Here is my OHTSU FP0612 A/S review. I just recently had a flat and was shopping for some new tires. When looking for new tires I found these OHTSU FP0612 A/S very reasonably priced. Since I did not see a lot of information on these, I decided to do my own review. I plan to document the tread wear and how they are in multiple driving conditions. I also found some interesting information about this OHTSU tire when looking into it. (Its actually a re-branded Falken ZE612 more info below)
The Flat:
I had 48,000 miles on my Subaru Impreza when I hit a screw and got a flat. While the screw was in the center, with this many miles and being close to needing tires anyways I decided to just get a new set. These were the original tires on the car and they were pretty worn.
OHTSU:
Now this is just my daily driver and not used for autocross or anything, so performance is not first on my mind. I am really just looking for a good tire that’s not noisy, has good all season traction and has a decent life span. This got me looking at some of the cheaper brands out there. One of the brands I found was Ohtsu which I have not heard of before. After some searching around on the web I found that Ohtsu and Falken appear to both be brands owned by the Sumitomo Rubber Factory. Falken is a pretty popular brand that I feel has a good reputation. I am hoping that Ohtsu will be as good.
PRICE:
I was looking to spend as little as possible, but still wanted to get a decent tire. Here are the OHTSU FP0612 A/S I ended up deciding to buy. I needed them in a 205/50/R17 size. When I was there to pick them up they were asking $59.00 a tire. I had seen them online the night before for $49.00 a tire and they matched my price. (NOTE: I see these online now as I write this for $46 so don’t be afraid to ask them to match if your decide to try these.) The online price I was checking was for the store I was in (Discount Tire). So the price does fluctuate.
Tread:
Here is a closeup of the tread. In the past when I would go through tires fast on some sports cars I had owned, I had bought blemished tires for a discount. These would be tires that would have some surface imperfection and they would give you a discount. Looking at the tread on this one kinda reminded me of that. I think this has something to do with how they mold the tires. It just did not look as perfect as some other more expensive tires I have looked at. This did not bother me at all, as it would be smooth soon, and for the price I was paying it wasn’t a big deal. Also the sidewalls looked perfect. I am guessing they spend a little less time on the final finish of the tread portion to cut costs.
Inside:
Here is a shot of the inside in case you were curious.
Here you can see the sidewall, looks good.
Is this a re-branded Falken ziex ZE612?
Now this is where it gets kinda interesting. If you look at the pattern for the OHTSU FP0612 A/S below and compare it to the Falken ziex ZE612 you will see they look almost identical. (They do look the same to me). You can just google the Falken ziex ZE612 and you will see what I mean. I wonder if this might be just be a rebranded version of that tire since they are owned by the same parent company? Anyone know? Hit me up on facebook link at top if you do, I am really curious. Maybe they use different rubber now or something? But it appears the ZE612 is no longer produced by Falken from what I could tell online. I wonder if they just decided to rebrand it under the Ohtsu name?
[UPDATE] I was hit up on Facebook and it was suggested I just call Falken and inquire with their technical department about the tires. Great Idea! So I gave them a call and they were super helpful. I was told the OHTSU FP0612 is just a rebrand of the discontinued Falken ZE612. This is being produced for Discount tire and it uses the same specs and compound as the original. I thought this was great news and confirmed my suspicions. For the great price of these, I don’t really care if it says Ohtsu or Falken on the side.
Here is the car on the lift with new rubber all the way around. I am almost ready to roll.
They look good on the car, and for the price I am glad I purchased these. So far they are quiet and ride nice.
OHTSU FP0612 A/S review [TREAD WEAR]:
I plan to update this section as I add more miles to the tires. They are rated for 40,000 miles per the website from the place I purchased them.
8/1/2018 – DAY 0 : 48,150 miles on ODO – TIRES Brand New ~ 2 miles. Starting out at 7mm. I read a lot of tires start at 10mm? All the spots I checked were ~7mm. I am sure the tire size and type will determine how much initial tread you get. It seemed like a normal new tire tread depth to me.
[Update 9/8/19] Car has 60,361 miles on it. So the tires have been used for 12,211 miles. Here is the current tread depth. ~6mm.
OHTSU FP0612 A/S review [TIRE NOISE]:
8/3/2018 : I am really happy with how quiet these are so far. The OHTSU are quieter then my OEM tires, but the OEM are pretty worn. I will update as these wear down.
11/20/18 : Update , We have a new patch of road by my house and its super smooth and quiet to drive on. When driving I notice that as I hit around 30 mph I do get some tire noise (kinda a low growl) . I do not think my original tires had this noise, and probably would not have noticed if this new patch of road wasn’t put in. I don’t notice it much otherwise, but will update if it gets worse as the tread wears down more. Just seems kinda odd and wanted to note it. Still very happy with the tires though. Waiting to see how they do once it gets icy.
OHTSU FP0612 A/S review [TRACTION]:
8/3/2018 : Summer right now and warm and hot. So far great traction. waiting for some rain and snow this winter to see how they do. Will update this periodically.
3/11/2019: Well I wished for snow and we sure did get it this winter. The tires are doing great, and I am very happy with the traction they provided. We had some deep snow and ice and it did well in both. My wife was actually running family members around in the snow to their jobs as they had 2 wheel drive vehicles. The AWD in the Subaru was great and I had no complaints with these tires. Here is a pic..
OHTSU FP0612 A/S review [SUMMARY]:
I bought these OHTSU FP 0612 A/S at a local discount wheel and tire. The store price was $59.00 but they had the price listed online on their website the night before for $49.00 and they matched that price. Interestingly when I look now they are at $46, so it pays to keep an eye on the website. Or if your at the store just ask them to match the lowest price you can find. I have had really good luck with Discount Tire and always seem to go back to them over others.
My final price after adding Installation, Disposal and tax was $313.35 for a set of four. I am rolling the dice and declining the replacement warranty to get out the door for as cheap as possible. Plus the replacement warranty for all 4 tires ran about the price of a single new tire. I will update this post if that was a bad decision, and will post any issues I have with the tires.
I am really happy with the Ohtsu FP0612 so far. The price for a full set of these tires is very reasonable in my opinion and they are quiet and I have had no issues so far. I will update this post with the tread wear, as I am curious how long they will last.
I just found the link to the OHTSU website. Here it is if you want more info… https://ohtsu-tires.com/
