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Old 07-03-2010, 09:07 AM   #1
EVL1
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Default Sumitomo HTR Z III vs Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500's

I know tire questions are subject to many variables, but I'd thought I'd check anyway to see if any of you guys have had any experiences with any of these tires. I have an 09 WRX Hatch that I put about 30 to 35K miles on a year. Needless to say, i am about due for some new rubber. I drive fairly spirited, as most on here probably do, and I'm in North Florida, so winter rubber is not really an issue for me. Anyhow, due to the fact that I'm probably going to need tires annually, I am looking for a bit more affoardable tire that will give me a little longer tread life (I know another "variable" area of debate) but still be able to perform if pushed a little. I like the stock Dunlop Sport 01's that came on the car, but they're running at 170 to 180 a tire and seem to have worn pretty quickly. I'm actually surprised I've made it to 35K miles on these things. So, with all that said, does anyone have any experience or thoughts with the Sumitomo HTR Z III or the "new" Firehawk WOI 500? Any other tire suggestions would be great too. Oh and the '09 Stock wheel and tire set-up is 225-45-R17. Thanks for the help guys. Happy motoring!
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Old 07-03-2010, 01:40 PM   #2
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General UHP is the only decent grip summer tire I know that will last that long with aggressive driving. Cheap too.
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Old 07-03-2010, 01:50 PM   #3
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The potnzas that came on my 07 were decent. Not the best grip in tbe world, but hey lasted ~50k miles. Don't know how much they are. I replaced them w/ potenza pole positions. Those were $180 apeice though & seem to be wearing a bit faster.
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Old 07-03-2010, 01:55 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by T-dub View Post
The potnzas that came on my 07 were decent. Not the best grip in tbe world, but hey lasted ~50k miles. Don't know how much they are. I replaced them w/ potenza pole positions. Those were $180 apeice though & seem to be wearing a bit faster.
I don't even know where to start with this idiocy
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Old 07-03-2010, 03:33 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mosc View Post
General UHP is the only decent grip summer tire I know that will last that long with aggressive driving. Cheap too.
Hmmm. A friend of mine just had a set of those on an A4 S. He sent them back because the sidewalls seemed way to "squishy". It has put me off those tires a bit. His car probably does weigh in a bit more than mine, so I'm not sure.

I know this thread is kind of like fishing. There are a lot of opinions out there though and I'm trying to get as many as I can. This car is my first experience with "high-performance" tire issues. So forgive me if I am annoying some of you with my seemingly silly question.

Thank you to those that do have some insight to share.
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Old 07-03-2010, 03:41 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EVL1 View Post
Hmmm. A friend of mine just had a set of those on an A4 S. He sent them back because the sidewalls seemed way to "squishy". It has put me off those tires a bit. His car probably does weigh in a bit more than mine, so I'm not sure.

I know this thread is kind of like fishing. There are a lot of opinions out there though and I'm trying to get as many as I can. This car is my first experience with "high-performance" tire issues. So forgive me if I am annoying some of you with my seemingly silly question.

Thank you to those that do have some insight to share.
d00000000000000d

ya got several factors here

low price
gripps great
lasts a long time

the star spec may be the only real performance tire that will do that for ya

some have got 25k+ miles outa them

but wanting more than that outa any performance tire is wishful thinking at best

the generals are quite squishy as are the hankook v12 although the hankooks are quite nice on the highway and work well when wet...dunno how long they will last as I will almost certainly be getting rid of them before they are done
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Old 07-03-2010, 03:48 PM   #7
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Yeah, i know I'm asking for a lot. Wishful thinking I guess. Sounds like the stock Dunlops are about as good as it gets. Down to the last few thousand in 'em, sitting at 37K as of today....may have to scrape together a couple of extra pennies and just get those again. Thanks for the input.
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Old 07-03-2010, 04:03 PM   #8
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I don't even know where to start with this idiocy
Well you could start by offering something of substance to the OP...Jackass.

I would add one more category to Uncle Scotty's list (although he did mention it)

4) weather handling.

If you're on the road in Florida that much you are gonna end up driving through a monsoon @ some point.

It really depends on your priorities.

ETA: I wouldn't recomend the pole positions. They also have a soft side wall. I didn't get to research tires before I bought them. I got in a bind, and had to buy some tires that were in stock. I wish Id gone w/ the dunlops.
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Old 07-03-2010, 04:08 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by T-dub View Post
Well you could start by offering something of substance to the OP...Jackass.

I would add one more category to Uncle Scotty's list (although he did mention it)

4) weather handling.

If you're on the road in Florida that much you are gonna end up driving through a monsoon @ some point.

It really depends on your priorities.
d000000000000d

if yew think the re92 tires that came on your car, stock, are ANYTHING but ****...pure, total, 100% ****

then you REALLY should NOT post ANYTHING at all about tires

as in dont dig yourself in deeper


and I know the OP d0000000000d and where he lives and all that
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Old 07-03-2010, 04:23 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Scotty View Post
d000000000000d

if yew think the re92 tires that came on your car, stock, are ANYTHING but ****...pure, total, 100% ****

then you REALLY should NOT post ANYTHING at all about tires

as in dont dig yourself in deeper


and I know the OP d0000000000d and where he lives and all that
Hey, the guy said he wanted some cheaper tires that would last more than 35k miles. Like you said no "performace" tire really meets that criteria. I was trying to offer an option within those perameters. So...

** **** ********
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Old 07-03-2010, 05:15 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by T-dub View Post
Hey, the guy said he wanted some cheaper tires that would last more than 35k miles. Like you said no "performace" tire really meets that criteria. I was trying to offer an option within those perameters. So...

** **** ********
d00000000000d

cheap does NOT equal the price of those garbage re92 tires and they are nowhere in any galaxy 'performance'

yew got ONE thing right here...the re92 MAY last a long time...too long for many as they are garbage

and adding your un researched, uneducated, 2¢ here is pointless

read more
post less

learn lots
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Old 07-03-2010, 06:34 PM   #12
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@ the OP:
I have done my research. If I had to buy a new set of tires right now I'd go with the Star Specs. My mistake. I thought we were talking about what you could do. The bottom line is if you want good tires you have to pay for them, and replace them more often.

@ Uncle Scotty

Cheap = $/mile

d0000000000d
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Old 07-03-2010, 09:50 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by T-dub View Post
@ the OP:
I have done my research. If I had to buy a new set of tires right now I'd go with the Star Specs. My mistake. I thought we were talking about what you could do. The bottom line is if you want good tires you have to pay for them, and replace them more often.

@ Uncle Scotty

Cheap = $/mile

d0000000000d


friends dont let idiots buy re92's
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Old 07-03-2010, 11:53 PM   #14
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Re92s have two strong points:
low rolling resistance (reason 1 Subaru or SOA chooses them)
long tread wear

they are mediocre in any other category and very expensive in retail (I bet they are cheap in quantities Subaru buys them).

With tires it is all about trade offs.

Tell us what your priorities are and you may get reasonable suggestions.

Krzys

PS In summer category I picked Hankook Evo V12. They did quite well in Car&Driver comparison and in German(Polish language version of Auto Welt - Auto World - if I am not mistaken) magazines. They are quite quiet tires but more swayed to grand touring than performance. They do deliver performance but do lack feedback.
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Old 07-04-2010, 12:40 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by krzyss View Post
Re92s have two strong points:
low rolling resistance (reason 1 Subaru or SOA chooses them)
long tread wear

they are mediocre in any other category and very expensive in retail (I bet they are cheap in quantities Subaru buys them).

With tires it is all about trade offs.

Tell us what your priorities are and you may get reasonable suggestions.

Krzys

PS In summer category I picked Hankook Evo V12. They did quite well in Car&Driver comparison and in German(Polish language version of Auto Welt - Auto World - if I am not mistaken) magazines. They are quite quiet tires but more swayed to grand touring than performance. They do deliver performance but do lack feedback.

well...I bought the v12's and as soon as I sat on one---yes the 'ol sit on 'em test....I knew they wuz just NOT gunna be any real kind of performance tires...just too dang soft.

and yep...more of a HP touring tire...quiet...rides nice....great in the wet...but a bit lacking at the end of the day

NOT a hooligan tire...nope......but for someone wanting to do a lot of miles on the road(I just drove 9 hours on the highway at up to 95mph) they are great
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Old 07-06-2010, 02:00 PM   #16
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I thought you were sticking to the Federals? Just trying something different? RP
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Old 07-06-2010, 03:38 PM   #17
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I like them both .... the Sumitomo performs a little better and the Firestone lasts a little longer
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Old 07-06-2010, 07:26 PM   #18
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Get a cheap tire and replace it more often, that's my advise. If you REALLY want 35k out of a tire, I'd go with the generals. Yes they're squishy but they have decent grip and should last. Anything less squishy is not going to last. \

Dunlop Sport 01 are not bad tires, but not worth $175 bucks man! Who cares if you get 10k more miles out of em for that price when there are better dry grip tires for a whole lot less money. Per mile, they're not that cheap and they don't grip particularly well. Better than most stock tires but I think you have better options if you're willing to visit a tire shop more than once a year. Even if treadwear is a hard requirement, I'd say the generals will last nearly as long and have similar grip/similar squish/way cheaper.

And krzyss gave you an extremely direct and factual analysis of the RE92 which is more than you can expect around here. Hell, being long lived was another thing I hated about them. It took me 2 years and 2 winters to even get close to killing them so I could replace them with something not life suckingly awful.
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Old 07-06-2010, 08:41 PM   #19
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Quote:
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I thought you were sticking to the Federals? Just trying something different? RP
no $$$ for them at the time .....AND...they were outa stock in the size I wanted, anyway

new blinging job and these hankooks are goin in the ****can in a couple weeks and the 595RSR's goin back on


in all reality....these v12 hankooks arent bad tires....they just arent GREAT tires and they aren't hooligan tires like the Federals are
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Old 07-06-2010, 10:50 PM   #20
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I've been debating switching from HTR ZIIs to either HTR ZIIIs (I can't find any concrete info on what the performance differences are or which is better), Firehawk Wide Ovals, or Parada Spec-2s.

My biggest concern about the ZIII is will they share the same poor heat characteristics that the ZII suffers from. They overheat much too quickly. Another concern is that they are heavy tires. 3 lbs heavier than my ZIIs.

Last edited by Byzantium; 07-06-2010 at 10:57 PM.
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Old 07-07-2010, 09:55 AM   #21
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I don't have any direct experience with them, but my understanding from reading various reviews is that the ZIII is truly a significant improvement over the ZII.

Interesting (and disappointing) that they're that much heavier, though.
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Old 07-07-2010, 10:18 AM   #22
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I just got the fstones (WO indy500) I like them a lot. However this is coming form stock (06). I used lukes (tirerack) tire guide and I got them down to 100 a piece Out the door 519 with no warranty. I was open in the air between them and the bfg g-sports. I very happy with the indy's and these are the first firestones I've ever got. I got 23k out of stock I dont drive far but I like to have fun. Oh yea and they are not loud ( mine are 215/45 17 )
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Old 07-07-2010, 11:14 AM   #23
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Quote:
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My biggest concern about the ZIII is will they share the same poor heat characteristics that the ZII suffers from.

Yeah, i think they will. I've never driven the ZII, but my ZIII's definitely start to get too hot even on a long autocross. The grip isn't very good cold, though quite predictable, and by the end of a lap the tires do start to show some definite feathering. I've never got them past where they have meaningful grip, however.

Then again, they're not really much of a performance tire. They're more of a reasonable compromise summer tire. They have nice tread blocks for dry grip, good compound for wear, and they're cheap. Exactly what you want out of a summer tire when you just want to ditch the compromises of an all-season.
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Old 07-09-2010, 05:30 PM   #24
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Wow. Thanks for the input guys. I know asking for tire opinions is like bringing up politics at a bar. Someone asked what my priorities are in regards to the tires. I want them to be able to perform well in "spirited" driving situations yet be mild-mannered enough to not wear out in 20K. I gotta say, the Dunny Sport 01's that came on the car are holding in there at nearly 40K on the car, and I still throw her into the fun turns and curves I can find, I am in N. FLA after all. I do agree that the 170/tire price is a bit steep. However, if they're gonna make 40K miles, I gotta consider ponying-up for 'em. The dealer maybe able to get 'em a little cheaper, as they utilize Tire Rack for their purchases as well and I am sure they are buying in a little more quantity than I am. I don't track car, I just drive it a lot....I'm in outside sales afterall. But when I drive, I do like to have fun....not sure if it's quite Hooligan fun as Uncle Scotty has refered to it, although the St Johns Co Sherrif's Office might disagree as evidenced by my last speeding ticket. Anyhow, thanks for the input guys. I kow I need to get over the fact that I'm gonna have to replace the rubber at least ever 40K, if not sooner. I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh, and as far as monsoons go, the Dunlops Sport 01's loved the wet, that is one thing about that car and those tires, absolutely loved the wet. Maybe other tires would perform better, not sure how though. Thanks again.

Oh, and congratrs on the new job Scotty. Catch ya later.
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Old 07-10-2010, 11:31 AM   #25
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I like the HTR ZIII tires, and I'm on my second set.

They're reasonably quiet (at first, like any other tire, they get louder as they wear out) the grip is good both wet and dry, and they're dirt cheap compared to comparable tires.

The downsides are that they will chuck if you overheat the edges (a good alignment makes loads of difference here) and they wore out in about 14k miles for me.

But at the price, I'll deal with the wear. And if I do go out autocrossing (rare for me) I'll knock a decent amount of negative camber in the front and they wear much more evenly (and turn in better!)

For "spirited" street driving in non winter states, I'd recommend them, no problem.
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