rwiii

I just tool around town on my everyday set of tires.
Just to stir it up I am over a year on a mixed set which is unanimously decried on this site as a terrible thing to do know but I have never seen a data based reason (and I have asked) why not to. So, whatever on that. (Feel free to chime in about how terrible that is).
I need new tires now and am thinking about going back to the Sumi III's. I have a track set of Pilot Sport Cups so these are just for jacking around town. There are a dozen on Tire Rack under $700. Any reason I should not to do the Sumi III's again? Have a look at the list and let me know if I should buy or stay away from any of these. This is what I found:
Hankook Ventur V12 Evo $608
Kumho Ecsta Le Sport $566
Sumi HTR Z III $648
Bridgestone Potenza RE760 $680
Dunlop Drezza DZ101 $608
Fuzion ZRI $564
Kumho ECSTA $628
Sumi HTR ZII $518
General Gmax AS-03 $660
Kumho ECSTA 4X $632
Kumho ECSTA ASX $618
Yoko Avid EnVigor (W) $690
Additional data: 18" and I live in Texas so summer tires or all season are fine. Also as I've mentioned before, any sarcasm or irrelevant comments like, "spend more time in the seat", "that all depends" or "post a pic" are greatly appreciated because between my three crazy kids, wife and responsible job I just don't get enough of that. It's why I log on regularly. :-)

Sneaky Pete

Pics!!! Mixing tires are like putting bench seats in your pcar.

rwiii

I like my bench seat :-)

leedav

I just bought the Sumitomo tires. They are loud, not louder than the OEM continentals, but different frequency (boomier, but less "white noise"). the roads in Portland are so crappy from studded tires all the tires make noise. That said, the Sumi's are much stickier than the OEM Conti's IMHO. and 680 bucks for 4 ain't bad.

100plus

Michelins or contis for me. I like expensive tires (: They give me a better sense of safety. haha

Barn996

I'm a mixer as well, have been for a few years. I have Sumis on the rear....very QUIET tires for me anyway. Dunlops on the front...regardless of the naysayers, I have had no issues safety wise or other. Let the blasting begin. Love my bench seats as well.

ivangene

for me its age of tire over the mixing...esp for daily street use. Tires are not like wine

tooloud10

Mixing tires is bad because you're putting contact patches with different grip properties on the same car...made worse by doing it to a vehicle that's already got some interesting handling quirks due to the engine hanging behind the rear axle.

It's like going skiing with two different models of skis strapped to your feet...or playing basketball with a Nike shoe on the left foot and a Reebok on the right--leads to problems that you might not be prepared for.

philooo

mixing tires is bad, but if you drive respecting speed limit and granny style, as per law enforcement requirements..you are fine

I have a set of SUMI III and they are just great, I track them and they are plenty fun and cheap too.

My conclusion on tires:
1/ LOW WEAR
IF put low mileage on your car -> buy expensive tires, you will not change them that often and you will enjoy extra grip from time to time

2/ HIGH EAR - newbie:
IF you drive a lot or go to the track which wear your tires a lot -> by the cheap tires, they are almost as good and the cost really add up over time.

3/ HIGH WEAR - pro:
Caveat: IF you wear your tires a lot AND ONLY if you are a great driver, then by the expensive tires, cost a lot but at least you are getting something out of them.

See in which category you belong

targa996

Agree - Sumi is good choice for lower cost. Some of the cheaper tires are not rated 97Y load - so best to stick to that spec (for rears) I think. Mix is OK if you are not pushing it sustained over 100 or around the corners - I'd also be more worried about age. If you are at the track, you can probably see a difference in lap times between the best N-rated (sticky) tires and the cheaper ones here - but sounds like you have good track tires already.

My P Zeros are almost shot - think of getting the Yoko S-Drive 265/35-18 rears on my '02 targa next. Anyone try those ? Or is Sumi better for this app ?

nick49

If you drive the speed limit I think anything will work.

Scream up on a posted 15 MPH hard off camber right on a steep down grade at night in pouring rain at 80 MPH braking late, I'd at least want the same brand on each axle.

Each of us have our own level of comfort;-)

MiamiC70

Hankook V12's

DaveSpeed

I have ContiSport 2's, the rears have less than 4k miles and they are down to 3/32". Dear can't get them and Tire Rack sold out. I found a local tire store who said he can get them, so i'll see. But now i'm having a hard time deciding what my next time will be. I want to stay N rated but 5-7K miles out of $650 tires is hard to swallow.

Dealer recommends PS2's which I'm sure are great tires, but overkill for me and the car at $1,300 for just tires + delivery + install + alignment....

Are there other N rated tires I should consider since Conti 2's might not be avalible?

DaveSpeed

If i lived in texas I would only look at max summer tires.

rpm's S2

Due to availability I am now mixing Conti DWs (rear) with Conti SportContact 2s.

No problems yet... And it just did a hard driving NC mountain trip with PCA.