Sumitomo HTR Z III

[ChefCarnivore]

The performance issue reminds me of equipment ads for skis, golf clubs, fishing gear , and sail boats. Namely, what's the use of paying more for performance equipment if you are not going to need it?

For many years skis were advertised as "racer" models when in reality most skiiers are recreational skiers and do not have the ability to get the performance out of the product because they are not physically capable and do not race. The same is true for the other categories mentioned above and for tires.

[Quickurt]

I came here looking for paying less than PS2's because, as I drive the car, usually with wifey in board I don't NEED PS2s.
I think Silver Bullet made the most sense a good while ago, to paraphrase, "If you'r enot doing track days or driving like you are but mainly use your car to cruise, why would you buy track quality, rediculously expensive PS2s?"
I want a set that will be safe when I need it, but will mainly not cost a dime a mile to use for cruising. Someone above also made the comment on the speeds needed to have fun with really sticky, high tech tires.
We switched to a required, much harder compound, Hoosier slick for Club Ford racing. Want to guess how much more fun they were to go 2 seconds a lap slower?

[mptoledo]

I started a thread and was giving an update as I broke them in. http://www.987forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21546

Got mine at local tire shop (tinity tires, urbana ohio) for $700 intstalled.


My take after about 700 miles is they were a great choice.

cons: Noisey, I do here/feel the road more than my Mich pilot sports. Nothing the stereo won't compensate for.
Handling is different from my Mich's, as they seem to over steer a little more.

Pros:Price, They handle very well, not a lot of rain testing but have been in a few showers, they seemed fine. Breaking was great, hard corners take a little extra effort as these are sticky tires.


conclusion: Great tires for people on a budget. I don't think they are as good as the more expensive tires, but they are close enough!! (for me at least). I don't track, I use them as a daily driver and back country, road rage!!

[Quickurt]

Thanks MP. I assume you're in Toledo. I was born in Sidney and lived in Piqua and Lima, also, before we moved to Miami in 1960! My dad owned some property on the south side of Toledo. I still have cousins and Aunt's and Uncles in and around Cincy.
Do you get together with Gregdacats in Newport, KY?
I think I'll try a set of the Sumi's. I had a couple of sets of the HTZ's on a couple of Preludes, years back now, but loved them on them.

[mptoledo]

Originally Posted by Quickurt

Thanks MP. I assume you're in Toledo. I was born in Sidney and lived in Piqua and Lima, also, before we moved to Miami in 1960! My dad owned some property on the south side of Toledo. I still have cousins and Aunt's and Uncles in and around Cincy.
Do you get together with Gregdacats in Newport, KY?
I think I'll try a set of the Sumi's. I had a couple of sets of the HTZ's on a couple of Preludes, years back now, but loved them on them.

actually I moved from toledo (cause it sucks!! and I can prove it ) to Urbana ohio, between columbus and dayton. I would say if you don't have the $1300 laying around then definately go with the Sumitomo's. I have no regrets, but I have no idea what tread life will be like, but for almost half the price, I think its a no brainer for us budget minded people.

[CA_Boxster]

I have ~1000 miles on 17" HTRZ III's on my Boxster and I like them. It's difficult to compare directly to the last 2 sets of tires I had (PZeros and Goodyear F1 GS-D3) because I drove those tires to their absolute ends and new tires always feel a lot better when they go on. I'd say they are not noisy, they hold well and they give a good feel. I thought they seemed like they gave a little less road feel than the Goodyears at first but I think they were just "different" and I'm used to it now. The car is my daily driver but we won't have any rain until the Fall so I can't comment on wet traction. So far I'm glad I took the chance on a lower cost tire.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by Quickurt

Someone above also made the comment on the speeds needed to have fun with really sticky, high tech tires.
We switched to a required, much harder compound, Hoosier slick for Club Ford racing. Want to guess how much more fun they were to go 2 seconds a lap slower?

I think I made my point pretty clear. If you care about lap times, lower cost tires probably aren't the right choice. If you like to feel a car's limits at a safe speed, lower adhesion brings out more personality.

[blue2000s]

Thanks for all the feedback folks. It definitely sounds like these tires aren't bad at all. I'm getting near the wear bars out back on my Contis. The car's season is over in a couple of months so I'll probably order a full set of these next spring.

[ridetheworld]

I just drove 800 miles from San Francisco to Tacoma, WA on a brand new set of HTR Z III. I hit a ton of rain on I-5 on the way home and the tires felt very safe and stable. I had zero hyrdo-planing issues until I hit some water that was about an inch deep. The car felt very stable and the tires provided great feedback in the rain. I would feel more confident on a rainy interstate on these over my 4runner with BFG A/T's any day of the week!

[blinkwatt]

Wow I'm starting to wonder if my alignment is really aggressive which is why I have soo many issues hydroplaning with these bad boys. But it also rains really hard here in Sac often,so I may have harsher conditions then most.

Other then that I still love them! I RAPED my car last night and I only got the tires to squeal when I punched it hard in the middle of a u-turn and they still didn't break loose.

[DamageINC123]

Originally Posted by Quickurt

I came here looking for paying less than PS2's because, as I drive the car, usually with wifey in board I don't NEED PS2s.
I think Silver Bullet made the most sense a good while ago, to paraphrase, "If you'r enot doing track days or driving like you are but mainly use your car to cruise, why would you buy track quality, rediculously expensive PS2s?"
I want a set that will be safe when I need it, but will mainly not cost a dime a mile to use for cruising. Someone above also made the comment on the speeds needed to have fun with really sticky, high tech tires.
We switched to a required, much harder compound, Hoosier slick for Club Ford racing. Want to guess how much more fun they were to go 2 seconds a lap slower?

I have always ran Michelins on all my vehicles. I have PS2 on my car now and recently noticed when searching the websit a price drop. At the end of last year I was seeing around $288 a piece for 265/40/17 and now they are around $213.00.

Here is a test of ten tires - may help you decide.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparisons/09q2/tire_test_nine_affordable_summer_tires_take_on_the _michelin_ps2-comparison_tests/michelin_pilot_sport_ps2_page_2

[mikefocke]

for the one time in a tires life you have to react in an emergency mode. For that one time, the characteristics of a tire may save your life...or may not. May save your car, or not.

I've had tires cost me a Boxster and a VW. In the one case I was driving on UHPS tires and the road was cold and I just slid on top of the pavement instead of the rubber digging in to the micro indents in the pavement..not even a Boxster's brakes could save the car. In the other, the dealer that sold me the car switched the tires on me from good tread when I bought the car to almost bald when I picked the car up in the dark. Slid going around a curve when the fronts just didn't bite at all.

Go look at the tirerack comparisons and see the stopping distance and imagine that you have to stop to prevent your car hitting something or someone. Think how much faster that hit will be if you have 2 car lengths difference in stopping distance ... which can happen between 2 tires.

Whatever you do, drive cautiously the first 200-300 miles. And read the tirerack discussion of wear versus stopping distance and don't run the tires to the wear bars if you drive in the wet. I've seen someone killed doing that. Hit a puddle at the beginning of a bridge and started playing pinball off the concrete bridge abutments. I sailed through the same puddle at the same speed just fine.

[blue2000s]

These guys have really impressive prices, bested tirerack by about $45 shipped.

http://www.onlinetires.com/

[Quickurt]

As you can see by my siggy line, I bought the Sumis.
Only about 1k miles, so far, but am very happy with them. They are more sticky and more quiet than the PS2s they replaced, but the PS2s were GONE, so take the comment with a major grain of salt. They're better in the rain, but the PS2s were almost slicks!
I did extensive research on them and found two tests that included PS2s to Bridgestone RE050s in one and RE050s to HTR ZIII. The Bridgy number on the tests was almost identical (7.2 in one 7.35 in other). The PS2 number to the HTR number was about 5% different, with the PS2 higher (7.92 - 8.15 or there abouts).
The HTR's points loss was wet traction. Dry traction numbers were identical to PS2.
Now, considering I could buy a complete set of Sumis and two new pairs of rears for less than the PS2s, I sure don't see it as being a "cheap ass" as someone said above.
I also bought the OZ wheels at the same time, but I think the Sumis were about $725 mounted and balanced, plus freight.

[Gilles]

[QUOTE=Quickurt] The HTR's points loss was wet traction. Dry traction numbers were identical to PS2.
Now, considering I could buy a complete set of Sumis and two new pairs of rears for less than the PS2s, I sure don't see it as being a "cheap ass" as someone said above.

Did you considered running the PS2 on the front with the Sumis on the rear..?

[chaudanova]

What optimal tire pressures are you guys running with the HTRZ-III?

I've experimented with standard 29F/36R, 30F/36R, 31F/32F/33F/34F&36R setups... Not entirely sure which I like best yet, but it's quite variable for me, since I've been experimenting with different front and rear damper stiffness settings as well.

[Quickurt]

Originally Posted by chaudanova

What optimal tire pressures are you guys running with the HTRZ-III?

I've experimented with standard 29F/36R, 30F/36R, 31F/32F/33F/34F&36R setups... Not entirely sure which I like best yet, but it's quite variable for me, since I've been experimenting with different front and rear damper stiffness settings as well.

The 987 has 30/37 as standard pressures. I found 28/36 gave the best wear on the PS2s, so I've set up the new Sumis the same. So far, I have no discernable wear, so as I put more miles on them I should be able to see.
These are cruising pressures.

[blue2000s]

[QUOTE=Gilles]

Originally Posted by Quickurt

The HTR's points loss was wet traction. Dry traction numbers were identical to PS2.
Now, considering I could buy a complete set of Sumis and two new pairs of rears for less than the PS2s, I sure don't see it as being a "cheap ass" as someone said above.

Did you considered running the PS2 on the front with the Sumis on the rear..?

It's generally not the best idea to mix the front and rear tire manufacturers.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by blue2000s

These guys have really impressive prices, bested tirerack by about $45 shipped.

http://www.onlinetires.com/

Four days in shipping and the tires are sitting in the garage! I should have the car out of storage this week (50F tomorrow) so that I can get them mounted and try them out.