21 replies to this topic

[ozz1]

I've been offered Falken FK07E's fitted and balanced at £42 a corner, is it worth paying the extra £10 a corner  for the Yokohama a008? Has anyone had experience with both of these tyres? I drive a '78 car so I imagine it would be good to have some slip angle so as not to wear out other parts like suspension but at the same time I want a tire that is safe, good in the wet, and good for braking! What should I go for?

 

 

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[HarrysMini]

Yokohama every time, Falkens are just unsafe from my experience. 

 

Or if you really want a good tyre, use A032r. Bit more expensive and wear quicker though, but the grip and braking is just immense.

[OhDear]

ive tryed both.  Yoko's for me 

[ozz1]

Yokohama every time, Falkens are just unsafe from my experience. 

 

Or if you really want a good tyre, use A032r. Bit more expensive and wear quicker though, but the grip and braking is just immense.

Thanks for the advice, out of interest what makes you say Falkens are unsafe?

[Cooperman]

There is nothing wrong with Falkens. I have won several road-rallies on 165/70 x 10 Falkens.

Yokos are much better in the dry and are good in the wet until they are more than 50% worn. Falkens are better on poor surfaces, mud, snow or gravel.

There are no unsafe new tyres, only drivers who don't drive to the limitations of their tyres. If, for example, you drive with M & S tyres fitted on a dry smooth road the road-holding will be less than with a Summer tread, but that doesn't make the tyre unsafe, it just imposes a limitation on cornering speed.

A driver must drive within the limits of his equipment. I rolled my Cooper 'S' on a rally because I had Yokos on and drove too quickly on a muddy gravel road. My fault entirely and I don't blame the tyres, even though on M & S-pattern tyres I would have got around the corner.

[ShaunaFTW]

Yokohama every time, Falkens are just unsafe from my experience. 

 

Or if you really want a good tyre, use A032r. Bit more expensive and wear quicker though, but the grip and braking is just immense.

Have you actually driven a car? Because your 16 aren't you? 

Back onto the topic, I have Falkens on mine because they are the only tyre I can get to fit my wheels (there are probs others but minispares are only up the road and it's all they sell in the size I need), they are a bit slippy in the wet but by no means 'unsafe' if you drive sensibly. If I ever bought bigger wheels I would put yokos on without hesitation. 

[HarrysMini]

 

Yokohama every time, Falkens are just unsafe from my experience. 

 

Or if you really want a good tyre, use A032r. Bit more expensive and wear quicker though, but the grip and braking is just immense.

Thanks for the advice, out of interest what makes you say Falkens are unsafe?

 

I assume you will be using your tyres on the road, and without question, the best tyre that is currently in production for road use is the Yokohama A032r, with the A008 as a budget alternative. 

 

I have Falkens on my Mini that is currently on the road (only because they were free, I would never spend money on them), and they just feel unsafe when compared with the aforementioned tyres. As has been said, no new tyre is actually unsafe, but why would you want to risk it? The tyre is the only thing holding your beloved Mini onto the road so you want them to be the best you can afford.

Edited by HarrysMini, 27 December 2013 - 02:01 PM.

[robminibcy]

Yokos. My friends mini has falkans and his mini will start to twitch and slide before mine is anywhere near the limit wet or dry. I'm on a008s at the moment but will be changing to ao32s when they wear out.

[olds_kool_lews]

If you can stretch to yokos go for them, but I run falkens on my daily, don't see the point in having mega grippy tyres if I'm only goin to work and the shop lol

[Tamworthbay]

Yokohama every time, Falkens are just unsafe from my experience. 
 
Or if you really want a good tyre, use A032r. Bit more expensive and wear quicker though, but the grip and braking is just immense.

Thanks for the advice, out of interest what makes you say Falkens are unsafe?

I assume you will be using your tyres on the road, and without question, the best tyre that is currently in production for road use is the Yokohama A032r, with the A008 as a budget alternative. 
 
I have Falkens on my Mini that is currently on the road (only because they were free, I would never spend money on them), and they just feel unsafe when compared with the aforementioned tyres. As has been said, no new tyre is actually unsafe, but why would you want to risk it? The tyre is the only thing holding your beloved Mini onto the road so you want them to be the best you can afford.

It comes down to usage though so there is no 'best' tyre. I run Yoko A048rs because my mini is a summer toy that doesn't see wet roads. They would be utterly useless in the snow, as would A032r's, and they wear quickly, so I wouldn't fit them as an all round tyre. horses for courses, I prefer the Yokos, but there is nothing wrong with Falkens, and in 12 " I love Nankangs as even though grip isn't great they are very progressive and squeal like an annoyed pig when you get close to their limit.

[Vipernoir]

The Falkens are hopeless in the wet compared to the Yokos - they twitch mid-corner due to the soft sidewalls and lose grip as soon as the road is a bit dirty or has standing water.
Nice and comfortable in a straight line as long as you aren't trying to do an emergency stop when they just lock up.

 

Okay for "pressing on" driving, but no good for properly giving it the beans.

[Jordie]

i run falkens (the newer 12" model) on my mini. wet dry snow ice and never had a problem.

[AVV IT]

I have two mini's, one fitted with Falkerns, and the other with Yokos. The Yokos are a softer compound tyre than the Falkerns, and therefore provide more grip, but they also wear that much quicker too. That doesn't make Falkerns dangerous though, there's really no such thing as a dangerous tyre, so long as it's road legal, correctly inflated and free from damage/defects. I've driven progressively through corners and bends on Falkerns, in all conditions and without issue, but then if you are the type of driver who takes bends in too higher a gear, brakes whilst cornering, or doesn't apply power correctly through bends, then Falkerns will undoubtedly be less forgiving than Yokos would.

 

You really need to drive to the limitations of your ability as a driver though, not just the limitations of your tyres. If you're relying on the compound of your tyres to keep your car "shiny side up", then it's really only a matter of time until you come "unstuck" any way, however grippy your tyres are! If anything the grip of softer compound tyres such as Yokos, can actually give a false sense of security, which can encourage inexperienced drivers to push the car beyond their abilities as a driver. In my opinion, young/inexperienced drivers would be far better off "learning the ropes" on budget tyres with a basic level of grip (i.e. Nankangs), and then upgrading their tyres as their ability as a driver improves.  

[Cooperman]

As I said earlier, I have won several historic rallies outright on Falkens, although I've also used Yoko 008's on some events. I would only use Yoko's when I knew that the event was all on good and fairly smooth tarmac and where the Yokos were no more than 50% worn.

The Falkens are better on slightly bumpy roads with what I would call an 'indifferent' surface, possibly with a bit of dirt or mud in places. If you hit some loose dirt or a bit of mud, a Yoko is quite frightening as the limited tread will immediately clog and lose whatever adhesion it might have had. The Falken is a more open tread pattern and does give a bit more grip. On any sort of loose or snowy surface the Yokos are very poor and a Falken will be much safer.

It's a case of tyre selection for the type of road a person normally drives on. personally I've never had any issues with Falkens, but then I was brought up on Minis with 5.20 x 10 cross-plies - after that any tyre is good .

[Mini Manannán]

No-one on this thread has mentioned the Yoko A539's?