Federal Formoza AZ01

Keep your old tires – These tires are by far the worst tires I have ever used. They are brand new and perform worse than any tire that I have gotten replaced due to no longer having enough tread left on them. On dry roads at temperatures above 5 C, they perform about as good as I expect a tire to, but if it is cold or wet they get very bad traction. If there is any snow then you may as well just stay home and not risk it. Show details

Awesome product – Excellent dry and wet handling and grip, vehicle performance is know safer and road noise is low, these vehicles travel 400km per night 7 days a week, run 9 to 10 hours the tyres decrease fuel costs and make the vehicles feel safer on the roads. Tyre wear is also reduced.  Show details

Terrible – I was ill advised by the mechanic to put these tyres on my car. They do not fare well in wet weather, I found that my car skid a lot in the rain and did not stop well either. I actually had my tyres switched to another brand early as I felt so unsafe.  Show details

Excellent tire – Great tires. Drove a while on these tires and they're great. Replaced my Mini Cooper's run-flats with these. Much cheaper and drive way better. Seems to corner better too, and the ride is softer in comparison to run-flats. The tires have a strong smell for the first 1000 miles but that tends to wear off.  Show details

Need four new tyres – I needed three new tyres last year so we replaced all four and once. Had not used Federal before but I am really pleased with them. They are durable and hold the road in dry and wet weather and their performance has been great. Would buy these again and also recommend them  Show details

Mid-price safety on wet roads – The most crucial task I want a tyre to perform is to stop me quick on a wet and greasy road. Yes, it's nice to be able to corner hard on a nice dry road, but lots of tyres will do that for you. Most accidents happen on wet days, and that must tell us something. My priority when I went shopping for tyres this time was wet grip and lots of it,… Read more

without having to pay $200 or more per tyre on my Suzuki Swift Sport.

I trawled through close to a hundred online tyre reviews, and the Federal Formoza AZ01 looked like a good bet; it was consistently rated high for grip in bad weather (even mud and partial ice/snow).

Federal say they have engineered all the seasons into different bands of the tread pattern, and I think I can see which bits are optimised for which conditions. The rubber compound is a premium silica type, and this really is an essential ingredient in any decent tyre these days.

The tread pattern has LOTS of patterning, and lots of what you might call 'negative space'. Also, I noticed how deep the fresh tread is... there must be 6-7mm of lovely new rubber down the sides of those tread grooves. I like to see deep tread on a new tyre, and I am not kidding when I say that some new tyres have less depth than others right off the bat.

These are asymmeytric tyres, with the most stable part of the tread on the outer margins for reasonable cornering response in the dry, but are not directional. This is a big help when time comes to rotating your tyres, as you can swap them into any position (not just front to rear).

So how do they go? In the wet, they are just what they promise to be. They are pretty much as sticky as any tyre at any price in a straight line hard stop in the rain. Mission accomplished.

No, they are not the perfect tyre for every user. Hard and fast drivers on dry roads (or track days, etc) will find the complex and deep tread too flexible for pin-sharp manoeuvres. There's just a slight lag in turn-in. And they aren't the quietest tyre I've owned, either.

I bought the Formoza AZ01's to keep me safe in the worst weather, and to keep my wife and daughter safe also when they take the car out in the rain. I am quite OK that the tyres are not optimised for sports driving. Like I said, when conditions are poor is when you are glad your tyres can out-brake the car in front of you!

Driving down the freeway and the front left blew – I went to Toyota for a service, Got a wheel alignment and two AZ01 fitted to the front. At first I was happy because they did not aquaplane like the factory and the Tyre had little noise. I noticed they seem to be wearing fast. at 18000 km the front left had worn through the steel belt and blew. The front right is also worn out. $130 for a 18000… Read more

km Tyre. I took it back and asked for warranty, the dealership took the Tyre and rim and said then would get back to me???

Federal Formoza, Great tyre, Great value – These were purchased to replace the original Bridgestone Potenza tyres They are an reasonably uncommon size being 205 50 ZR17 & are half the price of the Bridgestones which are around the $300 each, ouch! I purchased a set of four about 18 months ago when they were on special for $130 each (now around $165) for this particular size. They are… Read more

quieter than the Potenzas & the ride comfort is just as good & in the wet perform as well on wet roads. As they have now done around 8,000 kms & have been rotated at the 5,000 Kms mark , So far they look to have very little wear, so I am very happy with them & depending on the mileage I eventually get from them will probably purchase another set when these wear out, but probably by then they will have been superseded by a new model. Great tyre would recommend them The price, quiete running, good in the wet, ride comfort None so far