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Tire choices - Sumitomo HTR ZIII, Bridgestone RE760, Hankook EVO 2?

16K views 96 replies 28 participants last post by  Silent 
#1 · (Edited)
I am starting to research more about tires. My oem wheels had Sumitomo HTR ZIII and last at least 22k of my driving, with some few thousand miles from previous owner. I think it might have hit 27k+ miles as I do mostly highway driving all over the places.

I am not limiting my choices to those 3 tires I mentioned, but I am not prepared to spend some michelin money as I am a college student. I do my best to keep my M5 healthy. Sumitomo is pretty cheap for what they are. I used to have bridgestone RE760 on my E36 M3. I loved them but I did not do enough driving to come to my conclusion for tires need. I only drove just about 3k miles before I sold M3 or 6 months of ownership. I drove my friend's 480+ whp 335i with hankook tires few times and liked how they rode and good response. The traction was not that great but it may have to do with 335i pushing over 500+ wtq. I am leaning on sumitomos or bridgestone. Does anybody have any better suggestions?

The tire specs will be 275/35/18 all around and going for mild aggressive or conservative settings. I haven't decided on what I want out of my alignment.

My needs
-Great dry performance
-Great wet performance
-Long treadlife
-able to handle few auto x and maybe a track day or 2.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
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#3 ·
You want the cake and eat it too?
Isn't that what an M5 is all about? :7: Regarding the tires, they're all fine choices. Occasionally you can pick up the Conti DW or B-stone S04PP for not much more after rebates.
 
#4 ·
I've had both the Sumitomo HTR ZIII and the Bridgestone Potenza RE760.

I don't recommend the RE760s at all. They are **** in the rain. It's a cheap tire and you get what you paid for.

The HTR ZIIIs are a better tire. I tracked the car with them and they were fine. Noisy, but fine. They're not Michelins though. I got 17000 mostly highway miles from the rears. Fronts are still in great shape with the same mileage.
 
#5 ·
Unseemly.

:rofl:


I use Sumitomos in summer, but my car isn't really "high performance"
 
#6 · (Edited)
Check out Evo Magazine Tyre reviews as well. They do pretty comprehensive tests every year so you can better draw judgment that just Tire Rack if you'd like. I have run Bridgestone's in the past on this car and was very unhappy with wet traction.

Goodyear Eagle F1 ran well and Vredestein run well in torrential downpour but I'm running a summer set so they may not meet your needs.

I just picked up Goodyear Eagle GT for my Audi S4 and have been very happy with the performance thus far. Those in 19s were about $150/tire.
 
#7 ·
I have had Sumi's in the past. They are a very good budget performance tire and the current price point vs. PSS is very good.

I am a little surprised they held up well at the track on our relatively heavy cars, but I have no first hand experience with those tires on the track.

Regards,
Jerry
 
#8 ·
I had summi on my supra 550 whp and it was like riding on plastic!

Bridgestone potenza s03 - great tire
Toyo t1r - very good summer performance - I used many sets of this tire.
Bridgestone re970 - good performance in wet and surprisingly good on track! I tracked this tire once.
Michelin - all types but favorite is of course the super sport.

I would not go cheap on the most important item on the car.

For those on budget I would stick with toyo.




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#10 ·
I ran 285 actually so maybe not.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Does bridgestone S04 have stiff sidewall? I know that I will not buy any dunlop tires, unless it were for my E36 M3 street track tires if I had one.
 
#14 ·
I might go with sumitomos again since I was happy with them. Possibly bridgestone S04 if there are rebates that brings closer to Sumits pricing.
 
#16 · (Edited)
This is a post from Tire Rack a couple years ago:


These are all fantastic to push to the limits but, they also have their own set of compromises mostly related to ride quality, road noise and wet traction.

1.) Advan Neova AD08 (Super Glue sticky)
2.) Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec (making a comeback after slipping a little)
3.) Hankook RS3 (could use more straight line grip)
4.) Bridgestone Potenza RE11 (still offers the best ride and top level performance)
5.) Kumho Excsta XS(stupid fast and still scary in the wet)

Maximum Performance:
These are great performing tires which offer great steering response and wet/dry traction (not for use in the snow!!!).

1.) Pilot Super Sport (the new Big Dawg)
2.) Potenza S-04 Pole Position (new entry that will make some waves)
3.) Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2
4.) Extreme Contact DW
5.) Pirelli P-Zero (older technology but still impressive)

Ultra High Performance:
A step down from the Max tires but, still exceptional performance which fits most application for a street tire that can be driven very aggressively.

1.) Potenza RE760 Sport
2.) Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500
3.) BF Goodrich G-Force Sport Comp2 (new entry which may move up)
4.) Kumho Ecsta LE Sport
5.) G-Force KDW2


Ultra High Performance All Season:
Performance tires which are capable of going through the snow.

1.) Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position
2.) Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus
3.) P-Zero Nero AS
4.) Continental Extreme Contact DWS
5.) Eagle GT
6.) BF Goodrich Super Sport A/S
7.) AVID Envigor W

Budget Performance Tires:
Summer performance with a cost effective tire when your budget is a concern and some tires which are very cost effective are also listed in other classes . (based on performance not cost)

1.) Sumitomo HTR Z III
2.) Hankook Ventus V12 EVO
3.) Kumho Ecsta SPT
4.) Dunlop Direzza DZ101
5.) BF Goodrich G-Force Sport



I know this list is kinda old now but I didn't find anything like it that's more up to date....
The Conti Extreme Contact DW is high on this list, for what that's worth. They are like half the price of PSS on tire rack. I just bought a set of 275-295/35 from TR at a very low price.
 
#18 ·
If you really want cheap tires get Federal 595-RSR. $550 for all 4 out the door. I have them for 22k miles and rear ones are about done while fronts are 40%. I have about 3 track days as well with them. They are the only good tire Federal makes and they grip like crazy given it's a 140 treadwear tire. In 1/4 mile my 60 foot times are 1.9x which is better then previous PS2 I had.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Completely forgot about this tire!

I run the Bridgestone RE970 A/S and I have one time 3 years ago gotten snowed in with this tire and I was able to get up 45 degree road covered with fresh snow, and when I ended up tracking the car I was very pleased at grip level, again no pss but very capable tire. The Bridgestone S03- s04 shouldn't even be in same sentence as kumho or summitomo , I had them all and will never again use it on my car. The only reason I got to try the kumho it's because I bought wheels with them for the supra.

I actually went from summi to Bridgestone S03 directly. Night and day.

The federal tire that was mention did get good reviews and I sure would give it a try.






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#21 · (Edited)
I would recommend Bridgeston S-04, I just put them on my car and I love them so far. I have had many sets of the RE760's in the past and have liked them but I like the S-04 a lot more already. I have also had Continental DW sports in the past and did not like them at all, they are very good in the wet but the sidewall is unbelievably soft and you can definitely feel it on a bigger car like ours.

I would not even consider Sumitumo on an m5, they are lower tier tires without a doubt. They are pretty much on par with the Hankooks that were on my car when I bought it, the V12 Evo's and they were terrible! Scary in the rain and no grip in the dry
 
#22 ·
I would not even consider Sumitumo on an m5, they are lower tier tires without a doubt. They are pretty much on par with the Hankooks that were on my car when I bought it, the V12 Evo's and they were terrible! Scary in the rain and no grip in the dry
That was true about the II's, but not my experience with the III's. They did not have as much ultimate dry grip as my old Goodyear GS-D3's (my favorite non R rated street tire for dry grip) or the PSS, but they were very controllable and gradual breakaway, with plenty of audible warning. I do have 275's all around, but that shouldn't make a lot of difference. I had no issues in the rain, and south Florida can get tortential rain during the summer. As the tire wears and you lose tread, your wet weather traction will decrease.

At $100 per tire less than the PSS, I would consider them a very good budget tire for our car, other than track use.

Regards,
Jerry
 
#23 ·
I ran with no dsc as abs module failed last year. So about a year driving with no traction control, I am confident I can drive smart as my tires are bald and driven in rain.

Sumitomo is very good budget tires that I like. I don't think I will be able to track M5 at LRP. I know that I will do few auto x events. Maybe I'll do that hyperdrive at Thompson speedway as my friend won that prize for free and giving it to me I'll visit LRP when I can.

Based on some reviews I read recently stating the federal tires are getting worse in quality. I want to stick with known brand. I'm waiting for rebates from Bridgestone S04 tires, which can bring closer to sumitomo pricing. The reason I am going for budget tires is because I have to repair my driveshaft and few other couple things I need to do.
 
#24 ·
I use the Bridgestone Potenza S0-4 on my car (275/35-18). Hooks great in decent temps (and my car is RK stage 1). Wear life is pretty bad to be honest but if you need a good hooking tire, these are what I'd recommend, especially as a good alternative to Michelin PSS.
 
#25 ·
What's your driving style though? I'm all stock so I think I can do better on wear life as I know I will do lots of highway driving this year. Weddings out of states and road trips.
 
#26 · (Edited)
I did a quick search on S04 tread life. I guess this tire doesnt do well. So it is out of my list of tire choices. Man why does michelin have to cost so much to purchase?
 
#28 ·
I personally have used the UTQG to narrow down my tire choices. The PSS are a great tire but barely lasted a year driving 90 miles a day to and from work plus any weekend and around town driving. I know UTQG is not the definitive way to choose a tire but I select the highest and go from there. Using comparison reviews, I decide any trade off I am will to make for longer lasting tires.
 
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#29 · (Edited)
That is what I've been doing. Any numbers over 300 catches my attention. I have a couple weeks to go before I need tires.
 
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#30 ·
I've been running the Hankook V12 on my STI (not M5) for the past 4 years. They've survived probably 40,000+ miles and at least 4 track weekends (8 days*4 sessions, minimum). While they're not ultimately grippy, they seem to be freakishly durable. Their wet performance leaves a bit to be desired, but its not *that* bad, and I dont usually drive hard in the rain. The dry performance was definitely enough to have some good fun at VIR and Summit Point. The tire was relatively predictable in its grip even as the session wore on and the tires got hotter. I haven't checked the sizes for the M5, but for the Subaru the tires were pretty much as cheap as they come at barely more than $100 each.
 
#32 ·
I currently run the HTRZ 3 all season long, in winter the car is parked much of the time but when the temp is above 10-15 or so the tires are still fine after a few miles of warming up, its not like you push the car that much anyway when it is that cold outside. I would recommend these all over to someone on a budget great tire
 
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#34 ·
You guys mentioned so4 and toyo which are both excellent choices. You'll wish you had a stickier tore when it's too late usually.

The tires like summi last because it's s hard material that doesn't wear hence no traction. I'll never buy cheap tire. I don't mean inexpensive I mean cheap


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#35 ·
That must be why my car keeps ending up in a ditch during the summer. Makes sense.
 
#38 ·
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