Tests – · none yet Owners 67 · 10 reviews
Falken FK451 looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.
Head-to-head
Updated
Falken FK451 vs Sumitomo HTR Z III — Compared
Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews. Based on 0 + 1 road tests and 10 + 42 owner reviews. How we score
FK451 leads, 68–66 Narrow edge
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Category by category
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
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66
Dry
HTR Z III +268Why this score
Source FK451 HTR Z III Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 67 (est.) ≈ 68 (est.) Reviews found online 65 68 FK451: 60% × 66.6 (est.) + 40% × 64.9 = 66
HTR Z III: 60% × 68 (est.) + 40% × 68.3 = 68
No road tests of dry for FK451. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.40).
No road tests of dry for HTR Z III. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.40).
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70
Wet
FK451 +664Why this score
Source FK451 HTR Z III Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 70 (est.) ≈ 65 (est.) Reviews found online 70 62 FK451: 60% × 70 (est.) + 40% × 70.2 = 70
HTR Z III: 60% × 65.5 (est.) + 40% × 62.1 = 64
No road tests of wet for FK451. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.56).
No road tests of wet for HTR Z III. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.56).
-
–
Snow
No comparison35Why this score
Source FK451 HTR Z III Professional tests (TWG score) – ≈ 51 (est.) Reviews found online – 12 HTR Z III: 60% × 50.8 (est.) + 40% × 12.2 = 35
No road tests of snow for HTR Z III. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.33).
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68
Comfort
FK451 +167Why this score
Source FK451 HTR Z III Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 69 (est.) ≈ 68 (est.) Reviews found online 67 65 FK451: 60% × 68.8 (est.) + 40% × 67.4 = 68
HTR Z III: 60% × 68.5 (est.) + 40% × 65.4 = 67
No road tests of comfort for FK451 or HTR Z III. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.
-
–
Noise
No comparison66Why this score
Source FK451 HTR Z III Professional tests (TWG score) – ≈ 67 (est.) Reviews found online – 65 HTR Z III: 60% × 67.3 (est.) + 40% × 64.6 = 66
No road tests of noise for HTR Z III. The test half is the tested tires’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.
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67
Treadwear
FK451 +166Why this score
Source FK451 HTR Z III Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests ≈ 66 (est.) 70 Reviews found online 68 60 FK451: 60% × 66.2 (est.) + 40% × 67.5 = 67
HTR Z III: 60% × 70.2 + 40% × 59.9 = 66
No road tests of treadwear for FK451. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.31).
-
65
Handling (owners)
HTR Z III +267Why this score
Source FK451 HTR Z III Reviews found online 65 67
Scores at a glance
| Category | Falken FK451 | Sumitomo HTR Z III |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 68 | 66 |
| Dry | 66 | 68 |
| Wet | 70 | 64 |
| Snow | – | 35 |
| Comfort | 68 | 67 |
| Noise | – | 66 |
| Treadwear | 67 | 66 |
| Handling (owners) | 65 | 67 |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
Weight the categories that matter to you
Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Recomputed
Headline score
68
/ 100
FK451
66
/ 100
HTR Z III
Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.
Pros, cons & observations
Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
Tire A FK451
Pros
- Exceptional price-to-performance ratio
- Strong wet and dry traction
- Excellent tread life and durability
Cons
- Potential for rubber cracking between treads over long-term storage or extended age
- Some users report a slightly less 'alive' or communicative steering feel compared to premium performance tires
- Availability concerns as it is an older model often superseded by newer iterations
Tire B HTR Z III
Pros
- Excellent price-to-performance ratio
- Strong dry handling and steering feedback
- Quiet and comfortable ride quality
Cons
- Inconsistent wet-weather side grip during cornering
- Limited traction under heavy acceleration on high-horsepower vehicles
- Not suitable for winter or freezing conditions
Specs side by side
| Attribute | A · Falken FK451 | B · Sumitomo HTR Z III |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Summer | Summer |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Tread depth | — | 10/32″ |
| UTQG | — | 300 A A |
| Sidewall | — | Blackwall |
| Max pressure | — | 50 psi |
Which one should you actually buy?
68
/ 100
Falken FK451
66
/ 100
Sumitomo HTR Z III
Narrow edge: Falken FK451 — better wet. Where the Sumitomo HTR Z III is ahead, it is by less than 3 points. Falken FK451 rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 10 reviews), so read this result as provisional.
Pick tire A
Your priority is wet-weather safety
Falken FK451 scores 70 vs 64 on wet.
Tire A · Falken FK451
Tire B · Sumitomo HTR Z III
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FK451 or HTR Z III?
Which is better in the wet, FK451 or HTR Z III?
Falken FK451, 70 vs 64 on our wet score.
Which grips better on dry roads, FK451 or HTR Z III?
Neither, by our numbers: 66 vs 68 on the dry score, within 3 points.
Which is more comfortable, FK451 or HTR Z III?
Neither, by our numbers: 68 vs 67 on the comfort score, within 3 points.
Which lasts longer, FK451 or HTR Z III?
Neither, by our numbers: 67 vs 66 on the treadwear score, within 3 points.
How do we compare tires?
Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.
Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.
Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology