Falken Azenis FK460 A/S vs Goodyear ElectricDrive GT tires

Can ordinary all-season tires work on electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids? Yes, they can, but…there are some important differences between tires that are purpose-built for EVs and ordinary all-season tires. Obviously, a top priority with EVs is getting the most range possible on a single battery charge, so EV all-season tires need to be designed for the lowest possible rolling resistance. Also, most EVs are still equipped with a heavy battery pack under the vehicle’s floor pan, which makes the vehicle much heavier and changes its center of gravity, braking and handling properties. EV tires need to be designed with those considerations in mind, and conventional all-season tires will wear prematurely when they have to handle that kind of weight. Finally, EVs are dead quiet on the highway, with no engine or exhaust noise to intrude into the passenger compartment. Tires for EVs need to be designed to mute road noise as much as possible, and a noisy set of tires would be very noticeable for drivers and passengers.

Today we’re going to take a look at the Falken Azenis FK460 A/S and Goodyear ElectricDrive GT. Both are performance-oriented all-season tires that are loaded with cutting-edge features and deliver great value and performance year-round. While these tires might have those similarities, though, they also have some notable differences that we’ll compare and contrast as we delve into them a bit later.

Are you familiar with SimpleScore? SimpleScore is the system that the team at SimpleTire devised to give you a quick at-a-glance look at a tire’s strengths and weaknesses. We look at specs, reviews, and other data points and then take that information and distill it to a 1-10 numerical value for the categories of traction, handling and longevity for any given tire, as well as an overall average SimpleScore. For the Falken Azenis FK460 A/S and Goodyear Electric Drive GT, the SimpleScore numbers come out as follows:

Falken Azenis FK460 A/S

• Traction: 8.6
• Handling: 8.7
• Longevity: 9.0
• Overall average SimpleScore: 8.7

Goodyear ElectricDrive GT

• Traction: 8.7
• Handling: 8.8
• Longevity: 8.4
• Overall average SimpleScore: 8.6

Handy as that SimpleScore info might be, it’s still the 30,000 foot view and doesn’t really give you the full picture of a tire’s value, performance, and capabilities. We’re going to go in for a closer look with this head-to-head comparison:

Falken Azenis FK460 A/S tires

Falken is one of Japan’s premium tire manufacturers, and at the SimpleTire team we’ve been pretty consistently impressed with their product line. The Azenis FK460 A/S is a performance-oriented all-season tire that’s designed to deliver the kind of handling, steering response, driver feedback and road manners you’d expect with an ultra-high-performance (UHP) tire, except with the bonus of year-round performance (vs UHP tires that will stiffen and lose traction in colder weather and need to be dismounted and replaced with all-season tires or winter tires when temps are below 40-45 degrees F).

The Advanced 4D Nano Technology tread formulation of the Azenis FK460 A/S is designed to achieve a balance of year-round traction (including in wet or wintry weather), long, even wear and consistent handling and cornering ability. Falken designed the all-season tread of the Azenis FK460 A/S for dependable traction even in light snow, with a system of circumferential and angled grooves, including their innovative Emerging Grooves that actually open up and expand to continue enhancing grip even as the tire’s tread depth wears down. When the snow starts flying, there’s an interlocking network of sipes that multiply the tire’s surface area and traction with hundreds of biting edges to slice through snow, slush or standing water.

Those sipes also help boost handling by keeping the tread face rigid to resist the momentum of cornering and hard maneuvers. Chamfered groove edges are designed for great traction on dry roads, and Canyon Groove Technology aids in year-round grip while also keeping road noise low by cutting the wind noise as it passes through the tire’s grooves. Falken covers the Azenis FK460 A/S with a 50,000 mile manufacturer’s treadwear warranty; SimpleTire’s price on the Falken Azenis FK460 A/S starts at $140 per tire.

Goodyear ElectricDrive GT tires

Goodyear designed the ElectricDrive GT as a performance-oriented all-season tire specifically for hybrids and EVs, and it has some notable differences from a conventional run-of-the-mill premium all-season tire for internal combustion vehicles. The tread formulation of the ElectricDrive GT is designed to cut friction and rolling resistance while still delivering great year-round traction and capable handling ability. The asymmetric all-season tread is designed with circumferential and angled grooves, with sipes and an increased void ratio toward the tire’s inboard side for better traction in winter conditions. Internal construction includes a robust 2-ply polyester casing, twin steel belts, and a 2-ply polyamide cap ply layer to handle the extra weight of electric vehicles.

The ElectricDrive GT delivers a whisper-quiet ride too, with SoundComfort Technology, which consists of a layer of foam rubber adhered to the tire’s inner liner to muffle resonances and airborne sounds. Handling and steering response get a boost from a solid center rib (which also aids in straight-line road manners) and a reinforced, interconnected set of shoulder blocks for enhanced grip. Goodyear protects the ElectricDrive GT with a 40,000 mile manufacturer’s limited tread life warranty. SimpleTire’s price on Goodyear ElectricDrive GT tires starts at $259.98 per tire.

Falken Azenis FK460 A/S vs Goodyear ElectricDrive GT tires on traction

This one’s a close call, as the Falken comes in with a SimpleScore of 8.7 for traction vs 8.6 for the Goodyear. While the Falken Azenis FK460 A/S performs admirably in wet or light wintry conditions, the Goodyear’s asymmetric tread with carefully designed angled and circumferential grooves gives it an edge on wet pavement. The increased void ratio (meaning more open space with grooves) toward the tire’s inboard side enhances traction on dry pavement for handling that’s stable and predictable as well as for shorter braking distances. Our nod for this one:

ADVANTAGE: Goodyear ElectricDrive GT

Falken Azenis FK460 A/S vs Goodyear ElectricDrive GT tires on handling

Another tough call when it comes to handling, with a SimpleScore of 8.7 for the Falken vs 8.8 for the Goodyear. First off, let’s just note that those are both very strong SimpleScores for any category and the Falken lives up to its credentials as a UHP all-season tire. The asymmetric tread pattern, sipe network, and reinforced shoulder of the Goodyear ElectricDrive GT add up to cornering that’s a bit more composed and steering response that’s direct and connected without ever feeling overly sensitive or jumpy. Our decision:

ADVANTAGE: Goodyear ElectricDrive GT

Falken Azenis FK460 A/S vs Goodyear ElectricDrive GT tires on longevity

This one’s quite a bit easier since the Falken has a SimpleScore of 9.0 for longevity vs 8.7 for the Goodyear. Treadwear warranty coverage doesn’t lie, with a 40,000 mile warranty for the Goodyear vs 50,000 miles for the Falken. The added weight of EVs is part of that equation, no doubt, but the Falken presents a better value when it comes to longevity and service life. Hands-down decision:

ADVANTAGE: Falken Azenis FK460 A/S

When to use each

Like we said up at the top, the Goodyear and the Falken might seem pretty similar at first glance, but they do come with some very notable differences in material, design, and performance. The Goodyear was designed in collaboration with Tesla as an OEM tire for their vehicles and is specific to EV and hybrid models. If you’re driving a hybrid or EV, ordinary tires designed for internal-combustion vehicles are not recommended because you will see a drop in battery range due to the rolling resistance and shorter service life due to the EV’s added weight. That includes a tire like the Falken Azenis FK460 A/S – it’s a great tire and a great value, but it’s a much better fit for year-round performance for conventional sedans, coupes, minivans, and crossovers and not electric vehicles.

Which one should you choose?

To be honest, the Falken Azenis FK460 A/S and Goodyear ElectricDrive GT are a bit of an apples-and-oranges comparison. The Goodyear is designed for a different kind of vehicle and while it would perform just fine on a conventional sedan or crossover, the Falken wouldn’t be a great idea for an EV model. That said, they’re both great tires that are well-designed and very capable. Taking everything into consideration, though – specifically the big disparity in price between the two and the longer warranty phase of the Falken – it’s our opinion that the Falken Azenis FK460 A/S presents a better value all around than the Goodyear.

Still not sure which tire to buy? Fortunately, SimpleTire is here to help as our helpful agents are more than happy to assist you in selecting the right tire for your ride and budget.