Michellins rule, Falkens drool

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

The Falken is a pretty respected Tire in it's own right. But, Tires tend to be like Beer in that everyone has their Favorite.

New Tires need to be Broken-in which takes at least a couple hundred miles. I'd take it easy 'til then as new tires aren't at their optimum grip until they get a little scrubbed.

It's possible that with a little seasoning, you may change your current opinion, it may be too soon to judge. Hope so for your sake because you'll have them for a while...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[TriGem2k]

What size tires came with the 18x8 and 18x10?

[edevlin]

The new Falken tires are 225/40 and 265/35 ZR 18, my P/S are 205/50 and 255/40 ZR17. Thanks for the suggestions on allowing the tires to break in and playing with tire pressures.

Ed

:dance:

[John V]

Tire widths are not standardized, so one manufacturer's 225 may be another manufacturer's 245. With an 8/10" wheels you could have gone with a wider tire. Some 285/30s will fit out back and most 245/35's and 245/40's will fit up front. A 235/40 is another size that would have worked up front.

[edevlin]

The Falken tires are rated to a maximum tire pressure of 50 lbs. Any recommendations of tire pressures to try in order to give me a little crisper response. I am not sure if I can mess up the wear pattern with too high of a pressure with our cars? I have only used the Porsche recommended pressures in the past, so I have no experience in this area, thanks,

Ed

Originally Posted by edevlin

The Falken tires are rated to a maximum tire pressure of 50 lbs. Any recommendations of tire pressures to try in order to give me a little crisper response. I am not sure if I can mess up the wear pattern with too high of a pressure with our cars? I have only used the Porsche recommended pressures in the past, so I have no experience in this area, thanks,

Ed

Edevlin, here is a very good thread to help you with your question:

Tyre Pressure for Boxster ??? (POLL)

[RandallNeighbour]

Originally Posted by John V

Tire widths are not standardized, so one manufacturer's 225 may be another manufacturer's 245. With an 8/10" wheels you could have gone with a wider tire. Some 285/30s will fit out back and most 245/35's and 245/40's will fit up front. A 235/40 is another size that would have worked up front.

John, I have the same new setup as edevlin but with PS2's. If we were to put anything wider on our cars, rubbing would occur.

[racer_troy]

Ed,

Sounds like you are getting alot of good advise in this thread...bully...also...if the falkens are new...good for you...as suggested, you will need to allow them to go through a couple of heat cycles so as the rubber/cord can set up (read: side wall to stiffen)...then you will have a different tire to enjoy...

regarding tire pressures...it's all personal...let your tires bed in and then if you are unhappy running 32-36 or whatever you are running...ask yourself what you don't like about the way they are performing (too much roll vs. not enough traction)...if you are still noticing some roll on turn-in, go to a parking lot where you can safely do some manuvering (salom, 90deg at speed) and chalk up your side walls...the falkens will have a roll indicator on the sidewall (arrow, triangle, rib, something at the edge of the usable tread) chalk all the way from where you know the tire is touching pavement (straight line driving) to a little past where it is rolling over (hard cornering)

...next run through your course, salom and right/left turns, and pay attention to how it feels...do i have the feedback and feel i need at turnin? Are the fronts pushing earlier or later? Are the rears breaking loose earlier or later on exit? How is the stopping distance affected?

Next, get out and look at the chaulk...if you are passing the edge of the usable tread, then your suspecions were correct and you need to add some air...vice versa if you are not rolling far enough...add/remove air in increments of 2lbs, rechaulk and run the course again and see: 1. does this feel right, and 2. how are my chaulk test results? After a few runs, you may find something that suits you, your upcoming drive, and your tires. Good luck.

On a side note, the rounded profile of the Falken is likely due to it's emphasis on corner control; e.g. as the car turns and the tire profile rolls, you still have usable tread contacting the ground.

On another side note...each tire has it's own feel...you may find that you are a michelin man aferall...

cheers,

--troy

[MikenOH]

one of the other lines?

[John V]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

John, I have the same new setup as edevlin but with PS2's. If we were to put anything wider on our cars, rubbing would occur.

Rubbing where specifically?

I had a set of 18x8s and 18x10s on my car with 245/40s and 275/35's. The front was close to the strut but could have easily moved another 5-10mm towards the fender with no worries about rubbing. Same with the rear.

If you want to run the widest possible rubber (not that this should be a goal necessarily) you have to start playing with wheel offsets to get what you want.

And like I said all tires are different!

[edevlin]

I got the all season Falken 512 tires,

Ed

[Sammy]

Originally Posted by MNBoxster

Hi,

The Falken is a pretty respected Tire in it's own right. But, Tires tend to be like Beer in that everyone has their Favorite.

New Tires need to be Broken-in which takes at least a couple hundred miles. I'd take it easy 'til then as new tires aren't at their optimum grip until they get a little scrubbed.

It's possible that with a little seasoning, you may change your current opinion, it may be too soon to judge. Hope so for your sake because you'll have them for a while...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Couldn't agree with you more! I thought my Goodyear F1's were junk until after 500+ miles.