The Falken ZE912 is a summer touring tyre with strong owner support for dry grip, quietness and value. Wet performance, wear and steering are less consistent, with its two tests much less favourable than the general owner picture.
The Falken ZE912 receives substantially more owner praise than criticism for dry grip, quiet running, comfort and value. Dry grip and low noise also have support in its two 2011 tests. The overall test results were poor, however: ninth of ten in Auto Bild’s performance-focused comparison and 13th of 14 in ADAC’s smaller-size test. Owners are more positive on wet grip than those placings and verdicts suggest.
Both tests raise wet-road concerns, including long wet braking in Auto Bild, while nearly one in nine owner reviews also mention wet-grip reservations. Steering is another disagreement, with generally favourable owner feedback contrasting with delayed responses in the test. Comfort is widely liked by owners but criticised by Auto Bild despite quiet running. Wear reports lean positive overall, yet short-life complaints recur and ADAC found poor wear. Most reviews lack a lifecycle stage, so a typical lifespan or common ageing pattern is not established. Its everyday appeal is better supported than consistent wet braking or precise handling.
The quick answer
Owners say75%from 200 owner reviews65% would buy againRead the reviews
Strengths & weaknessesDry gripGenerally quiet runningWet braking in the Auto Bild testVariable tread lifeSummarised from the tests and owner reviews
Built from every independent test result and vetted owner review we hold for this tyre - the evidence is all further down the page. Data updated January 2025.
What treadwear rating and mileage warranty does the Falken ZE912 have?
In the US, the Falken ZE912 carries a UTQG treadwear grade of 360, with traction AA and temperature A. UTQG treadwear is relative: a tyre graded 400 lasted four times as long as the reference tyre, graded 100, on the government test course. Falken backs it with a 40,000-mile limited treadwear warranty.
What do owners say about the Falken ZE912?
Across 200 owner ratings the Falken ZE912 averages 75%. Owners rate Dry Grip highest at 8.2 out of 10 and Handling lowest at 7. 69 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles. 66% of owners score it 70% or better.
How comfortable and quiet are the Falken ZE912?
Owners rate the Falken ZE912 7.9 out of 10 for comfort and noise across 173 reviews.
How well do the Falken ZE912 wear, according to owners?
Owners rate the Falken ZE912 7.1 out of 10 for wear across 173 reviews. 69 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles, and the typical review covers 6,500 miles.
Would owners buy the Falken ZE912 again?
65% of owners say they would buy the Falken ZE912 again, based on the 197 owner reviews that answered the question. 39% of them gave it the highest possible answer.
More questions about the Falken ZE912(5)
What do owners say about the Falken ZE912's tread life?
Of the 171 owner reviews analysed for the Falken ZE912, 84 mention tread life: 52 praise it (long-lasting) and 32 criticise it (wears quickly). One owner wrote: "they are at the forty thousand k/m vacinity so we are looking at replacing them". Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Falken ZE912's wet grip?
Of the 171 owner reviews analysed for the Falken ZE912, 79 mention wet grip: 59 praise it (confident wet grip) and 20 criticise it (weak wet grip). One owner wrote: "Grip has been fantastic in all conditions". Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Falken ZE912's dry grip?
Of the 171 owner reviews analysed for the Falken ZE912, 76 mention dry grip: 65 praise it (strong dry grip) and 11 criticise it (limited dry grip). One owner wrote: "Dry grip never ceases to amaze me". Read those reviews
What does the Falken ZE912 replace?
The Falken ZE912 is the successor to the Falken ZE512 in Falken's range.
Has the Falken ZE912 been replaced?
The Falken ZE912 has been replaced by the Falken ZE914.
The Falken ZE912 is most consistently praised for dry grip, quiet running, comfort and value, with wet grip also receiving more praise than criticism. Wet-road confidence is not universal, with concerns in around one in nine of the 173 reviews. Tread life attracts more praise than complaints overall, but short-life concerns appear in nearly one in five reviews and both end-of-life accounts are critical of wear. Almost all reviews lack a stage of use, which limits any typical-mileage or grip-retention claim. Repeat accounts range from continued satisfaction to reduced confidence, without a common ageing pattern.
What owners mention most counted across 171 reviews
Tap one to read only the reviews that mention it.
Owner ratings averaged from 200 ratings
Owner score75%
Dry Grip82%
Comfort79%
Road Feedback75%
Wet Grip74%
Wear71%
Handling70%
Featured reviews
Most helpful 51%
“Drove15000 km in these tyres. In the wet, it understeers easily, every time I come out of a roundabout the front starts sliding, even at low speed. In the dry, it’s not good too, it feels like it’s floating and there’s...”
“Had these on my vRS as tyreweb had run out of Toyo Proxes T1R's that day. Had heard good things about Falken before so decided to try these... :( I have had lots of different tyres before but these are easily the worst...”
“As soon as I had these tyres fitted (front only), tramlining was very evident and was the worst of any tyres I've previously had i.e. Goodyear, Continental, Avon, Hankook. Although never really pushed to the limit...”
Drove15000 km in these tyres. In the wet, it understeers easily, every time I come out of a roundabout the front starts sliding, even at low speed. In the dry, it’s not good too, it feels like it’s floating and there’s no connection to the road.
Fitted a set of these tyres in a Ford Focus 2.0 N/A with not a lot power, but these tyres were terrible back in 2009. The standard goodyear eagle nct5 with 15" wheels had better grip better and more progressive than 17" wheels and 215/45 R17 Falken Ziex 912 tyres.
The Falken 912 on the dry will understeer easily and not very progressively, very abrupt (almost terminal understeer into a wooden pole) and very slippery on the wet too. These Falkens 912 were dangerous, probably similar to cheap Chinese or Indonesian brands. At least, those Indonesian brands (Achilles or GT Radial) have great dry grip when new, but wouldn't last long with cracking, uneven wear, etc.
Used the tyres for 30K before selling them with plenty of tread left. Got Kumho KU31 which was better everywhere and understeer progressively
Check out how the BEST all seasons tyres perform against premium summer and winter tyres!
In 2008 maybe 2009 I swap set of 4 tires brand new of this model (not sure but I remember the shape very good), dry grip is good and also in wet, pretty quiet and so comfort. But I got some major issue with this tires, after 2 years of use I start notice that the shoe rubber stat break apart, immediate I swap to other brand set. In shop thy was shock about that and don't know what really happen. Before that happen I did a balance for the steering. Looks like it was defective production or bad model.
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Had no choice but to replace my front pair of Continental SportContact3 with this. Prior to that I also had a pair of Dunlop LM Sport 703 at the rear due to a really bad tire puncture beforehand. No choice for the tire since the tire size was rare for the market. Rotated them regularly and felt that overall, this was better than the Dunlop. You can bring it to the limit. had 3 puncture repairs and it was still performing OK. Quick accelerations caused it to slip but it maintains the direction and does not affect the steering. It delivered way better performance than my Dunlop but my only gripe was the wear. Noticed that it was dangerously worn and was showing the inside already but the tire held up well. Sidewall is indeed strong. Run it with an almost flat for 5miles and it still was OK. The rubber compound though was soft which contributed to its performance and had bad wear characteristics.
59%
Member
225/45 R17
12,427 miles
A Combination of Roads
Average
Tyre was fitted 20k km before around early this year and now it has come its end. In terms of comfort and grip, it has served me well even though this is a more regular car bias than an SUV. I was referred to this tire from the Chinese GT Radial which comes stock with my Chinese and it is horrible and noisy. This tyre however, is able to take the whole weight of the car without a problem. I have even squeeze 8 passengers in this 5 seaters and nothing happened. Grips are great as well on both wet and dry conditions.
Wear wise, it is very quick, considering I fitted this on my FWD SUV. Right now, after 20k km, the front tires are left with less than a cm depth while the rear had barely wear.
(Australia) Have had these and other Falkens on the front and rear (currently just the rear) of an MGF. The front tyres are currently Nankangs which are good, but the Falkens definitely have the edge on those. We previously had a Series II Mazda MX5 which came on Pirellis and was terrifying in the wet until we switched it to Falkens. Dry grip never ceases to amaze me, ditto wet grip, progressive breakaway, quick recovery, good steering feel. Can't comment on noise as these are pretty noisy cars anyway, but for now they are my tire of choice, I can't imagine it's worth spending more, especially having been let down so dangerously by one of the big Euro names.
These were great fun on my Grande Punto, and very reasonably priced. Shame they don't do them in the size for my current car, as I would've brought again.
Punto 1.9 Multijet was remapped from 130 - 190ps, which made for a seriously quick little car even for a diesel (0-60 in about 6.5). Never got around to taking it on a track day, but the Falkens would've made this great fun. Did about 8,000 miles on them before selling, and they seemed to be holding up well. I wish I'd kept the car longer to get more use on these, because they put the Nexens on my current vehicle to shame. Trying Maxxis' on the new car, which seem better but nowhere near the Falkens. Will keep my eyes open to see if they ever do my size...
After changing to these tyres the car felt amazing to drive, the steering was sharp and instant on E90 3 series Msport.
Very firm for the Msport but the sharp steering and good grip dry/wet made up for it. Had to reduce the tyre pressure to ease bumps for the firm side walls.
Took my tyre garage a few goes to get the tyres balanced for motorway speeds. Wear was ok, 14k miles.
Got these tyres becouse there aren't many other options in this dimension. And boy, am I happy I chose these.
I do long trips with a classic car, and after 14 years of ownership, these tyres really brought out the best out of it. My primary concern is braking distance in both dry and wet conditions and they do both really well. I dont usually push the car to the limit, but when I do, i feel completely confident, even when fully loaded. The non-power assisted steering feels so much smoother and lighter than before, despite tires being a bit wider than original; the feedback information is superb, youi really feel the car and it just fills you with confidence. Even economy has improved a little bit over long distances on motorways.
Therre's no sign of wear yet after 5 or 6K miles, no bubbles or cracks either; but it's not a daily ride anyway, even though I expect them to last until they are too old.
I just really hope they'll still be available in this dimension when the time comes; Id definitely buy again. Plus they look good as well :)
I put these tyres on about two and a half years ago and i push the car when i'm allowed so they haven't had an easy life but they are at the forty thousand k/m vacinity so we are looking at replacing them. we have different demands of tyres now and a second car so our requirements are different. they have exceeded our expectations and are worth the time and money.
