Falken Azenis FK510 performance tyre review

Falken's new Azenis FK510 is a solid all-round performer and worthy of consideration against more fancied products such as the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, Continental SportContact6 and Pirelli P-Zero – particularly given a set of the Falkens is likely to work out a few hundred dollars cheaper.

While all the Euro brands will still pip the Japanese Falken for those final few degrees of wet and dry performance – and, occasionally, ‘wow’ factor – we’d be very happy with the FK510s when factoring in their competitive price, as we discovered after 500km of anecdotal testing fitted to our Ford Focus RS long termer.

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With strong, if not mind-blowing, wet lateral grip, the FK510s give you confidence to push up a saturated twisty road, holding on impressively and letting go in a predictable manner. The FK510s also seem to work with the car in giving you feel for what they’re doing – making them more fun than scary.

While neither noisy nor quiet on the highway, they did subtly improve ride comfort on our Focus RS having replaced that car’s firmer Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 rubber (which also uses a much higher pressure).

Nobody should ever buy a tyre for how it looks, but the asymmetric Falken clearly prioritises function over form with its purposeful, busy shoulderblocks.

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The jury is still out a little bit on their dry performance as it rained for the entirety of our test, although a handful of dry corners would suggest the FK510 is another strong performer for dry tenacity and feel. We also can’t comment on their life; or durability during prolonged hard driving on an abrasive, twisty, dry road.

Based on our limited experience on the Falkens, we might miss the ‘wow’ moments you get from Michelin Pilot Sport 4Ss in the dry, or Conti SportContact6s in the wet, but the FK510s feel to strike an exceptional balance between performance and price. And will give you a truer idea of your chassis’ talent.