70
/ 100
Objective (60%)
–/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
65/100
40 owner reviews
Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.
Head-to-head
Updated September 2026
Bridgestone Alenza 001 vs Falken ZE502 — Compared (September 2026)
Our Relative Score blends 60% objective test data with 40% owner-review signal — so any two tires can be compared even if they were never tested on the same day.
VS
84
/ 100
Objective (60%)
–/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
84/100
2 owner reviews
Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.
VerdictWinner: Falken ZE502 — better treadwear, comfort and handling. It leads or ties in every category we score.
Read full
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Category breakdown
5 categories, side by side
Each bar is the Relative Score for that category. Expand a tile to see the test results and owner ratings behind it.
Dry
Score (0–100)
ZE502 leads by 1
Why this score
| Source | Alenza 001 | ZE502 |
|---|---|---|
| Tire Rack owners | 89 | – |
| Tyre Reviews owners | 79 | 80 |
Wet
Score (0–100)
ZE502 leads by 8
Why this score
| Source | Alenza 001 | ZE502 |
|---|---|---|
| Tire Rack owners | 81 | – |
| Tyre Reviews owners | 72 | 80 |
Comfort
Score (0–100)
ZE502 leads by 21
Why this score
| Source | Alenza 001 | ZE502 |
|---|---|---|
| Tire Rack owners | 82 | – |
| Tyre Reviews owners | 58 | 80 |
Treadwear
Score (0–100)
ZE502 leads by 23
Why this score
| Source | Alenza 001 | ZE502 |
|---|---|---|
| Tire Rack owners | 65 | – |
| Tyre Reviews owners | 67 | 90 |
Handling
Score (0–100)
ZE502 leads by 19
Why this score
| Source | Alenza 001 | ZE502 |
|---|---|---|
| Tyre Reviews owners | 71 | 90 |
| DriverReviews owners | 80 | – |
Scores at a glance
| Category | Bridgestone Alenza 001 | Falken ZE502 |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 70 | 84 |
| Dry | 79 | 80 |
| Wet | 72 | 80 |
| Comfort | 59 | 80 |
| Treadwear | 67 | 90 |
| Handling | 71 | 90 |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
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Recomputed
Headline score
70
/ 100
Tire A
84
/ 100
Tire B
From owners
Pros, cons & observations
Themes extracted from owner reviews across retailers and review sites — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
The Bridgestone Alenza 001 receives a polarized reception, often serving as a divisive original equipment (OE) choice for premium SUVs and crossovers. While some users praise its dry-road handling and longevity on specific platforms, a significant portion of owners report issues with excessive road noise, harsh ride quality—particularly in run-flat configurations—and premature tread wear.
Pros
- Strong dry-weather handling and cornering stability
- High durability and tread life reported by a subset of users
- Stable and secure performance on motorway driving
- Effective traction control and grip for specific vehicle pairings
Cons
- Excessive road noise, often described as 'unbearable' or 'horrendous'
- Harsh ride quality, especially over uneven surfaces
- Rapid or uneven tread wear on certain SUV models
- Mediocre wet-weather performance and tendency to slip under acceleration
Observations
- Run-flat (RFT) variants are frequently cited for significantly harsher ride quality and increased noise compared to non-run-flat versions.
- EV owners (e.g., Audi e-tron) report higher satisfaction with refinement and wear, likely due to vehicle-specific suspension tuning and torque management.
- Users of mid-size SUVs like the Mazda CX-60 and Toyota RAV4 frequently report dissatisfaction with noise levels and ride comfort.
The Falken ZE502 is generally regarded as a capable mid-range performance tire that offers strong value for money. Users appreciate its reliable dry grip and comfort during both city and motorway driving, though wet weather performance is viewed as competent rather than class-leading.
Pros
- Strong dry pavement grip and road feedback
- Excellent value for the price point
- Comfortable ride quality suitable for long-distance motorway travel
Cons
- Wet weather grip is adequate but lacks confidence at the limit
- Potential for premature tread deformation or uneven wear
- Requires strict adherence to alignment and balancing to maintain performance
Observations
- Users emphasize that the tire's longevity and performance are highly sensitive to proper vehicle alignment on poor road surfaces.
Community buzz
What real owners are saying
From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score
Tire A
Mixed
Bridgestone Alenza 001
Community opinions on the Bridgestone Alenza 001 are divided, with praise for their handling, rim protection, and longevity in warm weather, but frequent complaints regarding noise, a buzzy or harsh ride over rough asphalt, and poor winter performance.
r/LexusNX
·13 upvotes ·2025-07-19
“Soon will have to replace tires on my NX350h Hi all, Soon I will have to replace the 2022 NX tires. The car came with "Bridgestone Alenza 001" so far so good, the ride quality has been nice, the noise is OK, and the rim protection (tire being wider than rim) worked well (narrow entrances with curbs in parkings in the city we live). We've made 75.000Km with the OEM tires and we will still make the summer with them before replacing them. In the area were we live is very rare to see snow. The car has no place for spare tire so runflats will have to be. I know runflats don't get "lots of love", but safety is a must and we will mount runflats again. The guy at the dealer offered us the GOODYEAR EFFICIENT GRIP 2 SUV. But as far as I've seen, those are not runflat. If we would like to improve, what would you recommend and why? Thanks!”
r/tires
·1 upvote ·2025-04-15
“Bridgestone Alenza 001 on a Lexus LC 500. Mistake? These things seem sooo buzzy compared to the Bridgestone Potenza S001L that came with it. I was told they’re the same tire basically. Not! Now is see they’re designed for SUVs. They’re not cheap tires either. Sounds like knobby jeep tires compared to before. 245/40/21 Is it because they’re new? Will the buzzing stop? Will they quiet down? Actually makes the steering wheel buzz a little. I’ve bought new before. Lol. Don’t remember this much difference.”
r/tires
·1 upvote ·2025-03-26
“towing with Bridgestone Alenza 001 I am looking for a set of new tires in 255/55/18 for my diesel X5, and I will be using the car to tow an open trailer with a car (5000 lbs). The price of these Alenza 001 is attractive, but wondering if it would be a mistake to buy these for towing. The car is rarely driven in rain and rarely driven at all, so they will probably age out before I wear them out through mileage.”
r/BMWiX
·1 upvote ·2026-04-24
“Not that you asked, but I had the alenza 001 and replaced with continental dws tires because the 15k mile tread life on the alenza's against the cost of the tire was too crazy. Alenza's were quieter and a bit smoother. I do hear great things about the hanook's, wishing I had gotten those!”
Top themes
#ride comfort and noise#tread life and longevity#dry and wet handling#poor winter capability#OEM runflat options
Based on 11 community posts
Tire B
Falken ZE502
We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.
Specifications
Specs side by side
| Attribute | A · Bridgestone Alenza 001 | B · Falken ZE502 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Summer Premium Touring tires | Summer Touring tires |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | 14 | — |
| Rim diameters | 17″ – 22″ | — |
| Tread depth | 10/32″ | — |
| UTQG | 400 A A | — |
| Sidewall | Blackwall | — |
| Max pressure | 51 psi | — |
Final verdict
Which one should you actually buy?
70
/ 100
Bridgestone
84
/ 100
Falken
Winner: Falken ZE502 — better treadwear, comfort and handling. It leads or ties in every category we score.
Pick tire B
You want the longest tread life
Falken ZE502 scores 90 vs 67 on treadwear.
Pick tire B
You want the most comfortable ride
Falken ZE502 scores 80 vs 59 on comfort.
Pick tire B
You enjoy sharp, responsive handling
Falken ZE502 scores 90 vs 71 on handling.
Pick tire B
Your priority is wet-weather safety
Falken ZE502 scores 80 vs 72 on wet.
Tire A · Bridgestone Alenza 001
Tire B · Falken ZE502
More comparisons
Also compared with
Bridgestone Alenza 001 also compared with
Falken ZE502 also compared with
How do we compare tires?
Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements) normalized against the best tire in each test and weighted toward recent tests. 40% comes from thousands of owner reviews collected from retailers and review sites. When a tire has only one of the two, we use what exists and say so.
Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score.