Sumi III impressions

Just had them put on today and they are super squishy. Feels like someone disconnected the sway bars (slight exaggeration). Tire pressures are correct. They must firm up after the break in period with so many positive reviews here. I came from PS1 tires.

thats odd, I've never felt the sumi's to be "squishy" even when new.

Me either. Give them a few hundred miles.

me three.... maybe your old tires were "hard" ?

I still have PS1 on the front and the Sumis on the rear. The rear is big time sloppier with a quick flick of the wheel on the freeway. Plus I hit a slow S curve by my house that I always accerlate hard out of. The PSM kicked in as I exited and I didn't even take it that hard. If they don't get a lot better in 500 miles, Tire Rack or Sumitomo will need to take them back. Everyone says they are 90% of the Michelins. My winter tires on 17s feel stiffer than these.

date of manufacture? I in fact also just put new sumis on the back of my car, and I experience nothing similar to what you're talking about.

If they are new they will likely be a bit greasy... Almost all that I have had tires required some time for the chemicals that were in the mold to be burned off.

I've had 2 sets of the lls and when brand new they feel a bit slippery. Goes away within 500 miles, then they actually feel pretty good. The lls may be a harder rubber compound than the llls because the wear index is higher I believe. When I sold my car I let the new buyer decide if he wanted Sumi lls again which I told him I'd install included in the sales price. He though they were fine after pushing the car pretty hard in the canyons.

I posted on the Turbo board that I put Sumis on my truck to replace the original Pirellis. They are a lot more slippery than the Pirellis even after a couple of thousand miles. I can smoke them off the line with no problem and could barely chirp the Pirellis. I assumed the performance versions would be stickier, but it sounds like the same problem. I'm interested to see how this works out.

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Hopefully you are correct. They can't be this bad.

I have a set of HRZ IIIs that will be going on my car on Tuesday, so I'll let you know my thoughts.

I have a set on the Carrera 4 we use during summer. I've got 2 track days, and 10+ autocross events on them. They have always seemed fine to me. This could be due to my lack of sensitivity on this, and other issues, a problem my wife can confirm I have.

Morning fellas! I have had 3 sets of the Sumi III's all on the same car. New they are slippery when pushed. Like others have said after a few hundred miles the grease is gone. My car is a DD and a 4x / year track car. The same tires used for street and track. Never had a problem except when the tires are yelling at me to slow down in the corners.......and that ain't happenin'. On a separate note....it has been discussed here before. Mixing and matching brands can have some ill effects. May be splitting hairs here but the tread patterns are meant to work together on all 4. Especially on our cars.

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I've had the same experience in the corners as you, especially on the track. The tires scream but fortunately still continue to grip. I never felt as if they were squishy though - the ride was comparable to the Michelin's I replaced them with.

+1 to Pete I have asked and been told that, in track applications the Michelins are faster (stickier, more responsive?) but at a large $$ premium for maybe a second or two reduction in elapsed times. I am not at that level of driving yet, where the a second or more would make a difference to me, especially give the cost differential. To Optical TDI, mixing and matching are not a good practice as it confuses the electronics in our cars. My experience, all new tires need some heat cycles to get rid of the preservatives from the manufacturer. Also, If you hate 'em, and tires rack says, tough luck, AND if they are 285/30ZR18's let me know, I could always use a "new" set of rears...... I do think, once they "break in" you will like the ride, grip, etc., given cost/feel.......as a suggestion, you might want to go for 2 new front sneaks, before you "throw the baby out with the bathwater." Just my .02. Happy motoring R\ Scott

I've heard the sumis can feel a bit squishier due to the (relatively) softer sidewall, and that they require higher pressures for autocross and track than other common performance tires (RS3 are the same way). As daily-driving pressure is a compromise between performance and tire wear, perhaps you'd be happier with higher pressures? I'm actually a bit disturbed anyone would be driving close enough to the limit of traction on the street to know if it's oversteer or understeer anyhow- was it actually breaking loose, or did it just feel softer? Regardless, you have to wait until the mold release is worn off to do any real testing. The HRTZIII should be way stickier than PS1.

Weird as I have mine installed a few months back. No track day experience yet, but street feels ok.

I had the same results...

I've had the Sumis for about 3-400 miles now. Haven't tracked it, but they feel fine on the street. Have pushed them a little since installing ROW M030. No problems. Previous tires were PS2s.

My Sumis feel as good on the street as the Pirelli P-zeros that they replaced. I haven't tracked them, but they are fine on the street even during spirited driving.

Well, I've had my HRZIIIs for a week and feel nothing out of order. I can't say that they are any better or worse than any other Y rated tire I've had in the past - they have grip and don't show roll on corners, so as far as I'm concerned life is good. All in all, I have to say that they're awesome value for money.