Falken Azenis RT660

For a 200 treadwear tire the RT660s did better than I expected. Over two years and approximately six autocross schools and test and tunes along with a couple thousand road miles these tires held up well and exceeded the performance expectations I had. During fast road driving they really didn’t show any negative behaviors, they just stuck. While not my first choice for driving in the rain, the few times they were driven in the rain they really handled it OK. The only downside that I noticed is that anytime you run over a painted stripe on the road or a slick piece of pavement, the tire tread makes a very distinctive noise. The first time I drove on them I actually thought I left wheel nuts loose and pulled over to check torque. Just like all 200 tread wear tires, they pick up every pebble and sand you encounter in parking lots (or your gravel driveway) and throw it into your wheel liner. This is just the cost of super sticky tires, but understand that going in.

I use the tires for the complete opposite of they're intended use. I drive about 45000km's per year in my 2014 Ford Fiesta ST with now 340000km's on it and these are by far the best tires I have ever fitted to it. The grip is unbelievable in the dry, especially if you get a little bit of heat in them. You can feel the tires grab the road as you get heat in them, it's is uncanny. The wet performance is surprisingly good for a tire of this design, despite the aggressiveness of the tire it handles very well in damp/wet conditions in my opinion. However, obviously if it is really wet with standing water you will hydroplane, especially in a small light car. The wear compared to the Falken Azenis RT615 is amazing. I am on my second summer with them and still can get some more use out of them next summer, which is crazy for a 200 treadwear rating tire. Comfort, you aren't buying these tires for comfort, and my car isn't one to comment on that either.

For 2021 I needed new tires for autocross and with the RE71R no longer available, my shopping list was pretty short; the RT660 or the Yokahama A052. Both tires have had reports of not being happy on front-wheel drive, camber limited cars like my GTI. Between the two tires my autocross contacts recommended the RT660, and I decided to gamble on them. After all my experience being on the RE71R, I was a bit nervous. The RT660s did not disappoint. Positives - Good feedback though I miss the on -center feel and stiff sidewalls of the RE71R - Grip! I was pushing through a large sweeper at full throttle. I expected to lose grip and possibly spin, only to be pleasantly surprised. Negatives - Not much given my narrow expectations. - Accelerated wear. I will not get two seasons of autocross out of these like I did the RE71Rs After about 100 runs I have zero signs of tire chunking or delamination. I am extremely careful about my tire pressures, which in my case are generally 44 front and 39-40 rear. Tire wear is high, so I will not get two seasons of use out of these tires. I did have them flipped on the wheels and I rotated front/rear, but autocross is hard on tires. I will buy the RT660s again.

Stage 3 turbo w/ a mild tune. 17x7.5 SSR Comp-C wheels for a good fitment. These were bought to replace a well overdue set of Hanook RS-3 tires of the same size. I originally wanted to get their RS-4 tire, but couldn't find any in stock. After some searching, and several online reviews, I took a chance and "settled" on these Falken RT660 tires. "Settled" was the wrong thought about these tires. They are, quite frankly, amazing, but with some tradeoffs. At least in this application, they are very sensitive to setup. Alignment needs to be spot on the factory recommended specs, air pressures need to be tightly monitored (OEM is 32psi all around, but the rear end tends to oversteer at those pressures; 32psi front/28psi rear seems to be the sweet spot so far.) These characteristics are both a curse and a blessing. Once you get everything dialed in they will reward you with an insane level of grip. Lately I've pushed them pretty hard (maybe even too hard) on non-closed-course areas, and have yet to find the upper level of grip. I desperately need an event where I can explore the lofty capabilities these tires are exhibiting. In terms of noise level though, these the most "chatty" tire I've ever experienced. They "chirp" over every piece of seam sealer out there, and will frankly howl like the devil on the highway. Luckily, rolling the windows mostly up (or going faster, so wind noise drowns them out!) takes care of the problem nicely. While I ranked the "comfort" level relatively low above, I do not consider it so sufficiently evil that I regret the choice. In terms foul weather performance, this is my "toy" car, so it generally doesn't see anything other than bright and sunny days. That being said, I did get caught out by a particularly bad weather forecast, and was struck by some rather substantial rain. While I didn't drive with my usual zest, I none the less did not feel out of control in any way, at posted speeds. For fun at a traffic light I explored the levels of grip available for launching. It was more than adequate. As such I rated the wet grip just a bit above neutral. Short of being at a paid for event that receives precipitation, I won't be able to expand upon the wet weather characteristics. In terms of general wear, I didn't particularly baby these tires after initial install, but as of late have been even more spirited in their use. Visual evidence of such is not appearing yet, so they are at least handling my use quite well so far. One final note about the tires themselves. I do not know if it's the general norm for Falken's tires, but when these were mounted (and mounted properly; the shop put the yellow dot at the valve stem) 3 assemblies balanced perfectly (0 weight added) and 1 assembly has 0.25oz total weight added. I've NEVER had that happen before, so well done to Falken for that. Overall, I am extremely pleased with my purchase and would highly recommend them.