Anyone have experience (good or bad) with these?
They are available locally, the price is good, and the reviews I've seen have been positive.
Otherwise I'd go with Hankook Ventus V12 or Conti ExtremeContact DWS 06, but either of those would need to be ordered from TireRack, and while both are more affordable than Michellins or Pirelli's, they are significantly more than the Falkens.

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

I have no experience with the Ziex, but I’ve been running with Falken Azenis on the rears for 70,000 (!) miles and 30,000 on the fronts. They are exactly what I was looking for: good dry handling (wet is so-so), quiet, they wear like steel, and are pretty affordable.

Using the comparisons on the Falken site it looks as though the Ziex has better wet and snow handling, comparable wear, but at the cost of more noise. If the prices are similar, and you don’t need snow performance (Santa Cruz? – lol), you might want to check out the Azenis as well.

If you’re like me and your “ten-tenths days” are behind you, and all you want is great performing GT, I couldn’t recommend a better tire. I love these things.

 

I had a set of the Zeix a few years back and was not impressed with the wear rate or the grip. They were not the current model so things might have changed over time. They were very inexpensive back then too.

 

Thanks. Based on feedback and research, I'm not going to go with the Ziex's. The Azenis are close enough in cost to the Conti DWS 06's that I'm going to go with the Conti's.

 

Hey Kess,

Given that we seem to be on the same page as far as our tire expectations / desires go, I'd love to get an update on the Conti's especially with respect to durability and noise. Good luck!

- Jim

 

Jim - I'll be glad to. I plan to put them on next week. Will post initial impressions then.

 

I put the Conti DWS 06's on yesterday.
First impressions - they smoothed out the ride and are lovely quiet. My usual drive home is a twisty mountain road. I didn't push super hard but the traction (dry) is quite good.

 

Glad to hear you're happy with them. Quietness is essential. How many miles a year do you drive? A 10,000 mile update on wear would be great.

 

I probably drive 15-20 K per year right now. But about half of that is twisty mountain roads, so I am pretty hard on tires. I'll definitely post more when I've got some miles on them.

 

About 3K miles later - we had a very wet rainy season. Tires are wonderfully sticky and quiet. Lots of fun to drive. Wearing decently. I'm a happy camper.

 

Thanks for the update Kess. I was thinking about the Contis, but found a great deal on some unknowns called Ohtsu FP7000. For a touch over $100 each (shipped!) I figured I give them a try. I doubt they'll last as long as the Azenis did (80+K miles!), but they're MUCH better in the wet.

 

I just put a set of Nexen N3000's on my XKR, could not be happier. Great handling, quiet, and actually get some traction in snow (don't ask...). I have used N3000's on other cars and have to have a complaint. I know you were asking about other brands, but, thought i would share.