Sumitomo HTR Z III- first impressions

fiveightandten · Sun, Mar-29-2009, 06:15:18 AM

I've had these tires sitting around for a few months waiting for the weather to warm up and finally got them mounted and threw them on. The car had Yoko AVS ES100's all around at the time of the swap. I've also been through Michelin PS's.

On the car, as of today, are a like-new set of AVS ES100's in the front, and the Sumitomo's in the rear. People were asking about these when I bought them, so I figured i'd post up my first impressions. I'll offer up some more opinions after I get some miles on them.

I definitely got my money's worth out of the Yoko's.

Most of that is from last night. A buddy of mine who I haven't seen in a long time flew in for a week-long stay and we took the car out to a few remote locations and put the nail in the coffin with the pre-existing rubber. I guess it's evident which direction I tend to slide in.

Anyways. New tires ready to go on...

First impressions...

What I like: They grip. They grip harder than I thought they would. Dare I say they have more grip than the PS's and Yoko's. But, it's also been a while since the Yoko's had nice tread on them, so my memory may deceive me. And the price. At $97 a piece, it's tough to beat. Overall handling limits are higher than I can ever remember the car having with the other tires i've tried. This is subjective, though i'm basing my observations on the fact that the fronts were replaced with the same tires that came off...and believe me, they didn't look anything at all like the rears. Fronts were in decent shape.

What I don't like: The sidewalls seem too soft. The grip is nice, but it feels mushier than what i'm used to. Breaking traction is harder than it was, but also slightly less controllable. There seems to be a larger progressive window where the rear end starts to step out. If my car was set up in a manner that it didn't understeer most of the time, I might like this attribute. But I liked the responsiveness of the Yokos and PS's in comparison to the vague mushy feel the Sumis brought to the rear end. They're also louder than either of those tires.

Overall...for $97, i'm happy so far simply because they grip harder than I thought they would. Responsiveness is down, as is overall rear end feel. Noise is slightly increased. I'll play around with tire pressures a bit to see what I can do about the feel and report back with some more time on them.

OahuMPower · Sun, Mar-29-2009, 06:38:46 AM

good stuff Nick...

thanks for taking the time for the pictures and the review

mtechnica · Sun, Mar-29-2009, 06:51:04 AM

Hmm... probably should have just bought kumho XS but $97 is still pretty cheap.

Conway · Sun, Mar-29-2009, 07:06:42 AM

I run the same tires, there great for the price. The wet traction is there only down flaw.

Sammyzuko · Sun, Mar-29-2009, 12:09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtechnica

Hmm... probably should have just bought kumho XS but $97 is still pretty cheap.

The XS has a 180 tread wear rating, HTR Z III is 300. That's a big difference on a daily driven car. I have a set of the HTR's and agree the sidewall is a bit soft, but overall I like the tires. I also think the sidewalls of my RE-01R's are soft, so go figure.

Leviathan · Sun, Mar-29-2009, 02:12:25 PM

speaking of tire pressures, what are you guys running for "streeting" the avg staggered setup?

Sammyzuko · Sun, Mar-29-2009, 02:20:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leviathan

speaking of tire pressures, what are you guys running for "streeting" the avg staggered setup?

All of my wheels are non-staggered, but I usually run ~37psi.

egk2 · Sun, Mar-29-2009, 02:28:38 PM

I just bought a set myself, thanks for the review. So how bad is the noise?

JPJ · Sun, Mar-29-2009, 02:30:39 PM

Make sure to post a follow up after you get a few miles on them, but look nice.

These would have be high on my list for new tires. I had ES100s on a e46 330 in the past and liked the grip (incl doing pretty well at the track), but sooo loud as they wore. Of course, I guess yours were past the point of big loud at the end.

Sammyzuko · Sun, Mar-29-2009, 03:15:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by egk2

I just bought a set myself, thanks for the review. So how bad is the noise?

I haven't noticed noise with mine, although it hasn't been warm enough to drive around with the windows down.

...maybe I'm not a good person to chime in on the subject as I've never thought any tires on my M were noisy. I grew up driving my dad's dump trucks.

Sun, Mar-29-2009, 06:15:18 AM	#1
fiveightandten He'll save children, but not the British children... Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 7,723 In the garage: '03 BMW 330CI '02 SUBARU WRX '98 BMW M3 Reputation: 0 Location: Connecticut	Sumitomo HTR Z III- first impressions I've had these tires sitting around for a few months waiting for the weather to warm up and finally got them mounted and threw them on. The car had Yoko AVS ES100's all around at the time of the swap. I've also been through Michelin PS's. On the car, as of today, are a like-new set of AVS ES100's in the front, and the Sumitomo's in the rear. People were asking about these when I bought them, so I figured i'd post up my first impressions. I'll offer up some more opinions after I get some miles on them. I definitely got my money's worth out of the Yoko's. Most of that is from last night. A buddy of mine who I haven't seen in a long time flew in for a week-long stay and we took the car out to a few remote locations and put the nail in the coffin with the pre-existing rubber. I guess it's evident which direction I tend to slide in. Anyways. New tires ready to go on... First impressions... What I like: They grip. They grip harder than I thought they would. Dare I say they have more grip than the PS's and Yoko's. But, it's also been a while since the Yoko's had nice tread on them, so my memory may deceive me. And the price. At $97 a piece, it's tough to beat. Overall handling limits are higher than I can ever remember the car having with the other tires i've tried. This is subjective, though i'm basing my observations on the fact that the fronts were replaced with the same tires that came off...and believe me, they didn't look anything at all like the rears. Fronts were in decent shape. What I don't like: The sidewalls seem too soft. The grip is nice, but it feels mushier than what i'm used to. Breaking traction is harder than it was, but also slightly less controllable. There seems to be a larger progressive window where the rear end starts to step out. If my car was set up in a manner that it didn't understeer most of the time, I might like this attribute. But I liked the responsiveness of the Yokos and PS's in comparison to the vague mushy feel the Sumis brought to the rear end. They're also louder than either of those tires. Overall...for $97, i'm happy so far simply because they grip harder than I thought they would. Responsiveness is down, as is overall rear end feel. Noise is slightly increased. I'll play around with tire pressures a bit to see what I can do about the feel and report back with some more time on them. __________________ -Nick

Sun, Mar-29-2009, 06:38:46 AM	#2
OahuMPower :FACEPALM: Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 26,550 Reputation: 0 Location: San Diego	good stuff Nick... thanks for taking the time for the pictures and the review __________________

Sun, Mar-29-2009, 06:51:04 AM	#3
mtechnica Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 620 Reputation: 0	Hmm... probably should have just bought kumho XS but $97 is still pretty cheap. __________________

Sun, Mar-29-2009, 07:06:42 AM	#4
Conway Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 303 Reputation: 0 Location: NJ	I run the same tires, there great for the price. The wet traction is there only down flaw. __________________

Sun, Mar-29-2009, 02:12:25 PM	#6
Leviathan Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 410 Reputation: 0 Location: Chapel Hill, NC	speaking of tire pressures, what are you guys running for "streeting" the avg staggered setup? __________________ Roy built not bought *old, 100% stock pic

Sun, Mar-29-2009, 02:28:38 PM	#8
egk2 Not a Noob Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 696 Reputation: 0	I just bought a set myself, thanks for the review. So how bad is the noise? __________________

Sun, Mar-29-2009, 02:30:39 PM	#9
JPJ Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 9 Reputation: 0 Location: Clarkston, MI	Make sure to post a follow up after you get a few miles on them, but look nice. These would have be high on my list for new tires. I had ES100s on a e46 330 in the past and liked the grip (incl doing pretty well at the track), but sooo loud as they wore. Of course, I guess yours were past the point of big loud at the end.

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