Did anyone run these last year? If so, how do they compare with Azenis as far as turn-in, wear, and braking?

The D Stock guys here in NC have an unwritten law to run street tires to save money which is understandable. The problem is that daily driving/ racing Azenis adds up.

Basically, does traction suffer that much from the Falkens?

BTW, this is on a stock ITR running 195-55-15.

 

They aren't even in the same league as Azenis. My brother uses them on his STS Mitsubishi Mirage, and I suppose they are good as far as general performance tires are concerned, but they dont really match up to the Azenis in any category.

 

s e a r c h......

 

Yokohama ES100's? Absoloute **** tire.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bb6h22a &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yokohama ES100's? Absoloute **** tire.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I absolutely disagree.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Utilitarian &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
The problem is that daily driving/ racing Azenis adds up.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

It doesn't get much cheaper then that. Autocrossing causes accelerated tire wear and an increase in annual tire costs no matter what tires you use. Be thankful that there is a cheap tire available that gives such high performance.

I remember before Azenis came out I was paying the same amount for a lesser quality tire because that's all there was available.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ryan12321 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I absolutely disagree.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's fine.

But in my experience, the ES100s wore poorly, have mediocore dry grip, poor wet grip and soft sidewalls; therefore, in my empirical opinion, they're not worth their salt - especially if there're tires like the Kumho MX and Azenis in the same price point.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Utilitarian &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If so, how do they compare with Azenis as far as turn-in, wear, and braking?</TD></TR></TABLE>
They don't.

ES100s make great street tires, but pathetic competition tires.

And of course, great competiton tires make pathetic street tires.

Azenis are simply the best compromise, which is why they have become the "spec" street tire for autocross.

 

I've had a set of 195/50/15's on my 00 civic since May. I've never had a set of tires last this long and they've still got a good ammount of tread left on them. They are amazing in the wet and good dry grip. Not quite as good as azenis but not a whole lot off. They seem to get more grippy as they wear, kinda like the mx. I'm planning to put them on an extra set of wheels and get some back to back results vs. azenis. As an initial guess I'd think they might be slower by around 3/4 of a second on a 60 second course.

The only issue I have with them is unusual. I've had 2 sets now. The first set was as quiet as could be until they were practically corded. This second set I have has been loud recently with a good bit of tread left. With 2 different results I'm not sure what to think. The characteristics of the tire haven't changed between both sets though. I'll most likely get them again as I like them a lot for a street tire.

One thing that makes the azenis feel the like the ultimate street tire is the ease that it is to get it to work. There are other tires that work just as good but require different driver inputs and methods.

Just my opinions.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .RJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">s e a r c h...... </TD></TR></TABLE>

95% of my time invested in this site is spent doing so. I've read the archieved stuff; just looking for a little more contribution.

Thanks for the inputs guys. You've pretty much reaffirmed what I was figuring. Extra wheels are going to be a necessity.

 

I have ES100s on my Type R. I also have Hoosiers. The ES 100 is a great all-around tire for the money but its not in the same league grip wise with any of these:

Azenis
Bridgestone RE010
Bridgestone SO-3

It is better than the Nitto 450 but that's not saying much.

The ES-100 is a good predictable performer but it gives up long before other high-performance rubber

 

I'd rather pay for Azenis for autocrossing (especially in the winter) than ES100s anyday.

Azenis are like what? $65-70 (I wouldn't know since I haven't had to buy them in 2 years )

Although the ES100s would make a great everyday tire.

 

I autocrossed on the ES100s in STS all of '03, and part of '04. Wet traction is marginally better than the Azenis, but overall they fall a bit short. Dry traction isn't as good. The ES100s tend to break away more abruptly than the Azeni, less predictable. I did some back to back testing during a Test & Tune in early '04, and found the Azeni to be about 1 sec. quicker on a 60 sec. course. I ran the ES100s for 3 runs, all very close together, regarding time. Maybe .3~.5 variation. I then mounted up the Azenis, and first run out, was 1.2 quicker than my last run on the ES100s. Granted, this is amateur testing and is probably not 100% accurate, but that gave me enough proof. Both sets of tires were 195/60R14, mounted on identical 14x5.5 steel wheels.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Utilitarian &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Extra wheels are going to be a necessity.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

if you can afford it, that really is the way to go, even in street tire classes.

jeff, who is quite happy with his es100's for the street and quite happy with his azenis for auto-x

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DSPDA3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I autocrossed on the ES100s in STS all of '03, and part of '04. Wet traction is marginally better than the Azenis, but overall they fall a bit short. Dry traction isn't as good. The ES100s tend to break away more abruptly than the Azeni, less predictable. I did some back to back testing during a Test & Tune in early '04, and found the Azeni to be about 1 sec. quicker on a 60 sec. course. I ran the ES100s for 3 runs, all very close together, regarding time. Maybe .3~.5 variation. I then mounted up the Azenis, and first run out, was 1.2 quicker than my last run on the ES100s. Granted, this is amateur testing and is probably not 100% accurate, but that gave me enough proof. Both sets of tires were 195/60R14, mounted on identical 14x5.5 steel wheels.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Good stuff

This is the type of stuff I was looking for. One second is like an eternity, so I won't waste my time punishing the ES100's.