Some thoughts on tyres - and initial impressions about Falken FK510 tyres

[AlanD]

Hi all,

Gave the Mondeo new shoes last Wednesday. Ended up with Falken Azensis FK510 235/45R18 98 Y tyres, purely on the basis of price from the local tyre dealer.

$40 and $50 less per tyre than the other brands he could offer at the time.

1. They are a lot quieter than the replaced Continentals have ever been, the road noise now is mostly wind noise.

2. The speedometer read out at 100 kph is actually 97 kph as measured with a tomtom GPS at a steady speed using the cruise control for 5 km on a straight level road.

3. The tread depth is 10mm and to the indicator bars 8mm.

4. It's a bit early to tell if there is going to be and effect on fuel consumption, but the instantaneous readout in the car is similar to previously at known points on roads we use frequently.

5. I can detect no significant difference in how the car feels on the road, but then I do not drive in an "extravagant" way.

That tread depth figure is surprising since some research suggests that typically tread depth is 8mm or so and I know that on some Dunlop SP Sport 01 tyres we had fitted to a previously owned MA the total tread depth was 7.5mm and to the indicator bars 5.6mm.

Those tyres got replaced at 40,000 Km because one of them got damaged by hitting a large pothole at speed and there was about 15% tread life left. (I like to have the same tyres at each corner).

If the Falken's wear similarly to the Dunlops then 50,000 km seems possible - we shall see.

If your MD is similar to ours and has a -3 kph error it is possible to correct it. The Falkens are available in a 50 profile and this gives a wheel diameter that is 3.5% larger which will yield, theoretically, a speed of 100.5 kph when 100 kph is indicated.

A further benefit is slightly longer tyre life and more comfort because the deeper sidewall "softens" the ride.

I expect you could do the same thing with other brands, providing they have a 50 profile tyre in the range they offer.

cheers

[GasoLane]

I hope the compound in the FK510's is an improvement on the Azenis PT722.

I had two Falken Azenis PT722's on the back of my (non Ford) car which were fine............until it rained. I might as well have put $50 Chinese specials on there instead.

[AlanD]

Well, I guess I'll find out a bit later today because it's raining on and off and I'll be using the car. The independent reviews provide 4/5 rating for wet weather.

Last night there were some damp patches about the place that didn't affect the car - but if they do act up I'll be back to the dealer - at the moment they have done less than 200km.

Thanks for the feedback.

Cheers

[AlanD]

Back from a 200km round trip.

Outbound, rain hail and sleet. Standing water on the tarmac for both smooth and medium chip surfaces.

No discernable mis-tracking, loss of adhesion or other problems - and the tyres didn't lose adhesion exiting our estate with water on the road at the same throttle setting that caused the Continentals to lose adhesion when turning.

I guess Falken have altered the tyre compound - what other reason might there be?

Cheers

[asteele-xr6]

Whilst new tyres have nice sharp edges to their blocks, they should perform great in the wet - it's how the same tyre performs once those blocks have some wear on them that the performance will likely change...

[AlanD]

Originally Posted by asteele-xr6

Whilst new tyres have nice sharp edges to their blocks, they should perform great in the wet - it's how the same tyre performs once those blocks have some wear on them that the performance will likely change...

Well you learn something new every day.

There I was believing that decreasing wet performance was due to the decreasing tread depth not being able to clear the water away from the tyre as quickly as it did when new.

But an update. We have just done a round trip to Adelaide and the tyres performed very well, but they are wearing a little more quickly than I hoped. About 0.5mm in 3000km. We will have to see if the wear rate alters as they clock up more distance.

And an apology. My tyre gauge has two sets of readings that are not clearly marked. Both mm an 32nds of an inch() and I read the wrong set. The correct tread depths are 8mm total and 6mm to the tread wear indicator bars.

Sorry

Cheers

[AlanD]

An update for those interested in tyres and their wear performance.

Did a tyre rotation this morning on the Falkens and the tread depths were:

Both fronts to the indicator bars was (is)3mm in the centre and 4mm at each edge.

Both rears to the indicator bars was (is) 4mm across the tread.

So on the driven "axle" the tyres were half worn and as the minimum depth is in the middle it indicates that the 36 PSI I run the tyres at is a bit overinflated for the normal load of two adults.

Since the rear tyres are now on the front I can expect at least another 20,000 Km from them possibly 25000 km before a change is essential.

And the good thing is that the even tyre wear tells me the wheel alignment both front and rear is pretty good.

The car goes in for a 12 month service next week. It will be illuminating to see the numbers they report.

Cheers

[Martyvan]

I've moved my mondeo on now. But in 4 years (42,000km) it went through 3 sets of fronts and one set of rears was replaced. Diesel torque and lots of stop and go traffic did that.

Best tyres i had in the wet were Bridgestone ER300 grip for days when new, i only replaced them prior to sale as they were at the tread wear.

But even on low tread they were still good in the wet.



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[thebigd]

Originally Posted by Martyvan

Best tyres i had in the wet were Bridgestone ER300 grip for days when new...Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

I ran ER300's on my FG2 several years ago, and agree they were pretty good.
I actually looked for them again recently for the Mondeo, but they don't make a 235/45/18.
Ended up buying the Goodyear Eagle F1 Sport, and am stoked I did. They are a level above the ER300's. Hard to fault other than noise on rough roads.
They were outside of the company budget, so paid for one myself, and threw the other three on the company CC. No regrets, especially when driving in the conditions we're seeing in Brisbane today.
They are rotated FOC by Goodyear Sumner Park every 10,000. Have travelled 35,000 on them now and (honestly), they still look close to new. I'm thinking 45-50 on these, which would be a great result. The OE Conti's were replaced at 37.

[bundybear75]

I've been running Yokohama BluEarth tyres pretty much exclusivly since buying mine - great tyres wet, dry and on gravel roads. Only downside is they dont last long (Inside edge of front tyres wears bad all the time- apparently no camber adjustment?)

Has anyone had any success with locating adjustable strut tops, or an alignment place that is good with Mondeos?

[mourati]

FWIW I can confirm that tyres fitted by the OEM's should be replaced with like for like tyres. When tyre outlets offer "deals" their kick back are from the wholesalers - also one should pay close attention to the weight and speed limits of any alternative new tyre as any rating that is lower than what's on your tyre placard will usually mean insurance is void in event of a claim - it's the first place most insurance companies go to when they look at your car. It's all about getting out of the claim.
I've always stayed with the Bridgestone POTENZA RE050A based on original equipment fitted to Titanium Mondeo's.
4 x sets later and the car has always tracked and worked as they intended - Ford spends squillions tyre testing multiple performance factors before they settle on a tyre.
I've seen many change their 18" tyres to other brands that claim better mileage and better performance - in all cases those that choice another brand had wished they stayed with the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A!

[AlanD]

Originally Posted by bundybear75

I've been running Yokohama BluEarth tyres pretty much exclusivly since buying mine - great tyres wet, dry and on gravel roads. Only downside is they dont last long (Inside edge of front tyres wears bad all the time- apparently no camber adjustment?)

Has anyone had any success with locating adjustable strut tops, or an alignment place that is good with Mondeos?

Hi BB,

We owned an MA Mondeo earlier on and that chopped out the inside corners of the front tyres in 15000Km after the 15000 Km service when the dealer said I ought to have the car wheel aligned "Just in case" and I agreed.

That led to some intensive research and the Tyre Dealer who supplied the replacement tyres provided me with the front end alignment figures that he found after new tyres were fitted and they were well outside the Ford specs - which calls for slight toe in at the front. They were adjusted for toe out by the front end "specialist" at the 15,000km service I suspect. After the correct figures were fed in the new tyres lasted 45000 Km with flat wear across the tread.

It led to a thread in this sub forum in about 2010/2011, so some years ago. I'll see if I can find it and post the link, it has, as I recall, some details about the alignment specs for the Mk 4 (ie MA, MB and MC) cars, all of which were built on the same platform.

Given my experience I would be looking at poor wheel alignment first being responsible for your experience.

Cheers

[AlanD]

Hi again,

Here is the link for the thread I talked about in post #12

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11351245

Cheers

[NZ XR6]

My last set of tyres were Michelin Primacy 3 ST that lasted over 60,000 km. The tyres were rotated and the alignment checked by an alignment specialist every 20,000 km. I did miss the final rotation, which resulted in one pair wearing out first.

The Primacy 4 grips even better, although I think they are wearing a little faster.





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[AlanD]

Well the Falkens are about to be changed for some Bridgestone Adrenalin RE003 as the mechanic says the tread depth is zero, but my tyre gauge says 1mm to the wear indicator bars.

But that is getting too close for comfort and Bridestone gave me a 4 for the price of 3 deal, equivalent to $245 a corner, so I'm waiting for them to get to my local Bridgestone Dealer for fitment.

The Falkens lasted for three years and a couple of months when they covered 35000 Km, which is less than I hoped for, but no worse than the Continentals that were OE fitment. However the Falkens were quieter as they wore and did not suffer from traction loss that I experienced with the Continentals from the get go when they were 12 months and 11000 km old.

The guy who will fit the Bridgestones thinks they will be a longer lasting tyre compared with both the previous manufacturers. We will see. I'll report from time to time after the new tyres are on the car.

Cheers

[rondeo]

I'm getting good results with Michelin tyres, Pilot something or other...

[Lightning Strike GT]

Just replaced mine on my 2018 MD Trend Wagon went from 235/45/18 to 245/40/18 - no discernible difference in speedo at all - i am now using Kumho Estca PS71 - in my opinion better then the continentals that were on it https://www.kumho.com.au/tyres/passenger/ps71/

[thebigd]

Originally Posted by Lightning Strike GT

Just replaced mine on my 2018 MD Trend Wagon went from 235/45/18 to 245/40/18 - no discernible difference in speedo at all - i am now using Kumho Estca PS71 - in my opinion better then the continentals that were on it https://www.kumho.com.au/tyres/passenger/ps71/

Would love to see a pic of the 245/40's on your rim.
Given they're 16mm less in OD than the OE size, your speedo may read a couple of clicks faster than before.
That Kumho PS71 tread looks pretty good too.
Will provide a 70,000K report on the Goodyear F1 Sport I'm running when I reach this mileage in the next month or so.

[thebigd]

Originally Posted by thebigd

Will provide a 70,000K report on the Goodyear F1 Sport I'm running when I reach this mileage in the next month or so.

Well I have just hit the 75,000K mark with these tyres.
As you can see, they'll need replacing soon.
My Ford dealer pointed this out at my service last week, stating there is 1MM left above the TWI.
I'm sure you'll all agree that this is terrific mileage, given they're on an almost 2 tonne FWD diesel.
Have just ordered another set. Goodyear are out of them (non foam filled), but stock is arriving later this month. Managed to jag the buy 3 get 4 too, @ $950.
Hot price for an entry level performance tyre. I totally recommend these.