Exsta ASX vs. Ziex 512/912

Battle of the cheap tires. I need a 4-season tire for the beater Impreza wagon I was discussing earlier and eventually bought. 205/55-15.

Kumho Ecsta ASX - $68 Falken Ziex 512 or 912 (either one) - ~$76

These will definitely be a 4-season tire and will need to handle all weather conditions and a few 2"-4" snows per year. I live in the northern Delaware area about halfway between Philly and Baldymore. The car will be in the hands of a 17-year-old driver.

Most of the buyer reviews don't really recommend either tire too much for snow. Some say they are OK, but the hyperbole of the hysterical people who are probably just mad because they stuffed it or scared themselves is hard to filter out.

So tell me, GRMers, what are these really like? What other tire should I be looking for? I'd like to stay under $100, but anything has to be better than the Wally-world special Coopers that are on it now, which feel approximately like stale black bagels.

I used that exact size in ASXs on my Celicas for years. I swear by them.

They aren't THE BEST in winter, but if you know how to drive, they're more than enough to get you by. I never once got stuck with them, they last a good amount, and they're cheap.

PLUS, they DO grip well enough in dry and summer to have a bit of fun. I found them superior to the Ziex 512 and 912 under ALL conditions.

I really liked the ASXs I put on the work Aveo. My experience mimics GT2s above.

Kumhos rock!

Seriously good tires for the money.

I've got the 512's on my wifes car. SWEET tire in the dry. Started out good in the snow. But this is her third winter, and only 15k miles, they look like they have plenty of tread, but don't work for crap in the slick stuff.

When I bought the Cobra, it had Falken Ziexes on it. Those were the most horrible tire I've ever had the displeasure to deal with. I distinctly remember coming down a gentle grade one morning in Humboldt, the road was wet, but by no means was it the first rain in a long time. I gently applied the brakes to slow for the 45mph zone I was entering, and the ABS started kicking.

I remember going up hills and onramps, where no matter what gear I was in, if the road was wet, the tires would start to spin at 4k rpm.

Then I got the Kumho ECSTA ASXs (which are still on the car right now) and all of that stopped. I had traction again! After 20k miles (and several autocrosses/year), they're starting to lose some dry traction, but they still stick in the wet.

I recently put the 912s on my wife's WRX wagon, they are quiet and the extra load sidewalls are nice. No complaints, but then again weather in So Cal isn't very challenging on tires.

I purchased the tires from www.onlinetires.com, that was the best deal going and they shipped right away.

Cool, everybody, thanks for the input. Always willing to hear about other tires, too.

I have my second set of ASX's on my wife's Impreza Outback and they are excellent, even driving up to Tahoe from the bay on a couple of occasions with the wife and 3 kids for a little fun in the snow.

I don't have experience with them in the snow, but in Florida's four seasons (coldish and wet, hot, hotter, hot), the ASX was amazing on my Volvo 740 Turbo. A good friend in VA loved 'em on his Civic Si, too.

If I lived in florida I'd have bought SPT's.

ASXes were terrific in the bad weather, and had good dry grip, but the squooshy sidewalls limited their usefulness as a performance all season. I replaced the ASXes with Potenza RE960AS Pole Positions and am much happier with the new tires. They do weigh a couple pounds more per corner though, but that's the tradeoff for increased sidewall stiffness I guess. Bridgestone often has $50 or $100 mail in rebates on these tires, so if you can find one the price difference is negligible (at least for me in 15" sizes).

Do not get the 912 if you are driving in any amount of snow or even dry roads when it is below 5F, they have no traction at all.

I run ASX's on my car, and love them. We've had a bunch of snow this year (more coming tonight) in NJ, and they've handled it wonderfully. They're not a snow tire, but I don't feel the need for snow tires with them.

I know a bunch of people with ASX's who rave about them, which is why I got them, and now I'm a believer. They weren't noticeably noisier than the OEM Michelin HXMX4's on my GTI either, which says a lot given the reputation Michelin carries (round, quiet, and expensive )

I knew a guy who had 2 out of 4 512's separate the tread from the sidewall...it was probably just a bad batch, but it was enough for me to avoid them.

I put a set of the ASX's on my wifes car and we like then alot. I would add that it might be worth it to try and Craigslist a set of snow tires and wheels for the car given the young age of the driver, I know I could have used all the help I could get when I first started driving.

I picked up my Ziex 912s for such a good price that I do not regret the purchase. But damn these tires suck in the snow and ice. If I goose the gas in the snow on my fwd car it will slant off to the side due to the slight camber in the road. I have a lot of trouble simply pulling out of snow packed parking spots.

I've heard/experienced really good things about pretty much all kumhos in wet/cold weather, and mostly bad things about falkens in anything but dry weather. i had a set of exsta supra 712's on a probe gt that stuck great in the wet, and a set of kumho mx's that were kickass in just about everything. although neither saw any snow, they weren't all season tires either, so i would expect no less than effing amazing from their all season offerings.

I've had both the ASXs and 512s on a FWD car at different times and the ASX's win hands down in snow/winter weather.

Strizzo wrote: I've heard/experienced really good things about pretty much all kumhos in wet/cold weather, and mostly bad things about falkens in anything but dry weather. i had a set of exsta supra 712's on a probe gt that stuck great in the wet, and a set of kumho mx's that were kickass in just about everything. although neither saw any snow, they weren't all season tires either, so i would expect no less than effing amazing from their all season offerings.

My V710's suck in the cold!

ASX's, without a doubt. Not as good as cheese, but they're good.

heh, well yeah, my MX's had flat spots in the morning if it got below 40 overnight, but thats to be expected from a summer performance tire

I have ASXs on the Focus, and I also like them. I put them on at the same time as my SVT suspension, and I gave most of the credit in increased cornering performance to the boingers, but it sounds like the ASXs deserve some of the credit. I have no problem with them in the snow, and I'd say they're well above average in the cold/wet.

Azenis are, shall we say, entertaining in the winter, for the record. Hell, even in the cold they're slippery. Fun fun.

The ASX's do have relatively soft sidewalls compared to the SPT or the old Ecsta Supra 712's, but they ride nice, they have great all weather traction and they wear FOREVER! I got something like 70k out of our first set and the second set is tracking the same.

ww wrote: The ASX's do have relatively soft sidewalls compared to the SPT or the old Ecsta Supra 712's, but they ride nice, they have great all weather traction and they wear FOREVER! I got something like 70k out of our first set and the second set is tracking the same.

Holy crap! I'm somewhere between 15 and 20k, and I'm almost on the wear bars on my ASXs. I'm assuming you're driving something smaller and lighter (and less prone to spin the rears) than I am, though.

Mine usually lasted about 20k.

But i also bracket raced with them.

Nothing like an All Season great in snow that you can still pull a 2.0 60' in.