just switched the stockers to the FA...the road noise is gone...ride is so much quieter

 

traction?

 

Im not going to lie, I love the Falkens way better than the A046s more grip and a more life. And the best part way cheaper!!

 

I'll answer that for him. It's decreased, along with streering response.

If you make this change, your EVO will go from having go cart like handling to riding like a Honda Accord.

Hey but to each their own.

 

So the tire with a wear rating of 200 has better grip than the one with 140? Are you sure your pressures were correct when running the A046's?

 

You cannot directly compare the treadlife rating from one company to another. A tire from Falken at 200 may last longer than one also rated at 200 from Bridgestone.


I have to strongly disagree, as I have used three sets of Falken Azenis in the last four seasons of autox. On heavy cars like the Evo, the Azenis really helps turn in and steering response because the sidewalls are among the thickest in the industry, reducing sidewall flex and mainting a consistent contact patch. I can personally name you two Evo drivers at local SCCA autox events who switched to Azenis from the stock A046 and reported minor improvements in grip and turn in.

Don't get me wrong, A046 is a really good tire. But to say the an Evo will ride like a Honda Accord with Falken Azenis I think is a bit of stretch. Check the results from divisional and national SCCA events in the past 3-4 years for street tire classes and tell me how many times the Falken Azenis appears as the tire of choice vs the A046.

 

Ok. Maybe your car wont handle as soft as a honda accord, but our cars also don't handle like go carts either. Just trying to make a point. Thing is your going in the wrong direction at least that was my experince.

Maybe I should preference my statement by saying “on a stock suspension”. On a 05 or 06 EVO with a stock suspension and rims, if you are running tires other than the 046 you’ll be decreasing your cars performance on warm dry pavement. IMO

Now if you start changing things by adding sway bars, coil-over’s, and new tires the performance loss won’t be as apparent you won’t be able to tell as easily, as you would if you just switched tires.

As for the SCCA guys I bet none of them at the national level are running stock suspension and wheels at the national levels. It also comes down to driver preference. I’d almost be will to bet that a Stock IX on 046 will out perform the same car with any other street in Auto-x or at the track.

Man the 046 are amazing tires. IMO they are the best tire that you can mount on the stock rim. Maybe the best 17” street tire out there. It just suck they are so expensive, but then again you get what you pay for.

 

Thanks for clarifying, in this case, we'll have to agree to disagree.

I firmly believe tires by far make the biggest difference in handling, regardless if your suspension is stock, or if you have all kinds trick pieces from Cusco and Ohlins.

From autocrossing my Evo IX and someone elses Evo VIII, the Azenis RT-615 and Bridgestone RE-01R are better dry grip tires than the A046. And one thing you'll have to agree is that the A046 is lower on the list when you look at it from a performance/price ratio viewpoint.

 

heres my take, i went from stock advans to 255/40/17 azenies. grip is pretty much same since grip is slightly inferior but contact patch is alot wider. steering response has not changed much either, still feels like a go-kart. then again i keep i street drive w/ 37-38 psi

 

blade - what other tires have you tried on your evo for comparison?

BTW, your question about how many at the national level will be running stock suspension - the answer: all the ones in stock class

 

a046 treadwear rating is 160 not 140!!!

 

I just put on the Azenis 245/45 from the Advans and have to agree that the overall performance of the car is lacking now. The things I have noticed:

-Turn in response is much less crisp and the car has a slight more tendancy to understeer at the same entrance speeds when compared to the stock Advans.

-The sidewall is quite a bit softer on the Azenis. The car pitches harder, takes more to set it on the tire and suspension on initial turn in. The greater understeer experienced over the Advan just comfirms this.

-In the middle of a corner the Azenis does have real good lateral grip when comparing it to the stockers. I think if the Azenis had alittle stiffer sidewall it would be night and day difference in overall response. I don't know how to describe other then I feel like I went from a 45 series to a 55 series tire with the Azenis.

-The Azenis seems like it gets a touch more greasy when hot where as the Advans never seemed to want to give up no matter the heat you put in them.

-The Advan is a far superior tire in the rain when talking about overall grip. In fact, I now feel a touch nervous with the Azenis after a rain and the pavement is damp. The car definately pushes a good deal more now.

This is just my unbiased opinion on both tires. And I do understand that you are comparing tires that aren't even close in price range so really the comparison is not really fair but just what I observed so far . I am not fully disappointed with the Azenis, it does a few things really well. They are much better riding tire, they are very predictable when pushing them to the limits and are a good tire for the money. If you are looking for a tire that is all out performance in the summer look else where. But if you are looking for a tire on a budget that still performs well then the Azenis is a great tire.

 

i dont know how UNbiased your review is 'fid' since your sidewalls are now fatter, your naturally going to loose sidewall stiffness. as for intial understeer, thats also naturally the case since your grip level is slightly less now but still damn close. i guess the grip is too close since my 255's have bigger contact patch then the advan 235 (so i dont get the understeer you get)

 

The A046 is a better performance tire. I cannot believe nobody has mentioned that the Yok is significantly lighter as well (~2#s / tire)...The 615 is a decent autox street tire but the A046 is very hard to beat without getting an R compound tire.

If price is of concern, then the 615 will work fine for most street applications.

 

I think my OPINION is pretty unbiased since after all it is mine .