Yes, the sidewall is very stiff. The Azenis is a close as you can get to a "R" compound tire. I use them for track days and am very impressed with their performance.
If you're looking for ultimate grip from a street tire then the Azenis's grip vs the Ziex will far outweigh the additional weight. If you are looking for a decent grip tire and want to get some mileage out of them then don't go with the Azenis.
I run a 205/50/15 Falken Azenis, and its pretty sweet
best drag for the $ definetly Falken Azenis...cheap and very good grippage...better then nitto 555
I pull consistant low 2.2 on Pirelli p7000's with an open diff.... Best of 2.202, just a beotch hair from 2.1
My OE tyres lasted around 60,000km and have now fitted a new set of Pirelli P7s all round.
I just went through the entire process of fitting 15X7 wheels on my '84 GTI. Many people on Vortex had concerns that this combination would be too tight of a fit with 205/50/15 tires (especially the Falken Azenis tires - as they are supposed to be wider at the shoulder than most). I have not had rubbing problems at the shock/ spring support or the wheel wells (except a little when hitting big ol' bumps... where the outside of the tire will slightly rub the fender - nothing to be too alarmed about... just don't hit em')
Well, I love my Falken Ziex 502s.....possibly one of the best "bang for the buck" tire out there.
Around Thanksgiving last year, I had two Michelin MXV4 Eco+ OEM stock tires that were worn and need of replacing. I followed suggestions of colleagues and Consumer Reports and bought two Falken Ziex ZE-512, and installed them on the front of my 1998.5 Turbo Passat Wagon. Although I kept the same size (195/65/R15) I was impressed immediately: much better handling, steering response, road feel, as well as seriously improved wet and dry grip. Extremely stable at 90mph+ speeds, and good cornering. After about 1000 miles however, I thought I had front-end or transmission problems, as there was this terrible WHOO=WHOO sound coming from the front. I took it to a shop and they said no trouble, just tire noise. Noise worsened, so took to VW dealer in Maine while on the road; they said that car was aligned perfectly per spec, but Falken tires were \"cupped\", and worn on the inside.
Now for tire noise, my Pirelli P7000 Supersports were quiet as could be. I read some posts about noise on them before buying them and thought "noise, what noise???" Well, after about 10k miles on them, they sound like monster truck tires roaring down the road.
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