Falken Azenis ST115... Opinions Please!

[Tiger]

Contemplating on buying a set... If I can save $200 per set, that would be very awesome... It means alot to my bank account. The tires on my car (came with my car when I bought it) is Nitto NT555... I would never buy that tire... noisy in local street, quieter on highway but whines (go figure) and roughest riding tire I ever experienced. Wears good but very stiff sidewall that does not sit well with lowered suspension setup... teeth jarring.

So tell me about Falken Azenis ST115 you got... how long you had it... how many miles you got... lowered suspension? Wear?

[mholbrook]

I had ST115's on my 94 530 and took a couple trips with them. Very nice tire, probably the best touring tire you could buy. Great in rain with a couple of huge grooves down the center. Seemed to be wearing very, very well up until I sold the car. I now have an 89 535im and I bought Falken Beta for this car. Also a great looking tire and so far no complaints. I would recommend either of these. I'm running 17" wheels and the factor that made me get the Betas was that although I run 235/45/17's in the front, the rears are nearly new 255/40/17 Goodyears that I wanted to wear out and replace later with 265/40/17's. The ST115 does not come in that size so I decided to try the Betas. They are both great tires, and I would always recommend Falken over almost anything. Hard to beat when you factor in cost.

Mike Holbrook.
Spring Valley, CA

[mholbrook]

I had and have lowered suspension on both cars. Just noticed you asked about that.

[Rick L]

Falken Azenis ST115 is very quiet but slightly bumpy ride. They handle great with nice thick rim guard. I heard they wear fast but seem to wear O.K. even with my aggressive driving. Also, they handle great in rain. Falken Azenis ST115 are summer tires and NOT designed for winter use. I have a winter set so summer tires works great for me. For the money, they are great! I paid $106 per tire (235/45/17 for fronts) with free shipping and $118 per tire (255/40/17 for rears) with free shipping at Discount Tires (Tires.com). Next time around, I'm going to pickup some Goodyear F1 GS-D3. I have a set of Goodyear F1 GS-D3 on my Jaguar and they are the best summer tires I have ever purchased; however, they cost more.

[JohnC]

i have them on my tstars; brought them because of money issues too. as quiet as when i had 15s. great traction and they look really nice.

[Tiger]

How about ride quality guys??? Soft or Hard?

[Rick L]

Tiger,

The ride is slightly bumpy. Tires seem to be stiff and a bit hard. I would rate the ride quality from 1 to 10 as 7. It feels little harsh even with factory suspension. However, they do handle well. Maybe that's the trade off... On smooth surface, these tires ride nice but once you hit uneven surface, you'll feel it. What size tires are you look for? I have 255/40/17 for the rear and I sure that also contribute to the bumpy ride. Don't get me wrong, I do like them and slightly bumpy ride isn't too bad. However, compare to the Goodyear F1 GS-D3, I would pay little extra and go with the Goodyear.

Hope that helps,
Rick L





How about ride quality guys??? Soft or Hard?

[Tiger]

I will be using 235-45R17. That sounds just like Nitto N555... because of the thick sidewall thing. In NNJ, we got lots of potholes... and I absolutely hate hitting every abnormalities on the road.

My Bridgeston RE730 225-50R16 was way more comfortable in the same situation.

[Tiger]

Mike, so which one is better riding? ST or Beta? I am thinking of going beta now... How does beta compares to ST... I really appreciate your advice.

[mholbrook]

I can't really tell you since too much time has passed. I really like the Beta and the price is about the same. I also like the aggressive look of the Beta. I autocrossed a couple of weekends ago and they hung in pretty good. I can't see how you could go wrong either way.

Mike

[Tiger]

Thanks

[shragon]

first, a little background info... my car, 1995 525i with eibach pro-kit springs, koni shocks, and hamann 18x8.5" wheels. i use 245/40-18 tires.

i got the tires at the end of feb. also from discount tire direct, great price and free shipping. i wanted a tire that handled pretty well, would work well for me as my car is a daily driver to work and etc, and that didn't cost an arm in a leg. i've used nitto 555's twice, and have been satisfied with them. however, i wanted to try something new, so decided on the falken azenis st115's. looked like a fairly good tire, higher tread wear rating than the nitto's, and fairly good reviews on the internet that said this is a very quiet tire.

i like these tires so far. they're fairly good in performance, work well in the rain, and really are quiet. ride wise, they're comparable to the nitto's, which i never really thought was a bad ride, probably because of my suspension and wheel combo. even though i'm running 245's again, the falken's are not as wide as the nitto's, but it's nothing too bad. the falken's also have a nice rim guard. i still can't tell on the tread wear as i have not had the tires long enough, so i guess we'll see.

all for all, not a bad tire for the money imho.