Falken Eurowinter HS02
The Falken is a decent performer, provided you avoid the snow
The Falken seems to sacrifice snow performance for wet and dry capability. It was ranked 10th in all three snow tests, placing it just ahead of our budget tyre. That said, in terms of lap time it was far superior, being three seconds a lap off the best but three seconds faster than the budget tyre. Even so, it didn’t impress, with weak grip and a keenness to slip sideways under acceleration.
It was much more impressive in the wet, delivering decent performances in the aquaplaning tests and solid results in regular wet tests, with fifth in the important wet-braking test, sixth in wet cornering and upping its game on the wet circuit to claim a podium place with third fastest. It lacked the incisive responses of the very best but earned praise for its predictable and exploitable handling.
In the dry it went two spots higher, earning its first outright win in dry braking, setting the standard at 43.3m – 0.7m better than the second-placed Pirelli. It wasn’t far off the pace on the dry circuit, being faster and better poised on its second lap where many started to feel loose. Good refinement and economy rounded out a solid, wet and dry-biased drive.
Blackcircles.com says…
“A fair overall result but, oddly for a winter tyre, the Falken is poor on the snow and good in the wet and in the dry.”
| Falken Eurowinter HS02 | ||
| Overall | 98.6% | |
| Price | £105 | |
| Snow braking | 94.3 | 10th |
| Snow traction | 91.6 | 10th |
| Snow handling | 96.7 | 10th |
| Straight aquaplaning | 91.7 | 7th |
| Curved aquaplaning | 90.2 | 9th |
| Wet braking | 95.7 | 5th |
| Wet handling | 99.2 | 3th |
| Wet circle | 97.3 | 6th |
| Dry braking | 100 | 1st |
| Dry handling | 99.5 | 5th |
| Cabin noise | 99.9 | =2nd |
| Rolling resistance | 88.7 | 6th |
