Sumitomo HTR IIIs

[Ant]

Picked these (max perf. summer, 245/45/17 for my stock wheels) up from tire rack for ~430 shipped to my door, so far very impressed. no rub on the struts for me either.

comming from 235 series A/S pirelli pzeros, I can definately tell a difference. car squats down good from a dig, and barely any spinning on upshifts. high speed stability is great too. also, i can throw the car alot harder into turns, with no squeel from the tires, and alot of feel for where the limits of handling are.

overall, a damn decent tire, living up to the hype for me so far...we'll see how they wear....

[Octomonkey]

My dad has them on his Mustang and they seem to be a really good budget performance tire.

[ElCidAviator]

I like my HTR2s

[SpeedyGoat]

I have the HTR Z3's and love them! They grip very well and still give a good ride.

[NickC]

I'm on like, my 12th set of HTRZ2's? I've used them on every car I've had the past 5 years or so. I absolutely love them, and would really not consider another tire. Before these, I had the high dollar Michelins, Pirelli's, Bridgestone, etc. They may have performed a *bit* better at the edge, but considering they all cost more than double what a set of HTRZ2's run, and last a whole helluva lot less miles, there really is no comparison in a street tire.

I'm running through my current set, and might just try the HTRZ3. I dunno though, the HTRZ2 has just been so good to me I'll probably stick with it. Never had a flat, defective tire, bubble, blow out, etc. Just awesome tires.

[BubbaDuss]

+1 on HTR II's. ran nitto drags in back and HTR 2's up front, never even thought of loosing the front going hard in corners and on the spirited drive.

[SK360]

Why did you need new tires again? :gr_jest:

[BubbaDuss]

Why did you need new tires again? :gr_jest:

I needed new ones because I picked up a roofing nail about 10,000 miles ago and have been living with the slow leak ever since. replaced htem last week with my Ruff's.

[SK360]

I needed new ones because I picked up a roofing nail about 10,000 miles ago and have been living with the slow leak ever since. replaced htem last week with my Ruff's.

Nice..

I was referring to Ant... his actions on 4/6/08 may have led to him buying new tires :X

[The Big D]

i have htr + and i hate em, no noise, shit wet weather handling, and quick to wear out

[sammygto]

i have the htrz2 and hook verry good at the track managed to get 1.6 60s and 12.10s all night

[Ant]

Why did you need new tires again? :gr_jest:

listen to this:

my rears were actually fine...i'd say, another 6k worth of life, but the fronts (old rears) were almost down to the cords. My plan was to just order a pair, put the rears to the front, and the new tires to the rear. Well the night i was going to order them, I blew the right rear on a peice of metal (I think). So at that point I needed 3 tires...so why not order 4...

sigh.

Just to follow up: they've gotten a little stickier since wearing in, and still no rub.

[TriflowM5+M3]

just swapped over myself...im happy with new rubber.

[skygazer]

New ZII's installed yesterday (stock size 17's). First freeway drive met expectations - compared to the worn out UHPs (@27Kmi), the ZIII's seem to have similar traction, similar comfort, slightly better turn in response, and slightly more noise. The noise may be partially because they are new and actually have tread on them!

More to follow as I get a chance to push them, and they wear in a little...

[TriflowM5+M3]

the grip will certainly increase...mine seemed a bit greasy for the first couple of hundred miles. after that, everything was gravy.

[GroupAwheels.com]

All new tires are not at there best when they are first installed. Give them a few hundred miles to break in. Once the "nubs" or worn off they will be ready to go hard.

[skygazer]

Well, after a couple hundred miles I figured I'd provide an update. This is all seat of the pants & memory of the old tires, but here's my assessment of the HTRIII vs Exclaim UHPs (17" stock size):

Dry Grip: The UHPs were pretty grippy, both turning and straight line. I think that the HTRZIII's are better, but not dramatically so... I seem to be able to take tight freeway on-ramps and transition lanes at a little more power and speed, with very predictable throttle-steer and no fuss. I haven't pushed the back roads yet. Both have much better grip than the OEM KDWSs!

Wet Grip: UHPs were confidence inspiring in the rain. Limited experience here, but the HTRIII's seem just a little more grippy in light rain. Haven't had to deal with a deluge yet.

Turn in: HTRIII's win hands down! Very noticeable improvement in steering transient response. This is rather important, since we have all experienced how the GTO's variable ratio (http://apc-online.com/twa/transport2.html) steering and "soft" bushings tend to deaden on-center feel. The UHP's introduced a brief lag in steering response, especially at highway speeds, over the KDWS's. I attribute this to the softer sidewall. I can't tell if the HTRIII's have better turn in than the KDWSs, but they really do improve the steering over the UHPs. This is closer to what a performance car should feel like.

Comfort: Why do I care? Well, one of the reasons I sold my Fbody to get a GTO was comfort. I like performance, but I don't like getting beat up by my car, especially on long trips! The UHPs are very comfortable tires - they do a great job soaking up expansion joints and small bumps! This is probably the plus side of the soft sidewall. The HTRZIIIs are much more like the KDWSs in this regard.... not bad in 17's, but I suspect that 18's would be a touch harsh. YMMV...

Noise: Neither tire has objectionable noise. I thought the HTRZIII's were louder at first, but now I'm not sure. Maybe I got used to them, or maybe they wore in. In any event, it's not significant. BTW, I usually leave the radio off and the windows up, so I think I would notice a noise issue.

Snow: I live in San Diego - this is irrelevant!

No telling how the HTRIII's will wear. I got 30Kmi out of my UHP's... if the HTRIII's are anywhere close to this, I'll probably buy them again.

[EricBlueGTO]

I just bought a set of HTRZ III's to replace my worn out stock tires. I will probably get them installed in a week or so. I'll try to remember to post up my impressions of them. From what I have read around the internet, they are a great performer for the money. I just can't take spending a grand on "performance" tires.

[URIEL'S 06 GTO]

i loved the sumitomos i went thru 2 sets in a period of 22,000 miles and i just got some bridgestone potenza re 760 sport and they handle twice as good love them too!!

[uscfan]

bump any updates....

[AlphaEden]

just threw on HTR+ very good tire so far for the price

[Ausboy]

I have a set of 18 inch HTR111 installed at NTB. So far, very impressed.

[My Little GTO]

I'm getting my HTRZIII 275's on Monday! I'm lookin forward to it after seeing this thread! I have HTR Z's right now.

[Ausboy]

I'm getting my HTRZIII 275's on Monday! I'm lookin forward to it after seeing this thread! I have HTR Z's right now.
What is the difference between the Z's and the III?

[My Little GTO]

Low grade vs high grade. I'm not real sure, I haven't experienced the III's yet. Quality is probably the big difference. The Z's came on my car. They lasted 1 summer and a few burnouts. I guess they have been a decent tire. Not great but not bad either. They seem to hook pretty well unless you dump the clutch and really get them spinning. Then you really have to feather the gas to get them back in it. I wouldn't recommend buying the Z's, but I have no complaints with them. The II's or III's are only a few dollars more.