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ewans

Member
 Glasvagus
Appreciate it’s all been said before but I’ve swapped the Run Flats out for Falken 452’s and the difference is surprising to say the least.

Road noise is significantly reduced
Ride is smoother and less jittery
Tramlining is all but gone
Fast corners are still a fast
Much more confidence in the cars ability

For £360 fitted (all 4 corners on 17”) I’m a happy camper.

e
 
will be the first real drive on my Falkens tomorrow, be interesting to see what difference are noticable

had them fitted yesterday and other than a blast up the road to check the balance and buckled fronts that were pointed out to me havent really driven.
 
main thing i notice is that when you accelerate hard and are getting a bit of speed up, then hit some crappy UK road surface:

- the Bridgestone's: felt like you were holding on for dear life hoping the car would go in the direction you point it
- the Falken's: fell more like *your* driving the car, no drama at all.
 
ewans said:
main thing i notice is that when you accelerate hard and are getting a bit of speed up, then hit some crappy UK road surface:

- the Bridgestone's: felt like you were holding on for dear life hoping the car would go in the direction you point it
- the Falken's: fell more like *your* driving the car, no drama at all.
Click to expand...

Especially if you hit a pothole you hadn't noticed or a break in the road that Runflats would then decide to throw the car off course
 
mason storm said:
ewans said:
main thing i notice is that when you accelerate hard and are getting a bit of speed up, then hit some crappy UK road surface:

- the Bridgestone's: felt like you were holding on for dear life hoping the car would go in the direction you point it
- the Falken's: fell more like *your* driving the car, no drama at all.
Click to expand...

Especially if you hit a pothole you hadn't noticed or a break in the road that Runflats would then decide to throw the car off course
Click to expand...

That's bridgestone runflats... michelin's handle this fine :D
 
Done 50 miles or so on the Falkens today, and there is an impreovment I would say. The ride is of course still very firm, but the wheel doesnt seem to try and steer you off course all the time and there seems less jarring. Dont believe they are any quieter, just waiting for some rain now to see how they handle on a dodgey roundabout I use on the way home from work which has an adverse camber and slippery surface.
 
Yep, the information and stiffness is still there, and some tramlining, but the feeling/magnitude never gets to 'is the car going to go where I want it' levels anywhere near as much.

Glad I've swapped all said and done. The only think I'm kinda missing is the very lame rim protection on the FK452... maybe at 1-2mph it'll save you, any faster and it's scraping time :D

Dave
 
Mr Whippy said:
Yep, the information and stiffness is still there, and some tramlining, but the feeling/magnitude never gets to 'is the car going to go where I want it' levels anywhere near as much.

Glad I've swapped all said and done. The only think I'm kinda missing is the very lame rim protection on the FK452... maybe at 1-2mph it'll save you, any faster and it's scraping time :D

Dave
Click to expand...

Yes the rim protector is non existent I would say, but not really a problem to me as rarely park the car on the street, and always dip the mirrors to see the kerb.
 
i had a set of falken fk-452 fitted last saturday and went for a 130 mile drive on sunday the difference was night and day really enjoyed driving the zed :D
 
The only thing that worries me is what are we all going to do when Falken decide to stop making the 452, how long do tyre types last before they are updated/resdigned, especially as they have now been out a few years,
 
Just got a quote from Black Circles for 2 X FK452s on 17" wheels fitted £162.48 including 3% CSMA discount and £8.00 tyre bank discount.

Will ring the fitters tommorow to see if they can beat that and I suppose if they can I should give Black Circles the opportunity to requote as they have a hotline for this
 
I've been wanting to do this for ages. I've got Bridgestone RFT's at the mo and the tramlining and crashing over cats eyes/pot holes is ridiculous. My only concern is what am I going to do with the RFT's i remove? Seems a shame/waste of money to throw away 4 decent tyres :(
 
Its glad to see that im not the only one that cant stand the RUN FLATS. I thought it was just me, as im new to BMW's and Z4's.

I have a 3.0 Z4 with 18's on, does anyone know if you can get a decent NORMAL tyre for that which handles well etc.

Cheers Dean
 
I've had my car, with run flats for over 3 years, then switched to Eagle F1 As (17s for about £370 I think)... grip is fantastic! However, is it just me, or does the new ease of steering seem almost too fluid... and there seems to be more role?

They are definitely smooth and almost certainly faster, but it's taking some getting used to, losing that edginess. Maybe, it is just me?

Also, after his ongoing subliminal campaign, I'd be interested to see how good gannet's run flats actually are!
 
ryukin said:
I've been wanting to do this for ages. I've got Bridgestone RFT's at the mo and the tramlining and crashing over cats eyes/pot holes is ridiculous. My only concern is what am I going to do with the RFT's i remove? Seems a shame/waste of money to throw away 4 decent tyres :(
Click to expand...

sell them or keep them for emergencies? ill have the fk452's on by tomorrow morning, my front rft's are a bit worn, was hoping they would last till oulton park next month but got a bolt in a tyre this week and now the warning light is on so the tyre is losing pressure, but i have 2 rears with plenty of life left, ill probably post them on here for sale or ebay them, got to be of use to someone, for example if your trading your car in to bmw its been said if you have non rft they give you a lower price.
 
Got my Falkens fitted to the front yesterday. Fitted price £160.00. Drove steadily home (approx 15 miles on B roads from the tyre depot. Early indications were that the steering felt more direct, but need to drive it more and check pressures out. Unfortunately in my wife's Mondeo today so won't get to use Z until Monday.

Tyre depot got me to sign a declaration acknowledging that I had requested that OEM tyres to be removed from the car.

My car is fitted with 225/45 17s all round on OEM wheels. When I get round to ditching the runflats on the rears can I safely put a slightly wider tyre on the same wheels and if so what if any handling differences might I expect to see?
 
mine are on, and the front end now feels more supple and responsive, im about to post about them / supplier but i can see why so many go with the fk452, its how the z4 should have been in the first place
 
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