Any one with "Sumitomo HTR Z III" Please comment - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

pbronson · 08-10-2009, 10:58 AM

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 · 09-15-2009, 07:32 PM

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 · 09-16-2009, 05:20 AM

Quote:

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 · 09-16-2009, 05:43 AM

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 · 09-16-2009, 06:10 AM

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 · 09-16-2009, 05:42 PM

Quote:

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 · 09-16-2009, 09:34 PM

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 · 09-17-2009, 03:15 PM

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.

tamarsha · 09-21-2009, 11:59 AM

The tire noise from my PS2s has finally got the best of me. I ordered a set of HTR Z III from Tire Rack. Hopefully baby will have a new set of shoes by the end of the week.
Any reviews that I give might be a little biased because right now the noise from the PS2s is driving me crazy!!! Anything will be better.