Bill 993

Seeking advise on new tires for my 1996 993 (I know another tire post). I currently have S-03 on 17" cup rims (7" fronts, 9" rears). Overall they are ok, but feel they have too much steering response (turn-in is actually too good) and overall grip less seems less than the older Bridgestone S-02. I have done a few track days on the S-03 and they hold up ok, if careful managing the # of hot laps in a row. I also have an 2nd set of 17" rims with older Michelin Sport Cup tires. Love the steering feel of the Michelins.

I have ROW M030 springs with Bilsteins and alignment 1/2 way between stock and RS settings.

Reviewing the current prices at Tirerack, I have narrowed down my choices to:

Michelin PS2, $900 a set
Sumitomo HTZIII, $356 a set (yes that price is correct)
Bridgestone RE050A, $694 a set (includes $100 discount card)
Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec, $537 a set (includes a $75 Amazon card)

All are 205/50-17 and 255/40-17, except the Dunlops which are only available front size is 225/45-17. Also only the Michelin are Porsche N rated.

The Sumitomo fronts are XL load rated, all other are normal SL rating. I'm not sure this is an issue, but I'm concerned since the 993 isn't heavy at the front.

If price was no object, I would pick the Michelin, they get great reviews, my experience is good, and are N rated. The Bridgestones don't get me excited (due to my lukewarm experience with S-03), and Tirerack test test actually rated them lower than the Sumitomos. So I'm seriously considering the Sumitomos or Dunlops.

Thanks ahead of time for any feedback. I'm especially interested in hearing from anyone with 17" Sumitomos or have switched from the S-03 to any of my tire options.

grwoolf

As far as value for the price, it's probably hard to beet the sumitomos. I have the 18's on my car and could not be more pleased, but I am not a track or auto-x guy, so take my opinion with that in mind.

c993k

Bridgestones or Sumies flip a coin. Keep in mind that Bridgestones come standard on many cars that exceed 200mph, RUF uses them.

nile13

Direzzas without a moment's hesitation. Also look at Azenis, but they will be slightly more expensive, closer to $600 a set. I'd go with Direzzas.

The issue with S-03s is that they were design more of a wet weather tire. As a result there's a bit of thread squirm that is very apparent. On top of that they lose grip fairly abruptly. I didn't find them too crisp at the turn in, they did Ok on my other car, but they always felt squirmy and wiggly to me.

e9stibi

I have the Azenis and are happy with it. If you go for the Direzzas, I would be interested in your feedback.

David993S

Hi Bill. I went from SO3's to Sumi's on my 993S. Best tire decision I ever made.

Cheers.

cabrio993

Sumi's are almost as good, if not as good, as the Michellin's for 1/3 the price. That's what I'm running and love them.

samsnead

I run Sumis on all my cars, hard to beat for the price

Bill 993

Thanks for the quick feedback. Any that have the Sumis, care to comment on steering feel? Turn-in, better or worst than other tires? Excess slip angle (again compare to the other tire brands). All tires generate cornering force with slip angle - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slip_angle I had an set of Yokohamas (different car) that felt very vague because either the slip angle was large or maybe sidewall was soft. I'm running 17" and it appears that David993S and cabrio993 have 18". Anybody with 17" Sumis?

BobbyT

Sumis. Far smoother and quieter than my previous P-Zero Rossos.

David993S

Hi Bill. Yes, I have 18's. Are you going to track your car? and if so, can you actually push the car to 100% of its limits? If the answer to either of those is "no" then you won't notice any differences in slip angles, etc. with the Sumi's vs. Michelin, Pirelli, Bridgestone. The Sumi's will hold their own to 98% of what the other tires will do.

daltvater

I'll sell you these with a rennlist deal, not what your looking for but here you go anyway...
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/pts/1119381346.html

DaveM993

I am running Sumi's.... me likey.

CaptainGSR

I like my RE050s but I did not choose them (they came with the rims!). Still, they are a great improvement over my previous set of Pzeros N4s.

After tasting these RE050s, I am now hooked on the soft sidewalls of Japanese tires.

I will probably try S-Drives or Sumitomos next, just because they are cheap. If not, I would get RE050s again.

Good Luck,

993-C4S

Bill, did you see this review from way back that John D. wrote up?

Review of the Sumitomo HTR ZIII for track and DE events