Falken ZE950 Review Dec 2024

Tires can have a drastic impact on the level of performance of your vehicle.

The last thing you’d want after getting yourself a brand new V6 engine equipped car is for your stock tires to bottleneck its performance.

So, I’ve always stressed the importance of getting good-quality, high-performance tires to replace the stock ones when buying high-performance cars.

Even if you own a regular commuter car such as the Honda Accord or the VW Jetta, a set of high-performance tires can go a long way in enhancing its performance and safety.

For all those of you who own sedans, crossovers or sports coupes, and are looking to get a higher performance alternative to your stock tires, Falken Ziex ZE950 is one of the best pocket-friendly choices out there.

I’ve been using the Ziex ZE950 for nearly about a year on my BMW X3, and quite frankly there are very few low-budget high-performance tires that can match its performance.

Last updated on 2020-11-13 at 13:49 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Falken Ziex Review Dec 2024: Why Should You Buy This Product?

When you think of high-performance tires, you usually associate a hefty price tag with it. While that is true for a majority of the cases, there does exist a whole range of budget-friendly, high-performance tire segment.

The Falken Ziex ZE950 is one of the contenders for the top spot in this segment, and I’ve personally tested them out for a few months on my 2018 BMW X3.

Here are a few things that I loved about these tires:

Dynamic Range Technology

One of the most impressive features of the Ziex ZE950 is Dynamic Range Technology which increases the adaptability of the tires to different variations in the climate.

These tires have been manufactured using an advanced tread compound with silica as its primary material. This allows the tires to stay flexible when the temperature drops and ensures higher traction when going through slushy or snowy surfaces.

Conversely, when the weather heats up, the rubber of the tires warm up as well, optimizing performance while driving through the boiling tarmac!

I noticed that the surface was more responsive and supple thanks to Dynamic Range Technology. The improvement in handling, as compared to the stock tires, became quite evident after driving around for a few miles on the highway.

Superior Tread Design and the 3D Canyon Sipe Technology

Coming with an all-season tag, the manufacturer went overboard to make sure that these tires had all the necessary features to make it suitable for driving in wet and icy conditions.

One of the ways Falken did this is by incorporating the 3D Canyon Sipe Technology to the tread design of the tires, drastically improving braking and handling in wet surfaces!

When I took a good look at the Tread Design of the Falken Ziex ZE950, I noticed it had wide angled tread slots. These are meant to enhance traction while driving on different road conditions. The wide angles also help to ensure that the snow you mow gets latched into the middle of the tire, dramatically reducing the possibility of a loss of control.

The 3D Canyon Sipe Technology also means that your tires have more tiny edge slots that help to dig hard into the ice. Stability was noticeably better than the stock tires I had been using before switching on to the ZE950, most likely due to the interlocking sipe tread patterns that are featured in these tires.

Last updated on 2020-11-13 at 13:49 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Highly Durable Product with Uniform Tire Quality Grading

I absolutely loved the Uniform Tire Quality Grading which is featured in these tires by Falken. It is an extremely convenient little attribute that allows users to make an educated guess about the tread life and durability of the tires.

The Falken Ziex ZE950 comes with a UTQG of 600AA which means that these tires are meant to last 6 times longer than tires with a rating of 100. This is far higher than most low-budget high-performance tires I’ve used over the years.

The AA rating signifies the highest grade attainable when it comes to traction, meaning that these tires perform exceptionally well when it comes to skid/braking tests on concrete or asphalt surfaces.

According to Falken, these tires also come with a temperature grading of A, which means that these tires are highly efficient at dissipating the heat it generates and hence is more likely to have an elongated tread life.

Comfort and Noise

Considering the fact that these are a budget set of high-performance tires, comfort and noise aren’t exactly the best when compared to a lot of other pricier tires in the market.

However, for the price I paid for these things, the comfort level was surprisingly good with the Falken Ziex ZE950. I managed to do a 10-hour long drive on my X3 without feeling too much discomfort. The cleverly crafted tread design absorbed a lot of the shocks and minor bumps I encountered throughout my journey.

But when it comes to noise, these tires can get pretty loud!

What Could’ve Been Better?

While these tires provide outstanding value for money, there are a few noticeable shortcomings that I would like to discuss:

Snow traction and noise levels could be improved

While the Dynamic Range Technology does a great job at providing a decent level of traction in icy and snowy surfaces, it is still not good enough to match the performance of several other tires in this price range.

From my experience of driving around on snowy surfaces with the Ziex ZE950, I noticed that the wheels tend to get a bit sloppy when dealing with a considerable amount of snow. This is the only real performance issue I noticed with these tires.

Apart from this, I felt that the noise levels could have been improved. But then again, these are high-performance tires that aren’t exactly meant to be quiet. So if noise levels are a priority, I’d suggest going for a touring tire, rather than a high-performance one.

Final Verdict

When it comes to budget-friendly high-performance tires, you cannot realistically expect to get a package that has everything right. If you’re paying a lower price, there’s got to be a few sacrifices made.

With the Ziex ZE950 by Falken, you get a fantastic set of high-performance, all-season tires that can easily compete with a lot of the higher-end models if we’re talking about pure performance. But they fall short when it comes to comfort levels and snow traction.

However, the overall value you get is superior to almost every other tire in the pocket-friendly high-performance segment, and I highly recommend it.

Last updated on 2020-11-13 at 13:49 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

You should also check out our reviews of other Falken tires:

• Falken AT3W Review Dec 2024
• Falken Sincera SN250 Review Dec 2024