I'm ready to start ignoring these posts. The hear say about Azenis, Kumho 712s and a few other tires is just over the top. There's hundreds of posts on every Honda/Auto-X board about the actual merrits of all these and new tires. Easy to find with a search key and a few key words.

Azenis will hydroplane just like EVERY other tire will in the right conditions
You can break traction and do burnout with Azenis, laterly they stick like mad
Azenis will last a decent 15k to 20k, hell it's only a 200 UTQG treadware folks not 320!!
Don't listen to people with out Azenis, only listen to people who HAVE Azenis.

Sorry if I'm coming off like a dick, sometime I am, however Azenis aren't new. There's atleast 10 months of conversation about them to reseach on them. And if your not completely confident about these, search for these others also: The 4 top tires out right now IMHO are Azenis, BFG KDs(Dry), BFG KDWs(Dry/Wet) and PP-S03s.

Nothing I said was heresay. I own the Kumhos so I can comment on them accurately, and are you going to contest what I said about the Falkens? Sorry if I took your post the wrong way, but it goes both ways. The Kumhos are not going to compete with the Falkens at autocrossing but that does not mean they are garbage.

So I can comment on both tires and what you've heard about the Azenis is BS. With enough burn outs, improper rotation, bad camber I could burn thru any tires in 15k or less.

The Kumho ECSTA 712. Good wet grip but can't compete with the Azenis in the dry

Looking for some good street tires for my 89 HB. 195/60/14 Falken Azenis sound really good to me...except for the hydroplaning and tread life complaints...Maybe Dunlop Sp sport A2s...Which Kumhos should i be looking at in this price range?? Any other tires??

I'm actually starting to ignore threads about Azenis hydroplaning bs. I run the 215/40x16" Kumho 712s and the 205/50x15" Azenis and the Kumho 712s do even come close to the Azenis.

And like you said ANY TIRE WILL HYDROPLANE with not enough tread depth. That's like a DUH!

I have about 3mm on my azenis and they've hydroplaned for awhile now. Only in standing water though. I went from kumhos which would never hydroplane no matter how much water i went thru and now on the azenis i have to be very careful when there is standing water.

I know a few other people around me that have azenis and have had the same problems with the hydroplaning. Its nothing like loosing complete traction but you do hydroplane a little. This is comming from people with azenis so maybe you're just getting lucky? I just know that I can't trust mine in the rain.

Also with the wear. I have had mine for 3 months, about 7 auto-x's, and about probably 6-7k miles and mine are down to 3mm last time i checked.

I'm actually starting to ignore threads about Azenis hydroplaning bs.

Maybe it's just me. Some people go on and on about hydroplaning. I rarely even notice it.

Hydroplaning is the result of your tires moving FAST across a wet surface - so fast that they do not have sufficient time to channel that moisture away from the center of the tire. The result is that the tire is lifted by the water away from the road and all traction is thus lost.

Of course the word 'fast' is a relative term. Tread design, tread depth, weight of motorcycle, tire pressure, depth of water and even the consistency of that water - (whether it is highly aerated or not, for example) - all play a part in determining at what speed the tire will begin to hydroplane. It is a pretty safe bet to assume that any speed in excess of 60 MPH is fast enough to support hydroplaning regardless of the other variables. This is not to say that at 55 MPH you are safe, however. (A formula that comes close to predicting the speed at which you will hydroplane, assuming at least .2" of water on the ground, is: 10.27 * Sqrt(tire pressure) which shows that if your tires hold 35 psi, hydroplaning can be expected at 60.76 MPH, while tires with 41 psi of air in them should expect hydroplaning at about 65.75 MPH. Another formula that is somewhat more accurate, though much harder to calculate, is: 7.95 * Sqrt(tire pressure * contact patch width / contact patch length). This formula shows that the wider the contact patch is relative to its length, the higher the speed required to support hydroplaning.)

In any event, there are two absolutely essential NO-NO's to remember should you experience the beginning of hydroplaning:

Full-fledged hydroplaning of your tires is similar to what happens in recreational water skiing. Moving slowly through the water with your skis attached, you'll sink. But when you're pulled through the water at faster speeds, the skis will ride up progressively higher -- until you're ultimately gliding across the top of the water. That experience is a fun one.

Back in your car, when your wheels hydroplane it can result in a complete loss of steering and braking control and result in life-threatening consequences.

A car's speed plays a major role in its hydroplaning, although it can occur at speeds as low as 45 mph on curves. Water must have time to flow into and out of tire tread grooves. At high speeds, there is less time for the tire to "unload" the water -- and that's when trouble starts.

Driving in the rain is certainly a design factor in all passenger car and truck tires. Yet, at the same time tires must balance a variety of engineering and driving priorities to serve our needs. In years past, most tire technology emphasized the performance considerations for dry-weather driving -- since that is the predominant anticipated driving use.

Consequently, most conventional tire designs exhibit carefully engineered compromises to deliver good overall driving in the areas of tread wear, durability and traction -- along with anticipation for occasional wet weather driving use.

1. Hydroplaning.
a. What is hydroplaning? Hydroplaning occurs during rain, (mostly hard rain), immediately after a hard rain or when other water covers the roadway. Hydroplaning occurs when water builds up under the automobile’s tires. Loss of steering and braking occurs which is a dangerous situation.

b. How to recognize hydroplaning. Hydroplaning is most easily recognized by the loss of steering. The tug on the steering wheel disappears. It feels like the steering wheel has been disconnected.

c. How to avoid hydroplaning. First learn where your tires are on the road. If you don’t know where your tires are on the road, go to a parking lot and place paper cups on the pavement and practice hitting them with the left front tire and also the right front tire. Practice until you can hit them each time.

Now, when it is raining, first slow down. Drive near the center line or near the right edge of the roadway. Over the years car tires create grooves in the roadway. This will be where the build up of the water occurs. Avoid that groove by driving to the left or right of it.

There is another thing that invites hydroplaning--bald or near bald tires. Keep good tires on your car. Buy tires that have grooves to allow water to escape. The cheapest tires invite hydroplaning.

Hydroplaning most often occurs when you take your foot off the accelerator.

The small compact light automobiles are more likely to be affected by hydroplaning.

Automobiles with steel belted radial tires are more likely to be affected by hydroplaning unless they are a rain tire. Polyester and nylon tires do not hydroplane as readily.

Narrower tires will not hydroplane as easily as the wider tires.

Asphalt roadways are more likely to have grooves that fill with water than concrete roadways. But old, well traveled concrete roadways may also have grooves that fill with water.

Hydroplaning can occur to your sport utility vehicle when water on the roadway accumulates in front of your tires faster that the weight of your vehicle can push it out of the way. Your vehicle will actually ride up on top of the water, much like a water skier on top of a lake. In this very dangerous situation, your tires no longer have any contact with the road surface and you will no longer have control of your vehicle. This usually happens at higher speeds, over 40 miles per hour, while going through water standing on, or running across the roadway.