Falken Espia EPZ tire initial review

[kckev99]

Please note the following are just based on my opinions and passed experiences as comparison.

So I finally put on my new set of Falken Espia EPZ tires. I had initially chosen to go with Toyo Garrit KX for my new 2010 GX sedan. I was told that the previous generation of Falken winters were horrible. They were noisy and and did not perform well. However I was swayed by the price ($475 all incl. rims and HST) in comparision to the Toyo's $675 price tag for the same package. This redesign is supposed to be a lot more quite and have much better traction in the snow and ice then it's predecessor. I was very impressed with Falken's summer tire FK-452 when it was first introduced and decided to take the leap of faith and try the new Espia EPZ.

I've put about 50 kms on it thus far in two different conditions.

Yesterday night conditions:
Moderate Rain
Temp: ~6C
Road: Wet with some Standing Water

I did not initially notice much noise difference as the roads were wet and added noise from the water being splashed in the wheel wells masked much of the regular road noise.

I took a spirited S-curve (for those of you who know Scarb: Milner Ave/Morningside) and noticed some lateral loss of traction with some understeer. I was a bit surprised thinking it would handle better than my all-seasons being that it was colder and wet. At highway speeds the tires performed well through standing water and felt very stable.

Morning Conditions:
Cloudy light flurries
Temp: -2C
Roads: Dry and Cold (noticed some standing ice on the side of the Highway)

I would have to say that the noise levels on these tires are acceptable and not bad. Noticeably more than my all-seasons but not bad in comparision to other Winter tires I've used. I'd have to say the noisiest ever were the original Toyo GO-2 and GO-3.

I did not notice this the night before however the handling on these tires under dry cool conditions can be described as a bit "skidish". I have to admit it was quite windy today however I felt the car wander slightly while I was holding the Steering wheel straight and had to correct the direction of my car a few times. I have admit I have not driven a Q-Rated tire before so I guess I would have to expect a little less stability at higher speeds. Overall the experience was not bad. Low speed turns and slow city driving were quite normal and did not feel much of a difference compared to the all-seasons. Only exception is the added noise.

I can only assume the handling will improve as the roads get colder. With colder temps the compound should harden a bit. However I also assume that since it is a Q-Rated tire the side walls are probably weaker and just offer less stability at higher speeds.

I also noticed a slight drag while accelerating in 5th Gear moving from 90-100 km/h. I'm not sure if it is due to the 5W30 I put in last night or due to the added rolling resistance of the winter tires.

Conclusion: It is a fairly decent tire for the price I paid. The road noise is acceptable for a winter tire and probably quieter than most. Highway stability can use some improvement but not bad however my other comparisons are H and T rated winter tires that have higher speed ratings. Wet weather conditions are good except for initial understeer which could be contributed to oil coming up from the pavement. also since there is construction on that stretch debris and other contaminents may have contributed loss of traction.

the next big test would snowy and icy conditions. I am excited to see how this rubber compound and tread design fairs in bad winter conditions.

[dimsumboi05]

hey thanks for the review on this! Let us know your thoughts during the drive on snowy/icy conditions!

[Elusivellama]

Thank you for this post, very good info here. Let's see how they do in snow... chances are, any snow tire is better than any all season tire.

[midnightfxgt]

Good Writeup!

However, these tires did not replace anything. Falken had/has the HS439 Eurowinter, and then the Espia EPZ. The Eurowinter will not be as good in the deep stuff as the Espia, but will out perform it in the dry, and out handle the Espia as it is Falkens performance winter tire. Think or it like the Dunlop Wintersport vs the Graspic.

-John

[Kevin@nextmod]

^^ John is correct. Also i want to let you guys know, don't wait till the snow comes to decide which tire to choose because nothing will be in stock then and you'll probably be stuck with getting the higher end tires which will probably cost 50% more.

[kckev99]

Good Writeup!

However, these tires did not replace anything. Falken had/has the HS439 Eurowinter, and then the Espia EPZ. The Eurowinter will not be as good in the deep stuff as the Espia, but will out perform it in the dry, and out handle the Espia as it is Falkens performance winter tire. Think or it like the Dunlop Wintersport vs the Graspic.

-John

Perhaps that was the model he was referring to. I don't exactly recall but he said they received a lot of negative comments regarding that model.

[Zoom Zoom Boy]

Good review, thanks.

Likely, the handling will not improve much, if at all, in the dry. It is a Q-rated winter as you noted and that means it will be squirmy at best on the highway and especially under any spirited dry cornering. It will also wear quickly in the dry relative to a higher speed rated winter tire. All this said, it should excel in the snowy and icy conditions because of the softer compounds.

I have no experience with this tire, but by and large, I'm not a huge fan of Q-rated snow tires for modern cars for all of the reasons just listed. Especially on the Mazda3, it is simply too many steps down in the OEM speed rating and too much of a sacrifice in handling dynamics when there are plenty of other winter tire options out there with great grip and a higher speed rating.

[kckev99]

You bring up some good points being that it is a number of steps down from the OEM rating. However given the price point it is a good deal for added winter safety versus keeping my all seasons on.

I also waited for as long as possible before putting on these tires knowing that it is a much softer compound and would wear very quickly if the pavement was too warm.

I'd say it's biggest fault would be the dry road handling department. I suspect it will improve slightly as weather gets colder. It is a well rounded tire given the price range point.

[Zoom Zoom Boy]

Hey, don't get me wrong, I'd rather someone have almost any winter tire than to try and drive with no-season's on in the winter months. You will certainly get decent snow and ice traction for sure. You'll just need to keep the speeds down and be cognizant of the fact that handling will be very compromised.

[ocho mazda]

As I have mentioned on another thread; I've been running Toyo Garits on both my Mazdas for quite a few years now, and have no regrets. I have yet to see a post where someone has anything negative to say about the Toyos. Think about it; even if you only have your winter tires on for 4 months a year, the difference in price becomes negligible after the first year.

For anyone who hasn't made a decision yet (what are you waiting for?), consider the Toyos. You will not be disappointed.

[gotak]

Using the same tires for a few weeks now. Haven't really had much opportunity to really test winter condition cause we have had none so far. Anyhow, it's not too bad on the highway. Maybe the speed 3 handles these tires differently but it's not that bad at speeds. Or maybe I am just used to winter tires since I have been using them for a few years now.

Accelerating drag I have noticed. I put it down to the tires getting low on pressure when it's cold out.

They break lose pretty easily on tight corners like right turns out of side streets when it's wet like the last few days. They also gave stability control something to worry about Tuesday night while on a on ramp when I gave it some beans. So I can see that maybe wet traction could be a slight problem but so far braking is fine which is the important part.

The japanese reviews I read via google translate seems to say it's pretty good on snow and ice. So lets hope that's the case I'll be sure to test it at the first chance.

[Zoom Zoom Boy]

Using the same tires for a few weeks now. Haven't really had much opportunity to really test winter condition cause we have had none so far. Anyhow, it's not too bad on the highway. Maybe the speed 3 handles these tires differently but it's not that bad at speeds. Or maybe I am just used to winter tires since I have been using them for a few years now.

Accelerating drag I have noticed. I put it down to the tires getting low on pressure when it's cold out.

They break lose pretty easily on tight corners like right turns out of side streets when it's wet like the last few days. They also gave stability control something to worry about Tuesday night while on a on ramp when I gave it some beans. So I can see that maybe wet traction could be a slight problem but so far braking is fine which is the important part.

The japanese reviews I read via google translate seems to say it's pretty good on snow and ice. So lets hope that's the case I'll be sure to test it at the first chance.

You're running these on your MS3?????? Yikes.

If you're at all aggressive in boost with the MS3, you're going to melt the rubber off these tires on the dry days. These things wouldn't last a season on my MS3... LOL.

[gotak]

You're running these on your MS3?????? Yikes.

If you're at all aggressive in boost with the MS3, you're going to melt the rubber off these tires on the dry days. These things wouldn't last a season on my MS3... LOL.

I am not that lead footed. I have only set off the DSC on a wet on ramp. And it wasn't even on the turn. I just hit a bump and it unloaded the wheels a bit. They are actually better than most would assume. For me I am usually only on boost in 3rd. 1st and 2nd maybe 3 bars on the meter. It's not that bad the ECU really limits the power output in 1st and 2nd it's like 2 different cars. 1st and 2nd it's slower then you hit 3rd and it lets you have some fun..

[gotak]

Ok, snow review!

Pretty good so far no DSC even when there's more snow on the ground like tonight. Did have one slip (just like my gislaved nord frost 5s) at the corner of our town house complex's driveway where there's usually ice. Nothing major grip returned pretty quickly.

I'll try to push harder when I have time and there's more snow to see what it can or cannot do. And I'll write more when there's more ice to see if the ground up egg shell in the tires actually do their job on the ice.

[gotak]

Traction on packed snow testing and it's good and bad. It is likely to be better by far than the gislaved nordfrost 5s in straight line. Seems a lot harder to get ABS to go. On turns though it feels worse where the steering goes light. It's not breaking lose though just doesn't feel like it's gripping quiet as much as on dry ground. Definitely to me means that taking corners slower in the snow is required.

[kckev99]

Traction on packed snow testing and it's good and bad. It is likely to be better by far than the gislaved nordfrost 5s in straight line. Seems a lot harder to get ABS to go. On turns though it feels worse where the steering goes light. It's not breaking lose though just doesn't feel like it's gripping quiet as much as on dry ground. Definitely to me means that taking corners slower in the snow is required.

I have not yet tried the tires in significant amounts of snow however in my initial review I mentioned that it seemed to lack some lateral traction through turns on wet surfaces. According to your experience it seems the problem spills over in the snow as well.

I noticed today being a lot colder (-8C on my temp gauge) the tires have stiffened up and feels much better at higher speeds. It may be psychological but the tires seem to respond better at high speeds. I've always noticed that winter tires with soft compounds have this delay from the time you give it steering input to the time the car makes a trajectory change. The car wanders less and there seems to be less of a delay fwhen making lane changes today due to the colder temps.

[gotak]

I have not yet tried the tires in significant amounts of snow however in my initial review I mentioned that it seemed to lack some lateral traction through turns on wet surfaces. According to your experience it seems the problem spills over in the snow as well.

I noticed today being a lot colder (-8C on my temp gauge) the tires have stiffened up and feels much better at higher speeds. It may be psychological but the tires seem to respond better at high speeds. I've always noticed that winter tires with soft compounds have this delay from the time you give it steering input to the time the car makes a trajectory change. The car wanders less and there seems to be less of a delay fwhen making lane changes today due to the colder temps.

Colder=better with my old car's nord frost 5s as well. It's just the nature of these tires. Cornering it definitely not it's main strength.

[gotak]

More detailed review with the snow we have now.

Straight line traction is as good as the gislaved nord frost was. Might be a shade better but don't know for sure since the MS3 is like 60 something percent front weight so that might help with braking.

Turning is a bit disappointing and dare I say slightly dangerous for people who aren't used to winter driving? With great grip going forward and stopping I can see it catching people out when they try to turn and find that the level of lateral grip is significantly less. The saving grace is that it's not a snap give away, you get a vagueness to the steering feel first. And if it does give away it does regain traction rather quickly.

I have a feeling it might be the narrow groves in the tires that's the issue. It's predominantly thick channels running left and right with 2 fore aft channels near the outside of the tire. The rest of the space between blocks in the center is very narrow.

As it stands I might sell these next winter and get something a bit more high end as I would prefer better balance between straight line and turning traction

[kckev99]

More detailed review with the snow we have now.

Straight line traction is as good as the gislaved nord frost was. Might be a shade better but don't know for sure since the MS3 is like 60 something percent front weight so that might help with braking.

Turning is a bit disappointing and dare I say slightly dangerous for people who aren't used to winter driving? With great grip going forward and stopping I can see it catching people out when they try to turn and find that the level of lateral grip is significantly less. The saving grace is that it's not a snap give away, you get a vagueness to the steering feel first. And if it does give away it does regain traction rather quickly.

I have a feeling it might be the narrow groves in the tires that's the issue. It's predominantly thick channels running left and right with 2 fore aft channels near the outside of the tire. The rest of the space between blocks in the center is very narrow.

As it stands I might sell these next winter and get something a bit more high end as I would prefer better balance between straight line and turning traction

My Update from yesterday night:

Temps: -8C (as read on the gauge, I heard on the radio -17C with wind chill)
Road condition: Slushy (the thick sticky type, not wet and messy type) at times snowy with some just wet pavement.
Roads: 401 east bound, 409, Weston Rd., Wilson Ave, Bathhurst, Sheppard East bound towards Yonge.

As GoTak mentioned, turning is disappointing. As i was trying to abuse some merge lanes yesterday I found my self driving between right lane and merge lane medians where there is quite a bit of slush and snow accumulation. Under gentle acceleration it was able to get a grip however the change of trajectory was disappointing under light to moderate acceleration. Lots of understeer.

Straight Line braking and accelerating were good. Under moderate accumulation on Wilson Ave i had it in 2nd gear from dead stop and was able to get the car to accelerate at a very good pace with very little slip. Uphill and downhill portions on
Sheppard ave between Yonge and Bathurst with slushy surface performed well. Braking and accelerating were not an issue.

In comparison a very recent model Mercedes C300 with 4matic all wheel drive struggled on their NO SEASON tires. Very scary to see these people on the road. Goes to prove all season tires and all wheel drive is no good if you have no grip. In addition i'm sure all that fancy technology was working pretty hard to get that car moving from a dead stop. I'm guessing although the car is all wheel drive the bias is mainly rear as I saw it fish tail up a gentle hill.

I have yet to try in much heavier snow conditions.

So far the Pros:
- Good bang for your $
- Good straight line acceleration and braking under moderately snowy and slushy conditions
- handles well under cold conditions

Cons:
- poor turning and steering under bad road conditions
- poor high speed handling
- Handles poorly when warm... above 0C it is more noticeable

[gotak]

Just wanted to add after our bout of sorta freezing rain. They work very well when it's icy vs slushy and snow. There was no indication I was driving on icy surface. Till I was getting out of the car the the finch and leslie mall (for a bit of BBQ duck in case anyone was wondering) and had my moment of cartoon out take where my legs were flailing around to keep me from face planting.

So I guess, great ice tire but maybe not so great for snow and slush. My opinion is if they made the channels between the blocks bigger they'll have much better snow and slush performance. As it is the quite narrow channels are likely the cause of this tire being bad on snow and slush.