Falken Ziex ZE912 vs Continental ContiCrossContact UHP: Finding the right tire for your vehicle is a crucial and tough task. You need to look for a tire that provides good tread wear and traction for the stability and safety of your car. Both, Falken ZIEX and Continental ContiCrossContact provide an excellent range of tires, but how do you decide which one is better for you?
Falken ZIEX ZE-912 is a summer, asymmetric performance tire designed to offer increased control by yielding improved traction to the passenger cars while Continental ContiCrossContact UHP is a touring summer-season tire made for SUVs and 4X4 trucks.
Examine the treads on these tires closely. They hold the key to knowing which to choose. In fact if you visit my "tread design" page, picking the right tire would never bother you.
To help you pick the tire that is best for you, we will review personally tested Falken ZIEX ZE-912 and Continental ContiCrossContact UHP based on their performance, traction, and handling on dry, snowy, and wet surfaces.
Table of Contents
Dry Traction Comparison
The infinite sipe sequence embedded onto the Falken ZIEX provided decent traction to the tire. These are equipped with high tension carcass which improves the tire’s responsiveness and high-speed stability. The tires also have rotation wear indicators which can be used to keep a check on how much of the tire tread has worn out which proves to be useful to avoid accidents.
However, after the tire’s test, we concluded that the Falken tires had reduced lateral support and would understeer easily.
ZIEX performed well on highways for daily use compared to Continental which noticeably wore out sooner than ZIEX over the long term. The Continental UHP tire was also found to be less resistant to road scrap and provided lower mileage because of that. Ziex has a braking distance of 37.5 m.
However, Continental ContiCrossContact displayed precise handling, good dry braking distance and handling speed, especially during its initial stages of use, since the thicker tread made it perform well.
We found both the tires to perform well in terms of dry grip and dry braking. Nonetheless, Continental’s UHP tire fell short in terms of use for longer periods because of its low tread wear. For regular use on roads and highways, we would recommend using Falken ZIEX since Continental’s UHP wear out easily.
Wet Traction Comparison
The high variable cross grooves equipped in the Falken tires provide increased stability on wet surfaces by evacuating water away from the contact area. Since a tire’s tread design is a contributing factor to its wet traction, Falken’s asymmetric tread design provided decent wet traction.
However, the Falken tires proved to be dangerous if their tread was wearing low since they become slippery on wet roads. We also noticed a long wet braking distance which can be dangerous.
With a short stopping distance on a wet surface recorded in the case of the Continental tires, we found the Continental UHP tires exhibit a better wet grip and handling than the ZIEX ZE-912. Has wet braking of 59.7 m.
While the Continental’s tires feature a similar asymmetric tread design to the Falkens, they had a shorter wet braking distance.
Overall, we would recommend Continentals over the Falkens to you if you reside somewhere it rains often.
Comparing Hydroplaning
High variable cross grooves present on the Falken ZIEX allow increased tread stability and help remove water from the contact area between the road and the tire. This feature allows the Falken tires to avoid hydroplaning while the Continentals have a low straight aquaplaning resistance, making Falkens a better choice in this regard.
Ziex had a float speed of 87.1 km/h here.
Continentals also wear out quickly than Falkens, and since worn tires are the main cause of hydroplaning and accidents, we would steer towards Falkens in this category.
Comparing Handling
Both, Continental ContiCrossContact and the Falken ZIEX exhibit exceptional dry grip and precise handling for their value. 4 wide circumferential grooves make the Falken ZIEX a stable tire at a high speed and under heavy braking.
However, we found the Continental tires to have noticeably better handling features compared to the Falkens. The silica-based compounds improved the steering response and cornering ability of the Continental tires.
The road condition is an important factor to take into consideration when deciding how good a tire’s handling features are. While Continental tire is equipped with features to deliver a decent steering response, we noted it tended to understeer on dry surfaces, as did the Falkens, which impact their ability to be handled on dry surfaces.
However, when compared to each other, the Continentals exhibited slightly better handling than the Falken ZIEX tires.
Upon testing for handling and stability we observed that Ziex had a dry Handling time of 93 sec and a wet handling time of 75.8 sec.
Rolling Resistance and Fuel Efficiency
Since the fuel efficiency depends on a tire’s tread, a tire that provides better treadwear over the long run is a better option. Since the Falkens provide better treadwear, they could be a wiser choice for those who drive a lot over long distances in terms of fuel efficiency.
In terms of rolling resistance and fuel efficiency, we found the Continentals to be better performing due to their silica-based compounds that allow them to use less energy to move. However, the Falken ZIEX also exhibited a low rolling resistance, making them a cost-effective option in terms of fuel efficiency.
Comfort and Noise
We found the Falken ZIEX tires to be significantly better than the Continentals in terms of comfort and noise. Falken tires are one of the least noisy ones on the market while the Continentals fell short in this matter. ‘
The Falken tires are also capable of carrying heavier loads, making them a comfortable and safe option for those with bigger families.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how good your car is. The performance of your tires is what genuinely makes a car good or bad. Falken ZIEX ZE-912 and Continental ContiCrossContact UHP are both decent summer tires.
It is also important to note that the Continental tires are priced slightly higher than the Falken ones, so you may want to check your budget before making the final decision.
In terms of performance, while Continental proved to have better dry grip, wet grip and handling features, they wore out quickly, making them unsuitable for off-roading experiences. The Falken ZIEX proved to be worth its value due to their better tread and hydroplaning resistance.
