Hello and welcome to my Falken Sincera SN828 review.
We’re not going to lie – we are very big fans of Falken tires because they offer very good performance and durability at a lower price than premium competitors. In most cases, paying more for a tire will get you a better set in almost every area, but that’s not always the case with Falken tires.
Falken is especially known for their high-performance tires. Almost every Falken tire in the high-performance portfolio is highly rated – aggressive and spirited drivers love what they offer, especially considering the lower price point.
However, things are not so rosy in the touring all-season category. Here, companies like Bridgestone, Michelin, Pirelli, and Goodyear take all the praise, and even some underdogs like Toyo and Hankook can produce less expensive tires that are worthy of your car.
Falken does produce all-season touring tires, but their offerings so far haven’t been as good as the competitors. The Sincera SN828 will try to change that – it’s priced similarly to offerings from Toyo and Hankook, and offers very good durability, quiet and comfortable ride, and all-season performance.
You bet we’re going to put it through its paces in this test and find out if it’s as good as the sporty offerings from the company.
Falken Sincera SN828 Overview
The Sincera SN828 is a touring all-season tire, made for subcompact vehicles. It only comes in small sizes, ranging from 10”-14”. In other words, it’s made for vehicles such as the Toyota Yaris and Ford Fiesta, and it’s small even for some trims of that models. This alone says a lot about the tire – it’s not made to be driven aggressively and it should primarily be used for urban driving. Sure, it’s a touring tire, but we suspect a lot of people drive their urban vehicles on the highway.
Despite being a small tire for subcompact vehicles, the Sincera SN828 does feature some high-end Falken technologies. We will start with the high-density compound, that should help it achieve less rolling resistance, longer life and better handling on dry pavement. The optimized asymmetric tread gives additional durability to the tire and less rolling resistance, as well as better wet braking. Wet handling is covered by a large number of sipes and lateral grooves, and wide circumferential grooves that help for easier evacuation of water and less hydroplaning.
Interestingly, the Falken Sincera SN828 is equipped with tire rotation indicators as well, that will show the driver when it’s time to change the front with the rear tires. This isn’t something you often see in this price range and we’re glad that Falken included it.
From what Falken says about this tire, it’s easy to see that is a run of the mill product that will not add a lot of handling ability to your vehicle. What we’re concerned though is wet performance – most cheap tires are dreadful in the wet, and durability. Remember, this is a tire that will be installed on very cheap vehicles, so it’s very important for the owner if they last longer.
Pros:
- Quiet and comfortable
- Low-rolling resistance for better fuel economy
- Low price
Cons:
- Shorter treadlife than competitors
- Dry and wet performance is only adequate
- Marginal in snow
Falken Sincera SN828 Review
Treadwear and Durability
The Sincera SN828 are touring tires, but that doesn’t show in the durability department. We really hoped that this tire will be long-lasting, but it simply isn’t. Tread life is worse than premium tires in this category and even worse than offerings from Hankook and Toyo. It’s not dreadful by any means, but it simply shouldn’t degrade as much on light vehicles with just a smidge of power. Your mileage may vary, but overall, the Sincera SN828 is not at the level of other small touring tires.
Dry Traction and Grip
Owners of small and light vehicles will never test the capabilities of their vehicles in the corners, but it’s nice to have good tires underneath for those situations when you need to make a sudden turn or brake instantly. The Sincera SN828 is good on dry pavement, providing the driver with enough grip and traction even for sudden moves to the side, but it’s not at the level of premium tires. It does offer low-rolling resistance though, which is a plus for economy cars.
Wet Traction and Grip
It’s almost the same when it’s raining – the Sincera SN828 is capable of good traction and grip, but it’s not groundbreaking. We were more concerned with the braking performance in the wet – the SN828’s simply has longer stopping distances than premium tires. Again, it’s not dreadful – most drivers will be fine, but if you want the best possible wet performance, you’ll need to shell out more money for premium tires.
Snow Traction and Braking Performance
Being an all-season tire, the SN828 should offer better traction in snow than a summer tire, and indeed it does. However, that doesn’t mean that you should use it in the winter. Other all-season tires offer much better snow performance – this one is only marginal at best. Hell, it’s even not rated for snow driving, so I don’t know why we’re still talking about this.
Comfort & Noise
The fact that the Falken Sincera SN828 comes only in small sizes helps significantly with comfort and quietness. This is a very quiet tire, especially in urban driving – you’ll hear almost no noise coming from the road. Comfort is also excellent – we would be happy being driven in a subcompact vehicle with a set of these tires on a bumpy road. At least here the “touring” side of the tire really shows its strength.
Conclusion
We expected a lot from the Sincera SN828 – Falken often surprises us with high-quality tires at lower price points. However, that’s not the case in this category. We think that you’ll be better off with offerings from Toyo, Hankook, and Yokohama, and there are several reasons for that.
First of all, the Sincera SN828 doesn’t last as long as we would’ve liked, especially because it will be bought by people with tighter budgets. Then, dry and wet performance is only adequate, but not groundbreaking, and snow driving is marginal at best. The low price may draw you to buy it, but we think that spending a little more is warranted here.
Thanks for reading and I hope you found this Falken Sincera SN828 review helpful. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them in the comments section below.