Look cool, low profile, handle great.

Don't protect your rims (but neither do any of the low profiles)

Awsome tire. Didn't protect my 17s at all in NYC but they look cool, they handle great and dumping your clutch at 5000 RPM puts you in your seat instead of burning. I drove them in snow not long ago and it was a lot better that my stocks, contrary to the beliefs of others.

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Stock

1. Look awesome in Low profile form 2. Reasonably priced (best bang for buck) 3. Improved wet/dry traction over stock 4. Semi-aggresive tread pattern 5. Rim protectors(pretty much standard now) except for crappy tires like Yokahamas ->Avid H4's....stay away! 6. Traction A / Tempurature A 7. Traction 360 -> good for at least 6-7 years with "daily driver use"; could increase when rotating them with stock wheels in the winter(i.e. tire hibernation) or rotating them in a concientious rotation program, I suggest every 1000Km. (Directional) 8. ZR Rating meaning about 210KPH + (more than enough for any type of "spirited" highway driving) 9. Good warranty package should you partake

1. Lots of road noise (not really a weakness as it depends on the type of road, on asphalt its smooth and quiet like stock!) 2. Car tends to pull into alignment with grooves worn into excessively travelled roads. (However, all low profiles have this trait. Don't be an idiot, keep a hand on the wheel at all time eh?) 3. Hydroplaning (again, not the fault of the tire, just a trait of low profiles; again, stop driving into large puddles or go learn how to drive, i.e. looking ahead and vehicle road presence compared to others)

I paid $750 Canadian. This is actually a review for the FALKEN ZIEX-512. According to other reviewws, the old 502's stunk. I must admit, I was not too thrilled when I went to purchase my rims and tires as I was expecting to get Bridgestone 950's. However, I have found, after driving my friends car with the 950's and my car with the 512's that they are pretty much equal in all catagories, except for price where the falken 512's are CONSIDERABLY LESS. My friend is pissed...hehehe. Anyways I found that handling has improved greatly during the rain and they are pretty resilient. On dry pavement the grip is greatly noticeable as launches from the line has improved. The only thing I can suggest to buy in conjuction with this tire is to upgrade your suspension (i.e. sway/tie bars front and rear, coilovers(definetly).) There is no need to get a camber kit if you get coilovers. My setup was lowered 2 1/4 inches with H&R's and the tires were 205/40's. After doing the chalk test on the tires, the entire contact patch sits nicely on the road surface, and none of that "inner steel belt poking through." The chalk test is just by using chalk(or white crayon) and coloring the width of the tire one inch thick. Then with proper tire pressures, just use the tires regularly. Eventually, the portions of the chalk missing indicate where the contact patch has been touching the road surface. This is the best way to check for proper camber (other than an alignment machine $$$) as it gives you REAL TIME information about what your tires are doing. You can trust me on this because I an a mechanic at Honda and I have seen many civics, preludes and accords come in with these camber issues. (Some guys I must admit purchase these rims and wheels without even thinking about it, you gotta consider everything!) It took me three months of searching, info gathering, and debating before I settled on the right package. My suggestion for getting wheels is to keep it as close to stock dimensions as possible. This will not change any steering ratios and will prevent any future headaches! Anyways, my opinion is that the Falken 512's are a "BEST BET" as they: 1. Look awesome in Low profile form 2. Reasonably priced (best bang for buck) 3. Improved wet/dry traction over stock 4. Semi-aggresive tread pattern 5. Rim protectors(pretty much standard now) except for crappy tires like Avid H4's....stay away! 6.

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Bridgestone Potenza RE950 **This is an informed review, you can trust this one! If you have any more questions about this or any other car related components E-mail me at scpwong@telus.net I want to help people;not waste their time with mis-information and slang. i.e. these other poor revies here.

grip in rain.

none so far.

I drove my OEM Bridgestone Portenzas 46,000 miles before replacing. I was happy with them only on dry surface but any wet/snow was terrible. I replaced with ZE-512 ZIEX 225/50-17 a month ago. They are very solid tires. I little more side-to-side movement but they grip extremely well-especially in wet weather. I finally was able to drive them in snow tonight and although they will not replace winter tires by any stretch-they held up very well. I can easily recommend these tires. Minneapolis, MN

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Bridgestone Portenza OEM

price and grip

none

best tire out there. i used 195-50-15 on my civic and can take anybody on the street. grip is instant. dont even need to do a burnout to get grip. its like having awd and that with me dumping the clutch at 4.5k rpm too.

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kuhmo ecsta supra 712...these tires dont grip for 1/4 mile racing, maybe for track racing tho...havent tried that yet

Smooth & quiet so far.

Not the best handling tire..but hey, it had better handling than my OEM tires. Had to remount them because the tire guy found out the valve stem has to align with the yellow dot on the tire.

I wanted a tire to match my stock OEM tires. The VISA VS611 tires that came new with this car are actually Falkens made in Japan. It actually has the same specs. I loved my Falken 195/60HR15 ZE 502's, great handling performance for the price "A"traction "A"temp. California weather.

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Pirelli's..very noisy tires.

Exceptional grip in dry condition; price

These are not winter tires on a performance vehicle, so don't expect them to be.

I like the tires. The car came with Firestone Firehawk SZ50. The Falken tires do as well or better and are half the price. Since the tires can't be rotated on the Supra keeping a good alignment is essential for good wear. I don't mean close like the majority of garages adjust to (+/-XXX), but adjust them to exact dimensions. Since I don't drive in the Supra in the winter, snow isn't a problem. I am also putting them on my Triumph TR7, powered by a Buick V6.

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Firestone Firehawk SZ50; Yokohama Avid H4

Price

Wet traction are poor (very poor). If it is a snow on the ground - stay HOME!

Got 4 of 215/65R15... Good price but would not buy again. In fact I put them on 01/05/02 (13,500 miles sofar) 4 of them still good looking like new. But next week will go and buy a new set and it is not gonna be Falken. I am a licensed SCCA race car drive (on road)... I bought these Falken for our family van.. Well, my family worth more than $256 tires.

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Goodyear Conquest

Reasonable priced compared to other similar tires. (I've heard that these are off-brand Yokohamas) Very good in the wet compared to the stock Bridgestones (which were substantially more expensive). Very quiet.

Dry grip is poor. These tires cannot be pushed.

The tires are on a '99 Honda Prelude, and get a lot of freeway miles. They've been satisfactory so far. Wannabe racers would be unhappy, but that may have to do with these tires' relative width (they seem narrow).

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Bridgestone RE92

Great traction, real stickey for a street tire. Very inexpensive... High quality tire for a very reasonable price... these things aren't dirt cheap, but they are cheaper than their lousy competition.

Treadlife is not as good as your average radials. We all have to sacrafice, right?

Falkens are the best tires you can get for the money. These are pretty stickey for all seasons, but the treadlife is lackluster compared to your run of the mill grocery getter tires. An aggressive tread pattern and narrow sidewall add to the appearance. I'm pleased with these skins. Ask anyone who builds/races/loves cars, they'll tell you Falken tires give you the most for your money. They beat the tar out of Toyo's and Yokohamas.

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Yokohama

Really good handling, but I'm driving a Passat.

LOUD, EXPENSIVE, not responsive to slick pavement on a front-wheel-drive after only 12,000 miles.

We had cupping on the rear tires 205/60R15 on a 1998 VW Passat wagon after a few months, maybe 1500 miles. Sears exchanged the back two as "defective" and gave us two new ones. A few months and maybe 1500 miles later, still more cupping. Had alignment checked out at VW dealer and it was OK. Sears wouldn't exchange the two cupped tires. Also, EXTREMELY LOUD, even after thousands of miles. Not a good experience, and we are replacing the expensive 50,000-mile rated tire after 15,000.