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MartinT

Michelin versus Falken

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I succumbed to the overwhelming advice both here and elsewhere and went for Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres for my 17 x 8 wheels.  So I replaced a rather good set of Falkens with same-size Michelins.  Here are the exact tyres:

  • Falken Azenis FK510 225/45R17 94Y XL (£75.10 each)
  • Michelin Pilot Sport 4 225/45R17 94Y XL (£83.51 each)

My impressions as follows (I don't track my car, it's my daily driver used in a 60-mile commute):

Noise: the Michelins are definitely quieter with less tyre roar into the cabin.

Dry cornering: I can't feel much in it although I haven't pushed the Michelins hard yet.

Wet cornering: on this morning's greasy roads, cornering while applying some throttle made the rear just start to move sideways.  The Falkens would have held fast doing that.

Dry stopping: seems ok so far, no emergency stops yet for me to compare.

Ride quality: there isn't a lot in it although I think the Michelins are just a bit firmer.  Both tyres suit my H&R Super Sport springs well, the ride being firm but supple.

Looks: meh, I don't really care how they look.

I thought I'll add to this as time progresses and I get used to the Michelin's limits.  The price difference is not huge so this doesn't feel like a criticism of the Michelins so much as praise for the little known but excellent Falkens.  One parameter that will definitely have to wait a while is life.  This may be where the Michelins win (the Falkens were on for a year or around 15,000 miles).

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As a replacement for the horrible Primacies, the FK510 are far better in the dry and in the wet and inspire confidence in driving.

The only thing they don't do well (and neither do the other summer tyres) is winter use and traction in snow.  Then the Goodyear Vector 4seasons are king.

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I managed on Primacies last winter.
I work weekend nights in a small town about 16 miles away, and on a Saturday and Sunday morning at 6am there hasn't been a lot of traffic on the road before we're heading home.

It was just a case of it takes as long as it takes.

Sent from my VFD 710 using Tapatalk

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3 hours ago, Church said:

Drawback of summer tires is that they are bad in winter on snow? Really? And all season tires are better summer tires then summer tires?

 

I didn't say either of those things.

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I noticed today a slight vagueness at high speed on the motorway, requiring the odd correction that I don't recall with the Falkens.

Otherwise, the Michelins are good in dry grip and handling.

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Okay, here's a quick review of the PS4's compared to the V105's 

The PS4's have a much higher level of lateral grip over the V105's. It almost feels like the limits are too high. In the dry on the road you won't be able to get them to slide unless you're really pushing it. I've tried on them on track, both on trackdays and in the sprint series. I can report they do indeed slide, but maintain a great level of progressiveness much like the V105's, but simply with more grip. They are worth up to 2 seconds a lap which makes a huge difference. Handling wise the feel is good and they inspire confidence. They do all that the V105's do but simply at a higher level. 

In the wet, they are absolutely astonishing to be quite frank. I learnt this on a recent sprint in the wet at Anglesey where I just couldn't believe how good they were. Again they are still progressive and holding slides at the top of third at 85mph was no problem at all. Obviously in the wet you have to attune to be more sensitive to what is going on as the progression feels less so you have to tune in to really get the feel. This is no different from any other tyre when driving quickly in the wet. They were so good in fact I was the fastest Toyota overall all morning in the sprint series and fourth overall in the Japanese Sprint Series against 4WD cars like 800bhp EVO's and Imprezas and the like. 

On the road in the wet they are probably not far off what the Primacy will do in the dry. Compared to the V105's they simply outperform them and again whilst both are progressive enough, the PS4's simply find more bite. I found when I first put them on I was under driving the car in the wet, it took me a while to get the trust that they will simply keep gripping. You can still slide it round bends and roundabouts but it takes significantly more effort than it does with the V105's and is a world away from the Primacy tyre where you can drift it at practically walking pace on a wet roundabout. 

Overall the PS4 is easily the best road tyre (I'm not comparing with more track orientated tyres like AD08-Rs and 888's) wet or dry. 

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A couple of days ago I had cause to brake very hard on a damp road early in the morning.  The PS4s had a very impressive level of grip with virtually no slip or chirps.  Score one for the Michelins.

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