| FALKEN AZENIS RT615 From OPTION2 | TOP > PRODUCT TESTING > FALKEN AZENIS RT615 |
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| The Falken Azenis line of the RT215 is a popular model amongst the circuit racers and the ST115 for the drifters. The new model RT615 inherits the RT215’s best features and is categorized in the high grip class. Wada-Q, the professional race car driver provides us with his impression here. |
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The goal of this development was the combination of high grip and long life. |
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| The Falken Azenis RT615 is rated as one of the top grade tires in the high grip category along with the RT215 model. These tires are different from the traditional 'S' tires (semi-slicks) which they provide more safe performance even in wet conditions. The goal of the RT615 tires was to provide high grip and long life. Besides, the 'S' tires are not favorable to the everyday enthusiast because of their short life span. | The realistic approach when choosing tires is tires that will last more than a few hard runs on the track. Considering the feedback and response of the enthusiasts’ needs, a tire compound used in the RT215 was improved in terms of strength while maintaining high grip qualities. Falken utilized a combination of different elements such as polymer and carbon to enhance the potency that leads to a longer tread life. |
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This is what the tire looks like after Wada-Q had performed 15 full throttle laps. The outside temperature was a scorching 97F degree, increasing the road surface temps as well. The tires still look ok, and the lap times stayed consistent within 1 second of each other. |  |
To promote the high grip characteristic, each block on the tire was given a large dimension. The edges of the blocks were tapered as well. | |
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The AZENIS logo which is 0.6mm deep is stamped on the surface for a purpose. Once the logo disappears, the tires are considered broken in. | |||
| Manufacturer: Dunlop Falken Tire | |
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Wada-Q's Trial Celica runs at full-throttle! |
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| To find out how much the tire's performance was improved, we asked Wada-Q, who has served as an R&D driver for many tire companies, gave us his impression. The vehicle used for this test was a Toyota Celica made by Trial and the location was at the Central Circuit in Japan. "After 15 laps, I was so amazed when I saw the surface of front tires. I drove the car very hard to its limit, but the tire surface had not decreased at all. Usually on a FF vehicle like this Celica, the front tires tend to wear out faster than on a FR vehicle, but that was not the case. | My lap times were still consistent and the wear was minimal as you can see in the photos. The concept of long life in these tires is backed up very well, and I believe these tires will do great on an endurance race. Regarding the grip of the tires, I cannot say much since I haven't driven on the other set to give an equal comparison. But the RT215 may be better to produce a fast lap time in one shot, and the RT615 may be more suited for stable grip at all times. The RT615 reacted very well every time I turned the wheel, considering the fact that bad tires do not react at all when the front begins to slide out. |
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"I was very surprised to see that there was not much of a time drop after 15 laps. Usually, there will be a 1 second or more difference after the first few laps. The 1st lap was 1 min 37.174 seconds followed by the 3rd lap at 1 min 37.326 sec, only a .15 second difference. At the 15th lap, the difference in time never passed 60 seconds (The worst lap was 1min 38sec 099). Pro Racing Driver, WADA-Q |
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"Today, the vehicle used for this test was our customer's 2.0L bored Celica. A 225/45-16 tire is optimal for the best lap time, but due to the unavailability we chose the 215/40-17. The lap times were all within 1 minute. As a mechanic, my opinion is that these tires were made to last a very long time while keeping down heat; therefore these will be ideal for customers who want to enjoy high performance tires for a long time and for endurance races. Also what I noticed that there was little or no air pressure difference during its run. Since the tire characteristics stay consistent, the mechanics do not have to take into account the vehicle settings in reference to the tires." Trial mechanic, Mr. Tsuruta |
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