but tires in general are known to produce more noise when they are worn. With 8000 mi, you should have plenty of tread left.

Did rotating improve anything (especially the ambulance under your car).

 

Good replies so far. Anyone else with more miles?

Brokedoc, I didn't have them rotated, but that's a good idea. (pops self on head for missing obvious solution). And the tires have excellent tread on them, and no obvious deformities noted by me or the dealer.

 

perhaps you need to try some other tire pressures?? i have the ST115's 245/40/18, they seem a bit bump sensitive but i have yet to play around with tire pressures....

 

I have 7k or 8k on them now, (need check my record in order to get the exact mileage)

It's getting noisy, I could feel it even on slow driving and braking, kind of normal as other brands' of tires. (Still remember taht my dunlop all-seasons tires (7 years ago) began to blare in about 3k. )

Ok, I do feel "woo-woo-woo...." in the situation you described above, and the noise level is redueced after I rebalanced it by Hunter Road Force system and rotate them. I got my 512s before my 2nd maintenance schedule (B), and rotated/balanced them at my 3rd schedule (A1).

I'm planing to get Pilot Sport A/S in 05 Winter or 06 Summer.



I use 35/32 for pressure now.

 

I have got close to 4k on mine (in 7 weeks I have to get a job closer to home) and no problems with noise. I am taking it in next week to have the tires rotated and balanced.

The Pirellis on the wifes MDX got noisy around 12k and now at 18k are loud and rough riding but still have half their tread left..

 

i had a great experience with the Yokohama dB S2's. they are all season tires that i had on my 2001 BMW 530i. they stayed very quiet. that would be another option....

 

Thanks for your replies. Don't take me the wrong way, I love these tires. I was just curious as to whether others noted more noise. rets, I use 35 psi all around, which REALLY helps with the handling and adds steering feel. When I get back from NYC later this weekend, I'll play around with the pressures, and next month, when I have my oil change, I'll have the tires rotated.

 

Good to know what you may like to do next. Wish the issue you reported would be solved and reduced soon.

I like the firm ride and used to have 38/35 setup sometimes, not sure if this causes more noise though.

Anyway, the noise level of mine is minimal and insignificant in most of occasions. My plan of having Pilot Sport A/S is only when A/S is MUCH quieter than 512 after 10k and 20k mileage. We will know after other A/S guys reach these marks.

 

Neuron: Rotating your tires may help the noise a couple hundred miles after the rotation. I figure the tires aren't wearing evenly and causing more noise that will improve after rotation.

After just over 1,000 mi, I've noticed that my FL no longer has the rubber "nubs" that new tires have on the tread surface. FR has a hint of the nubs, RL has a quarter of the nubs and RR has almost 1/2 of the nubs sticking out. This is probably because almost all of the on/off highway ramps in NY are sharp R turns and I don't nearly make as many sharp L turns.

Which leads me to my dilemma: The Falkens are unidirectional. You can only rotate front to rear and vice versa, NOT criss-cross like you can with nondirectionals. Since I will probably wear out my L wheels before my R, I can't just buy 2 tires...I'll have to buy a new set of 4.

Honestly, though, I can't remember the last time I had to change a whole set of 4 tires. With all of the road hazards in NY (potholes, debris, etc), I almost always need to change 2 at a time when I get flats before the treads are worn.

BTW - I run 35/35 PSI

 

Any further updates on the Falken ZIEX ZE 512?

 

My experience is that all tires get significantly noisier as they age, but generally I don't notice it until I replace them and realize how quiet the new tires are.

I put about 6000 miles a year on my car, so I'll let everyone know about the noise from the Pilot A/S's in 2 to 3 years.

Mike

 

I now have 10K on my Falkens (16k on the TL) and no noise increase that I can notice. The tires handled great during a trip where it rained non stop and the snow should be coming to the DC area in a month or so (but I will drive the MDX then).

Wish the Pirelli's I had on the MDX were as good as the Falkens, 20K and they need to be replaced when the summer wheels go back on.

 

I havent seen 40 series on the 512's...can you confirm what series they are?
On another note, awesome pair of vehicles!
Thanks.

 

About 4500 miles on mine, so far, so good.
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I have had a similar problem (increasing noise with wear) with unidirectional tires I had on a Honda Accord. I currently have 15K miles on my HPT's on my TL and they are wearing well and are not yet noisy. One thing I have learned about low profile HP tires, is to rotate them at least every 5K.
My 030's are not unidirectional and I can criss cross so that my be helping reduce the noise. I was told by a tire guy that when the tire always runs in the same direction you get a feathering as they wear that generates the noise. One possiblity is if you can find someone with "truing" equipment where they shave a small amount of tread off, that may "return" the tire back to it's original state. I did this in the 70's to eliminate an "out of round" problem I had. It does reduce your tread life some, however.

Lakeman

 

I've had my tires rotated since my initial post above and the noise is the same and seems a little worse. I do not believe that the noise is from the tires at all. I hear it even on wet and snowy roads. Think about it--on clear, dry roads you would expect to hear noise from the tire treads. You wouldn't expect to hear it on snow-covered roads such as I have been exposed to the last two days. I have an appointment with my dealer to address whatever the real problem is. If it's one tire that's bad, I want to know which one. However, I suspect some component of the suspension. Any ideas?

Regarding the tires: I now have nearly 14,000 miles on them since they were installed in May 2004. I finally got to use them in the snow. While initial startup was slippery (DUH, these are all-seasons, not snow tires!), once underway these guys are stable in the snow. Not bad! I'm very confident in these tires.

ffiallo--my tires are stock size, 235/45/17.

 

Tire noise is just a fact of life as a tire gets older. Just be glad you bought a TL with a ton a sound proofing and not another Honda product that Honda decided to leave most of the sound deadining off of the car to save on weight. I still can't get over how quiet the TL is. Even after my Injen CAI install it is still a very quiet car on the inside.

 

40 series. Thanks

I also rotate and balance the tires every 4k. The wear has been great so far.

 

Hi Bob,
Any resolution to your tire noise problem or other issues of late? I am in the process of switching out the stock oem tires for better all season tires, looking especially for decent wet braking and snow traction. Would you still rate this tire highly? I was also considering the Bridgestone Turanza LS-Z, and the Toyo Proxes 4. Any of these rate better? Consumer Reports has given the Falken 512s' higher marks than the far more expensive LS-Zs'.

 

i just started noticing the noise from the 512s. its nothing major.
its something you can hear when the radio is turned off. i have close
to 7000 miles on my Falkens.

the tires are still doing pretty well with all the rain we have been getting
in NJ. i was also able to drive it in some light snow and it was great.

for the money i would still recommend them.

 

I have them on for almost 2weeks and love the tire. Obviously it is to early to tell right now. VEry quite ride for me!!

 

OK, now that winter is easing up, I am planning to remove the Blizzaks (which were great this winter). Although I have much tread left on the OEM Turanza's, I am frankly scared to put them back on since they were so bad in wet weather last summer. The Falken Zx 512 seems like the best all weather tire for my meager budget. Are you still happy with yours OR does anyone have another suggestion for the wet roads in these hills of Western PA?
Regards,
CEEBEE

 

I've been absolutely ecstatic with my Toyo Proxes 4 - used this board to make my decision when I dumped the EL42s . I also think the Pirelli Zeros get good reviews on this board. You should be able to get a set of Proxes installed for under $600.

 

As a fellow PGHer... I'll be going with the aforementioned Falkens or the Pirelli PZero Nero's.... (Although the 05 stock tires for me haven't treated me all that bad.... I'm gonna get new ones in the fall, just before winter, regardless of treadwear on my stock tires... Will be at 10k by then)

I called around and you CAN get the Falkens at Sears, although prepare to get MAULED! Their cost was AWFUL. I mean dreadul... The best place I found was Edgeracing.com who had both the Falkens and the Nero's for a good price with reasonable shipping... Costco has great tire prices but don't have either of those tires.

I am still in search of the best and most economical place in the Burgh to get them mounted and balanced however... Let me know if you have any suggestions!

 

As another Pittsburgher, I am also interested in the Falken ZE512's. I was in NTB today for a tire rotation and asked them for a price on the Falken ZE512 235/40 18 for my A-Spec rims. Price was about $160.00 ea for four. They told me that they would also match any price I found on the internet as long as the price included shipping.

Went home and printed out the Edgeracing.com price and faxed it over to them. NTB quoted an out-the-door price for four tires mounted, balanced and tax included was $620.00.

Called a couple of places locally to see what it would cost to mount & balance the tires if I had them shipped to me and the average for 18" wheels is about $30.00 ea. Seems a little high.

How much was Sears?

 

Ok, update.

Mine are around 11k miles now, and I already rotated them 3 times. Pressure is usually 35/32 or higher. These tires are great in all apects if compariing with EL42s. However, their noise is getting louder and louder in low speed. In my last visit to Acura dealer for B service, the tech said the tires are noisy. He did check brakes and other components. I ever went to another shop to check tires, too, and get teh same conclusion...



Anyone else has high mileage on their 512? 15k or 20k... Thanx.

 

FWIW, I called the only independent garage around Northern Virginia with Hunter Road Force balancing equipment and received a price quote of $138 to install four tires.

$25-30 per tire seems fair for other shops.

 

Make sure you sitting down...

Called Sears in Robinson... For the 4 Falkens, mounted and balanced:

$775.54

Of that...

$211.15 in LABOR...

OuCh!

 

Wow - I got a quote from Craven Tire, a local chain here in the D.C. area, for $938 for 4 Toyo Proxes including everything.

Meanwhile, the tires themselves are available from Edgeracing.com for about $108 each.

 

Seems NTBs' $620.00 out the door price is about as good as it gets.

Now the question is are the Falkens the tire to get and should I go with the 245/40 18" or 235/40 18 on my 2004 A-Spec rims.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions.

 

I have the same tires. You described a weird sound? Well I hope that explains what I'm hearing. The noise I hear is at a very low speed, under 30 mph, kind of a, please don't laugh, it's sort of sounds like "squish squish squish....."

 

It's always hard to describe right about the "sound".

Well, after a few exams done by tires shops, they said my tires have the unbalanced worn on the surface... which possibly cause the noise whe rolling...

 

F*CK SEARS !!
I paid $500.03 - mounted, balanced, installed, tax, and road hazard warranty for the set of 4. Remember the good 'ol Yellow Pages? It's time to let your fingers do the walking through the TIRES section.

As for noise, mine are still quiet after 6000 miles. I plan to rotate at next oil change.
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I have had my Falken 512's on for 9,000 miles now.

I get that woo-woo-woo sound from them at low speeds. Usually happens anywhere between 5-25 mph. Then the sound goes away as I speed up. Its not that annoying. I remember I used to have that sound in my Integra back in the day. I haven't rotated mine yet. I will have them rotated next week during my oil change. I will also have them balanced. Hopefully this will help. I'll check back in after.

 

I have been happy with the performance of my Nittos, the noise is there though. They have about 8000 miles on them. I think I will add 18 inch wheels when they wear out.

 

I had these treads for about 4months now and they are great tires. But I do hear something at low speed. It sounds like their is maybe a pepple stuck in btw the treads causing a noise or sounds like something sticky such as maybe gum stuck in btw the tread. That is what I am thinking unless I am wrong here???

 

Sounds like no one has done more than 10k miles with their 512s, except neuronbob who reach almost 20k now. Noise may come with the wear soon. IMO.

 

i had my 512's on for about 20k before i replaced them...they were not down to their wear bars when i replaced, but here’s what i found...

as i had posted a while back; 1 of the tires was 'out of round' from day one. it constantly pulled to one side, and once rotated, the pull would turn to vibration.
this tire abnormality was verified by a hunter force balancing.

dry traction was very good

in the wet these tires were ok, they were always a little squirrelly when launching from a stop (vsc would kick in) or taking a tight turn. although i do remember pushing them hard on back roads in the wet and they performed very well.

<<however, towards the end of the time i had them on my car they were horrific in the rain. they would hydroplane constantly, i actually feared for my life-the vsc was working non stop…and this was not an isolated incident….>>

i got new tires as soon as i could...

as far as the noise, they do get nosier as they wear down, but any tire will.