I got this from a friend, who got it from the DFH list, so don't sue me if it's not 100% correct. Interesting info if it's true...



> Of interesting note, that picture was taken in Japan by a guy who was at
> the drift competition I was at last week.
>
> Here's an email from Falken to a guy at the Miata forum:
> "The "New" Azenis Sport will be available 1st quarter 2005. The differences
> are as follows: A lot more sizes will be available, 14"-19"; the tire will
> respond better to standing water; the tread pattern, although still very
> aggressive, will be more "radial" looking. That's about it, the tire is
> very nice. We received our first one 3 weeks ago for us all to look at and
> "WOW", I am sure you will all be very pleased!
>
> On an interesting side note, we sent the Azenis Sport RT-215 to Tire Rack
> (who doesn't currently handle our product) for some testing and we came out
> on top beating out 13 other makes and models in the Ultra High Performance
> segment! Even more interesting is that we placed 4th in wet traction! That
> is a very strong finish for a tire that is designed around maximum dry
> traction"
>
> And here's a quote from another guy at the Miata forum:
> "I spoke with the "Falken guy" at the Mazda Rev it Up today, and he told me
> that the new Azenis would not be available until Jan 05. He also indicated
> that people at Falken have been listening to what the ST crowd is asking
> for, and that the ST crowd is one of their major target groups. He could
> not verify that there would be a 13 inch tire, but he did say that far more
> sizes would be available (28 sizes, I think).
>
> Let's see, he also mentioned the new tire would have the following
> characteristics:
>
> 1) Marginally better dry grip than the existing Azenis.
> 2) Tread redesign to improve hydroplaning resistance. Said tread redesign
> may include two Sinusoidal circumferential grooves.
> 3) New design is intended to be effective without shaving."
>
> I personally think the current Azenis is much better looking...very eye
> catching, looks like a hard core expensive rally tire. It's too bad that
> I'll never have that baby on my Miata, but the new one is an all around
> better tyre, so I suppose it balences out. It's coming out in January. By
> then, I'll have my Blizzaks on and wont even be thinking about new tires
> till at least the spring. It's cool to hear about the improved wet
> performance. Maybe the tires will last longer and/or be more quiet.
> Apparently the tires will costs within 5 or so dollars of what they cost
> now.

 

whoa, sign me up.

225/50/15 or 225/40/17 please!

 

oooh, looks exciting!

 

I'd like to see a 225/45 15 for the street and a 225/50 13 for ST autoX

 

i never understood why people care what a tire looks like.

is it black? yes
is it round? yes

what else is there?

 

"the tire will respond better to standing water; the tread pattern, although still very aggressive, will be more "radial" looking."

I'm a little skeptical about this. I love the current Azenis (I’ve been on my 2nd set for a while now) and would hate for the new tire to compromise dry traction. As far as the Falken guy saying "Marginally better dry grip than the existing Azenis", that's all marketing. Of course he's not going to say anything less than that. If Falken wants to make a tire to better handle hydroplaning, I would prefer for Falken to keep the current Azenis tread design as an option as well. The current Azenis is great imo in the wet (up until the wear bars) and the reason I like it so much is because of its awesome (for street tires) dry traction and durability, both of which will be compromised by smaller tread blocks and more groves.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tnord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i never understood why people care what a tire looks like.

is it black? yes
is it round? yes

what else is there?</TD></TR></TABLE>
does it have a yellow band around the tyre?

What about a blue one?!

 

The only beef I had with the current Azenis is it's tendency to get greasy when it gets hot. I heard a totally unconfirmed rumor that this trait would be cured in the next tire. If so,

Honestly, I found them to grip *wet* pavement extremely well. 2" deep standing water on course was a different matter, but I was absolutely stunned at how well they gripped a damp/wet surface.

 

I will take a set. looks like they are going to improve the wet traction for falken

 

Adding a 205/60/14 so I could be locally competitive on street rubber would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sean O’Gorman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Adding a 205/60/14 so I could be locally competitive on street rubber would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Make it a 205/55/14 and I'm with ya.

 

Or a 225/50/14. But either tire would pretty much defeat the purpose of having "usable" street/auto-x tires since it would throw off my already high gearing on the highway. Nothing like being less than 2000 rpm away from redline on the highway only going 80 mph in 5th gear.

Besides, looking at the tire wear on both my Victoracers and my Ziex ZE-512s, I'm thinking it'll probably be another decade before I'll have to replace those.

 

I'll be happy with a wider selection of sizes too. The 195/60-14 was more like a 195/65 or /70. It's a fat little tire, and would rub on occasion in any of my cars.

This tire has been available for years in alot more sizes than we get here. I think Falken finally realized that they could sell more of them if they brought over a wider selection.

 

Hell get that baby in a 215/45R17 and we are in business then. My ITR rims can use anything bigger or they rub.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Or a 225/50/14</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'd like a 205/45/15 please. And drop the weight of each tire by 5 lbs. At least.

Since we're wishing...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MaddMatt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The only beef I had with the current Azenis is it's tendency to get greasy when it gets hot. I heard a totally unconfirmed rumor that this trait would be cured in the next tire. If so, </TD></TR></TABLE>
I talked to a falken rep in the spring about the next azenis, and specifically the compound. He said similar things (more sizes, radial tread pattern) but told me that the compound is staying the same.
smaller tread blocks = even greasier

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by f1nal zeros &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hell get that baby in a 215/45R17 and we are in business then. My ITR rims can use anything bigger or they rub. </TD></TR></TABLE>

don't current azenis come in 215/45/17 already? edit: oh wait nm..that's 225/45/17 lol

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">smaller tread blocks = even greasier </TD></TR></TABLE> Yeah, that's no good.

Glad I just got me a fresh set. Should last me 2 years like the last set. Maybe longer, I don't autocross as much anymore.

 

I just ordered a set of the current ones, I'll only be using them on the auto-x and track days but I don't really know how long they'll last me.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tnord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i never understood why people care what a tire looks like.

is it black? yes
is it round? yes

what else is there?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm hoping they come out with white walls.

 

i just ordered another a set myself .. i got a set last november, early this year and now another set... not to mention ive finished 2 sets of R's too 2 drivers will really to some damage on tires..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Fuuma0083 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm hoping they come out with white walls. </TD></TR></TABLE>

With a gold band to match my Vogues. hellz yeah.



seriously, if they offer 225/50-16 then I'm happy.

 

luke@tirerack says:
don't believe everything you hear ..... I doubt we will be getting Falkens anytime soon

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hondan00b &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">luke@tirerack says:
don't believe everything you hear ..... I doubt we will be getting Falkens anytime soon

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

Is there a story behind why TireRack doesn't carry Falken? Seems to be a significant oversight on their part...

 

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

Is there a story behind why TireRack doesn't carry Falken? Seems to be a significant oversight on their part...

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

I can't imagine it being very fun having piles of every expensive Potenza S-03s and other max performance tires sitting around the warehouse because all your customers are buying the less profitable $60-70 Azenis.