Anyone using Sumitomo HTR Z II 's

[JEFFTATE]

Is anyone using Sumitomo HTR Z II 's or HTR Z III ' s ???
I am in the process of looking for new tires and was just wondering if they are worth it .

The HTRZ II 's have a 220 UTQG .
The HTRZ III 's have a 300 UTQG.
They are cheaply priced. Like $95 each for the front tires and $107 each for the rears.
They are actually available. ( Whereas several other brands that I was interested are not available. They are either backordered or discontinued. Or not available in my size.)



I was also considering BFG KDW's but they are not available in my size in the new tread pattern.
Kumho ESCTA MX 's are being discontinued . The ESCTA XS is replacing the MS , but the XS is a 180 UTQG. I can't use them.
Michelin PS2's are out of my price range.
Toyo T1R's are either on backorder or being discontinued.
Toyo Proxes 4 's are either backordered or discontinued.


Sumitomo makes Falken Tires , which are not too bad.

So , has anyone used them ??

Do they wear too fast ?
Scallop ? ( Like edge wear )
Get noisy ??
Heat cycle and turn to junk ??
Do they grip worth a darn ???
Are they junk ???

[BigBlockOlds]

I had a set of Sumitomo's put on my daily driver '98 Intrigue a few years ago because I wanted to see if they were any good. I have a set on my project car right now but haven't ran them.

They made the Intrigue handle unbelievably well over the stock Goodyears. But, they were completely wore out in just 15,000 miles! :( That's okay for a low mileage, good weather cruiser but for a daily driver, it was terrible.

For the price, they're not bad and could get a project going for cheap (like in my case) but I don't expect them to last long and will replace them with something better down the road.

[JEFFTATE]

Thanks Andrew ,
I figured most of the tires in the 200 - 200 UTQG range probably won't last long.
I was just wanting a comparison between these super cheap Sumitomos and the others.
I just wondered if the quality and grip was any good.

Maybe somebody else will chime in ..

[andrewb70]

Hey Jeff,

What size do you need? I love my Falken 615s

Andrew

[JEFFTATE]

Hey Jeff,

What size do you need? I love my Falken 615s

Andrew

245/45/17 's front
275/40/17 's rear.

The Falken RT615s are about the same price as a BFG KDW.
The Falkens are a consideration.

[BADNBLK]

Jeff I use the Hrtz II's on mine in 265/3518, and 285/35r18. They were the absolute cheapest tires I could get my hands on at the time, and have exceeded my expectations. The wear has been pretty even considering my alignment is not really set for optimum tire wear, and the rear ones just seem to keep getting thinner . They like to be warmed lightly for grip at the drag strip, but its walking a fine line before they get greezy. Once they are greezy takes a full cool down to start over.

Overall, if they fit your budget do it, but there is better tires out ther for which you will pay for.

BTW - They don't smoke like a BFG will...

[Bryce]

i have them on my 95 mustang daily driver. They handle great. I have an accelerometer in the car and i pull 1G all the time on freeway onramps, so a nice consistant radius. I now have around 25k miles on them and i still have the same hanlding characteristics, but they are worn. and need replacing soon.

[andrewb70]

245/45/17 's front
275/40/17 's rear.

The Falken RT615s are about the same price as a BFG KDW.
The Falkens are a consideration.

I got mine from Vulcan Tire. I would not hesitate getting them. I have a friend that ran them on his RX7 and he got over 15K miles on them. Personally I am not looking for a tire to last more than 2-3 years. They get old and dry rotted and pretty much stop working well.

The tread looks pretty sweet too.



One other thing that impressed me is that both rear wheel balanced without weight! The fronts took .5oz or less. My old Nittos had over 2oz in the rear. Same wheels.

Andrew

[wolf28]

I have the Summis on my daily driver 05 GTO and have no complaints whatsoever.

I used to run the RT-615s on my old Evo and they were also great.

I would say just run what fits your budget.

By the way, Andrew, what wheels are those?

[wmhjr]

Not for me. Several years ago the rubber on my M3 was getting tired. I tried a set of the Sumi's on it. There is a particular onramp, sweeping bend onto a highway with very little lead-in that when nobody was around I could easily take at 75+ and it felt like I was on rails in the M3. With the Sumis, the rear end was wobbling around at 55. After 2 days I took them back and had a set of S03's put on, and handling was back to where it should be. These were 17s on BMW M wheels, low profile. Don't remember the specific sizes. I was real surprised at how much flex there was in the sidewall.

[MonzaRacer]

bad issue with sumitomos, are the side walls cant take pot holes and big bumps, seen one of GS's run them on his honda, he ate 4 of them in Bloomington Indiana, but they were 25 series too.

[noobwrench]

Back in highschool I worked at a tire shop that stocked the HTR Z2's they are an amazing tire, they were hands down the best performance per dollar you can get. They are on par with any perfrmance tire.

Once I get my car to that point its what im putting on my Z28. I mean its only like $112 for a p275/40-17 shipped, cant beat that.

[wmhjr]

They are on par with any perfrmance tire.

Once I get my car to that point its what im putting on my Z28. I mean its only like $112 for a p275/40-17 shipped, cant beat that.

Hate to break it to you, but you get what you pay for. They are not a terrible tire, but are in no way "on par with any performance tire". Not even close. For many people that's fine. Many cars are not being pushed to performance levels that you'd notice the difference. However, when pushed, the Sumi's fall far short of something like Pole Position S03s. They have a pretty flexible sidewall that deflects under stress, resulting in unpredictable performance and poor hard handling characteristics. If your car doesn't have the suspension to surpass them, then by all means they're good. If you've got a dialed in suspension and plan to ever track your car or run it hard, stay far far away. Especially in heavier cars.

[MonzaRacer]

Hate to break it to you, but you get what you pay for. They are not a terrible tire, but are in no way "on par with any performance tire". Not even close. For many people that's fine. Many cars are not being pushed to performance levels that you'd notice the difference. However, when pushed, the Sumi's fall far short of something like Pole Position S03s. They have a pretty flexible sidewall that deflects under stress, resulting in unpredictable performance and poor hard handling characteristics. If your car doesn't have the suspension to surpass them, then by all means they're good. If you've got a dialed in suspension and plan to ever track your car or run it hard, stay far far away. Especially in heavier cars.

I definitely agree, an average tire with better than average grip on some level.
Again they wont even come close to some higher end tires.

[JEFFTATE]

Good info...

So , what would you suggest ???

The BFG KDW's and Toyo's have a stiffer sidewall ??
Don't they ??
They have rim protection too ??

[camaro2nv]

I had the Sumi's on my 350z. Awesome tire at a great price.

[DriverzInc]

We've used the III's on a few cars, and have no complaints. Not the the "best" tire by any means, but the price can't be beat. For me personally though, and what I recommend to my customers, the Nittos are not much more a tire, and you get much more performance out of them.