Falken 912 tires on touring 08 mini-review

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by problemchild, Aug 10, 2009.

  1. problemchild

    problemchild New Member

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    Where bought= onlinetires.com
    How much= $77 per tire
    Where installed= American tires
    Cost of install= $15 each flat rate

    Ok so after shopping around I bought the Falken 912's in 195-55-16. Treadware is 360 although you wont find this on onlinetires site. I was able to get 36k out of my turanza stock tires with treadware of 280.

    This is what I noticed after the install.

    Tires are MUCH quieter.
    Road noise is MUCH less
    Road tracking and pull is less
    Tire psi set to 40psi x 4
    Sidewalls are a bit softer and have a small amount more give going round corners (I guess that limits my drifting abilities :) )
    MPG seems up 1-2mpg (edit I initially said down 1-2 but after 3 days its up)

    That is the 50 mile review. I will post again at the end of this tank to let you know where my total miles driven on this tank and mfd mpg display are. Normally with my short trip driving and my AC use my display mpg is at 41.x mpg.

    My car has a slight pull to the left when I brake so I guess I need an alignment (did this with old tires too)
     
    #1 problemchild, Aug 10, 2009
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  2. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

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    #2 a_gray_prius, Aug 11, 2009
  3. iioeo

    iioeo New Member

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    i'm looking at these tires as an option for replacing all four of mine. make sure to let us know when you have an update!
     
    #3 iioeo, Aug 12, 2009
  4. PriusLewis

    PriusLewis Management Scientist

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    I also just went to Falken ZE-912's on my '06 in the stock 15" size. I agree with the quieter and better ride. However, for me it has dropped my mileage about 4 MPG consistently. I've had them for a month and a half. I loved the ZE-512 on my Neon ACR and decided to try the "new" version. I'm happy with the choice, especially at about half the cost of my next choice, the Michelin A/S.
     
    #4 PriusLewis, Aug 12, 2009
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  5. problemchild

    problemchild New Member

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    5 day report. So after driving on them for 5 days now this is another update. My mpg is a tick above normal at 42.x mpg. I attribute that to not having run my AC as much this week. Also I noticed that my new tires are bigger around then the old tires. The car sits about an inch higher then it did before. The car does not scape when going into driveways from the road. Same driveways and no scraping from front air dam. So I am thinking the bigger tire is spinning less rpm and reporting my mpg as less then it should be. A couple of points on the mpg display would have me at 44.x mpg. So to sum it up I am getting the same or better mpg with the new tires compared to the old. One last thing I noticed is a slight tracking in the freeway rain grooves but its not that bad. I will report back at the end of this tank.........
     
    #5 problemchild, Aug 13, 2009
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  6. problemchild

    problemchild New Member

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    Another update...

    Well 1 week and 300 miles later the tires are great. I am getting exactly the same mpg as the stock noise-ranzas (turanza) tires. So much for Low rolling resistance tires. These have no LRR rating and they get exactly the same mpg as the mid range LRR tires.

    Seems the LRR tires are not "All that".
     
    #6 problemchild, Aug 15, 2009
  7. problemchild

    problemchild New Member

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    Just another update after 11 days of driving. My mpg seems up by 1mpg.

    Pros
    quiet
    Cheap

    Cons
    a bit softer sidewall (5-10%) @40psi (I may bump it to 45psi and report back)
    tracks a bit on cement freeway rain grooves
     
    #7 problemchild, Aug 21, 2009
  8. PriusLewis

    PriusLewis Management Scientist

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    My update: the last two tanks have been more in the 44-45 MPG range, meaning my ZE-912's are breaking in nicely and the mileage is returning to what I had with the Bridgestones before the change. I agree with the pros and cons, although a softer sidewall, to me, is a pro, not a con :D. I like the slightly softer ride - much less abrupt over sharp bumps.
     
    #8 PriusLewis, Aug 21, 2009
  9. problemchild

    problemchild New Member

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    7 month report. Tires are worn aprox 30% with 14k miles. MPG is exact same as stock tires after break-in. Tires are less of everything now. They dont feel like soft sidewalls anymore. Still quieter than stock. Overall for the price they are great.
     
    #9 problemchild, Mar 9, 2010
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