i have a 94 del sol with a b16 and i reciently wrecked it into some mailboxes lol.. its fine tho just some fender damage so it gave me the chance to put some f1 fenders on both sides... anyway to my question.. i have falken azenis 195/60r14's and one of the mailbox posts cut a couple slashes on the tread of my right front tire.. not all the way into the tire, its not leaking air... but im afraid im gonna have a blowout and mess stuff up even more so I was wondering if i should just replace this one tire with another falken azenis (are they any good?) or just get a set of 4 new ones- different brand, if so what brand? thanks

 

I assume you're referring to the old version (Falken Azenis RT-215), not the new version (RT-615).

Check the depth of the slashes using a thin probe of some sort. If it's less than the depth of the tread blocks, then I think you can just keep driving on them without problems. Tell people you had them "siped" (gives you bragging rights ).

However, if the slashes are deeper than the tread blocks, then you raise the problem that they could result in a leak or other failure, and I would suggest replacing that tire. You can still buy the old version Azenis from Vulcan, but do it now, because they have been discontinued, and once they're gone, they're gone.

The older Falken Azenis RT-215 is a very specialized tire, so it really depends on whether it meets your particular preferences and priorities. The RT-215 is very, very sticky, and offers great traction and handling on dry pavement. It is also inexpensive to purchase. However, it wears extremely rapidly; most ITR owners get only 9-12K miles on a set. It also is not very good on wet pavement; it's okay, but not as good as almost any other street tire.

The newer Falken Azenis RT-615 offers great traction and handling on dry pavement. Wet traction has been improved. However, it's more expensive than the RT-215 and probably won't last any longer.

You need to choose not only a brand of tires, but also a particular model. Just about every brand makes a variety of tires: summer tires that offer great performance (but may be expensive), summer tires that offer decent performance at a bargain price, all-season tires that are okay in snow and frigid cold as well as okay in warm weather, etc.

You also need to decide what your priorities are: dry traction and handling, wet traction and handling, treadlife, cost, etc. There are lots of good summer tires on the market these days. Here are tires (listed by price per tire for 205/50-15, using Tire Rack prices where available - you'll have to check on prices and availability for 195/60-14) that are all excellent in their price range, depending on how much you're willing to pay:

Dunlop SP Sport Maxx (not available in 205/50-15)
Bridgestone Potenza S-03 ($138)
Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 (not available in 205/50-15)
Toyo T1R (pricing not available)
Bridgestone RE750 ($99)
Falken Azenis RT-615 ($93)
Kumho MX ($86)
Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212 ($78)
Avon Tech M500 ($77)
Yokohama AVS ES100 ($75)
Falken Azenis RT-215 (discontinued)
Kumho Ecsta SPT ($64)
Fuzion ZRi ($61)
Dunlop Direzza DZ-101 ($58 less $12 rebate)

These are all great choices for anyone who is looking for great performance in a street tire. If you are willing to spend more for better performance, look at the choices around the top part of the list. If you care about price and are looking for "bang for the buck", look at the choices around the bottom part of the list. Keep in mind that the Falken and the Hankook are super sticky, but probably won't last as many miles as the other tires listed.