peavynation

Are the Sumitomo HTR Z II's something a San Diego Pcar could wear with good results? Any others?

My rear's are toast and I was going to go with Mich Pilot Sport AS Pluses, mainly cause they're $150/ea cheaper than the PS2's. Then I hear good things about Sumi's, but see a wide price range (but all lower than the Mich's).

I know I'll be happy with the A/S Pluses, but maybe I can be just as happy AND have a fatter wallet with the Sumi's?

tooloud10

I would (and did) go with the Sumi HTRZIII. I believe the HTRZII is the old generation and I would not use them at this point. Both models are summer only tires (or year round in San Diego) that should greatly outperform the Pilot Sport AS Plus, which is an all-season tire that costs a lot more.

peavynation

Yeah, I saw the III's too and read some threads on them.

Question: some folks saying they're running 295-30 18's instead of 285's. I DON'T want my sidewall stretched out on an angle to the rim, I can't stand that (nor is it really safe). Will I need to go 295's on the Sumi's to replace the 285 Conti's on their now?

Barn996

I'm very happy with my Sumitomo IIIs on my 99. Can't comment on 18" fitament, mine are 17s.

Dennis C

I'd stick with the size that Porsche recommends for your rim. I'm running 295s on mine, but it's a C4S and they are 11x18 rims - it's the recommended size for wide body cars.

tooloud10

+1

I know it's pretty common to mess with tire sizing, but I just run the recommended 265s on my 10" wide rear wheels. It definitely looks more stretched than the fronts, but I'm not a tire or auto engineer so I'll let them make the call.

peavynation

I got the car from a guy who had gotten it from a P dealership, but becasue the car had aftermarket wheels/tires on it, he talked them into splitting the cost of brand new Porsche 18" wheels and Conti rubber. They're the ones that put on the 285 tires, so I assume it's all legit. They look fabulous as is, not sure what a 265 series would look like on this car. I'm assuming the wheels are 10" and not 11's; I've got an '01 C4 so it's not a wide body.

Someone commented that "not all tire manufactures spec their tire sizes the same" and that there is wiggle room, which is why they were putting 295 Sumi's in place of the 285 Conti's.

I just want tires!! And I don't want to afford Mich's up front too (the Conti's have 50% tread left!!), but am afraid of driving mismatched tires. I won't be doing any track days any time soon, so it'll mainly stay on the road. Might be OK.

Sneaky Pete

I have the Sumi III's. 235F and 295R on 18"s with no issues.

peavynation

Pete, can you post a picts of the wheel/tire combo where the tire meets the wheel? I've seen a lot of posts of folks having 265's, 285's, and 295's, all on 10" wheels, but no picts comparing them. I'll post picts later of my 225F/285R.

V225

Definitely never run different manufacturer's f/r with an awd car. It'll strain your awd system if the rolling diameters of the tires are not exactly the same.

I track and autocross the HTRZ III's, and they have been great. They don't last as long as the more expensive tires, but grip-wise, they are pretty comparable.

fpb111

I have 285 30 18 Hankooks and 285 30 18 Michelins PS on 10" rims The side walls look the same. I also have 265 ?? 18 snows on 10" rims and they look slightly stretched (negative camber tread to rim edge) compared to the others.

peavynation

Thanks Frank. Some folks were going to 295s cause they thought the 285 (Sumi's) looked stretched on the rim; I'm guessing if the 265s did, then the 285s and 295s would both be OK. Cool.

nick49

I'm an adrenalin junkie, I love to rock climb, ice climb, closed course roadraced motorcycles for over 8 years, ran motorcycles over 150 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats, and....I've run two sets of HTRZ lls. Yes, the lls. I've pushed the car in turns very hard in the rain to the point of initiating a slide and had the TC kick in and I've done the same in turns at above freeway speeds on dry cold roads in below freezing temperatures. I like to wag the tail a bit on warm dry roads as well and steer a bit with the throttle.

I love the way the lls look, better than the llls, the lls also have a higher wear index which may mean a slightly harder rubber. Love the way the lls handle when you get over 500 breakin miles on them. Pushing them hard several times, I felt I had a good feel for their limits of traction and could predict exactly how far I could push them before getting them to break traction. When they go it is gradual and predictable. I'd run the lls on any street vehicle.

Sneaky Pete

I have 235/40/18 (dia 25.3") and 295/30/18 (dia. 24.9") on 7.5" and 10" wheels respectively. This has a difference of .4" in Dia.

Stock for my car with the same wheel size is 225/40/18 (dia. 25.1") and 285/30/18 (dia 24.7") .4" difference. A 265/35/18 would have a dia of 25.3" or .2" diff.

This is from Tirerack's site. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....odel=HTR+Z+III click on the tab for specs.

I can't get all tires exactly the same diameter.....but think I'm at the limit and would not go any bigger.

Now the pics......er ahhhhhh......can't get the friggen pics to load.

bfutch

You guys are going to love this! I'm tired of paying high prices for brand name tires that wear out in ~14,000 miles (rear tires). I'm now running Nexems 265/35 ZR18 on the rear of 02 Pcar and can't tell any difference in perfrmance and I only payed $137.00 each installed! Ok so go ahead and trash these Korean tires, as I'm sure some of you will. Just remember, I'm old enough to remember people trashing tires and products made in Japan, now look at us we all own something made in Japan! One day Korean made products will be as acceptable as those things made in Japan.