Falken Rt615

[Cain]

Hello,

Im looking at a set of falken RT615 tyres for my 300+rwkw 350z.

they are going to be 265/35/18 all around on my 9.5 and 10.5 rims

I am 'upgrading' from kumho escta KU31's

Are these tyres decent for daily driving and are they semi decent on the track.

I was happy with the grip from the kumho's but i need to replace the tyres anyway and the price difference is next to nothing.

[NickR33]

they are a compromise... they are fine for the street, low noise and good in the wet... but they have very stiff sidewalls which can make for an uncomfortable ride and they wear much quicker than a regular tire... on the track they are fine but go off quickly and get very greasy, there are much faster track tires out there... motorkhanas are where I found them to be at their best as they heat up quickly and are very predictable

mind you I just replaced a set of these 255/17 with a set of Hankook Ventus K107's in 235/18 and although the RT615's were basically bald the Ventus grip much better and were much cheaper... I won't be getting the RT615's again

[Beer Baron]

Hello,

Im looking at a set of falken RT615 tyres for my 300+rwkw 350z.

they are going to be 265/35/18 all around on my 9.5 and 10.5 rims

I am 'upgrading' from kumho escta KU31's

Are these tyres decent for daily driving and are they semi decent on the track.

I was happy with the grip from the kumho's but i need to replace the tyres anyway and the price difference is next to nothing.

you are pretty spot on. they are acceptable for daily use and 'semi decent on track'. be aware their compound is not super sticky like a proper semi slick track tyre but the stiff sidewalls means you still get the feel of a semi slick (just not the outright grip). they can certainly handle some decent laps, and whilst the grip will drop a bit after a few laps they wont feather or get chunks taken out like street tyres do when pushed on track (ie track use wont wreck them, which it will to regular road tyres). and their design means they don't walk around on the tread blocks like road tyres do under hard cornering so you get good feel.

for daily use the negatives will be stiffer sidewalls wont give as soft a ride as more comfort spec street tyres, and they will wear more quickly (but no where near as quick as a semi slick) and you will most likely get some tramlining (quite common once you get big wide tyres anyway).

I reckon they are quite a good compromise tyre for 90% street 10% track for the guy who doesn't want to bother with 2 sets of tyres and rims.

[Robo's]

Not real happy with my Azensis either, i have 255/40/17. It won't hold down 275rwkw in the dry in second gear so pretty much useless. I previously had Toyo RA1's and they where so much better on the road, didnt last long but the grip was much better.

[evil_weevil]

Ive got mine on at the moment...Im trying to "get ride of them". I only bought them cause they were the only tyre I could use in superlap back in July.

On the freeway at 110kms they are actually quite loud...

When they are cold also, they arent good, so drive as sedately as you can (as you should when everythings cold with the car! haha)

The only thing I can think they are really good with, as Nick said motorkhana's!

[scathing]

mind you I just replaced a set of these 255/17 with a set of Hankook Ventus K107's in 235/18 and although the RT615's were basically bald the Ventus grip much better and were much cheaper... I won't be getting the RT615's again

Bald as in worn, or bald as in not many grooves?

I really liked my RT215s, but I've heard from people who've used both that the RT615s are not as good.

[NickR33]

bald as in worn, well past the indicators

funnily enough I bought a set of wheels with 215's on the front and 615's on the back and when I wore the tires down I replaced them with 615's all round... only to find I had less front grip...

I really like the 'feel' of the Azenis but that's about it, now I'm making some power they just don't grip like they should (for the money/wear rate)

Edit: I should add, they are great fun to slide on though... I would guess that drifters with bulk $$$ would love to run them as a drift tire

[scathing]

I've heard the RT215s have more grip than the RT615s. The UTQG for the 615s is higher, which says something.

Still, if you're comparing it to your typical "lots of grooves" street radial, the RT615s are still a very grippy tyre. They're just not the same bargain S-Comp they used to be. Especially since there's actual competition now, from Bridgestone, Federal and Nitto.

[scathing]

I just ordered a set of RT615s. Kumho's KU36s aren't in the country yet, and I don't want to go much lower in UTQG than 180 since they're street tyres and I'm not overburdened with power.

We'll see how they go.

[siksII]

I just ordered a set of RT615s. Kumho's KU36s aren't in the country yet, and I don't want to go much lower in UTQG than 180 since they're street tyres and I'm not overburdened with power.

We'll see how they go.

Hey Alan, I guess its too late for you but for the benefit of others, ABC Tyrepower on Botany road in Roseberry had a set of 235/45/17 KU-36s sitting in their shop for the last few weeks, not sure if they can get more stock right now but worth trying them. They were cheap to at approx $190 fitted per corner.

[scathing]

Not an appropriate size for me, unfortunately.

I've order RT615s in 255/40R18 and 275/35 R18. My rear FK452s are still in great nick so I'll just bag them up, and pop them on when these wear out.

Tempted to see if they have anything slightly narrower, as the woman's car needs tyres after she munched hers at a couple of skidpans and track days.

Edited November 12, 2008 by scathing

[evil_weevil]

Alan, will you'll be using them as a daily tyre?

Would be interesting to see if you use them at the track, and what times you will get.

Out of interest, whats your best time on street tyres vs semi's at wakie?

I know your quick! Would be good to see a comparison to what you have used previously!

[scathing]

Daily tyre. My mileage is going to drop now, so I'm happy for the extra grip. My RT215s on my old 17" TE37s lasted me 20,000km so that's good enough, considering the RT615s are a harder tyre. I will continue to avoid tracking my daily tyres, and either run R-Comps or the Nankangs.

My fastest on RE55S is a 1:10.2 on a damp track in winter, but that was after I did a lot of track days in a short period so I had lots of current experience. My fastest on Nankang NS2's is 1:13.something in winter, but I only got half a day before I shat 3rd gear and I know I wasn't driving at my best.

I haven't used decent street tyres on the track in at least 2 years, so those times aren't indicative anymore.

Now that the car is in working order again, I'm looking at trying to set a new Nankang time. And finally break into the 1:09s on semis.....once I can afford new ones.

Edited November 13, 2008 by scathing

[Shaun]

Hey does anyone know how much these RT615's would be in a 255x40x17 and 235x45x17. Ball park prices would be ok; it just past 5 and all the tyre places arent answering for quotes! Dont really want to spend more than $250 each.

Cheers,

Shaun.

[NickR33]

they were mid $300's when I last bought a set... but that was over 12 months ago

[MrStabby]

$308 for 255 17s. Happy with them.

[Shaun]

Does anyone know what UTQG the 615's have? Their website doesnt list it.

MrKotter, are you using them as an everyday street tyre? Im pretty keen to know more about these.

Shaun.

Edited November 15, 2008 by Shaun

[MrStabby]

Does anyone know what UTQG the 615's have? Their website doesnt list it.

MrKotter, are you using them as an everyday street tyre? Im pretty keen to know more about these.

IIRC its 180 or maybe 200. I use them as everyday street tyre because i dont have anywhere to store a second set of rims. The only problem i have is the tramlining, but i havent asked for a re-alignment to see if that can be dialled out. I either dont care or havent noticed any noise or comfort problems. My suspension is shockingly rough...

[scathing]

Does anyone know what UTQG the 615's have? Their website doesnt list it.

Your average Australian doesn't really seem to get into UTQG data for some reason, so they don't publish it. The US site (www.falkentire.com) has the UTQG data for all of their tyres, and the RT615 is 200.

That puts it a bit higher than the RT215s (at 180) and significantly higher than the Bridgestone RE-01Rs and Federal 595RS' (at 140), let alone proper R-Comps that have sub-100 UTQGs.

In the end, I made a conscious choice to go for them as they do have a reasonably high wear rating. They'll grip well enough for street use (I save my hard driving for the track these days) so I'll take the tyre life over ultimate grip.