Any one with "Sumitomo HTR Z III" Please comment
 

I am in need of new tires "soon". I have Mich pilot sport on them now, but the rears are down to the tread bump thingys and have found a nail in one.

I would appreciate any thoughts by "Owners" of "Sumitomo HTR Z III" . I hear they are much better than the II's. I won't be doing any snow driving, but will do a little rain driving. I have read endless reviews on these. And the only negatives I have read are for the track, which I don't do. I am not cheap,just frugal as if I was cheap I would go General uhp or cheaper.

Here is my short list of tires and I am leaning heavily towards the Sumitomo's.

Matching set............................tire rack (Installed).......Local Shop(trinity tires)
Sumitomo HTR Z III...................111/163 (749)...............700 OTD
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymc.........175/252
General Exclaim UHP..................95/158 (654)..............664 Installed
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2..............245/315 (1300)
Yokohama ADVAN S.4............................................... .....1010 intalled

Couple threads on here that might help:

Sumitomo HTR Z III

Replacement Tires

Thanks, I missed the first site on my search. I have been heavily leaning towards them, but most reviews on tire rack have been from people that have less than 500 miles. How the hell can you review something that hasn't even had the nipples worn off yet? :eek:

I put over 1k miles on mine while only being on my car for 72 hours....I've said it about 5 times already....amazing tires in dry weather....suck ass in wet conditions,loose as heck.

From the tire rack reviews
 

if you're looking for similar cars--RWD,small cars (BMW,S2000)--the consensus was these are good tires for the $. A little more tire noise, not quite as good in the wet, but a decent tire.

I have no experience with these tires, but do with the GY Asym F1--a tire very close to the PS2 performance at a much lower price.

If you're looking at the Exclaim, you might also consider the Kumho SPT--priced about the same. Similar performance--quiet, smooth ride decent traction, but a rather soft sidewall.

Thanks for all the input folks, :cheers: I just got back from my local tire guy, he said the fronts were in pretty good shape(pilot sport), but it would cost almost as much to put 2 new Mich sports on the rear as it would be to get 4 new Sumitomo HTR Z III. He also said with 4 new the ride would be better than 2new/2 45% fronts. He originally recommended General UHPs :eek: . I felt for $100 more the sumitomo's were much better.

So I ordered the Sumitomo HTR Z III 18's. I will post a review after a few thousand miles and let you all know. If they are as good as everybody says then they are definately a great/cheaper alternative to the high dollar tires. :cool:

Mikeoh, I was looking at the f1 asyms, but they were about $300 more.

I have a fairly fresh set of Sumi HTRZ (180 treadwear not HTRZ III) that came with a set of 17" takeoff wheels. I had planned to mount R-Comp tires on the wheels and ditch the Sumis. I have changed my mind. These are really nice street/daily driver tires. Very predictable, quiet, good road manners, good traction wet or dry. I now have several spirited canyon carving days and 1 track day on them. I highly recommend.

They don't have the crisp turn in or absolute grip of my last set of PS2s but they are a joy to drive around town or "going deep" in twisty mountain roads. The one downside is track days. In continuous fast laps on a warm day grip fades pretty quickly. Where PS2s would really hang in there the Sumis start to get greasy by lap 3 or 4. I will run out these tires as my new daily driver tire. The R-comps are going on the other set of rims for the track.

Yeah, I'd def avoid mixing tires front/rear. I did that on another car and it was difficult to drive on the freeway due to each tread pattern following the ruts in the road differently. Felt like the car had casters in the back. :)

Yeah, I wasn't going to mix, I had just thought about replacing the rears with identical Michelins, but the cost would be within $100 of getting 4 sumits. Seems like a no brainer. I do like the Michelins for the short period I had them, so i will compare them to the Sumits when I have put some miles on them.

Hey mp---with all that money you saved on that Box of yours, I'd think you'd have plenty left in reserves for another set of new PS2s :D

Ok smart azz!! :p Do you actually save money if you have to spend it on your porsche later? Actually I now need a new top/rear window. Mine developed two 1/2" cracks on each side right were the window bends(of course). It was a California car so I am sure the sun dried the plastic window out. Thing that rubs my rubbarb is that the top is in like new condition. If it isn't one thing its another with these damn cars (still worth it) :barf: . I am going to try to put some clear silicon cauk stuff on it for now. So my next project is to see if I can sew in a new window and seal it myself. If I can't then what the heck, I need a new top anyways.

What do you think of this? waste of time or worth a shot?
http://www.emiata.com/BoxsterWindow.htm

I just have to speak up once more. I now have nearly 5K on my HTR Z III's. I am more than impressed and will most definitely buy them again. I have plenty of fun winging around corners, they are very progressive and have held up great to a severe beating.

Also we get a good amount of rain here in the NW and I think they do great in the rain. Better than other tires I have had.

Been there, did the fix myself with a kit. It is a lot of work, much more than I had anticipated. I would recommend you find a shop willing to stitch in a new window with the canvas still on the frame. The entire convertible top (canvas & frame) is surprisingly easy to remove. Most shops want to remove the canvas from the frame, that is where it gets expensive.

See also:
DYI rear plastic window.

Cracked Plastic

Replacing plastic back window '01 Boxster's Top

If your on Renntech I sort-of took over another thread about a top, there are a couple pics there as well as some discussion of the process:
http://www.renntech.org/forums/inde...287&#entry94287

I used a clear silicone caulking as a temp fix till it got too bad and ghetto looking.

I first had a set of Falken FK-452s that I loved, when they wore out, from recommendation I went with the HTR Z IIIs and I didnt care for them at all. Now I have another set of Falken FK-452s... They are the best tire for the money if youre looking to be frugal but have a tire comparable to the Michellens.

Im never going to put anything other than Falkens on the car unless i get other tires for free. The HTR Z IIIs didnt live up to my driving or expectations whatsoever

Thanks for the reassurance. I get mine put on tuesday for about $750(otd). Not frickin bad for a local shop. Only $15 more than tire rack(installed). Plus if I got a problem, i got a real person to help me. Anybody in the Urbana Ohio area(43078) look up Josh at trinity tires. He is a good honest Chritian guy who has been in some facet of cars all his life.

I was most concerned with water traction as we get a lot of rain in central ohio.

That is my next project. I am going to do research on different types of plastic and weigh my option of just getting a glass top. As I already understand the glass is much smaller than the original. Not really a deal breaker as the only time I put my top up is when I go into a store or in inclement weather(of course).

I have seen these on ebay, are they worth my time and money?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-Boxster-1997-98-99-00-2001-2002-Convertible-Top_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQha shZitem58826934bcQQitemZ380145054908QQptZMotorsQ5f CarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Oh, by the way, thanks for all the links. I really get a kick out of learning by others mistakes. Even though I will probably make the same mistake!! :D

I am half tempted to buy a second boxster just for parts, as it might be cheaper in the long run!! :eek:

I'm putting a set of the HTR-Z III on this week, along with a performance alignment, so I'll letcha know what I think after...

5K on HTRZ III's
 

I've had mine on for over 5K now and as long as they're available I won't buy anything else. They corner every bit as hard as I ask them to. I don't drive in the snow. I only drive in the rain if I get "caught" out in it. (Like going to Porsches to Oxford.) They were fine, keeping in mind you're gonna have to slow down in the rain.

good to hear schnellman. I get my new shoes tomorrow!! I took the Box out on some winding roads tonight to see how the mich sports handled to compare them. I got a little cockey tonight, as I came up a crotch rocket with temp tags going down a 2 mile road with a couple "s" twisties and a "big hill ( I couldn't resist. :D ) I gunned it and passed him doing tiple digits. I should have prefaced by saying, I have driven the road a least a thousand times(lieteraly). I almost slowed down and waited just to see the look on his face, but why temp fate!! :cool:

Now I am going down the same road tomorrow just to see how my new shoes feel.

Ok, I got my sumitomo htr z III's on today. Had a nice suprise when I asked him(before install) what my OTD was going to be and I added "seeing tomorrow is my B-day(seriously it is)). He quoted me $700 otd. :eek: Tire rack would have been like $30 more. Not bad for a local shop. I was able to watch the install and it went flawlessly.

Now I have only driven them for like 10 miles, so of course they haven't even been broken in yet. Also I had a car full of KFC chicken as I was hungry, so I didn't get to test them on any twisties(more to come later).

Initial thoughts:
ride= like I was on rails
braking=seemed better than my Mich pilot sports
looks= Well they are black? Look like tires to me.
sound= could barely hear them,

So after 10 miles I am happy, but I need at least a couple thousand miles to really start to tell how they are. You know what that means? Road trip!!! :D

More to come, but so far if they keep it up, Sumitomo will be a welcomed cheaper alternative from my Mich pilot sports!! :cheers:

Anybody in the central ohio area that needs a good Deal on tires,
Call Josh
Trinity Tire & Auto
771 Scioto St
Urbana,OH 43078-2172
Local: 937-653-5500