Barn996

Yes, but now your wheels don't need a paint touch up..just your ego.

ivangene

no need to feel like an a$$ however the fact that you do and the fact that they are the ones that left the stuff on the wheels means you both still feel good about it...its not bad, and it was resolved.



however they are thinking "dumba$$" just kidding!!

Malakas

I love the PZero's grip... every time I have an instructor in the car at DE's they ask what kind of tires I am running... But they have worn in <8K miles of street driving and 3 two-day DEs.

How do the Sumi's do on the track?

ATL Fahrer

OK, just ordered a set of the Sumi's as well. Had a long conversation with Damon at the Tire Rack (I have no affiliation with Tire Rack and, hopefully, this doesn't break any rules) and he was extremely helpful. The tires should ship out today and I will have them on the car with enough time before my DE to have them properly "scuffed". Hopefully, this will be as smooth for me as for everyone else!

Randyg308

seriously!,go with a n spec tires,its not snake oil,they are porsche approved for a reason,load characteristics etc.
by all means shop around for the best price,i did and saved alot(on PS2 s no less)dont skimp and dont mix and match ever! by the way i called tire rack to see if they would match the price,not a chance!. i guess they dont have to.anyway just my opinion,good luck!

abiazis

I mixed Dunlop SP8000s(discontinued) on the front that were 80% good and classified as HIGH PERFORMANCE tires and new MAXIMIUM PERFORMANCE classified Sumi 3's on the rear with no handling issues in wet or dry at all speeds up to 100.....pretty quiet, good if not great grip.......

Air= 36/36 lbs all around on 993......................

Price is so good, that if they wear out twice as fast I am still aheadversus PS2......

SUMI has Dunlop technology as Dunlop owns a piece of that company and collaborates on R&D according to several articles I have read about these tires....satisfied buyer with 3,000 miles on the tires....we'll see how they wear and if they get noisy as they age......

nick49

With all due respect, you sound like an attorney. No, N spec tires are not snake oil, they are tires that are built specifically for the Porsche 996. That means the aspect ratio is exact to work best with Porsche stock suspension, rather than within the specs of the tire mfgs. The rubber compounds, casing stiffness, water dispersal abilities, road noise and all other factors fall within Porsches requirements for a tire.

All this means, is you most likely won't go wrong with this tire, as it is approved for use on the 996. In reality, it may not even be the best tire for the car, or the best for your particular application. I've run the N spec Pirelli Asymetricos on my 996 and Boxster and thought them to be ok, that's until I ran Dunlops, Yokohama and Sumis. By comparason, the Pirellis are harsh and noisy.

Porsche does not want to be responsable for handling, braking or other problems arising from tire choices so the test a few brands, tweek them a bit and supply them on new vehicles. They recommend only what they have tested and found to work ok. They get special OE contract pricing on these tires based on the fact they are not speced for general usage and the quantities used.

If for example Michelin made two seemingly identical tires, one N spec and the other not, the difference could be very subtile. The casing of the front tires could be less rigid and more compliant to offer a softer ride for a rear engined car, or the total diameter could be very slightly less, even though it is speced the same aspect ratio, to allow for quicker steering changes.

On mixing tires, a manufacturer of cars or tires would never recommend this, nor would I. Read between the lines, because I would not recommend something, does not mean it should not be done or that it is unsafe. It means that I don't want to assume responsablity for what I have not specifically experienced.

If in competition, or building a show car, I would not mix tire brands. But driving a 170mph vehicle on public roads, usually never exceeding 75 mph with a few quick bursts up to 130mph or so, I don't see the logic not to. My tires wear out generally 2 fronts to 1 rear, so when I need rears, I may want to switch brands. I certainly won't trash my half worn fronts but run the mix. If I find this combination adversly affects anything I'll address it. If not, they will be replaced with a match when expired.

If you are not in tune with your car and don't have the ability to pick up subtile handling, braking and suspension related quirks, I recommend you drive the speed limit and don't mix tires and stick with the N spec only. Oh, and replace the tires when you are close to the wear bars. You might like nitrogen instead of air, too!

nick49

Dunlop 404 motorcycles tires are made by Sumitomo Tire and Rubber Co as stated on the sidewall. They are an inexpensive, good handling, relatively fast wearing, good wet weather tire, priced well below the Dunlop premium line.

I believe the Sumi car tires are several notches up from the motorcycle ones.

Graufuchs

A little carb cleaner works well taking out cone kills during a rough AutoX or DE event. Just becareful with the stuff too much and itll start messing with your clearcoat.

mavthenav

I have the Sumi II's and for the road they are great. I'm currently running mixed as my goodyear F1's up front are still 80% even after 6 DE's. However been on the Sumi II's at the last DE and then another open track day and I can say over 135mph they are dangerous. Car bounces from the back. Going into some of the high speed corners compared to the F1's that were on the back before, the Sumi II's are no where near the same. Confidence level for 2 corners completely gone. So I'll be keeping the Sumi II's for the road, wet and dry I can't complain and road noise is really low compared to the Pzeros which came with the car, the F1's were quiet also.

I got the Sumi II's for $115 each for the rear compared with $400 for the F1's. The fronts for the Sumi II's were coming in under $100. I could get a whole set for $500 including shipping. And on US roads I don't see the need for $400 each tire to sit in traffic with no real hope of doing autobahn speeds the Sumi's are great.

Malakas

Great feedback -- thanks!

fpena944

For anyone interested in the Michelins I had in the front before, I now have them listed for sale:

https://rennlist.com/forums/for-sale...res-100-a.html

As for these new Sumis, tomorrow is the autocross so I'll let you know what I think of them!

leftlane

Can't access your link - what are you asking for your front PS2s?

Barn996

$100.

fpena944

Ok here's my analysis of the tires so far:

Street Driving
I've driven them in rain, sun, and cold weather. The first thing I noticed about them is they are MUCH quieter than the Michelins. But of course the old tires were down to the cords in the rear so that's understandable. In the rain, I don't feel a difference between these tires and the old ones.

In fast corners though you can tell there is a little more sidewall flex. This might just be because these tires have more tread and aren't quite broken in yet. But I still can corner with confidence and have yet to hit the tire's limits on the street.

One thing that I don't like though is in cold weather it takes about 2-3 minutes of driving before the tires become fully "round" again. There is a slight thumping when the temperature is in the 40s until the tires get warmed up. I didn't have this problem with the Michelins so it must be unique to these tires. Not annoying enough to pay another $300 per tire but just wanted to let everyone know it does happen.

At the autocross
I participated in an autocross yesterday and for the sake of testing this tire I left the air pressure at stock specs. Although I'm not the greatest autocross driver I felt this was still a good way to see what the tires had in them. I can't say they improved or impeded my performance - which is a good thing. In other words I felt no difference in handling during an autocross between the old Michelins and these Sumis. I even got them to scream a little for me when I came out of some corners too quickly. But throughout it all they maintained their poise...that is until I turned the PSM off on the last lap. This time I was swinging my back end back and forth like a fish tail. But throughout it all I didn't touch one cone, so I was still somewhat able to maintain control.

My assessment? For street driving and light performance driving these are well worth the money. If I was going to do some hardcore DE driving or really want to win my class in autocross - I would probably choose something else just because the Michelins are considered the top of the game in those categories. But if you have a daily driver these tires are perfect for that purpose and won't hinder your ability to enjoy the car on the street.