Any one with "Sumitomo HTR Z III" Please comment

[mptoledo]

Ok, 1 week, 300 mile udpate on the tires.

1.) They do get flat spots really quick, like in 6 hours. But they go away real quick so not a deal breaker. You barely notice at low speeds but I live on a st rt and have to get up to speed quickly and for about 4 miles from town.
2.) Still love my new shoes. I finally got them to break loose. I was pulling out of the drive thru, and saw a truck a little closer than I thought. I dropped my trip down to 1st and did a sideways slide for about 2 feet, startled me, but not too much. It wasn't as cool as when I had my corvette as it has the perfect slide and grip action, but I am still giving it some time as practice makes perfect!!
3.) We had some rain the other day, so I couldn't resist testing them on wet surfaces. I waited an hour for the oil and crap to get washed off the road and they seemed fine. Of course they weren't as sticky and broke loose around corners when I wanted them to. But under normal driving they were perfect.
4.) Ride and road noise are still better than expected especially for a $700 tire.

Overall, still very, very happy and extremely more wealthy.
Yes I would definitely buy them again.

Afterthought, I live in a rural area of Ohio(ok BFE(bumb fuked egypt)) and it is very common to pick up a piece of metal or glass. I wanted a tire I could replace without waiting till payday and postponing my mortgage payment, and without sacrificing handling and ride. These look like the ticket(OH, bad choice of words)

I need a good road trip for some serious mileage!! Anybody up for a roadtrip from Central OH to like KY, TN, INDY or even Pittsburgh? It could be a blast!!

[pbronson]

My experience -- the Sumitomos are a fine tire, with better ratings and better tread life than the Michelins on my 2003 Boxster. Ditto for replacing Michelins on the wife's Cayenne Turbo. I put Hankooks on and have been very happy with them. Great tire, but they all should be force balanced to get the most from them and improve ride and handling. Also, it pays to get some sporty summer wheels to go with those new tires in my climate (Ohio). After I change the wheels out a couple of times to put on and replace winter tires, the savings on mounting and balancing pays for the great after-market oversized wheels. Tire Rack does force-balancing on all tire-wheel pkgs and it is outstanding. I have been very unimpressed with Michelins. Wear out fast, overpriced and often leak air.

[KevinH1990]

This thread and numerous on-line reviews convinced me to give the Sumitomos a try. I bought a set of four from Tire Rack about a month ago and had them installed today. At a price of $70 for the fronts (205/50R17) and $99 for the rears (255/40R17) I figured they were worth a try.

I've driven them about 5 miles, and the only feedback I have is that they are quieter than the worn out tires I replaced.

mptoledo - Any more updates at higher mileage?

[mptoledo]

Originally Posted by KevinH1990

This thread and numerous on-line reviews convinced me to give the Sumitomos a try. I bought a set of four from Tire Rack about a month ago and had them installed today. At a price of $70 for the fronts (205/50R17) and $99 for the rears (255/40R17) I figured they were worth a try.

I've driven them about 5 miles, and the only feedback I have is that they are quieter than the worn out tires I replaced.
mptoledo - Any more updates at higher mileage?

You about made me soil my pants. I did quick math on your numbers and came up with like $340. Then I saw 17" makes me want to switch to 17 inchers. What was your out the door price(installed?)

I am still overall impressed with these. Road noise, ride, grip ... still is on par, I am probably up to 2k miles on them. I have a small hole in my rear plastic window, so I haven't taken it out in the rain yet.

They still ride like crap for about a mile or two until they get warmed up. Other than that I totally forget about them, I guess thats the best thing, when you totally forget about your tires as it meas they are doing their job.

[joeyp_boxster]

Since I am also in the market for new shoes, I read this thread with much interest. I am in the process of narrowing down my choices and have a question, what is the most noticable difference between the HTR Z II and the HTR Z III? My baby only has 15,000 miles and still has the original Conti's so anything will be an improvement! It only comes out of the garage on the weekend's and will probably be relegated to garage duty in a couple of months. Should I put new rubber on now or wait until the spring? Thanks for all the Great info!

[schnellman]

I followed every tire blog I could find and ended up buying the HTRZ IIIs even though I like the tread pattern better on the IIs. Everything I read said that the three's were better tires. Don't know about the two's, but I'm very happy with the three's. I have not experienced the flat spotting that many people talk about. I've had them on for over 5K miles and couldn't be happier.
As for when to buy, I'd wait until spring.

[KevinH1990]

Originally Posted by mptoledo

You about made me soil my pants. I did quick math on your numbers and came up with like $340. Then I saw 17" makes me want to switch to 17 inchers. What was your out the door price(installed?)

Shipping was $39.80 and installation was $114. So the total was $493.80

[ridetheworld]

Check out the reviews comparing the III's vs the II's on Tire rack. There are also a couple good reviews that you can find on google. The III is such a better tire then the II that they don't even compare.

[mptoledo]

Everything I read said definately get the III's as they are a whole leap forward in design.

My only disapointment with the III is the flatspot that seemingly occur over night. It runs out in about a mile but it is still annoying for that mile.