Falken ZE912 looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.
Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 0 + 14 road tests and 200 + 8,168 owner reviews. How we score
Ecsta PS71 is ahead, 73–66
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Tests – · none yet Owners 64 · 200 reviews
“I just put a set of Falken ZE912's on my wife's CLK and found them to be a lot quieter and smoother than the previous tires that were on the car. They aren't as precise handling as the Michelin or Pirelli's that were on there before, but definately more comfortable.”
Tests 68 · 14 tests Owners 69 · 8,168 reviews
Best test result: #1 of 18 in 2025 ADAC Summer Tyre Test (straight aquaplaning)
“Those are Kumho Ecsta PS71s, thread width is supposed to be 245mm, the actual one is hardly 235. How so?”
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
| Source | ZE912 | Ecsta PS71 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 12 tests | ≈ 67 (est.) | 78 |
| Reviews found online | 66 | 72 |
ZE912: 60% × 67 (est.) + 40% × 65.5 = 66
Ecsta PS71: 60% × 77.6 + 40% × 72.2 = 75
No road tests of dry for ZE912. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).
| Source | ZE912 | Ecsta PS71 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 13 tests | ≈ 69 (est.) | 92 |
| Reviews found online | 68 | 75 |
ZE912: 60% × 69.1 (est.) + 40% × 67.7 = 69
Ecsta PS71: 60% × 92.5 + 40% × 74.8 = 85
No road tests of wet for ZE912. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).
| Source | ZE912 | Ecsta PS71 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 2 tests | ≈ 69 (est.) | 75 |
| Reviews found online | 66 | 66 |
ZE912: 40% × 68.6 (est.) + 60% × 66.2 = 67
Ecsta PS71: 40% × 75.3 + 60% × 65.8 = 70
No road tests of comfort for ZE912. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.
| Source | ZE912 | Ecsta PS71 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 8 tests | – | 15 |
| Reviews found online | – | ≈ 67 (est.) |
Ecsta PS71: 60% × 15.5 + 40% × 66.6 (est.) = 36
No owner ratings of noise for Ecsta PS71. The owner half is the owners’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.
| Source | ZE912 | Ecsta PS71 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 6 tests | ≈ 64 (est.) | 45 |
| Reviews found online | 59 | 61 |
ZE912: 60% × 63.5 (est.) + 40% × 58.7 = 62
Ecsta PS71: 60% × 45.1 + 40% × 60.7 = 51
No road tests of treadwear for ZE912. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.35).
| Source | ZE912 | Ecsta PS71 |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews found online | 62 | 73 |
| Source | ZE912 | Ecsta PS71 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 7 tests | – | 48 |
| Category | Falken ZE912 | Kumho Ecsta PS71 |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 66 | 73 |
| Dry | 66 | 75 |
| Wet | 69 | 85 |
| Comfort | 67 | 70 |
| Noise | – | 36 |
| Treadwear | 62 | 51 |
| Handling (owners) | 62 | 73 |
| Efficiency | – | 48 |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
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.
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
ZE912
Ecsta PS71
Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.
Per discipline: the average % of the best tire over every test both tires were in, and how many of those tests each one won. “Different tests” rows compare results from separate tests.
| Discipline | Category | ZE912 | Ecsta PS71 | Δ | Head-to-head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Also published by the testers (not in the score) | |||||
| Overall Ranking | Overall | #13/14 2011 European Summer Tyre Test - 195/65 R15 | #4/52 2025 Summer Tyre Test Shootout | – | Different tests |
Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score
Community consensus on the Falken Ziex ZE912 highlights it as an affordable, comfortable, and relatively quiet all-season tire with decent dry and predictable wet traction. However, users frequently criticize its rapid treadwear, poor winter/snow grip, tendency to develop road noise over time, and softer sidewalls compared to dedicated performance summer tires.
“Well i can confirm that the sidewall is stiffer. The Ziex 512 was used a lot by the Euro car crowd to achieve the stretched tire look due to it's nice super soft sidewall. People have all been reporting that the new 912's don't stretch nearly as well and it's due to a stiffer sidewall.”
“I paid $90/tire at Sears, which had them in stock. I had the local Discount Tire store install them, which they did for free, since they couldn't get the tire in time for my road trip (let's just say that I'm a frequent DT customer, thanks in part to the ar eating tires).”
“the tires ride AWESOME, they are very quiet, comfortable, and handle quite nicely, but the only thing i dont like is the softer sidewalls, the steering response is delayed compared to the yokos, and the car kind of oversteers now... gay, but not enough to really notice unless your focusing on it, but they heat up quickly, and handle nice around turns, but now i feel like i need sway bars...”
Based on 50 community posts
Community sentiment towards the Kumho Ecsta PS71 is generally positive, with drivers viewing it as an affordable, high-value mid-range/UHP tire that performs reliably compared to premium brands. Users praise its wet grip rating, competitive pricing, and overall road manners once warmed up, though some note it provides adequate rather than top-tier grip and raise questions regarding cold performance and tread life.
“Kumho PS71 Question Replaced an older (2021 or 2022 production) set of ps71 with a new set (production 39-42 week of 2024) and noticed something on the new sidewalls I hadn't seen on the old ones. The new ones have ps71 with either a 1 or a 2 under it right above the bead in very small text. I'm curious what they mean if anything at all.”
“Not exactly helpful but I've got Hankook winter tyres on my 330i and they're really good. mr wilks on here recommend Kumho Ecstas a couple of times so I got a set for my MC and I've been very pleased with them. And I got a set for £400 from Black Circles! ETA My Kumho Ecstas are also PS71.”
“Those are Kumho Ecsta PS71s, thread width is supposed to be 245mm, the actual one is hardly 235. How so?”
Based on 24 community posts
| Attribute | A · Falken ZE912 | B · Kumho Ecsta PS71 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Summer | Summer |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | — | 133 |
| Rim diameters | — | 16″ – 22″ |
| Sidewall | — | Blackwall |
Falken ZE912
Kumho Ecsta PS71
Winner: Kumho Ecsta PS71 — better wet, handling and dry. Pick the Falken ZE912 if treadwear matters most to you.
Kumho Ecsta PS71 scores 85 vs 69 on wet.
Falken ZE912 scores 62 vs 51 on treadwear.
Kumho Ecsta PS71 scores 73 vs 62 on handling.
Kumho Ecsta PS71 scores 75 vs 66 on dry.
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Kumho Ecsta PS71, 85 vs 69 on our wet score.
Kumho Ecsta PS71, 75 vs 66 on our dry score.
Kumho Ecsta PS71, 70 vs 67 on our comfort score.
Falken ZE912, 62 vs 51 on our treadwear score.
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
