Shtootgart

I know it's been discussed a lot and I've researched it a lot too but I can't seem to make a final decision on tires for my C4S. My current situation is that I have Pirelli Pzero Rossos on the car from previous owner. I need two fronts. Rears have 80% left. Seems for not much more than the two new fronts would cost, I could get a full set of the much raved about Sumitomo HTRz's. When most people praise the Sumi's they bring up the pricing but for me in the near term that's kind of a wash. Are the Sumitomo's, in your guys' opinion, just a straight up better tire or, for the same money would you stick with the Pirelli's ?

1pcarnut

I've had both and prefer the Sumis to the Pirellis regardless of price. Good handling and much quieter.

Magdaddy

I've never had either the Summi's or the Pirelli's on my C4S. When I bought it, the PO had a fresh set of Michelin Pilot Sports on it...witrh a VERY aggressive track alignment. The tires were junk in 4K miles. I put a set of Hankook Ventus Evo's on it then, and have gone thru two full sets of rears in my almost 30K miles of drivng the car-and second set of fronts had to be bought because a road impact broke a belt and caused a sidewall buldge.

My car is street driven mostly, only seen a couple Auto-x's, no DE, etc. The Hankooks or Summi's are a great value for the money, and a great performing street tire. Also, you could probably sell the existing Pirelli rears for a good buck if the wear is consistent.

Gooid luck

MielsOnWheels

Michelin Pilot Super Sports...excellent tire...quiet, grippy,long wear rating, reasonable cost

JPS

And I'm not a fan of mixing, so don't get just 2 of something different up front.

jimbo3

How old are the rear tires? If they are 4 or 5 years old, they might not have 80% left in them.

orclean1

what about continenatials

vincer77

I have DWS A/S on the rear and the sidewalls are too soft and the rear feels loose.

Shtootgart

Rears are about 18 months old. So no fans of buying a couple more Pirellis ? I have no other tire experience with the car but I believe these are factory recommended. I have heard good things about the Michelins but thought they were priced relatively close to the Pirellis.

goofballdeluxe

Sumi HTRZ IIIs are one of the best bang-for-the-buck tires out there right now, along with the Hankooks. 90% of the performance of the Michelins at half the cost. It's a no-brainer choice for almost anyone other than a wealthy track rat.

solomonschris

I can't comment on the Sumi's, but I really like the Hankook V 12's. I must add that I don't do track or DE, just on the road mischief.

tbil

Happy with the Sumi HTRZ III's, just cant beat the value. On the street, I've mixed brands front to rear several times without being able to notice adverse handling. May not be the best practice but the rears are expensive and these cars go through them pretty quickly, 8K to 12K, is all I've been able to get with factory alignment settings.

element

+1 on the Michelin Pilot Super Sport

Great price as well compared to the PS2.. the shoulder is a rounder design which helps with thread life

phil.

C2Cab95

I also have the Hankook Ventus V12s... Great tires for the money and www.tirerack.com has them with an $80 mail in rebate. Puts them in at around $400 shipped.

They did take a couple hundred miles before they felt sure footed, I don't know if it was the rubber release agent used in the molding process, squirrelly tread, or combination of the two.

CADguy

I agree. I just had four Sumitomo HTRZ IIIs put on this past Thursday. I had on BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD from the PO which handled really well. The Sumis don't handle as well (dry, I don't do wet!), but I've only put about 70 miles on them (break-in is supposed to be about 500 miles).