Tests – · none yet Owners 69 · 8 reviews
Falken ZE912 looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.
Head-to-head
Updated
Firestone Firehawk AS vs Falken ZE912 — Compared
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 + 0 road tests and 8 + 200 owner reviews. How we score
Firehawk AS leads, 69–66 Narrow edge
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Tests – · none yet Owners 64 · 200 reviews
“Quote: Originally Posted by BobDogNdaHouse I just ordered some 912's (215/45) so I will give a review in a few weeks. I got them for $76 ea, but have seen them for $68, cant beat the price Thats a great price!!! What store did you see 215/45/17 for $68?”
Category by category
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
-
70
Dry
Firehawk AS +466Why this score
Source Firehawk AS ZE912 Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 69 (est.) ≈ 67 (est.) Reviews found online 71 66 Firehawk AS: 60% × 69.4 (est.) + 40% × 71.1 = 70
ZE912: 60% × 67 (est.) + 40% × 65.5 = 66
No road tests of dry for Firehawk AS. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).
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).
-
69
Wet
Level69Why this score
Source Firehawk AS ZE912 Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 70 (est.) ≈ 69 (est.) Reviews found online 69 68 Firehawk AS: 60% × 69.6 (est.) + 40% × 68.7 = 69
ZE912: 60% × 69.1 (est.) + 40% × 67.7 = 69
No road tests of wet for Firehawk AS. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).
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).
-
66
Snow
No comparison–Why this score
Source Firehawk AS ZE912 Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 68 (est.) – Reviews found online 63 – Firehawk AS: 60% × 67.8 (est.) + 40% × 62.8 = 66
No road tests of snow for Firehawk AS. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.37).
-
69
Comfort
Firehawk AS +267Why this score
Source Firehawk AS ZE912 Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 69 (est.) ≈ 69 (est.) Reviews found online 70 66 Firehawk AS: 40% × 69.2 (est.) + 60% × 69.5 = 69
ZE912: 40% × 68.6 (est.) + 60% × 66.2 = 67
No road tests of comfort for Firehawk AS or ZE912. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.
-
70
Noise
No comparison–Why this score
Source Firehawk AS ZE912 Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 67 (est.) – Reviews found online 74 – Firehawk AS: 60% × 66.6 (est.) + 40% × 74.3 = 70
No road tests of noise for Firehawk AS. The test half is the tested tires’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.
-
70
Treadwear
Firehawk AS +862Why this score
Source Firehawk AS ZE912 Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 68 (est.) ≈ 64 (est.) Reviews found online 72 59 Firehawk AS: 60% × 68.1 (est.) + 40% × 71.7 = 70
ZE912: 60% × 63.5 (est.) + 40% × 58.7 = 62
No road tests of treadwear for Firehawk AS. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.35).
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).
-
67
Handling (owners)
Firehawk AS +562Why this score
Source Firehawk AS ZE912 Reviews found online 67 62
Scores at a glance
| Category | Firestone Firehawk AS | Falken ZE912 |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 69 | 66 |
| Dry | 70 | 66 |
| Wet | 69 | 69 |
| Snow | 66 | – |
| Comfort | 69 | 67 |
| Noise | 70 | – |
| Treadwear | 70 | 62 |
| Handling (owners) | 67 | 62 |
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
69
/ 100
Firehawk AS
66
/ 100
ZE912
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 Firehawk AS
Pros
- Exceptionally quiet and smooth ride quality
- Strong dry handling and improved cornering response
- Good water dispersion and wet road performance for most users
Cons
- Potential susceptibility to hydroplaning in heavy rain according to select reviewers
- Requires proper balancing to prevent irregular tread wear
Tire B ZE912
Pros
- Excellent value for money compared to premium brands
- Low road noise and high ride comfort
- Strong dry-weather grip and predictable handling
Cons
- Inconsistent tread life, with many reports of premature wear
- Soft sidewalls can lead to a 'squishy' feel or lack of steering precision
- Wet-weather performance is frequently described as unpredictable or lacking at the limit
What real owners are saying
From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score
Tire A
Firestone Firehawk AS
We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.
Tire B
Mixed
Falken ZE912
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.
northamericanmotoring.com
“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.”
audiworld.com
“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).”
evolutionm.net
“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...”
Top themes
#affordable pricing and value#quiet and comfortable ride#poor snow and winter performance#noise level over time#treadwear and longevity#sidewall stiffness and handling#wet road traction
Based on 50 community posts
Specs side by side
| Attribute | A · Firestone Firehawk AS | B · Falken ZE912 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | All Season High Performance tires | Summer |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | 4 | — |
| Rim diameters | 15″ – 18″ | — |
| Tread depth | 11/32″ | — |
| UTQG | 480 A A | — |
| Treadwear warranty | 50,000 mi | — |
| Sidewall | Blackwall | — |
| Max pressure | 44 psi | — |
Which one should you actually buy?
69
/ 100
Firestone Firehawk AS
66
/ 100
Falken ZE912
Narrow edge: Firestone Firehawk AS — better treadwear and dry. It leads or ties in every category we score. Firestone Firehawk AS rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 8 reviews), so read this result as provisional.
Pick tire A
You want the longest tread life
Firestone Firehawk AS scores 70 vs 62 on treadwear.
Pick tire A
You want the most grip on dry roads
Firestone Firehawk AS scores 70 vs 66 on dry.
Tire A · Firestone Firehawk AS
Tire B · Falken ZE912
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Firehawk AS or ZE912?
Which is better in the wet, Firehawk AS or ZE912?
Neither, by our numbers: 69 vs 69 on the wet score, within 3 points.
Which grips better on dry roads, Firehawk AS or ZE912?
Firestone Firehawk AS, 70 vs 66 on our dry score.
Which is more comfortable, Firehawk AS or ZE912?
Neither, by our numbers: 69 vs 67 on the comfort score, within 3 points.
Which lasts longer, Firehawk AS or ZE912?
Firestone Firehawk AS, 70 vs 62 on our treadwear score.
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