stangfreak2

I heard the Sumitomo z III's were pretty good, but the II's suck, but of course I could be wrong.

AdderMk2

There is also a difference in a quality tire, and an overpriced one...

remember the adage, "yes, your audi is expensive... must be nice to drive a 65,000 VW passat!"

the very very high end tires are not always THE way to go.


a good way to understand the characteristics of a tire is to actually put your hands on them. Look at the way the tread is designed, the siping, the negative void, tread locations and patterns. also look at the surface of the tire. Often, a tire that has a "shine" to it, will have a higher oil content than one that has a more "matte" look to it. Tires with more oil are usually cheaper (rubber is expensive) and will not last as long. they will also suffer in the wet/snow.

more blocky treads will have a tendency to be louder that a more pointed/long tread that wraps with the tire.

buy tires based on your location and application. not their price. I bought based on price.. then I bought AGAIN when they wore out.

COMPARISON: My Sumitomo HTR+4's wore out in 6 months. My Sumitomo HTR-Z(another case of trying to be cheap) tires wore out in about the same amount of time.

The TOYO Proxes FZ4's that I had on my 1991 PGT lasted over a year and a half. They still had good tread on them when I sold the wheels after bowing the motor (again.. hehe)

Hell, Even my Nitto 555R's are out lasting my sumitomo's

Appication:
Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3
275/40/17 $238 ea


Great dry performance, excellent wet performance... GARBAGE in snow... This tire will also ride smooth, give less vibrations, and be rather quiet.

Goodyear Eagle F1
275/40/17 $165 ea

Excellent dry performance, good wet performance, OK snow performance
will still ride rather smooth, low vibrations, and relatively quiet

The main difference in these is the sipes and negative void in the tire. The siping on this tire will allow the tread to bent, raising up an edge that will "bite" into the snow.

which is why snow tires look like this...



COMPARISON:
The Sumitomo HTRZIII shown below has little to know siping, has very straight thread, but very solid tread with no evacuation void. so looking at this tire tells me a couple things.
First, the compound is very shiny (oil, bad for wet/snow)
no real siping (bad for snow)
no evacuation void (water will get trapped under the tire and cause hydroplaning.... bad in wet)
solid tread bands (should have decent stability in cornering)

Sleeper_08

Not sure why you comment on the use of the HTRZIII for use in snow as it is a high performance Summer tire.

Per Tire Rack;

"The HTR Z III (High Technology Radials-3rd generation) is Sumitomo's Max Performance Summer tire developed for sports cars, sporty coupes and high performance sedans. It is designed to showcase Sumitomo's technical resources by providing high-speed handling stability along with traction on dry and wet roads. Like all summer tires, it is not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice."

Here are the Tire Rack test results for this tire from July 2007;

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...irePageLocQty=

AdderMk2

actually... i was commenting on ALL seasons of use.. dry/wet/snow...

but thanks for trying

I still say that the tire is NOT a good buy... but don't take my advise... like I said. I only deal with tires on a daily basis

TEXASGT/CS

I dont know, maybe I just got lucky but my II's have about 20,000 on them and are prob good for another 3 or 4k atleast.

pascal

Let me have your car for a week, I can assure you that those tires are only good for another 200 miles!

dvs4.6

i have used them in the past and currently use them on my stang for show purposes = 20" wheels) they are a great tire for the price. i not sure just cause you pay twice as much your getting twice the tire.

Heck...i've even used them for a track day once or twice and they held up real good, very little roll. they are also a very predictable tire at the limit.

TIRE RACK like mentioned before will give you test results and reviews by actual customers who have used them.

Silver_Pony

Pascal....
love your hood Im adding the hood scoop and rally stripe to mine just like that cant wait til after Chrstmas so i can actually do it!

Rubrignitz

I'm running HTRZ-III's up front in 275/40-18 size. Haven't had many complaints other than noise. When I smack curbs (happening less and less these days as I learn how to drive lol) I order new steeda ultralite black rims from Ammuscle and have them mount up the HTRZIII's cause' they're so cheap and not a bad tire FWIW. I have several good ones lying around in the garage.

However, I plan to mount up Nitto NT05's when these wear out...

jahudso2

My HTRZIII tires don't look shiny like the picture anymore. I have about 700 miles on them now, and they look just like the pirelli all seasons as far as shine. I think the shine is from the lube in the tire cast, not the actual rubber, as it seems to have worn off already.