Nitto And Falkon Tires...

[FarangBuddha]

Anyone have experience with Nitto and Falkon brand tires...positive or negative. Specifically, their SUV all-weather models the Nitto NT 420S or the Falkon Ziex STZ01? I am thinking of fitting a set of 265 or 255 18-inchers on my Toyota Sportrider. Pricing is similar at around B 5600 a tire and the internet review seem fairly positive (but some negatives as well).

Edited April 22, 2011 by FarangBuddha

[Kwasaki]

Never heard of em !!! maybe that's why no one has replied.

You can get well known proven tyres here in Thailand, surely they need no introduction and for reasonable or the same price as you have stated.

[wimpy]

I had a set of Nitto Neo Gen tires on my Civic. I quite liked them. Seemed a bit more predictable the the Yokohamas I had previously. They are made in Japan, compared to a lot of "name brand" tires that are made in Thailand or Indonesia.

I am considering a set of Nitto Trail Grapplers for my 4wd truck. http://www.nittotire.com/index.html#index.tire.trailgrappler

[Shocktreatment]

Never heard of em !!! maybe that's why no one has replied.

You can get well known proven tyres here in Thailand, surely they need no introduction and for reasonable or the same price as you have stated.

Never heard of Nitto ? what planet are you from.

Nitto make quality tires and I run there street race tires on my pickup and love them.

[pampal]

I have Nitto 420S on my PJS. They are very good tires and much better than the stock tires I replaced.

They stick to the ground very well and I also like their wet performance.

[katabeachbum]

Nitto and Falken are both excellent brand name tyres

[jcon]

Nitto 420Ss look great (as another user mentioned):

Apart from looking great (especially from the rear), they ride quite well. I've driven on them (on 18" wheels, 255 or 265 I can't recall) and they feel good, on most road conditions (that's a friend's car above).

I can't decide between the 420S and the TerraGrapplers for my own car when I do find the wheels. The 420Ss look great on the street, but the TGs look aggressive also and can provide that extra traction off-road should you need it. I will decide at the end of the summer.

Falken, well I just don't know many guys (anybody?) that uses them. Reason???

edit: Terra

double edit: This is what I mean by the TGs looking aggressive, a nice contrast between the tyre and the car:

Edited April 24, 2011 by jcon

[Kwasaki]

Never heard of em !!! maybe that's why no one has replied.

You can get well known proven tyres here in Thailand, surely they need no introduction and for reasonable or the same price as you have stated.

Never heard of Nitto ? what planet are you from.

Nitto make quality tires and I run there street race tires on my pickup and love them.

Planet Earth I think when I last looked and I differ from the spell check on here as well because tire is tyres and color is colour.

The Toyo Tire Corporation were on the planet USA and weren't Nitto USA until 1999 so how would I have heard of them.

If you had said Toyo Giant Tire Co.,Ltd. (currently Nippon Giant Tire Co.,Ltd.) that merged in 1985 its off the road tire business with Goodyear Tyre & Rubber Company

maybe I would understood but they never came to the UK until 2005 and I had gone already and living in Thailand

The Mrs car has the same tyre pattern as the TOYO Tire & Rubber - group Proxes T1-R exactly but maybe a different compound being in Thailand and they are called Eagle F1 made by Goodyear in Thailand.

Street race tyres on a truck, OK ! whatever floats your boat.

[FarangBuddha]

Thanks for the feedback...leaning towards the Nittos as the thread pattern may provide better wet road handling on the often waterlogged Thai roads. Also considering Michilin Latitudes.

[Shocktreatment]

Never heard of em !!! maybe that's why no one has replied.

You can get well known proven tyres here in Thailand, surely they need no introduction and for reasonable or the same price as you have stated.

Never heard of Nitto ? what planet are you from.

Nitto make quality tires and I run there street race tires on my pickup and love them.

Planet Earth I think when I last looked and I differ from the spell check on here as well because tire is tyres and color is colour.

The Toyo Tire Corporation were on the planet USA and weren't Nitto USA until 1999 so how would I have heard of them.

If you had said Toyo Giant Tire Co.,Ltd. (currently Nippon Giant Tire Co.,Ltd.) that merged in 1985 its off the road tire business with Goodyear Tyre & Rubber Company

maybe I would understood but they never came to the UK until 2005 and I had gone already and living in Thailand

The Mrs car has the same tyre pattern as the TOYO Tire & Rubber - group Proxes T1-R exactly but maybe a different compound being in Thailand and they are called Eagle F1 made by Goodyear in Thailand.

Street race tyres on a truck, OK ! whatever floats your boat.

Sorry I didnt know you had been under a rock for 10 years , As for street race tires on a truck comment again shows me you really dont have a clue about what does or has gone on around you here in Thailand. I moved to Thailand before Nitto started and I new about them

[BangkokImages]

I really like Nitto's.

I had a set on my Cobra Mustang (512rwp) which were 555's.. and they lasted over 40k.. not bad performance wise, not too noisy, and the wear rating of 300 was great.

I also have a set of 555R's (drag radials) I use at the track.

The car was just pulled from storage to prep for me.. I'll be back in the states soon.. and the 555's were fine.. about 1/3rd the tread still, and no flat spots (according to the Ford Dealership), but I'm going to replace them with NT05's anyway. The 555's are being phased out. It was a tough call.. I liked the INVO's and the NEO-GEN's even caught my interest.. but the NT05's are much more in line with how I use the car.

I had a set on my 4x4 also.. but for the life of me I can't remember the model.

[Kwasaki]

Sorry I didnt know you had been under a rock for 10 years , As for street race tires on a truck comment again shows me you really dont have a clue about what does or has gone on around you here in Thailand. I moved to Thailand before Nitto started and I new about them

I was under the UK inland revenue rock alright for 41 years.

Yeah !! Know what you mean and do see trucks around here lowered etc but that is not my kind of thing or interest, rather do it to a car.

Making my truck when I had one go faster, yes and that's about it.

All my years in England I was always into Motorbikes and always used Bridgestone or Pirelli never used anything on a car or van other than Goodyear, Michelin, Bridgestone or Pirelli.

I guess Americans always have got a wider range of choices in many things.

[transam]

Sorry I didnt know you had been under a rock for 10 years , As for street race tires on a truck comment again shows me you really dont have a clue about what does or has gone on around you here in Thailand. I moved to Thailand before Nitto started and I new about them

I was under the UK inland revenue rock alright for 41 years.

Yeah !! Know what you mean and do see trucks around here lowered etc but that is not my kind of thing or interest, rather do it to a car.

Making my truck when I had one go faster, yes and that's about it.

All my years in England I was always into Motorbikes and always used Bridgestone or Pirelli never used anything on a car or van other than Goodyear, Michelin, Bridgestone or Pirelli.

I guess Americans always have got a wider range of choices in many things.

Especially hamburgers.

[MoonRiverOasis]

The brands you're listing are low-mid end, and both a reasonable choices for the money.

Nittos have been in Thailand longer, and have a bigger dealership network, so are more popular. The 420s is a relatively decent tire, but real-life treadwear isn't fantatstic - they'll physically last 60K+, but you want to change them after ~30K due to eccessive noise and harsh ride. Noise levels and ride quality are far better than the OEM Bridgestone's, but not as good as other alternatives.

If you're looking for cheaper options, also consider the Nangkang's (Yokohama's lower-end, Taiwanese made brand) - these have good ride quality, very low noise, and good wet traction. UTQG treadwear is 500, making it ~20% better than most other options in this fitment.

If you're looking for something superior, the Yokohama0 (Japanese) Advan and Parada Spec-X are a better tire in every way.

For something in the middle-end I'd also suggest looking at the Yokohama AVID SUV's and the Toyo's - especially if you lean more towards ride comfort and low noise.

Note that I would not personally recommend any of the cheaper tire fitments if you reguarly cruise at high speeds (> 140km/hr) or like to push hard through the turns - if this is your thing, spend the money for the Advan's or Parada Spec-X.

[Kwasaki]

Never seen them here in Sukhothai.

The only signs you see here for tyres are Bridgestone, Firestone, Michelin, Goodyear.

I don't like using tyres that I am not familiar with, Bridgestone are used in MotoGP and I don't like using anything else on a motorbike.

Ratthapark Wilairot in Moto 2 is on Dunlop.

Formula One racing cars use Pirelli so where is Toyo's in all this.

[FarangBuddha]

The brands you're listing are low-mid end, and both a reasonable choices for the money.

Nittos have been in Thailand longer, and have a bigger dealership network, so are more popular. The 420s is a relatively decent tire, but real-life treadwear isn't fantatstic - they'll physically last 60K+, but you want to change them after ~30K due to eccessive noise and harsh ride. Noise levels and ride quality are far better than the OEM Bridgestone's, but not as good as other alternatives.

If you're looking for cheaper options, also consider the Nangkang's (Yokohama's lower-end, Taiwanese made brand) - these have good ride quality, very low noise, and good wet traction. UTQG treadwear is 500, making it ~20% better than most other options in this fitment.

If you're looking for something superior, the Yokohama0 (Japanese) Advan and Parada Spec-X are a better tire in every way.

For something in the middle-end I'd also suggest looking at the Yokohama AVID SUV's and the Toyo's - especially if you lean more towards ride comfort and low noise.

Note that I would not personally recommend any of the cheaper tire fitments if you reguarly cruise at high speeds (> 140km/hr) or like to push hard through the turns - if this is your thing, spend the money for the Advan's or Parada Spec-X.

MRO - Thanks for the detailed feedback...the Yangkang's might fit the bill as my ride is an 8 y/o Sport-Rider that I only use for driving around the streets (and potholes) of Pattaya, with only the very occasional expressway trip to Bangkok so don't need anything high performance. Something with a "soft" ride (especially as it has 18" rims so is low-profile, which already effects comfort) and good wet-road handling would be ideal. On the expressways, I never push it much beyond 110/120 as it starts to "shake, rattle, and role" and both the general handling and road noise becomes excessive.

By the way, for this vehicle and my driving style, do you have a recco for a set of after-market shocks...thx.

Edited April 26, 2011 by FarangBuddha

[MoonRiverOasis]

Never seen them here in Sukhothai.

The only signs you see here for tyres are Bridgestone, Firestone, Michelin, Goodyear.

I don't like using tyres that I am not familiar with, Bridgestone are used in MotoGP and I don't like using anything else on a motorbike.

Ratthapark Wilairot in Moto 2 is on Dunlop.

Formula One racing cars use Pirelli so where is Toyo's in all this.

You only see signs for the mjor brands, true, but walk inside and you'll most likely see all sorts of cheaper options from brands you've never heard of like Aurora, Deestone, Hankook, etc.

As for racing tires, ultimate grip always comes at the expense of high noise and poor ride comfort, and/or poor treadwear life.. Most people would prefer a more comfortable tire with low noise and good treadwear over forsaking all of these attributes for an extra +0.1G on the skidpad

[MoonRiverOasis]

By the way, for this vehicle and my driving style, do you have a recco for a set of after-market shocks...thx.

For SUV's/4WD's you'd be hard pressed to find a better engineered shock than the Old Man Emu Nitrocharger Sport Shocks IMHO. Being Australian, they only offer fitments for vehicles sold in Australia, but no problems for you as the Sportrider was sold in AU as the Hilux Surf. Not low-end though, you'd be looking at ~30K for a set of 4..

In the cheaper end, the Thai made "Robust" shocks with external sub-tank perfrom well, and will cost you less then 20K Baht/set. These do not have vehicle-specific fitments like the OME's but feature adjustable valving that can allow a decent suspenion shop to get close to your specific requirements.

In the higher end, Hotbits w/subtank are probably the best available in Thailand for SUV's, but will set you back 40-45K/set. Same as the Robusts - they dont' have vehicle-specific tuning like the OME's, but are fully adjustable.

Other popular choices Include the Westcoast monotubes at around 25K/set, and the Winner monotubes at ~17K/set - both of these have "generic" tuning (so same part number for a Fortuner, Sportrider, or a Pajero Sport, but totally different part for a Yaris) and feature some adjustability for fine tuning.

The bottom line is, OME have a part number that has been fine tuned with over 50,000KM actual driving in your car. Others are more generic, and need the talents of a suspension specialist to get the right balance fo handling and comfort.

[BangkokImages]

As for racing tires, ultimate grip always comes at the expense of high noise and poor ride comfort, and/or poor treadwear life.. Most people would prefer a more comfortable tire with low noise and good treadwear over forsaking all of these attributes for an extra +0.1G on the skidpad

Well.. not "always." Just "almost" always..

Pushes in technology 'tries' to improve all the characteristics to optimum levels.

I'm stoked to try my new NT05's. Will 12 years of improvements over the 555's make a big difference? Sure hope so..

[phutoie2]

Never seen them here in Sukhothai.

The only signs you see here for tyres are Bridgestone, Firestone, Michelin, Goodyear.

I don't like using tyres that I am not familiar with, Bridgestone are used in MotoGP and I don't like using anything else on a motorbike.

Ratthapark Wilairot in Moto 2 is on Dunlop.

Formula One racing cars use Pirelli so where is Toyo's in all this.

You are beginning to sound like the ol broken record, just admit it!, there are TV peeps here that just know that little bit more than you!, let it go.

Well you are amusing - "never seen them in Sukhothai", ever consider stand up?

[Kwasaki]

Never seen them here in Sukhothai.

The only signs you see here for tyres are Bridgestone, Firestone, Michelin, Goodyear.

I don't like using tyres that I am not familiar with, Bridgestone are used in MotoGP and I don't like using anything else on a motorbike.

Ratthapark Wilairot in Moto 2 is on Dunlop.

Formula One racing cars use Pirelli so where is Toyo's in all this.

You are beginning to sound like the ol broken record, just admit it!, there are TV peeps here that just know that little bit more than you!, let it go.

Well you are amusing - "never seen them in Sukhothai", ever consider stand up ?????????

Bridgestone Bridgestone Bridgestone Bridgestone Bridgestone Bridgestone Bridgestone Bridgestone whoops something's broke. :lol: