DTMiller

99 996 C2 with Pilot Sport PS2 all around.

Front tires have 8mm tread depth left, rears have ~2 mm depth left. Deciding between two choices:

1. Buy new Michelins for the rear $938.21 shipped plus $88 install.
2. Buy four new Sumitomo HTR Z III for $611.58 shipped (less a $50 mail in rebate) and $168 install.

Obviously the second option is cheaper and if all four needed to be replaced I would almost certainly choose option 2 as replacing all four would be in the $1500 + $168 install range. But the cost difference of the two options above is about $300.

Part of my hesitations with option 2 is that I am basically wasting two perfectly good PS2s that are on the front now.

I am headed to a track day in late June at Summit Point but otherwise the car is something I drive to the golf course and for fun. I'll probably have additional track days in the future as I suspect I will enjoy that experience.

Thoughts? Impassioned pleas? Wildly off topic criticisms of unrelated issues like oil change intervals?

AU_911

Summitomo's and sell the front Michelins. I've used both and for the price the performance of them is awesome. Near the same as Michelins. Only real draw back is they flat spot a bit after sitting.

fpb111

Check the date code on the fronts. If they are more then 6yrs old, or will be before you use them up buy the Sumitomos. They will be fine for your first track event.
If you get bitten by the track bug you will wear them out in no time and you can choose a more aggressive tire. As you progress you will end buying track brake pads and tires and rims, and a trailer, and a tow vehicle, and a GT3 and....

DTMiller

Hadn't thought about the age. Here is what I think is the date code from the front. The rears have "2907" where these have 3307 in the picture below. So that would mean they are a month or so from being 6 years old, right?



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Barn996

I can only say that the Sumi IIIs I have on my C2 are fine on the street. I haven't tracked them so I can't tell you how they perform there. Others will pipe in. You may want to search Sumis vs. Michelins as there are many threads you can review.

white out

I just picked up a set of sumitumo's for my 996.

Barn996

Nice. How's your set up working out, all the bugs ironed out?

jyoteen

The Sumitomos aren't absolutely horrid on the track, but then again, they're not meant to be a track tire. FWIW, I did a 1:51 at Laguna Seca on the Sumitomos. They just get crazy slick after the 5-6th lap. They're progressive though.

I will also say that they lose a lot of grip as they're getting close to being worn out completely.

Perfectly fine tire for the street.

white out

Thats good to know.

I think so. Cleaning up some wiring tonight.

fpb111

Think a novice first time DE participant will notice that? I'm betting the tires won't even get to temp the first morning/day.

Dennis C

I've never had Sumis on the track, but I hated them on the street. I'll never buy them again. I just thought I'd throw in one more opinion for consideration!

Sue Esponte

Don't mix and match brands. If you've got new PS2s in front then just buy new ones for the back OR buy 4 Sumis and sell the front PS2s on eBay. I'm thinking I'd just buy new PS2 rears but I'd also talk to the tire shop to confirm my line of thought and perception of the existing PS2s. I've got Sumis on my car and love them so far but they aren't PS2s. Next time around you can try out a set of Sumis.

-Eric

VA951

I have Sumis, they are fine on the street and they were fine for my first DE. I did not see any issues on the track. Do not have the issue with flat spotting either.

aviography

Sell the fronts on Craiglist, you will get reasonable money from the local "Tuners" or Auto-X folks.

RV4Flyer

I'm going through a similar issue now. I had a damaged rear tire that needed replacing, Pilot Sport A/S Plus so I replaced them with Toyo Proxis 4 A/S but kept the PS+ on the front. They are showing their age but still have plenty of tread left on them making the decision to replace them difficult. However, not sure that they would pass the next tech inspection with some slight cracking at the tread. So, do I just replace the fronts with the Proxis 4 and suffer for the one or two more DE's I'll do this year or justify spending $1100 putting on Michelin Super Sports all around then switch back to the A/S tires before winter hits. I will say that these Proxis 4's are a much better tire on the back than the PS A/S Plus's were so I would expect an improvement in the front as well if I go that route plus it will make me feel like a champ as I max out the tires in the turns.