205/50/15.
I just put the tires on my stock steel wheels on the car and ran it very hard out in the back roads today. Really nice upgrade. The turns that usually howl and squeal are now quiet and tight. Used to run Yokohama YK 420's.

The steering is especially responsive, too.

For $87 each, mounted, out the door I'm happy and ready to get nuts

I'm currently running at 35 psi. I wonder how 32 would feel?

Someday... I'll put the tires on a lighter wheel.

I'm happy with them so far. I'll have better feedback for you later today after I get back from the AX.

I'm running 29 PSI.

great on the track in the rain....I run 28lbs...

Here's how they look on the black painted stock steels.

I don't mind the look so much. Kinda stock car/ track car feel?

This tread pattern is FREAKY

how does the 50 series do with the geareing on the freeway? where did you buy them from? i want some falkens!

I just got in from running my first AX with the Azenis. In a word, "Awesome".

I ran 29 lbs front and rear.

I made one adjustment to the car after the first two runs. I found the back end to be a little too sticky and I couldn't rotate the car the way I wanted to. Luckily, I've got adjustable Konis all around. Normally, I run the rears at Full-Soft. I adjusted them a half-turn towards Firm and it made a world of difference.

I missed taking first in class by less than 1/10 of a second.

That's the one thing I don't like. Going to the 50 series tire raised the rev level considerably for highway cruising speeds. However, I've got another set of tires and wheels that I put on the car when I'm not heading to an AX.

arg.... i want the falkens, but they dont come in 205/55's. arg.... the quest continues! whats a good aggressive street tire similar to falken azenis?

The Potenza SO-3's, but they cost much more than the Aziens, about $118 each from TireRack.com But they do come in 205-55-15

thanks...i should mention at a comparable price

These tires came from Discount/America's Tire.
Less than a week to get 'em .

If you look carefully at the picture of the tread pattern, you can tell that 35 psi is WAY too high. The outside edge of the tire is not getting wear ( or heat ) I'll try 29 psi on my private 3.3 mile vineyard lap

i found em for 62 dollars online... how long will they last on the street? i think im sold!

I have Falken Azenis 225/45/17 on my WRX. They are really sticky. They make a lot of noise cornering also. I am very satisfied with them. For the price they can't be beat. I have yet to drive them in the rain...the tread pattern kind of scares me for that sort of driving!

Yea, and Im going to be right behind you....Lucky bastard

vineyard lap ...there are some great little runs in these hills. Anyone coming to Napa?

1. Dry Creek rd
2. Redwood rd/Mt Veeder
3. Old Sonoma rd to Dealy to Henry to Buhman to Old Sonoma rd ( my vineyard lap )
4. Trinity Grade
5. Coombsville to Wild Horse Valley
6. Lake Berryessa loop

I could go on all day...

Anyway, back to the tires.

The America's Tire guys had a real time mounting these things. It took 3-4 of them 30 minutes to get it done. They are so stiff they couldn't get the beads to seat. They were pounding and jumping

Finally they had to put one of 'em in " THE CAGE".
A metal enclosure wher they attach a remote air hose on the tire and then over inflate the tire until the bead seats...PAPPP!

The cage is supposed to prevent death when the tire accidentally explodes from massive over inflation.

"Do not try this at home, we're professionals".

Growing up one of my friend's family owned a tire shop. When they couldn't get a bead to seat they'd spray an ample amount of starting fluid (ether) into the tire and around the bead. Then they'd stand back and throw a match at it. BOOM! ...And, 'Ta-Da' , bead seated. Worked every time. (Don't try at home)

-Ben M.

CaliWRX,

are the WRX wheels 7" or 8" wide???

They are 7.5 inches wide.

I could probably fit 235's on them without rubbing but I didn't want to chance it.

Set the tires to 29 psi cold.
Ran hard.
The car understeers a bit and feels a little drifty.
A little tail happy, if you will.

Added fuel ( front end weight ) and set the Koni's 1 whole turn each from full soft toward firm front and rear.
A little better.

Came home fast. ( vineyard lap )

Checked tires hot. 32 psi front, 34 psi rear.

Your comments, if you please.

I missed your original post. I just installed 205/50/15 Falken Azenis sports on my car as well. I originally started at cold 33 psi. One thing I'm still getting used to is the delay in inital turn in and the floaty feeling compared to my 195/60/15s. I cranked up the presure to 38 psi and floatly feeling went away, but not sure thats going to be the best pressure. I'm having a love hate thing with these tires - grip is awesom, but road feel is strange for me.

Ride height of the 205/50/15 falkens seems about the same as my 195/60/15s. Car doesnt accelerate quite as well with bigger tires, but grip outweighs the slight reduction in acceleration.

how do these compare to Yoko A032Rs? Anyone here use both?

Shouldnt smaller diameter = quicker acceleration? I think so, thats why I make fun of those rollers with 22s.

Has anyone had a significant problem with switching between bycicle tyres (165/1x-15) to 205s in over reving at freeway speeds? I cant remember what the stock size is, but I seem to remember punching it into a tyre calculator and figuring 10.1mph would read 10mph on the gauge. And is there that big of a difference between 205/55 and 205/50 in terms of acceleration vs top speed vs over reving?

Here is the link for that tyre compensator calculator thing:
http://www.web-cars.com/math/tiresize.html

I ran my first ever AX back on June 23rd. I had mine set to 30 psi cold with Konis set to full hard on front and full soft rear on my first 2 runs. My lack of driving skils and this combo caused the rear end to break loose on hard turns.

My next 2 runs no tire pressure change but set the koni's to 3 turns past soft on front and full soft on rear. My time got better by 3 seconds.

My last 2 runs again no tire pressure change and all koin's set to full soft, dropped another 2 sec of my time (I guess my driving skills improved )

Did two fun runs at 34 psi, front koni's 2 turns past soft and the rear 1 turn past soft and had my best time's of the day. So what does this mean?????
Nothing , I don't know what the F I'm doing but it was fun.

I think for my next AX I will set the tire pressure to 32 cold, and leave the front koni's set at 2 turns past soft and leave the rear at full soft and learn to drive the car that way.

- Garold

PS I run 205/50/15 on my car

Garold, that's 34 psi hot right?

Well, yes and no. The funs runs were done about 25 min after I completed my final offical timed runs. So I guess you could say they were hot.