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[msb1973]

personally i'm a big fan of falken tyres, i had 452s on my 318bhp m3 and they were top notch, grip was exellent and the wear rate was very good as well, i used them on my local sprint track and some spirited driving on the road and after 12 months when the car was sold they still had a good 4mm tread left. I also had a set of 912s put on the partners old 1.6 astra, totally transformed it less tramlining and quieter and easily as grippy as the previous goodyears

[feeutfo]

Please be aware, what works on one vehicle will not necessarily work on another. Falkens being one in particular, there are members here that have them on other cars, and then fitted them to the omega with very different results. On the omega straight line stability is the handling key.

Falkens are exceptionally quiet though, but on this car that's where the good news ends.

But for the op. I would concentrate your efforts on worn chassis components and set up. Then worry about tyres tbh. Reason being if there is a fault on the car, the tyres will soon degrade to the same level and your back to square one, no matter what's fitted.

[cem_devecioglu]

I have my doubts if the brand of tyre has an influence on tramlining & would suggest the primary cause is wear in the suspension.

I choose tyres on the Which test results (& price!). April 2009 gave the following overall scores:
Continental PremiumContact 2 69%, Michelin Primacy HP 68%, Uniroyal Rainsport 2 68%, Bridgestone ER300 67%, Nokian 2 G2 67%, Firestone T2300 66%.

Middling were Dunlop SP Sport 63%, Fulda 63%, Kumho 60%, Semperit SpeedLite 60%

Worst were Matador 55%, Hankook 52%, Avon ZV5 51% & Mabor 47%

The report gives detailed scores e.g. the Mabor were good for noise, economy, handling & grip but very poor at wet & dry braking.

some brands have more tendency, however as width increases you will definitely have!

[feeutfo]

I have my doubts if the brand of tyre has an influence on tramlining & would suggest the primary cause is wear in the suspension.

I choose tyres on the Which test results (& price!). April 2009 gave the following overall scores:
Continental PremiumContact 2 69%, Michelin Primacy HP 68%, Uniroyal Rainsport 2 68%, Bridgestone ER300 67%, Nokian 2 G2 67%, Firestone T2300 66%.

Middling were Dunlop SP Sport 63%, Fulda 63%, Kumho 60%, Semperit SpeedLite 60%

Worst were Matador 55%, Hankook 52%, Avon ZV5 51% & Mabor 47%

The report gives detailed scores e.g. the Mabor were good for noise, economy, handling & grip but very poor at wet & dry braking.

some brands have more tendency, however as width increases you will definitely have!

...also that info gives no clue as to the test car involved. Front wheel drive or rear, big small, light heavy?

[cleggy]

On my estate Avon ZV5's are an excellent tyre, quiet, good grip, no problems. I think I paid £300 +,  for the four fitted.

[msb1973]

Please be aware, what works on one vehicle will not necessarily work on another. Falkens being one in particular, there are members here that have them on other cars, and then fitted them to the omega with very different results. On the omega straight line stability is the handling key.

Falkens are exceptionally quiet though, but on this car that's where the good news ends.

But for the op. I would concentrate your efforts on worn chassis components and set up. Then worry about tyres tbh. Reason being if there is a fault on the car, the tyres will soon degrade to the same level and your back to square one, no matter what's fitted.

Sorry but i have to dissagree with your comments about falken tyres as i have used them on a few vehicles and know of alot of others using them on a wide range of vehicles and not one has had any problems with them, infact all feedbacks been very positive, most people overlook falkens/toyo's etc as they are alot cheaper but tbh its mostly snobbery imo, i know where my moneys going when it comes to replace tyres
but you are right in saying if there are other underlying problems it wont matter what tyres you have the handling problems will still be the same

[feeutfo]

Please be aware, what works on one vehicle will not necessarily work on another. Falkens being one in particular, there are members here that have them on other cars, and then fitted them to the omega with very different results. On the omega straight line stability is the handling key.

Falkens are exceptionally quiet though, but on this car that's where the good news ends.

But for the op. I would concentrate your efforts on worn chassis components and set up. Then worry about tyres tbh. Reason being if there is a fault on the car, the tyres will soon degrade to the same level and your back to square one, no matter what's fitted.

Sorry but i have to dissagree with your comments about falken tyres as i have used them on a few vehicles and know of alot of others using them on a wide range of vehicles and not one has had any problems with them, infact all feedbacks been very positive, most people overlook falkens/toyo's etc as they are alot cheaper but tbh its mostly snobbery imo, i know where my moneys going when it comes to replace tyres
but you are right in saying if there are other underlying problems it wont matter what tyres you have the handling problems will still be the same

Yes I had a feeling you would 

Fire away, but don't say you where not warned...

But clearly you 've not tried them on the omega, so impressive confidence  levels there:-X

Just to be clear, the worst possible combination is the 912 on a 17" wheel, the 452 is not as bad in that size. Then in the smaller wheel sizes the symptoms are less pronounced again on a 16". So if you must fit falkens fit the 452 to a 16" rim.

Edit, in my case on a 17" rim.....
To begin with they won't feel too bad, in fact when new they are so quiet the it will give the illusion that a massive improvement has been made. But actually the improvement in handling will be only marginally better than the worn put shagged tyres that just came off, so you'll think all is well to start with.
Then after about 4k you'll find the tram lining creeps in, after 7k start looking for faults on the car, after 10k post up on here asking for desperate help as the car is almost impossible to keep in a straight line. Other kind members on here offer to swap wheels having driven it to declare the thing "definitely not right" and " that cars flecking dangerous,I ain't driving that again"...!  on a single carriage way the car had a built in speed limit of 50mph as it simply would not stay between the white line and the verge, any faster and the driver could not react quick enough to keep it out of the ditch/on coming traffic.

These tyres are absolutely appalling on the omega and quite easily lead to a dangerous condition. Now if you want to disagree with the facts as laid out and witnessed by two other highly respected admins on here, then be my guest, but be advised, with other wheels shod with two other makes Dunlop where fitted to the front of the car, half the symptoms disappeared. That was enough for me to bin them with another 5k worth of tread still to use in favour of sports contact 3's. From that point on all problems disappeared instantly. It was a delight to drive. But then it would be, new unworn tyres where now fitted with a nice flat profile, they WILL handle better new, but the real proof was that the sc3's never degraded to the level falkens felt like from new.

So fire away as said, fit falkens, just post up on here where and when your driving your car so we can all clear the area. Shite stability, shite grip on the 912 and poor wear to boot. But they are quiet 

[TheBoy]

Please be aware, what works on one vehicle will not necessarily work on another. Falkens being one in particular, there are members here that have them on other cars, and then fitted them to the omega with very different results. On the omega straight line stability is the handling key.

Falkens are exceptionally quiet though, but on this car that's where the good news ends.

But for the op. I would concentrate your efforts on worn chassis components and set up. Then worry about tyres tbh. Reason being if there is a fault on the car, the tyres will soon degrade to the same level and your back to square one, no matter what's fitted.

Sorry but i have to dissagree with your comments about falken tyres as i have used them on a few vehicles and know of alot of others using them on a wide range of vehicles and not one has had any problems with them, infact all feedbacks been very positive, most people overlook falkens/toyo's etc as they are alot cheaper but tbh its mostly snobbery imo, i know where my moneys going when it comes to replace tyres
but you are right in saying if there are other underlying problems it wont matter what tyres you have the handling problems will still be the same

We all expect different things from our tyres, we all have different priority and demands.

Then, as chrisgixer pointed out, different car models react well/poorly to some tyres - I use P6000s on the Rover, and they are utterly fantastic on that, but I wouldn't normally fit that junk to a wheelbarrow.

This makes it very hard to recommend a tyre, even if you have actually tried a specific tyre on that car model.


I am currently in a dilema, as I've been having myself too much fun on my Dunlop SP9000s, and have boolaxed them. Without hesitation, for my 235/45ZR17, I would buy another set of SP9000. For my needs, they are nearly perfect (let down by road noise, and a bit of tramlining when very worn). Astonishing grip levels, wet or dry, for both cornering and stopping, and reasonable durability.

But SP9000 are not available any more. And I've never found another tyre I am completely happy with to replace them.  One tyre that will not be going on is Falken 912.  Having swapped my SP9000 for chrisgixers 912s in order to pinpoint his stability issues, and turning my normally very predictable MV6 into 1.7 tonnes of unpredictable, dangerous junk, I would class 912s on the LSC Omega as lethal in the dry (no idea in the wet).

I did try a set of Avon ZZ3s on my old 2.5TD Omega. There didn't work at all on that car. Fortunately, it chewed them to shreds in 4k, so I didn't have to suffer them for too long .  I put some cheapo budgets on it - Nexen 3000. They were pretty good, though like most budget tyres, tend to tail off in very wet conditions.  Not sure I'd want them dealing with the extra power of the MV6 though.

My Elite has my pet hates on - Michelin PS3.  Possibly one reason I rarely drive that car.

[TheBoy]

So I'm currently torn between Dunlop SportMAXX (as the natural successor to SP9000) or the budget Kuhmo KU31 (due to price/performance ratio), with Conti SC3 as an outsider (I've used SC3s before on the MV6 (and SC2s, that I thought were better)), but too pricey.

Or do something completely daft, and stick on the likes of Michelin PS3, knowing that they will possibly outlive the car (and me if I do not adjust my driving style to suit).

Or something else.

[Boatboy]

Please be aware, what works on one vehicle will not necessarily work on another. Falkens being one in particular, there are members here that have them on other cars, and then fitted them to the omega with very different results. On the omega straight line stability is the handling key.

Falkens are exceptionally quiet though, but on this car that's where the good news ends.

But for the op. I would concentrate your efforts on worn chassis components and set up. Then worry about tyres tbh. Reason being if there is a fault on the car, the tyres will soon degrade to the same level and your back to square one, no matter what's fitted.

Sorry but i have to dissagree with your comments about falken tyres as i have used them on a few vehicles and know of alot of others using them on a wide range of vehicles and not one has had any problems with them, infact all feedbacks been very positive, most people overlook falkens/toyo's etc as they are alot cheaper but tbh its mostly snobbery imo, i know where my moneys going when it comes to replace tyres
but you are right in saying if there are other underlying problems it wont matter what tyres you have the handling problems will still be the same

Yes I had a feeling you would 

Fire away, but don't say you where not warned...

But clearly you 've not tried them on the omega, so impressive confidence  levels there:-X

Just to be clear, the worst possible combination is the 912 on a 17" wheel, the 452 is not as bad in that size. Then in the smaller wheel sizes the symptoms are less pronounced again on a 16". So if you must fit falkens fit the 452 to a 16" rim.

Edit, in my case on a 17" rim.....
To begin with they won't feel too bad, in fact when new they are so quiet the it will give the illusion that a massive improvement has been made. But actually the improvement in handling will be only marginally better than the worn put shagged tyres that just came off, so you'll think all is well to start with.
Then after about 4k you'll find the tram lining creeps in, after 7k start looking for faults on the car, after 10k post up on here asking for desperate help as the car is almost impossible to keep in a straight line. Other kind members on here offer to swap wheels having driven it to declare the thing "definitely not right" and " that cars flecking dangerous,I ain't driving that again"...!  on a single carriage way the car had a built in speed limit of 50mph as it simply would not stay between the white line and the verge, any faster and the driver could not react quick enough to keep it out of the ditch/on coming traffic.

These tyres are absolutely appalling on the omega and quite easily lead to a dangerous condition. Now if you want to disagree with the facts as laid out and witnessed by two other highly respected admins on here, then be my guest, but be advised, with other wheels shod with two other makes Dunlop where fitted to the front of the car, half the symptoms disappeared. That was enough for me to bin them with another 5k worth of tread still to use in favour of sports contact 3's. From that point on all problems disappeared instantly. It was a delight to drive. But then it would be, new unworn tyres where now fitted with a nice flat profile, they WILL handle better new, but the real proof was that the sc3's never degraded to the level falkens felt like from new.

So fire away as said, fit falkens, just post up on here where and when your driving your car so we can all clear the area. Shite stability, shite grip on the 912 and poor wear to boot. But they are quiet 

Afraid this echoes my experience to a T, albeit on 15" wheels. Rears 7k, front 6k. On a recent trip on a dark and twisty A road in the rain with oe faded (ie v dull) headlights my wife was getting concerned for my health as my driving was so erratic.

A new track rod end (mot failure) means I seem to get better feedback from the corrective input so the veering from side to side is reduced, but the tramlining is still there. Touch wood not needed the brakes in anger for a long while, but the tc gets a good workout on wet roads.

The real pooh for me was they were recommended by none other than a certain geometry specialist in Chesham. If anyone has his ear maybe they could put him right.

In the meantime I'll be taking it easy.

Steve

[TheBoy]

The real pooh for me was they were recommended by none other than a certain geometry specialist in Chesham. If anyone has his ear maybe they could put him right.

Although they know the Omega for geometry, its harder (impossible?) for them to know how specific tyres react on a car.  It would appear from reviews, and other people's experience of them on other cars, that the Falken 912s and 452s in particular are very well respected on many performance cars.


As I said earlier, we all have different demands of our tyres, so that further clouds any ability to recommend.

I am due to visit said geometry specialist next week, so I will mention that Falken 912s aren't an ideal choice for many on the Omega.

[feeutfo]

Please be aware, what works on one vehicle will not necessarily work on another. Falkens being one in particular, there are members here that have them on other cars, and then fitted them to the omega with very different results. On the omega straight line stability is the handling key.

Falkens are exceptionally quiet though, but on this car that's where the good news ends.

But for the op. I would concentrate your efforts on worn chassis components and set up. Then worry about tyres tbh. Reason being if there is a fault on the car, the tyres will soon degrade to the same level and your back to square one, no matter what's fitted.

Sorry but i have to dissagree with your comments about falken tyres as i have used them on a few vehicles and know of alot of others using them on a wide range of vehicles and not one has had any problems with them, infact all feedbacks been very positive, most people overlook falkens/toyo's etc as they are alot cheaper but tbh its mostly snobbery imo, i know where my moneys going when it comes to replace tyres
but you are right in saying if there are other underlying problems it wont matter what tyres you have the handling problems will still be the same

Yes I had a feeling you would 

Fire away, but don't say you where not warned...

But clearly you 've not tried them on the omega, so impressive confidence  levels there:-X

Just to be clear, the worst possible combination is the 912 on a 17" wheel, the 452 is not as bad in that size. Then in the smaller wheel sizes the symptoms are less pronounced again on a 16". So if you must fit falkens fit the 452 to a 16" rim.

Edit, in my case on a 17" rim.....
To begin with they won't feel too bad, in fact when new they are so quiet the it will give the illusion that a massive improvement has been made. But actually the improvement in handling will be only marginally better than the worn put shagged tyres that just came off, so you'll think all is well to start with.
Then after about 4k you'll find the tram lining creeps in, after 7k start looking for faults on the car, after 10k post up on here asking for desperate help as the car is almost impossible to keep in a straight line. Other kind members on here offer to swap wheels having driven it to declare the thing "definitely not right" and " that cars flecking dangerous,I ain't driving that again"...!  on a single carriage way the car had a built in speed limit of 50mph as it simply would not stay between the white line and the verge, any faster and the driver could not react quick enough to keep it out of the ditch/on coming traffic.

These tyres are absolutely appalling on the omega and quite easily lead to a dangerous condition. Now if you want to disagree with the facts as laid out and witnessed by two other highly respected admins on here, then be my guest, but be advised, with other wheels shod with two other makes Dunlop where fitted to the front of the car, half the symptoms disappeared. That was enough for me to bin them with another 5k worth of tread still to use in favour of sports contact 3's. From that point on all problems disappeared instantly. It was a delight to drive. But then it would be, new unworn tyres where now fitted with a nice flat profile, they WILL handle better new, but the real proof was that the sc3's never degraded to the level falkens felt like from new.

So fire away as said, fit falkens, just post up on here where and when your driving your car so we can all clear the area. Shite stability, shite grip on the 912 and poor wear to boot. But they are quiet 

Afraid this echoes my experience to a T, albeit on 15" wheels. Rears 7k, front 6k. On a recent trip on a dark and twisty A road in the rain with oe faded (ie v dull) headlights my wife was getting concerned for my health as my driving was so erratic.

A new track rod end (mot failure) means I seem to get better feedback from the corrective input so the veering from side to side is reduced, but the tramlining is still there. Touch wood not needed the brakes in anger for a long while, but the tc gets a good workout on wet roads.

The real pooh for me was they were recommended by none other than a certain geometry specialist in Chesham. If anyone has his ear maybe they could put him right.

In the meantime I'll be taking it easy.

Steve

Oh don't worry, he knows about the aggro with my old car and falkens. That car must have been on his set up ramp more than any other in history trying to sort it out. Only thing that made any odds was binning the 912's.

I would suggest a call to him though, save anybody else going through the same nightmare with an omega. In fact tell remind him about my car while your their, and if he is at all sceptical I'll meet you there and we can fit my wheels to your car and he can test drive the differance...

...or your wheels to mine, whatever.