QwickerRon

I am looking at Falken Azenis RT 615s for SCCA and NCCC street tire classes. They make a 275 40 17 and 295 40 18. Anyone ran these tires or have any track experience with them?

ace996

I ran 275/315 onmy past '02Z. They are phenomenal tires for the money, and even ifthey were more money. I highly tout them as the best tire for the money. they handle the track very well and are very predictable. Great grip for a street tire (my Z was magnacharged, too).
I'd buy them again...and again.
Be good,
TomK

Mojave

I run 315/35R18 Azenis on 18x10.5 Z06 rear wheels on all 4 corners. There really isn't anything else that is even remotely affordable in these sizes. The other hot SCCA street tires, Bridgestone RE01-R and Yokohama Advan Neovona, don't come in anything over 255.

While these work well, good luck keeping up with the AWD Boost Buggies. I have a hell of a time keeping up, since I can't put the power down on the streets and they have no problems.

Lancer033

how much life are you guys getting out of them?

spazegun2213

Dunlop has the direzza Z-1's in 295/35/18 iirc. They are supposed to be really nice tires as well.

PA Z06

They are def my next tire, I have been using Khumo Mx's for the last 3 sets of tires

90Z51

I'm interested in this too. I just ordered a set for a C3 that my father and I are building for my brother, and I'm considering a set for my FRC.

QwickerRon

Looking for some feedback on these tires.

Gray Ghost GS

You will definitely like the Falken Azenis RT-615s over the Kumho MX tires! I run the Falkens on my Celica GT "track rat" and use them on my C5 for daily driving. They're an excellent street/track tire. I would use them for HPDE if I didn't already maintain an extra set of wheels/tires (Hoosier R6s) for that. Mike

Z1NONLY

I went from Mx's to the 615's on my 350. The 615's have stiffer sidewalls, require less air pressure, and have better cold traction. But I think I would want the MX's on the "tail of the dragon" or a road course. The hotter the MX's get, the better they stick.

I have overheated the 615's (It took a lot to do it) But I never overheated the MX's. (And I used those for two years -4 sets)

0corvette pilot

I've got them on my track only 240Z and they are a great tire.

90Z51

Does anyone have any experience with these tires on the street? Specifically, how long they last?

ace996

Depending on how you drive, they could last 15K miles or 5k miles. I had mine on for 7K miles with a few track days thrown in and they were still good to go for another 3K, at least.
They wear well, are sticky, and not too expensive.
Be good
TomK

Gordy M

For NCCC they will put you in the Group I class not not the street tire class. They have to be in the exact sizes as original to be in that class.

On an autocross course they are about 0.4 seconds faster than BFG KD's from my testing at Grissom on a fast 50 sec course. The BFG's were the fastest dry tire I could find up till the 615's came out. On a wet autocross course they were 0.4 sec slower at an event I ran at tire rack compared to my Hoosier wets. On the highway, they are noisier than BFG's or MX tires. I have not wore out the set I currently have but they are into there second year of autocross, HPDE, time trial usage.

GTB/ZR-1

Great tires, but they don't like to get too hot...

rikhek

ttt

mathia

I just put a set of the Falken Azenis 615s on OEM C5 Z06 wheels. I've got the 275/40R17 up front and the 315/30R18 in the back. Previous tires I've run are the OEM run flats on the thin spoke, Kumho Ecsta MXs on the thins spokes, and then Kumho Ecsta MXs on the C5 Z06 wheels.

I put the tires on just before the last Corvette Track Days at Spring Mountain Raceway and I have to say I like them better than the Kumhos. I found the Falkens take the heat better than the Kumhos. In my experience the Kumhos get stickier as the get hot to a point and then they get greasy and substantially loose grip. With the Falkens I didn't find them over heating and losing grip.

Of course driving style is a big part of tire wear and how much heat you're putting into them. I hadn't been to the track for over a year before this last time so it took me a while to get up to speed. But by the second day I felt like I was pushing pretty hard for myself and tires never let up. With both of my sets of Kumhos, I ended up replacing them before the tread was worn down because they lost significant grip after the heat cycling of about 6 days of HPDEs. After 2 days the Falkens seems as good as new, but then these things don't usually degrade linearly.

They seem to have slightly more overall grip than the Kumhos. It's hard to say as I hadn't been to the track for over a year and the Kumhos had about five track days on them the last time I drove on them at the track. But still, if I try to remember back to when the Kumhos were new, it seems like the Falkens are a little better.

The Falkens make a lot more noise on the track when pushed compared to the Kumhos. I also found them making some more noise on certain type of freeway surfaces, but it's pretty rare. To me the sidewall seems softer on the Falkens. I notice when I drive over reflectors in the road I don't feel the thump nearly as much as with the Kumhos. Also, when the Falkens are low on air I can see the sidewall flex where as with the Kumhos I got a flat once and the sidewall was still stiff like a runflat.

I've also had to drive with the Falkens in the rain as my daily driver is out of commission for modding . I was concerned with the aggressive tread patter, but they seem to be fine. I certainly wasn't pushing it in rain, but I gave it some gas few times and the rears seemed to stick well enough. I never really hit any standing water though.

If you go with the sizes I have, the front sidewall is taller than the rear. To me, it's not something you notice right away looking at the car, but it is noticeable. I run with active handling on when at the track and it didn't seem to affect it. I think AH was kicking a little more than I remember with the Kumhos but I think I was pushing it harder with more worn out shocks.

All in all, I liked the Kumho MXs and I like the Falkens a little bit more. Next set I may try out an R compound tire like the Nittos NT01 or Toyo R888 as I'm going to be bumping up the HP with a H/C package soon.

Lancer033

thanks Mathia. That's pretty much the exact same position I'm in

LF97C5Vette

Where did you get the 315/35/18! Their site only shows a 315/30/18... and that would be half an inch shorter than the front tire (275/40/17) for me, which would clobber Traction Control...


-Dan

Mojave

Oh, sorry, I meant 315/30R18. I don't think there is a 315/35R18.