Summer tires for a DD

Hi everyone, I will need a new set of tires once winter is over. I'm looking for anyone who has first hand experience with any of these tires. Here's my background: 2002 C4 cab, daily driver. I live in Wisconsin, but have a set of Blizzaks for the winter. Car is not track driven. Previous summer tires were PZero Rosso's. I thought they were fine, but I think I can find a cheaper tire that will suit me just fine. I don't want to spend more than $1,100. Right now, I am considering the Continental DWS mostly because it has the highest wear rating. I think I would rather have a longer lasting tire than one with more grip.

DWS are an all-season tire, and I don't think you'd be happy with them as a performance summer tire. The DW is the summer tire. There are large tradeoffs in tire compound between traction and longevity. You can directly translate high treadwear to mean "low-grip". For a Porsche summer tire, I wouldn't really consider anything about TW300. Not on your list, but my vote is for BFG Rival: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....=g-Force+Rival

i'm getting the htrz III for mine.

I wasn't happy with the Sumitomo HTR ZIII. I won't buy them again. I've got Continental ExtremeContact DWS on the Cayenne. I love them on that vehicle, but I wouldn't want them on my C4S. My favorite tire on the C4S is the Michelin PilotSport PS2. They don't last very long, but I like them much better than Pirelli P-Zeros. I'm curious - why aren't you considering the Michelin Pilot Super Sport? They are getting great reviews and they are less expensive than PS2s.

HTR ZIIIs are working fine for me, no issues on the street. Going to the track next month so we will see how that works out but I do not expect miracles.

Everyone gives the Sumitomo's good reviews, but why put a lesser tire on a Porsche? Go with either the S-04's or Pilot Super Sports.

I have run pretty well every tire on your list, as others would say I would disregard any all season since you already have winters and there is a lack of performance in them. I have had the SumiIII's and not the II's and was pretty dissapointed. I also thought the V12 Ventus was overpriced junk even as affordable as it is. the only thing good about Hankook is that it is cheap and has lots of oddball sizing. I find that Asymmetric tire designs work well on our P-cars with their agressive alignments etc. I was a little dissapointed in the wear of my Bridgestones (though they were the S-02 that really disapointed me, not soo much the S-04), so out of the choices I would say the Conti DW as it is an asymmetric design, fairly affordable, and provides decent performance. Best bang for the buck tire on your list. I would also consider the Michelin Pilot Super Sport which I have had and will be rebuying in the next month as some idiot employee in my shop threw out my old ones. If you are still considering A/S tires, maybe consider the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 instead of the Plus. IMO it has a much nicer tread design than the plus (very similar to the PS2) and has been getting very good reviews, though Michelin pretty well outright says that these new A/S 3's arent meant for the snow. Lastly I would not rely on UTGQ for how the tire wears, the standardizing for this rating is terrible, there are many times i have seen vehicles running a brand of tire with a lower QTGQ rating exceed the milage seen on tires of another brand with a higher rating. I would really look at personal reviews for real results. As I said before I am picking up another set of tires this summer, so I know what you are going through, this was the list of tires I created for myself to choose from about 9 of the 11 I have owned before, and 7 of them used on my P-car R 295/30R18 F 225/40R18 Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 N3 rated, 98Y XL rears 88Y Fronts UTQG 220 A A Continental ContiSportContact 2 N2 rated, 92Y fronts UTQG 280 AA A Bridgestone Potenza S-02 Pole Performance N3 rated XL UTQG 140 A A Hankook Ventus V12 98Y XL rears, 92Y fronts UTQG 280 AA A Pirelli P Zero Rosso N rated XL UTQG 220 AA A R285/35R18 F 225/45R18 Bridgestone Potenza Re050a 97W rears 91W fronts UTGQ 140 A A Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position 101Y XL rears, 91Y fronts UTQG 280 A A Michelin Pilot Super Sport 101y XL rears, 95Y XL Fronts UTQG 300 AA A Continental ExtremeContact DW 101Y XL rears, 91Y fronts UTQG 340 AA A Pirelli P Zero Rosso 97Y rears, 91Y fronts UTQG 220 AA A Yokohama Advan Sport 101Y XL rears, 95Y XL fronts UTQG 180 AA A

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I'm confused... you say not to buy a lesser tire, but then go to recommend two other lesser tires? S-04 isn't Bridgestone's performance tire, RE11 is. And PSS are a luxury performance tire, not a performance tire, and subsequently has tradeoffs to performance. They're good, but not the best. Kinda like HTRZIII. Tirerack puts them both in the same "maximum performance" class, a notch down from the "extreme performance" class you see all the hotshoes wearing at autocrosses and the track. HTRZIII are 95% of the performance of the top-tier tires (RS3, RE11A, ZII, rival) and damned near equal to/better than PS2s in performance benchmark testing for half the price. So, it's a tradeoff, but you're not giving up that much for them.

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I agree with your grip/longevity tradeoff comment, as noted in my 1st post. I hadn't seen the BFG tire you reference before, and there are no reviews on Tire Rack. Is this a new tire?

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Thanks for the input - that's one vote against the ZIII's. The Pilot Super Sport's didn't come up when I did a search on Tire Rack. I'll have to investigate what sizes would work for 18" rims.

sumi's= cheap, round, not that much grip, but seem to be wearing ok. already replaced rears, fronts & new rears will probably go at the same time.

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The OP did not list RE-11's as an option. So out of his list I would go with S-O4's. Now that said, I have RE-11's on my SC and love them. I would buy them / recommend them in a heartbeat if they fit someone's requirements. Finally, please don't confuse TR's grouping as indicators of quality. Rather they are what the manufacture says they were made for. Therefore, yes, you'll see more guys at the track with RE-11's than PSS's because they have better ultimate performance characteristics. That does not mean they ride better. That is why I have Super Sports as my DD /street tires with another set of wheels and R-S3's for track work.

FWIW, I replaced PS2's with Bridgestone Pole Position S-04's ...rookie mistake, I do not like their performance. The Michelin PS2's are all they're cracked up to be, but don't see them on your list (guess you gotta pay to play?). In retrospect, I wished I'd tried the Conti's, but after this dissapointment, I'll go back to the sure bet with PS2's

The summer tire hankook v12 evo have worn very well for me (good tire life). They also do fine the rain. They are not so good for autox but I did not get it for that. They are a cheap DD summer tire. I am getting again for that purpose. The bfg rival mentioned above is an excellent new autox tire, but probably will not wear well long term or do well in the rain. I am getting it for my autox tire however

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Yeah, it's BRAND new, as in, was just released about 3 weeks ago. BFG's had a launch promo in New Orleans; they didn't have timers up, but there's a ton of anecdotal reports. They all say pretty much the same thing, which is overwhelmingly positive: http://www.solomatters.com/2013/02/t...what-it-means/ Dunlop Direzza ZII was released about the same time, and is also supposed to be really good as well. Bridgestone RE11A will be coming out in the next 2-3 weeks, too.

I ran PS2's for four+ years, they were the best of any tire I had run. Last summer I went to the PSS and consider them a step up from the PS2. Quieter, better ride, better traction wet and dry, less expensive and supposed to be longer lasting. Not sure what sjfehr means by luxury performance tire? Maybe because they are quieter and ride better than the PS2. But the also out perform them! There are some tires that may be better on a dry track but this poll is for DD tires.

Thanks for the replies everyone. It's interesting that the Michelin tires keep being mentioned. I looked at the Michelin site and the only tires that come up in a search are: -Pilot Sport A/S Plus -Pilot Sport Cup -Pilot Sport PS2 Yet, I did a search on Discount Tire, and got results for both 225/40-18 and 265/35-18 in a Pilot Super Sport. So, I figured out Tire Rack and Michelin were only searching for 285/30-18 in the rear. I now see there are more options. The PS2's are $1,284, too expensive IMO. The Bridgestone RE-11 is $1,124 which is still really more than I'd like to spend. The PSS is $962, this may now be a likely candidate. I also may consider the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2, $758. If it's possible to add them to the poll, I will.

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I would not suggest the RE-11, BFG Rival, or Starspec ZII. They are fairly agressive track tires, not really suitable for the DD which you intend to use them for, they are slightly noisy, if they are anything like the old RE11 or Starspec ZI. The GY Asymmetric 2 is a nice affordable tire I have not used them myself, but my cousin runs them on his S2k and is fairly happy with them. The PS2 is a nice tire but you are mainly paying for the N-rating IMO. I think the reason they are still so popular in the C4S and Turbo community is because they are offered in the OEM fitment while the PSS's are not.

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This user is requesting a tire for his Daily Driver, he is looking for long tire life, and the car doesn't see track days. The three tires you suggested are fairly impractical for what he is looking for.

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My comments about ZII, Rival & RE11A were in reply to Hal, who suggested HTRZIII was too low performance. Yes, I was referring to comfort, quietness, and price when I said "luxury". This technology is a compromise, so PS2/PSS give up quantitative performance for highly subjective features, and charge a premium to do it. I always find it crazy how many people buy a porsche and then complain that it's got a stiff suspension. Of course it does, it's a Porsche! If you want hundreds of pounds of sound dampening for a whisper quiet ride on soft feathery suspension, you bought the wrong car. FWIW, I've been running star specs for 5 years now with 0 complaints about road noise or ride comfort. From full tread to the point of delamination, I just don't notice any road noise; it's there if a listen for it, but it's certainly never bothered me. It's all relative, I suppose. OP seemed pretty clear he was not looking to spend a fortune on tires, so PS2/PSS are probably out with that respect alone. HTRZIII seems to be his best fit.

The Mich PS2 "N3" are a little more and ride rough but best grip on DRY pavement. How often do you drive on wet pavement anyway? Ive never driven in rain so cant vouch for wet road handling. They are Porsche certified OEM replacement. Just buy a few at a time over a few months to spread out the cost. Some of the other tires are cheap knock offs and wil not deliver the performance of the Mich. You can forget about "quite and comfortable" when talking Porsche. You can add "cheap" in there too. Youre not going to find cheap Porsche tires.

Michelin super sports. Too bad they dont make them in 4S sizes. Sumis 3s are aweful but get the job done for half the price. Dont bother using them at the track. The super sports have great reviews, less $ than PS2 and wear better with improved grip.

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Interesting comments about the PS2 N3 ride quality. That's what I'm currently running for my summer tires, and I think they provide the best combination of ride quality and performance of any tire that I've had on the C4S. I've had no issues at all with them in the rain - they do fine. I tried the Sumis once after hearing everybody talk about them, and I found them to be harder than the PS2s and they were much, much louder as they began to wear.

I keep the air pressure at close to max on rear. Maybe thats why.

I know this may be heresy for some, but I have replaced the Toyo TR1 with Sumis and then with the Michelin Pilot A/S Plus - an ALL Season Tire (gasp) - and it's been the best tire I've run. I bought the A/S plus thinking I'd run with it 4 seasons before I moved out of the city and now have the space for a dedicated setup. Even though I now have dedicated winter setup - I run the Michelin A/S Plus 3 seasons *AND* I've tracked with it - it's amazing that an A/S tire does so much better than the lesser summer tires. I hate to say it but the 2X price difference can't all be attributed to marketing. I can understand at 25% price difference but at 2X, I just think Michelin ends up making better tires - Now I can imagine what the PS will do in the summer!

Im usually pretty cheap about buying but you cant afford to "cheap out" on tires. Just buy the Mich's and get it over with.

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You can make them work if you want. P285/35R18 rears and P225/45R18 fronts. They fit pretty good, I have run this combination on my C4S last year and will probably do the same again this summer since there is no other tire on the market I really want to try.

I've been running the Sumitomo HTR ZIII for a few years. For street use, they are fine. Mine are getting worn now, but I don't notice the noise compared to the top-down wind noise and the Fister-style muffler Mod . As far as grip and ride, they have been more than adequate, and better than the previous Continentals I had. As far a wear, I'm getting the expected 15k+ miles, maybe 18k if I'm lucky. If you want a performance tire for the track or AutoX, spend the money. For the street, I'm good with the Sumi's.

Michelin supposed to release the super sport in n series soon,they started making ps2s again in 18 inch sizes(225-40/285-30 and 295-30) IMO the best overall tire,also can highly recommend Bridgestone so2a both OEM equipment....a little more cash of course but worth it!!

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Do you have any actual info on release time and documentation of an n-rated PSS? I have been hearing about them releasing N-rated since last spring, but my michelin rep says there is still nothing confirmed yet. If they are coming out soon, I may hold off on my order of normal PSS's right now until they are released.

A much better rear would be the Michelin PS2 315 30R 18. Better grip and I think the standard size on GT3?

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Pretty sure the 315 would have trouble fitting on a OE narrow body wheel let alone the potential rubbing issues it would have. Like i said in the other thread, wide is not always the only and best factor when choosing a tire

I think I saw somewhere that C2 guys were running the 315's on the rear. Maybe it was a GT2 or GT3, not sure. Im getting the 315's for the looks and to help with oversteer.

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Where and how are you driving a 996 that you feel the need to further tame "oversteer?"

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That is what I have ben trying to figure out lol. The OP is looking an affordable DD tire for his P-car, he already tossed the idea of OE sized PS2's because of price, I am sure that 315 PS2's would be further out of his comfortable price range. Having a narrow body P-car his options are much more open to affordable tires in stock sizing that will offer better traction than an oversized PS2. In 265/35R18 he can go with a Bridgestone Potenza RE-11, Dunlop Direzza ZII, Yoko AD08, or Hankook RS3 which would provide loads more traction with their tread design and rubber compound than a 315 PS2

I thought he was asking for best grip and performance. I was referring to DRY pavement only. I would think the 315 PS2 is about the best you can get thats not a full-time track tire. Mines not stock and will easily lose traction at the rear in a turn. The front traction is great. If I can do so safely maybe I can post a video of the problem. My suggestion was dont get cheap on tires. There is no way hes just going to slowly putt around town in a 996. May as well get performance tires to be safe. I was referring to the OEM GT2 tires so I assume they can be fitted on a C2.

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Though I dont agree with the term "luxury tire" for the PSS, PS2 and many other tires as sjfehr described them, he isn't far off the mark. These are not streetable track tires, they are compromised for ride comfort, noise, tread life etc. If you are serious about performance in your P-car, and it is daily driven I would suggest looking at an RE-11, Direzza ZII, AD08, or RS3. If you are serious about tracking and it isn't daily driven I would look at something lie PSC's, R888's or A048's. If you do any research online you will see that semi regular track use for tires such as the PSS, PS2, S04, DW etc do not hold up what so ever. To me the key isn't getting the biggest tire possible on your car, it is finding the tire most suitable to your application. As far as GT2 fitment, GT2 is a widebody car, same as the turbo, same as our C4s's, the wheels, offsets, widths and clearances are much different than narrowbody cars. Something like stock GT3 tire sizing would be more applicable. The GT3 has an 18x10 rear and 285/30R18 stock. The GT3rs has 18x11's with 315's but the suspension dynamics of it are quite different from what I hear that help it accomodate the larger tires

My mistake. It was a 99 and they used a 14mm spacer which seems crazy to me. The tires were: Front: 18 x 8 ET 55 with 235/40 Pirelli PZero Corsa Rear: 18 x 11 ET 65 with 315/30 Pirelli PZero Corsa Im sure he could do the same if thats the look he was going for.

Well, after lots of reading, I think think I've narrowed it down to either Michelin Pilot Super Sports (too bad I didn't have these in the poll) or Sumitomo HTR Z III. I just need to decide if I want to spend the extra ~$400.

A friend runs a tire shop and tells me the DWS and DW are the best value and they have longer tread wear. I bought 4 in November and 3k miles later I can say they are great. I don't drive in the snow.

I'm running Sumitomo HTR ZIII 265/35-18 on the rear - still don't have oversteer problems. Understeer is the issue on hairpin turns, autocross, skid pad etc. on the C2. You can modulate that somewhat with the brake and throttle - but I can't imagine 315's being needed - I happy to trade the rear grip for a bit more ride comfort for a DD. While DOT treadware rating is only a quide - if you divide that by the cost of the tire (plus fitting) you might get an answer of what is most cost effective in the long-term. If you do a small amount of miles per year - you still might be better off with the Sumi's - since you don;t want to be running on tires that are too old either. I was running P Zero's before - and am happy with the Sumi ....

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I have the Super Sports on my 996 and love them. And about this time last year (late March, early April) Michelin or Discount Tire ran a special that put them well below the price of S-04's. You might want to watch for that again this year.

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KrazyK, PS2/PSS is not the end-all/be-all of tires, and it's not very helpful to repeat yourself over and over. PS2 and PSS are good tires, but have tradeoffs like any other. Every single tire on the market has pros and cons and compromises. PS2/PSS are NOT "best grip" performance tires; they're 2nd tier at that. That's not what they're designed to be, though; they're designed to be a low-liability do-everything-OK compromise tire for factories to put on expensive sports cars. The PS2 and PSS are good/very good at everything (wet/dry, hot/cold, low noise, ride comfort, treadwear) but great at nothing, and pricey to boot. Unless you're one of the very few drivers that actually needs that specific compromise (VERY few here), there are better tires. As soon as you wear out the set that came with the car, you're best served looking elsewhere. HRTZIII is extremely popular amongst 996 Rennlisters as it will give you comparable wet/dry and hot/cold performance to a PS2 at a much lower cost with imperceptible (to most) impact to noise and ride comfort. The BEST tire will vary considerably depending on the driver's needs, geographical area, etc. For instance, Conti DW is fantastic wet, literally best wet performance in any street tire, but gives up dry traction in the process. Would be great if you were in Seattle, but not in Arizona. And while I might recommend AD08 to someone in Arizona or California, I would not recommend AD08 to someone in Wisconsin because of the risk of a cold snap coming up before you have the chance to put on winter rubber. Nor Kumho XS or Hankook RS3 for the same reason. (I'd recommend XS or RS3 above the AD08 anyhow: cheaper for the same performance.) A tire that deals better at colder temps like RE11, ZII or Rival would be a better choice for the OP. Had OP lived in New Mexico, I would probably be recommending something else. But the same properties that make these tires popular for autocross make them popular as high performance daily driving street tires, too. In short, DK570, I'm sure you'll be happy with either the PS2 or the HTRZIII. Don't worry about the poll: in the end, it's your call, not ours.

I am very happy with my Conti DWs. Everything with tires is a balance, and this seems about right in terms of cost, wear, and performance. Best thing I have noticed as the rears pass 10k - they are not getting appreciably louder. They also seem to have maybe another 3-5k left in them. My experience with the HTRZIII is very much the opposite. Good tires for sure, but the rears get loud relatively early and stay that way.

Are all these tires stamped "N" specification? If thats even important to the OP.

KrazyK, If your not tracking your 4S how is it you are getting yourself into an oversteer situation. by the way oversteer is good and fast. What type of mods on your 4S? Alignment settings etc? OP, just buy the Sumis already. They are cheap and well they're.... cheap.

Or...look at the poll results, seems clear to me.

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IMO, the only thing from this thread that is clear is that most of the posters like cheap tires. To me, that is kind of like seeing your favorite hottie on the red carpet at a major awards show, dressed to the nines except for the beater Nike's on her feet. . . Kind of leaves an feeling of unfinished.

I have had 3 or 4 sets of the Sumi 3's. I like them for the money. I have used them on a wet and dry track. I had a hoot driving in the rain passing the "fast guys" using the wet line. I now have the Super Sports and love 'em. I agree they are not a track tire for cars with a aggressive suspension but are great for the occasional DE'r. I found that out last year after I was missing a large patch of rubber from my left rear after a track day. Tirebarn took them back and replaced them with new and me paying a 1/3 value. This year its a dedicated track tire but thats another topic all together. To KK.......whatever oversteer on street driving? Take it to the track my friend and do it safely.

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Less expensive in this case doesn't mean crappy tires, though; HTRZIII performance is right up there with PS2. Yes, there are better tires out there, but most drivers will never notice the difference without a set of timing beams. Cost really does become a major deciding factor.

Is the sumi the best tire out there (whatever that means...)? Probably not. Is it the best value for a street tire? I think it is. Track tire is a completely different discussion.

The porsche sales manager at the dealer I visted couple weeks ago recommended the Hankook tires for DD or street driving over any N rated tire. Thats what he uses on his pcar, and he knows several customers who are very happy with that tire. I have Conti 2's on my 996, which are no longer made so I assume this time next year I'll be purchasing new tires. I really liked the Conti 2 so i'm sorry to see them go. I may try the DW or PS2 or PPS. Since my car is not a DD i'm not as worried about the total milage of the tire and since I've averaging two years per set price isn't as big a concern as if would be for sosme1 putting 10-12K miles per year.

On my last car I had Dunlop Star Specs, that tire is insanely grippy, almost made the car not as fun to drive as I couldn't get the car as loose as I liked in certain situations. Now that they released the Star Spec II's in tire sizes for my 996 I am excited to try them out, tires are the most important part about your car. It connects the car to the road, not something you want to cheap out on. I am hoping the Star Spec II's will continue to blow my mind and blow every other performance tire out of the water.

I had not considered this either. Mines not a DD as well so mileage is not a factor. The tires will only see a few thousand miles per year, if that. I can see how the guys with DD's would want the less expensive tires. You may want to do some research on the Sumi's. It seems they were ALL manufactured in Japan but they have recently moved the manufacturing of some of the lines to China and we all know what that means. Cheap is not always synonymous with good deal. There are complaints of thin side walls, etc. I would ask where the particular model was built before I buy. Note: Porsche owners are such a hypocritical group that some would crawl over broken glass to buy the "Porsche approved" oils but scoff at using the "Porsche approved tires"?????

Hmmm... I don't use Porsche approved oil, but I use Porsche approved tires! I actually tried Sumis and Hankooks. I won't ever buy either of those brands again. I've never found a tire that I like better than the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 on the C4S. Nothing even comes close...

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When you say not much grip are you referring to track time? I have Sumi III's and I'd have to push them harder than I want to or should on the street to lose grip. I'm happy with them on my C4.

I noticed that nobody has mentioned the Bridgestone RE760 sport. I used them on my supercharged 928 and found they have great grip and wear and a reasonable price. I think they would suit the OP's needs. Tire rack classifies them as ultra high performance summer.

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Good call, I forgot about these tires. I am not sure about sizing and availability but I had these on a modified 2000 Civic SI that saw hard driving but not much track use and these were pretty good. pretty agressive asymmetric design not quite as sticky as the RE-11 but much better wearing and wet traction which was awesome for daily driving in summer.

This sums it up well. Maybe Porsche got this right. You Sumi fans really should check into the China connection.

My Sumi tires are marked made in Japan...

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Why always so disparaging?

Looks like some are and some are not. I was just saying be careful, thats all. The China tires have thin sidewalls according to some.

I have Sumi's, ran all last year on them including a driver training day, they were great. The instructor even commented that they are good tires, if they were unsafe he wouldn’t have gotten into the car!. Not the best for the ultimate track grip, but then I only do 2-3 DE’s a year. Yes I agree that I would use N rated Porsche tires if I lived in Germany and spent all my time on the Autobahns flat out, but in reality most DD Porsches in the US rarely exceed 90mph for any sustained time, and as such $1,500+ for a set of N rated tires just are not worth it.

Another vote for Sumis here! They were good enough for the beginner track duty I put my car through over the last year so I don't see how I could need anything more on the street. Even my aggressive street driving doesn't come close to what the car does on the track. Also, my car is my DD and it eats tires for breakfast lunch and dinner so the price of the Sumis is impossible to beat.

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Oh, please--you're being overly dramatic as usual. The Michelins are good tires that you pay dearly for, but they're arguably overkill for most daily drivers. At least one of those "cheap" tires (Hankooks) outlapped the beloved PS2 on a Car and Driver track, and many of us have had great experiences with tires that don't come with a mortgage. http://www.caranddriver.com/comparis...mparison-tests See above. There are lots of bad tires available, but tires are one of those items of which price doesn't necessarily correlate with performance.

As a follow up, I ordered the Sumitomo III's today. I figure if they don't perform as I like that's ok, because they will wear out eventually. At that point i can order a set of Michelin PSS.

I hear pretty good things about he Sumitomo III's - will be curious to hear what you think after you've had them on awhile - good luck!

The one thing i forgot about the sumi's is that they flat spot after sitting 2 weeks. The ps2 that i had didn't even after sitting a month. This morning i brought the car to work and i thought the wheel balance was off, but remembered that that it took a few miles to get the pressure up and for the tires to correct themselves after sitting. The vibration went away and all was happy again. man, it is too easy to speed in this thing.

I'm having Sumis put on my car tomorrow...just couldn't pass up getting 4 new tires for under $700 installed. I currently have Bridgestones on and I hate them....they started out fine, but now with ~8000 miles and plenty of tread left, they are so loud you can barely have a conversation in the car...and they are vibrating terribly. My indy checked everything out and no wheel bearing or alignment issues, so we'll see what happens with the new tires.

I get a "wiggle" sensation at highway speeds sometimes. My rear tires (Michelin Pilot Sports 295/30 18s) have less than 4 mm tread depth left. Is that the likely culprit or is there some other issue I should be looking into?

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Im waiting for the BFG Rival to come to market not available yet. I went with the toyo r888 in the rear only. Awesome grip!!! IMOP I would not go with anything below factory TW... It might be dangerous.........

Thought I would update this thread with my latest tire purchase

I went with Hankook Ventus v12 - better grip in dry than PS2s and much cheaper. PS2s also tend to railroad when worn; not exactly confidence inspiring. Also for more track than street car, Direzza StarSpecs are just great - far more connected than PS2s and the grip is fantastic. That being said, they are not exactly quiet. http://www.caranddriver.com/comparis...mparison-tests

Sumitomo htrziii is good trade off between cost/wear/perf. Cost good, wear ok, perf ok for dd .. No issues with ride/ noise on mine so far. For those looking for fast track time or on limit handling .. Might want to look elsewhere

I just put the start spec 2's on my car, previously had Continental DWS... I know jumping from a performance all season to a max performance summer tire is a not a fair comparison but I previously ran the star spec 1's on my previous car and can compare the difference between the two. The car is VERY sharp now. Tires feel absolutely fantastic and I am having trouble finding the limit of the z2's. Car feels like a whole new animal! Steering is much sharper, car feels very precise and more predictable. Will write up a full review once I have had the, on for longer.

Quotes source post: 10271018

So I was working down the thread wondering who would be the first to bleat something about N-ratings. Surprise!

Update: I finally had the chance to drive some with the new tires. The car was pulling to the right, so I took it to the dealer and asked them to look at the alignment again, since they did an alignment when the summer tires were mounted. They had the car for two days and it still pulls right. The belief is there may be a manufacturing defect with the tires, and it was suggested I file a warranty claim with Sumitomo. So far I am not happy with these tires

Quotes source post: 10400274

I had the same issue with Hankook R-S3's a couple of years ago and got this tip from another forum. Easy way to check is simply flip the tires side to side, assuming you do this on a dry day. If the car goes left, it is the tires. If it still goes right, it is the alignment. In that case get the dealer to find a way to set the right side caster 1/4 degree more on the right.

In addition to confirming there is no alignment issue, and the obvious (tire air pressure), I would very carefully examine the tires for any defects. Also check the country of manufacturing.

Quotes source post: 10401615

So where do you expect tires named hankook and sumitomo to be manufactured?

Some of the Asian brands are slowly moving their manufacturing to China along with everyone else. Its a fact, Bro. Hankook is "Korean" company but already has plants in China.

Quotes source post: 10402417

The HTR Zll Sumitomos I run are made in Japan. Best kept secret in an ultra grippy and very quiet tire that wears well with an unbelievable price. I was a little hesitant at first if they would handle the boost of the Turbo in the canyon twisties. They speak to me and love what I can dish out. I'm all for a bargain, but never at the expense of a compromise. What I want in a tire is QUIET till it's time to replace. This is most single important thing. Next is GRIP. Owing a Turbo is no fun if you can't push it hard without slip sliding around. I roadraced motorcycle Superbike for a decade because I love pushing to the limit in the turns so much. I found the Sumi lls to inspire more confidence than the Michelin PS2, Pirelli PZero or Yokohamas when pushed really hard in canyons. Better in the wet as well. I sell high performance and race tires for motorcycles and have for decades. I understand the difference between a tire that works very well on the street and one for the track. They are very different and there roles cannot be switched. A phenomenally sticking street tire will soon feel greasy on the track and an R compound tire will be slippery on the street until it gets warmed up, if ever. As I entered my off season in business I needed tires for my C2. I couldn't with a clear conscious spend $1K-$1.5K on tires when my income would be non existent for months, so I tried the HTR Zlls. Slippery at first, for a couple of hundred miles, then something amazing happened. They got grippier, and stickier. The harder I pushed, the better they got. This is like race tires that I remembered. I can see where it would be easy for squid to drive on these when brand new, sip around a bit, then never trust them in the future. Anyway, I love them for the street. I have never tracked them so I don't know how they would behave there. I ran 2 sets on my C2, now have a set on my Turbo and still love them. I can afford any tire I want and as stated earlier, I won't compromise performance to save a buck. http://www.sumitomotire.com/cars/pro...HTR/htrz2.aspx

It is interesting to hear about your experience Nick. Your experience is the first positive one that I've heard with the HTR Z II. Most of the reviews are quite poor. The HTR Z III gets much better reviews. I guess it all really depends on your driving style and what you expect out of a tire. As I mentioned before, I wasn't pleased with the HTR Z III. They howled when they got a few miles on them, but well before they tread was gone. I was really happy to get rid of them. I haven't tried the HTR Z II.

Quotes source post: 10401615

I don't know if it makes any difference, but my sidewalls say made in Japan.

Did you try simply swapping left to right to see if the pulling changed? I've never had tires cause this kind of behavior unless the pressures were off.

Sumi III, happy DD and performed well at Heartland Park and Mid America raceways. Just as well as "N" spec Conti Contact 2s. And two sets for same price. DD over 50 mph equals freeway, not a race track.