I just bought and mounted a set of Falken Azenis Sport tires on my Cooper S. This is a short write up of my first impressions. I found that while researching wheel and tire combinations, specifically in my particular application, that there were a couple of questions left unanswered. This is an attempt to answer some of those questions.

Tire: Falken Azenis Sport
Size: 215/45/16
Cost: ~$100-110 ea
Wheel: Mini V-Spoke, aka "X-Lite"

Summary:
The tires already have a very good track record, pun intended. I was unsure whether they would fit on the stock rims without spacers. They did not rub at all. On the street, the tires performed very well on a dry, warm day. The sidewalls, while stiff in comparison to regular tires, flex more than the runflats. The tires are loud, they sound a little like BFG KDs, compared to most streeet tires.

Expected Use:
I will be using these tires for drivers schools and AutoXs. They will not likely see a lot of street use, given the lack of spare and what I believe will be short tread life.

The Tires :
On first impressions the tires are much stickier than either the Pirelli Euforias, or the Dunlop SP5000 run flats. Even though the sidewalls are considered stiff, the runflats are stiffer. Even though the Dunlops and Pirellis were about 3% taller, the Azenis seem to be more compliant. This actually led to a less responsive feel on the street. I expect this to change when I pump them up to track pressure. These are not run flats which led to some serious pot hole dodging during my 100 mile test drive.

They come with wear nubs on the tread. All four tires showed more wear on the outside of the treadface. The fronts showed more wear across the tread face. The outside wear will need to be reviewed periodically, since these tires are assymetrical. I will look into solutions for evening out the tire wear, but again this may be resolved with higher track pressures and track use.

The tires performed very impressively during my test drive. They hummed noticeably on the road, certainly more than the Pirellis, the Dunlops, or the Pilot Sports on the M3. They do not squeel like the Pirellis did off the line or powering out of corners. They do have more sidewall flex than either of the run flats, even though they have shorter sidewalls. I did not try any hard braking exercises.

Fit:
Mounted on the stock 16x6.5" X-Lite rims, aka V-Spoke, they seemed to have plenty of clearance. They should be about .4" closer to the strut than the 195/55/16 on the same rims, however, they should be .05" further away than the the 205/45/17 on the 17x7" R90 cross spoke rim. Also, based on shipping weight, the tire wheel combo is about .7 lbs lighter than the Dunlop setup, and 5.7 lbs lighter than the 17" Pirelli setup. All of these are based on estimates and other web sources, rather than my own measurements.

I hope this helps.

Ricardo

 

Nice write up Ricardo! I am trying to decide between the Falken Azenis and the Yokohama AVS ES100. At this point, I am not doing any autocross, but looking for a better option than all season Dunlop's on the car now. The Yoko's are definitely at a great price point ~$75 each, I am going to try them out on my wife's 323i first.

 

I certainly looked at the Yok ES100s. However, since I need all the help I can get at the AutoX, I went with the proven performer. Given the level of road noise and the likely short tread life I would not recommend the Azenis for commuter duty, especially on the wife's car.

BTW, on the Mini, I would go with the 205/45/16 rather than the 205/50/16, assuming you go with 16" wheels. The 205/45/16 will give you shorter gearing and given that I think that just about any tire, no matter how short a sidewall, will have more flex than runflat tires, it should not compromise the Mini's ride quality too much.

Let me know how the the ES100s work out.
Ricardo

 

Sorry, I just realized that you were not going to AutoX. For the street I would recommend the 205/50/16 as it keeps you within the +-3% range.

I am sure others will confirm this.

Ricardo

 

We LOVE our Yoko ES100s and we've been through 4 sets of wheels & tires (from 16"-18&quoton our modified MCS, trying to find the "just right" combination. Unfortunately, ES100s aren't available in a 215/45/16 (we have them in 205/50/16) and when we wear through these we will be looking for something in a 215/45/16 (Michelin Pilot Sport looks like a candidate).

For more info go to this thread and scroll down to the last few (most recent) posts:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...2&start=25

 

Thanks for the pointers. The Yoko's are backordered at Tire Rack, but we will see how in goes on the "other Bimmer." The XV4's are shot anyway. I have heard nothing but good things about the Yoko's, can't wait to give them a test.

 

Falken Azenis in the Wet: Anybody have an impression of the wet performance of the Azenis under normal road conditions?

Thanks,
Gary

 

I upt the 215-45-16 Falken Azenis on my x-lites. I like the stiction a LOT. They seem heavier than the dunlop runflats. However, I love how they corner. I have the 22mm alta bar so will be interested in seeing if I need camber plates with my style of driving. I really don't get wheelspin even with the 15% pulley and Alta intake, running 34 p.s.i. The car seems to ride a lot softer, even though my car is a 2003 with the stiffer shocks. I don't notice any road noise. I see no downside.

 

I haven't had any problems in the rain with my Falken Azenis. I also have used these tires on a previous car and they did well in rain and have a decent tread life, with daily use and autox they made it through two years with two drivers at the autox.

The 205 50 16s are cheaper and have a better weight load so those are the ones I went with for autox.

 

RicardoV,

Don't worry about wearing the Falkens out on the street. They have a higher treadwear rating than the Pirelli runflats that came with my MCS. Falkens have a 200 TWR and the Pirelli's are only 180 so they should last longer on the street.

Grosephd,

I live in Florida and I've only gotten the chance to drive my MCS in the Rain on the Highway once and I didn't have any problems. Visibility in the rain was more limiting than the lack of wet traction of the Falkens.

These are my daily driving tire and I'm very happy. The only negative I have is that after my first few Track/Autox days my Falkens are a little noisy around 30-40mph.

 

Comparing the Falkens and the ES100's for competitive driving events like autocross really isn't fair, IMHO.

On the street, I think the ES100 is a much more liveable tire, especially for wet performance.

In the dry, the Azenis are awesome. For autocrossing in street tire classes, they are awesome.