Anyone have any experience with SumitomoHTR Z III tires. I have been seeing decent test scores on these and wondering if anyone has used them and would recommend. Any other suggestions are welcome

 

3 sets of the HTRZll, soon I'll fit a 4th set. I have a sneaking suspicion the ll may be for more aggressive driving than the lll. The ll are exceptional in the wet too. Best of all they are quiet even when worn beyond the wear bars. An exceptional street tire, I wouldn't advise for track as they get a little greasy in the canyon twisties when pushed real hard when ambient temps are over 100 degrees.

 

run a few sets of HTRZ3's on my dad's e39 540i work very well on street and track, IMO the best bang for buck tire out there...and I've gone through a lot of tires, lol

 

Everyone has their own opinion. I'm glad to hear that some people have had a good experience with the HTR ZIII. I bought one set and I'll never buy them again. I thought they were horrible. I had three issues with them:

1. They are very narrow and they look "stretched" on the wheels if you order them in the sizes recommended by Porsche. The sidewalls of premium brands bulge over the edges of the wheel much more, providing more protection to the wheel and a more appealing look.
2. The grip was noticeably reduced with the Sumitomos, especially in the rear when compared to Michelins or Pirellis.
3. The Sumitomos became very loud after about 5,000 miles of driving.

Personally, I would rather spend more money and have a better experience with tires. The only thing that I liked about the Sumitomos was the price.

One more thing to add: I'm not one of those guys who thinks that you should only buy N-spec tires that Porsche recommends. I actually hate the N-spec Pirelli P Zero too! I'm all for trying different brands and finding one that you like. I'm just passing on my personal experience with the Sumitomo.

 

I can't speak on the sumis specifically but the time honored adage "you get what you pay for" was never more true than when putting cheap tires on a Porsche turbo. Only thing I have ever found is that the n rated tires are consistently better while the less expensive brands tend not to be.

Still I can't see how anyone could "hate"? p zeros. They're better than most ive found.

But I agree with experimenting and finding what suits each of " us" best.

 

Maybe "hate" was an overly strong word choice.

I've been through two sets of P Zeros and we currently have a set on our Audi SQ5 (OE tire). My biggest problems with the P Zero are noise and tread life. The grip and performance is fantastic with the P Zero - no argument there. Personally, I've been very happy with the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2. I haven't found a tire that I like better. For my driving style and needs, the PS2 offers the best combination of performance, tread life and quiet ride. I've heard great things about the Michelin Pilot Super Sport, but I haven't tried them. I have tried Hankooks and Continentals and I didn't like them as much as the Michelins.

 

^ i find my tire preferences are seriously impacted by whether or not they are for the turbo or one of my other cars. so all my criticism of inexpensive tires is reserved for the tt's

i stuck by michi for years until the availability and price combined became just too much stress! when you need tires? you need tires, and i was sick of "searching" for a a 540$ tire! given i go thru two sets of rears a year. fronts are always cheap as you know, and i'm able to run the michi PSS for 125 per up front and they last as long as any, and i have NO complaints, they are as most michelins are, as good as it gets.

i tried hankooks ... ONCE and many here will remember my ******ng and moaning about them and actually throwing them away ( literally ) after i relized that simply scrubbing them in, was never gonna make em worth a dime to me. did they "fit"? sure. were they 600 a set? sure. so what, i have a 600rwhp car, and if i felt a 600 SET of tires were a good idea, workable AND safe? i'd be all over em. they;re not. but i'll spare everyone my unscientific experiential and empirical LOL data set on that... again.. sorry OP, i hope you like the sumis as it appears others do as well.

it really all comes down ( always ) to what you need and expect out of your tires and how much stress you put on them. if i only drove to the market, hankooks would also be just fine lol

 

I have HTR ZIIIs on my BMW X3. They transformed the handling of the SUV - much better than the OEM Michelin all-seasons. I didn't consider the Sumis for the 996tt. They don't perform anywhere near as well as the Yokohama AD08R tires on the car right now.

 

I ran them for a while. Didn't balance well mostly due to the tread not being straight on 2 out of 4 of the tires.

Much better now that I'm on GT2 sized PS2s.

 

Thanks for the replies. I live in CT and don't track the car. Only drive from April to October and maybe put 5-7k on the car during that time. I currently have Bridgestone Potenza S-02s
and twice I have had leaks, that resulted in a flat, that resulted in the tire getting damaged, that resulted in new tires. So, I'm going to try something new, PS2s, P-Zeros, Sumis don't know yet

 

I've had Bridgestone re050a (great) and am running Perelli Pzero now also great. Never been happy with "off brand" tires.

 

Never tried them on my TT, but ran them on my Boxster. It's a decent budget tire. Easily flat spot when sitting for a while so it feels like they are square for the first few miles. No grip when cold. Mediocre grip once warmed up. They are cheap, they last a while and can get noisy towards the end of their life. The only reason I ran them was that my race alignment destroyed tires in ~3k street miles.

I would not recommend them for a street driven "normal" TT.