Falken Sincera SN250 A/S Reviews: Below-Average Performance

Falken is not exactly recognized for high-quality grand-touring tires, especially when pitched against giants like Michelin or Bridgestone. As such, few people have high hopes for the brand’s Sincera SN250 A/S model, which experiences little to no upgrades compared to its predecessors. 

This detailed tire review will delve further into our test findings regarding SN250’s real-life performance.

Falken Sincera SN250 A/S Specifications & Features

Falken Sincera SN250 A/S aims to assist drivers of minivans, sedans, and crossovers in year-round traction and confident brakings across all terrains, including snow surfaces.

• The tire’s silica tread compounds are molded into symmetric rib patterns to reduce tread noises and increase ride comfort, regardless of temperature.
• Solid center ribs and wide footprints boost stability and handling performance during dry conditions.
• A series of 3D, interlocking canyon sipes inside the shoulders foster wear resistance, durability, and tread life.
• Four circumferential grooves evacuate water off the tread, minimizing hydroplaning issues to enhance the tire-road contact. They work with dense sipes, shoulder notches, and angled tread grooves to strengthen traction during winter.
• Two-ply polyester casings, twin steel belts, and polyamide reinforcements pave the way for stable highway composure.

Falken Sincera SN250 A/S Review & Performance Test Results

As part of the annual 2023 COR Wheels Tire Test, the Falken Sincera SN250 A/S tire (the 225/45R17 tire size) was used on the 2016 Honda Civic car across dry/wet surfaces and snowy roads. 

1. Dry Performance: 7.5/10

Dry Traction: 7.7/10

Falken SN250 could deliver pretty decent footings on well-paved roads or smooth asphalts with little to no inconsistent textures; with strong push-pull, our team even managed to surge straight to 60 MPH from our 40-MPH starter in confident, smooth strikes quite rare in most Falken touring tires.

Unfortunately, the tire disappointed us in every other rugged terrain due to the transparent lack of stable grooves and well-established contact points. Each brief encounter with road bumps resulted in faint echoes that lasted much longer than any other tire we tested, and the way SN250 choked off in panic whenever we tried to correct our skids was also borderline annoying.

Highway performances were no better, if not much worse, than on regular streets. Gradual texture transitions already sent Sincera SN250 into a flurry of distant drifting, forcing us to keep our steering wheel strictly within the lines to sidestep excessive slippage. 

Gentle curves were tolerable only when the car revved below 40 MPH with some downshifts thrown in between; otherwise, we failed to maintain a good grip at every other tight/elevated curve entry.

All in all, casual driving remains a non-issue, but you should not attempt anything too dynamic or risky.

Corner Stability: 7.3/10

While the tire retained more or less some stable edges at wide corners, they were far from enough to ensure a smooth cornering attempt. Each strike struck ominously due to the lack of decent rib support, resulting in frequent skitters that carried on from entries down to the very last exit point.

As a result, deliberate late apex or intentional oversteer was clearly out of reach; Sincera SN250 reacted violently in every single experiment and took minutes to regain its ground. Abrupt accelerations also proved dangerous – judging by the SN250’s long, almost unstoppable sliding near the liners – though this issue could be somewhat negotiated if you keep your passengers to 2-3 people.

Steering Response: 7.4/10

Our team had mixed opinions regarding Sincera’s steering response. On the one hand, the tire performed much better than most Falken tires we tested when kept below 25 MPH – stable, responsive, and flexing out quickly to fill in the gaps between our spontaneous inputs. Unfortunately, any number beyond 25 was where SN250 drew the line, evident in the extended feedback delays and faint drifting around the corners whenever we tried to navigate roadblocks.

SN250’s steering also suffered from clear hesitation on canyon roads and mountain passes, constantly being held off by the unpredictable textures and sticky gravel. They are not totally unrideable – but only when you have the required physique to grind down the steering wheel throughout the rest of the ride.

2. Wet Performance: 6.7/10

Wet Traction: 6.8/10

Despite the intricate combinations of angled grooves, shoulder notches, and circumferential sipes, SN250 was a disaster even on shallow puddles, constantly tripping over thin air and struggling to fill in traction losses with decent sidewall flex. Our car protested every 1-2 miles at 35 MPH and became less and less well-behaved the longer we rode, only subsiding a little bit when we tried to compensate for the oversight through greater push-pull pressure on the steering wheel.

Needless to say, our test rides in deep water had to stop short due to the horrible slippage; all the sipes and grooves seemed to cave into themselves and could not retain a single decent contact point. You probably can still hold onto the tire a little with very low driving rates (7-9 MPH); but in water beyond 6 inches, even this last resort will fail to work.

Hydroplaning Resistance: 6.7/10

Falken’s promises about the tire’s premium anti-hydroplaning design were completely false. Water kept pooling under the contact patch, clinging even stronger at higher speeds due to SN250’s failure to distribute them to varied evacuation channels. Worsened by the inconsistent, unpredictable tire rolls, our car suffered from extreme tire drags and literally had to wrestle with itself to move forward at 20-25 MPH. 

Hydroplaning issues did seem to get fainter when we decelerated to 9 MPH, but that only happened with thin puddles; during heavy rainfalls, they started acting up again. All our attempts to maintain good cornering speeds resulted in horrible coughs; hence, it would be better to avoid twisty roads altogether, especially if you are a beginner.

3. Winter/Snow Performance: 5.1/10

Light Snow Traction: 6.3/10

We could hardly fish out any proper traction from SN250. None of the sipes and notches could deliver decent clawing actions as advertised, leading to brief yet extremely frequent hiccups (every 5-10 minutes). Worse, unlike other tires that got better once they were familiar with the road textures, SN250 barely showed any real improvements the longer we rode, if not even worsening as the temperatures lowered.

Even passenger/cargo removal will not help you recover much confidence in the tire. It was only when we bound snow chains on all four types and resorted to slow crawling at 4-5 MPH that the Falken Sincera seemed to get better at drifting control.

Deep Snow Traction: 4.9/10

3 miles was the furthest we could reach. SN250 was a shuddering mess from beginning to end and did not seem to retain any slightest communication with the road textures. It over-reacted to our tame input and under-reacted when we needed stronger footholds, lacking all the critical sensitivity seen in other tires when dealing with temperature/terrain fluctuations. Even if you are experienced, the tire is hardly rideable.

Ice Traction: 4/10

Our Honda Civic plummeted after only 15 minutes on the track and could not find any strength to crawl forward – unless put at below 8 MPH. No amount of aftermarket upgrades or snow chains can compensate for the underwhelming channels, non-existent crawling actions, and horrible composure; you must stay away from ice terrains at all costs to keep accidents at bay.

4. Comfort: 6.8/10

Ride Quality: 7.2/10

Even on well-paved roads, we already had to expect occasional vibrations and unpredictable thuds that seemed to have no particular patterns at all. So do not be surprised by the tire’s complete lack of self-control on any other terrain – and in winter conditions, it is practically non-existent.

Tire Noise: 6.4/10

SN250 was downright a nightmare for noise-sensitive drivers. It reacted to every sharp turn, tight liners, and 180-degree correction skids with screeching tire roars that echoed almost a minute after the vibrations. Higher speeds beyond 45 MPH on dry roads will only make them even more deafening.

5. Treadwear and Durability: 5.5/10

We were unsurprised by SN250’s weak resistance against cold temperatures, but even its summer performance failed to meet expectations. Under constant high temperatures and overheating roads, it showed clear burnout symptoms after only the seventh day of testing – which, in turn, dragged down every other critical metric like steering response and impact handling.

In compensation, the SN250 tire offers a very competitive warranty (80,000 miles), meaning you could still drive worry-free for about six or seven years straight.

6. Falken Sincera SN250 A/S Test Result Highlights

• 2023 Subaru Outback All Season Tires Test: Ranked 2nd out of 10 tires
• 2023 Toyota Camry All Season Tires Test: Ranked 2nd out of 10 tires

Falken Sincera SN250 A/S Pros and Cons

Conclusion

The SN250 A/S could not even graze the bottom ranks of our list due to a scandalous lack of traction confidence and hydroplaning control.

As seen from this Falken Sincera SN250 AS tire review, it is clearly not meant for spirited driving or long trips. This all-season tire will work best as your assistant in light, casual rides during warm seasons at moderate speeds. Avoid using it in wet conditions or as winter tires on icy roads. In return, you only have to fork over a little money to bring it home.