I have about 250 miles on the new Sumitomos and some impressions

Yes, the tires are still quiet. Quieter than the previous Michelins (even when the PS2s were new) Grip is comparable on the street. Frankly, I don't think i'd ever push to the limit of the tire on the street. That's just asking for trouble without run off room and worse, traffic, if any. I live a stone's throw away from Angeles Crest Highway and I've seen pretty bad accidents up there in the form of spirited driving. I bought these knowing full well that when I go to the track, i'll be running track tires, so the money you save here can be applied to a better performing tire specific to the application. Wet performance is tough to gauge (although we did have some rain) because when it rained, the tires were really new so I wasn't going to push it there either. Grip in the wet seems reasonable. Road feel is a bit muted due to the comfort that this tire seems to provide. Sidewall isn't soooo stiff that it's jarring. Responsiveness seems to be ok. Acceptable to me and I would think that I drive the car pretty hard. Braking is tough for me to say because I run track pads on the street with the full complement of bus squeal. I've been too lazy to change those out and thus, the pads never get hot enough for me to really see if the tires provide the confidence in going deep. That is all. It is worth it to get these tires.

great write up and let me tell you that on the track in the wet, they were still very grippy. Me like so far too...

I actually tried to have a set installed today but TireRack was sold out. I have to wait a week or two now.

drove the III's on track. grip is so-so, nothing to brag about.

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I would be unsatisfied with street rubber on the track so I'd be going with either something like toyos or Hoosiers

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Ever drive PS2s on the track?

I have ordered a set. They are being installed at Tire Rack next week in South Bend.

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They're still street tires. Even the hottest street tires, the NT-05s and the new RE-11, etc, put the PS2 to shame, and they still suck on the track after a couple of laps. R compounds are a whole new ball game

I specifically want street tires on the 996 so I can drive it to the track. (Which is only a few times a year.) The rest of the time I trailer the race car, which only uses R compounds... but sometimes I feel like playing hooky from work and sneaking out with the 996. FWIW, I've done about 3 events on the PS2s and found them not too bad.

Thanks for the write-up. What dimensions are you running F & R?

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That explains why it took TireVan (local service that comes to your home or office to install and balance the tires) took 2 weeks to get the tires. They called me last week to tell me the tires were stuck in US Customs! I got them mounted on Wednesday. So far so good -- and the Sumos are really quiet! Granted the Pirelli P-Zero Rosso Assymetricos they replaced were pretty worn.

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stock C4s sizing. 235s and 295/30s in the rear

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I drove PS2 on the track for DEs and AX. They work fine for 20 min sessions and it is faster than some cars wearing Toyos. PS2 is a great all around tires if the price was not so darn high. Some drivers need stickier compound tires to make up for other shortfall... .

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I believe the stock fronts are 225 instead of 235

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right. I knew it didn't look right when I typed it.

I've had several iterations of Sumitomos. They're rubber, round, go on the wheels and are legal on the street. Beyond that, don't compare them to high performance tires! I'll give them this, they give plenty of warning with noise, and don't chunk on track. The steering feed back is horrible. PSII is a great tire, the only downside is they're expensive. All tires are a compromise, if you have the money, the PSIIs are the best street tire, in my opinion. Azenis are decent tires to put on track, but noisy on the street. They do great in damp conditions, but hydro planing resistance is poor.

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Not like you would take it to the track anyway.....

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that's a low blow John! I would have gone to Laguna had I not screwed up my wheel carrier.

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Fwiw, both toyo and hoosier r-comps are actually street tires. And ps2 is fine for the track for most beginner / intermediate folks. No need for slicks for many, many moons.

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PS2 are a great all-around tire, but they make some compromises to reduce road noise and increase ride comfort. There are better performing street tires if summer performance is the #1 factor. Specifically, Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec, Bridgestone RE11R and Yokohama Neovo AD07. Cheaper, too. I was googling and data-mining Tirerack's numbers when I was tire shopping last month. I posted it to a couple other forums to share the wealth; might as well share it here, too I bought Star Specs, btw. And they performed awesome at last month's very wet autocross, so I can attest to their rain performance and handling, and have the time slips to back it up. (Was my first autocross on these tires, and my best finish ever by a HUGE margin.) Tirerack testing: Looking strictly at Tirerack's dry track scores (225/45R17 on a 2008 BMW E90 325i Coupe for the first set of 4 (above), and a 2006 for the others): 8.67 Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 8.64 Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD07 8.64 Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec 8.58 BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD 8.39 Kumho Ecsta MX Extreme Performance Summer 8.30 Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 8.26 Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R 8.24 Sumitomo HTR Z III 8.23 Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 8.20 Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position 8.15 Continental ContiSportContact 3 7.96 Yokohama ADVAN Sport 7.46 Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212 7.23 BFGoodrich g-Force Sport 0.98-0.99g BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD 0.98g (=) Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD07 0.98g (-?) Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 0.98g (-?) Kumho Ecsta MX Extreme Performance Summer 0.97g (-?) Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 0.96g (+?) Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec 0.96-0.99g Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R 0.96g (-?) Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 0.95g (+?) Sumitomo HTR Z III 0.95g Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212 0.94-0.96g Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position 0.94-0.97g Continental ContiSportContact 3 0.92g (+?) Yokohama ADVAN Sport 0.93g BFGoodrich g-Force Sport Not reviewed: Falken AZenis RT-615 Nitto 555 extreme They unfortunately switched cars between the two sets, and tires they tested twice (even on the same car) scored differently in the two tests, but I'm hoping the overall numbers are at least reasonably comparable for a cross comparison. Given the apparent +/- 0.04g margin of error in Tirerack's testing and the 0.04g spread between 11 of the 12, it's hard to really say any of these tires is a clear winner or loser per Tirerack's testing. [I marked (+/-?) where the other tires in the tests did significantly better or worse in the other test, throwing a bit of doubt on how this particular # should be in comparison with the others.] The Neova's did exactly 0.98g in 3 tests on two different cars, though, so they're at least consistent! Here are the other charts: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...ay.jsp?ttid=93 http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartD...ay.jsp?ttid=107 http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartD...ay.jsp?ttid=100 http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...ay.jsp?ttid=71 I found this helpful comparison on the RX-7 club forum from someone who's autocrossed all the top 3 tires. Sadly, not HTR Z III though: And posted to evolution.net: For my wheels, PS2 are $860 a set, Star Specs $600, and $356 a set for the Sumitomos. The Sumitomos have a lot higher treadwear rating, too (300 vice 220). By this time next year we may know if they have twice the tread life, too.

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I agree that street tires are fine for beginner/intermediate people too. Used to run R comps on my Audi and I haven't yet on the 996 because I wanted to exploit the stock suspension/tires. Now that I have coilovers after 5 years of that, it's time to get back into the groove with better tires, hopefully this summer

I just had my Sumis installed at the big Tire Rack store in South Bend, IN. I agree with the previous posts that they are very quiet, but then again, I'm comparing them to badly worn Pirelli P-Zeros. We'll see how they do - but so far so good!

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Right on brotha'!

Just replaced ContiSC2's with the Sumitomo HTR Z III's today. Had them balanced with RoadForce. My old Conti's were aged and worn, so it is such a Huge difference! Quiet, smooth, and steering is completely "shimmer-less". I also noticed the car now doesn't tramline as bad as before on bad roads. We'll see how I like them after a couple thousand miles down the road.....

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Any update on the tires after 8 months?

I have had mine for about 5 months and several thousand miles. I think they are a great tire for the street. I also drove the twisted sisters (FM335, FM336 and FM337) with them in the wet and they did great. I have had them well up into the triple digits too. I would buy them again at this point.

Ok, since you want an update.....The car has been on the track with the sumitomos. While not race rubber, they were 'OK' as in, I didn't kill myself. The tire still performs admirably day to day. There is no added tire noise. Comfort level is fine with my coilovers set fairly rigid. I went to Laguna Seca and got another set of hollow spokes and Toyo R888 race rubber. While the Toyos were new and weren't heat cycled in, I got in one session at 1:54 before my tire picked up a damn key, rendering the tires useless for the weekend. I had to swap in the Sumitomos to continue on. I figured, I'd just try to get the best time possible and wound up on the second day at 1:50. Almost went 1:49 which I think is the absolute limit for my car with this rubber. So, they hold up ok. They're not TOO great in giving you that secure feeling on turn in frankly at the limit, but that's ok. That's all I have to say as I don't have wet weather experiences yet.

Thanks for the update!

Thanks for the feedback guys, keep it coming!

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I thought that stock 18 sizes for the 996 were 225 and 265. Perhaps the C4S is wider, like you have.

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The rears are 295 though, as jyoteen stated.

Sumitomo HTR Z III's I put 1000 miles on my 2002 996 with Sumitomo HTR Z III's. The previous owner had put them on just before he sold the 911. Tires feel as good as my Michelin Pilot Rib I had on my 2000 996. I have not experienced any under steering as the BF Goodrich did on my 2000 996. Only complaint is there is not enough side wall tire to protect the �18� Sport Design� light weight titanium wheels, but this maybe just the wheel size (225 front/285 rear). I would go with 235 and 295. Michelin Pilot Rib 285s Chris 2002 996

I have about 7,000 miles on my Sumis. When I took them off to put my snows on, I was very pleased with the wear. It appears to be very even, and there is lots of tread left for next year.

I had just over 10k on the Sumitomo HTRZ IIIs when I sold my 968 a few weeks back. Good tire in terms of performance, excellent in terms of cost. I had tried some of the other lower-cost ultra high performance tires from Kumho, etc. with predictable results. They sucked. After a few sets of Bridgestones I took a shot at the HTRZ IIIs when they first came out. Never looked back. When I have to replace tires on my next Porsche they will be Sumis. This thread includes many testimonials - and feedback from Tire Rack. https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...-any-good.html

I've done 3 DE's (Road America and 2 at Putnam Park in Indiana) with the Sumi's. Also have put at least 12K miles on since new in March 09. I'm happy with the tires on the street and the track. If I decided to do more track time than a track set of wheels would be in order. The tires have held up great. The rears as expected have less tread than on the fronts. They will switch to my winter set soon but surley will be bought again!.

I like the Sumi's!

Just got my new set of sumi's and they are amazing. I have a 1999 996 with 18" wheels and the cost was less than I expected. Only had my car for 3 months and I have been driving around not knowing what I have been missing...wow...love this car.

I did 2 track days and 4 auto-x on the Sumi's last year, and they still have plenty of life. I've tried Michelin, I've tried PS2's, and the Sumi's are just fine on track. I didn't notice any significant difference from the PS2's, not counting the weight of my wallet. I also drive these tires in snow, and they hold up decently, maybe not as well as the PS2's, but still driveable if you're careful.

I have been riding on Sumi for about 2 years now and this includes track days, too. (started with Conti's II's) I drive to the track and back, no tire changes. While I do not have any comparisons to Michelins, on more than one occassion I have been asked "What tires are you using?" as there was more than simple inquisitiveness. I am not a black run group driver.....yet, BUT....... This year, with seats, harnesses, hans, etc., I will be in a much better position to see what kind of accurate lap times I can post...maybe then, I will be able to swallow the whole "budget" on Michelin Pilot Super Sports (if they come in the right size) or just suck it up and buy a set of "sticky" rubber and mount on the stock rims....well see......I still think that 2 sets of new sneakers for the price of one set of Michelins is simply the way to go. Also, as I have posted b4, I have "trashed" (nail directly in sidewall and then hit a piece of concrete thrown up) two new Sumi's each with about 100 miles on them....it was mcuh less painful than new Michelins.....................