I'm on an engineering student's budget and a guy I know who always beats me at autocrosses (with a stock gsl-se) recommended these tires because they are cheap and almost as grippy as R1 compound tires. I see the azenis on a few autocross cars now and then.

So, anyone use them in competition?

 

Heard good things about them, friend of mine has them on a GTI says their good. Another guy has them on his T2 Auto-xer and says their mild slip in the rain.

 

I used to have a set of Falken ziex's and they were super-grippy for about three weeks and then after the tread started to wear the slightest bit they seemed kinda slippy.

I don't know if this was due to the tire or if I just got used to them and raised my expectations, and also the ziex's may not compare with the Azenis tires.

 

Falken Azenis Sports
the one with the huge treadblocks

great tire, very grippy, does fine in the rain, they don't need to be warmed up much to get max grip (unlike Rcompounds), when they get too hot they get greasy & less sticky, relatively cheap, go buy'm & try'm

good for street/track dual duty
relatively short lifespan but it all depends on how you drive

 

I only wish they offered them in more sizes for 14" wheels...

Dan

 

Best tire for the money, that's for sure.

 

Remember, the sizes are "nominal"...not actual. Their 195/60/14s are wider than many so-called "205"s. Also, the nominal size indicates the section width (widest part), not the tread width. Falken Azenis Sport tires compare favorably to almost any performance tire in the 14 inch size, particularly in terms of value.

 

I drove a protege with almost worn out azenis (had been on the whole summer, lots of autox, etc) and they were still uber sticky.

 

Good point, when I went to the Mazda Rev it up , thats what they were using. They said as soon as tread starts going, and you start seeing the binding of the tires they have to replace them fast because it gives the person a slight advantage.

 

Thanks for the tips, I was considering the 205/50/15's for spare set of bbs vert wheels, sounds like a good combination for my FC NA.

 

I've got Azenis Sports on my Miata in the 195/60/14. At our autoxs I regularly beat other Miatas with Kumho and Hoosier stickies (but inexperienced drivers) and think they are great. You have to cool them off, however, after the first run or they go away, just spray some water on them after each run and they are ready to go. A bit noisy and harsh on the street, but not too bad. I've put about 7500 miles and about 60 autocross runs on mine and the tread still looks good.

 

how is a tire that gets greasy when hot good for the track??

 

^^^^
it isn't an instantaneous greasiness and hot doesn't mean greasiness
TOO hot means greasiness

and besides, like RenoCYM said, spray'm down with water and they're good to go.

I never said that they're good for track ONLY duty, street/track dual duty
if people are driving at a level that require track only tires, Azenis prbly would be second/third to Kumho & Hoosier Rcompounds


Just try'm out

 

There are better autocross tires. The azenis are simply the best bang for the buck tire available today bar none. They last longer grip well and can be used as a dual purpose tire because they are not supper gummy like true R-compound tires.

As a personal point of interest if you have azenis what tire pressures are you running?
My gsl-se likes 35f and 45r.

 

I have those in my GTUs and they grip very well.. Drove my GTUs hard in the twisties here in LA and i love it.. Only thing is that lifespan is very short..

 

I haven't autox'd nor tracked my car enough to play with the tire pressure so I'm just running max psi on all 4 corners
Once they were set at 40psi and the car pushed like a snowplow, 50psi all around made it much more neutral & controllable

 

I drove a couple autocross laps in an '83 RX-7 with Azenis and Tokicos, it was awesome. It felt like a go-kart compared to my '94 on stock suspension and (badly worn) z-rated street tires.

-s-

 

Got 'em, love 'em.

Helped improved my auto-x times a lot, even with my questionable suspension, lack of power and poor driving skills.

They're really grippy cold, more you drive them they tend to get slimey and slippery. See a lot of people squirting down tires between auto-x runs, i should probably too that as well.

Still on my first set, but I hear they won't last too long (especially if you race them) to the tune of 5000miles. Kinda sucks given the price of them, but oh well. Lots of fun. Get 'em.

 

I have raced an entire season on mine plus I drive them on the street and I still have 5/32" left.

I'm happy with that. Just don't try drifting with them or you'll need a new set by the end of the night.

 

What kind of g's can you pull when braking before the rears start to lock up? My used BFG ZR's that turbojeff gave me would do .8ish that could have been improved slightly with an adjustment to the f/r brake bias ... (assuming you have access to a Gtech)