After a week or so of waiting, our long-term 2002 BMW M3 is back on the road and rolling on a new pair of shoes.
Faithful readers will remember that we had beaten the E46's set of Yokohama Advans into submission and were in desperate need of replacements. As always, to www.tirerack.com we went, credit card in hand.
But a new set of Advans seemed boring. As much as we were impressed with the tire, we wanted to try something new, but what? We knew we still wanted a Max Performance Tire because the M3 rarely leaves L.A.and Spring is closer than we think, but beyond that we were open to anything.
Well, we ended up with a set of Sumitomos. Yes, Sumitomos. The company's max performance model is called the HTR ZIII and we figured they were worth a shot for two reasons.
1) They are dirt cheap. In fact, they are the cheapest max performance tire that comes in the M3's required sizes. And at $132 for each front and $153 for each rear they cost about half as much as a set of Advans or a set of Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s.
2) We thought it would be fun to see what you get for that low price. Are they a steal or is this an example of half price/half performance?
We decided it would be fun to find out. Soon we will retest the car at our test track to sample the ultimate grip and extreme handling characteristics of the Sumitomos, and we'll surely report on their ride quailty and overall durability in the coming weeks.
As usual, www.tirerack.com and the crew at The Tire Rack made everything easy. The tires were shipped quickly and showed up as promised. We then zipped over to our favorite local tire installer, Stokes Tire in Santa Monica, and had them installed. They charged us $109. That's $100 for install / balance and $9 for hazardous waste disposal.
And so far so good. The Sumitomo name might not impress your buddies at the local hangout, but the tires look good, and they feel great. They've been on the car for about a week now and we have no complaints.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 66,698 miles
New set of Sumitomos.
Old set of Yokohamas.
blueguydotcom says:
10:19 PM, 01/18/09
Looks like your last tires were over-inflated.
Love TireRack. I look forward to hearing about the tires...
MS3lvr92 says:
10:36 PM, 01/18/09
Good reasoning behind the new tires. They have a very interesting tread design. I look forward to hearing the results of the tests and track use.
brian60 says:
11:07 PM, 01/18/09
Great pick with these Sumitomos - they've been getting great reviews in the Porsche and BMW forums that I've looked at. I am about to order a set myself, but after looking at how far you ran down your Advans, perhaps my Pilot Sports have a little life left in them after all (because they don't get driven in the rain). Nevertheless, I eagerly await the results of your testing and driver commentary. I also find it interesting that I am seeing the same wear pattern on my tires as you had on your old tires, which would indicate overinflation even though I am running the consensus air pressure (36 psi).
m_thrizzle says:
11:27 PM, 01/18/09
I've had the Sumi's for 8 mo. and like them so far, but I haven't autocrossed them yet. I hope to do it soon!
Brian60, what do you mean consensus air pressure? Go w/ the sticker in the door jamb, which for M3 18's is 32/35 f/r I think.
sgude says:
03:03 AM, 01/19/09
These are good tires -- I haven't heard anything bad about them from the five different owners of cars with Sumis mounted on them, but I don't have any personal experience.
German Mustang?
huyracing says:
04:13 AM, 01/19/09
the tire psi numbers on the door jamb only really apply to the stock tires. new tires bring new handling characteristics and psi preferences, so it does take some knowledge to properly set-up.
jkp1187 says:
04:47 AM, 01/19/09
I've been a fan of Sumitomo HTR+ all-seasons on my daily driver for about five years now. Interested to hear how they ride on a true performance car.
redwoodaggie says:
07:21 AM, 01/19/09
I'm excited by the choice, because that's what I put on the rear of my E46 3er last spring (255/35-18) and like them so far. I will be putting them on the fronts to replace my Falken FK452s (meh) when the time comes. I can't wait to hear more after some miles have been put on them.
tenfifteen says:
07:26 AM, 01/19/09
"German Mustang?" F A I L .
AMTalker says:
07:57 AM, 01/19/09
I love Sumitomo. It's not a M3 but I have had two sets on an Acura CL and they have been great. Long lasting, quiet, solid grip in dry, wet and excellent in snow. Add on that they are the best priced tire I can find I think you will be happy with them. I am intrested in seeing how they hold to a high preformance car.
louiswei says:
08:05 AM, 01/19/09
Good to know that the Sumitomo HTR ZIII is good on the M3 as I intend to purchase a set of those for my car later this year.
omfg says:
08:20 AM, 01/19/09
Awaiting test results
skankaway says:
09:28 AM, 01/19/09
It will be interesting to see the results. I use Yokohama's on my SC400 and I'll be needed new tires soon. If these are competitive then I might just aim to buy the Sumi's.
brian60 says:
01:00 PM, 01/19/09
"Brian60, what do you mean consensus air pressure? Go w/ the sticker in the door jamb, which for M3 18's is 32/35 f/r I think."
m_thrizzle, I take the door sticker with a grain of salt, given the differences between stocks tires, road surfaces, and priorities, and so I like to use real-world feedback wherever possible. A different set of priorities is also why I change the oil every 7500 miles instead of the manufacturer recommended 15000 miles, but not the oil change industry recommended 3000 miles (or whatever it is for synthetic oil). Having said that though, it would appear that 36 psi is too high for Pilot Sport 19s in the rear.
3ricchu says:
03:39 PM, 01/19/09
Haha, my American Mustang also uses Sumitomo tires, but the HTRZII model, with a tread pattern similar to the Eagle F1s. I bought them simply because they were cheapest in the 265/35/18 and 285/35/18 sizes, which is an extremely expensive size, especially compared to stock 245/45/17. They've turned out to be more than worth it, since they seem to be wearing quite well (daily driver), and they aren't bad in the corners. They seem to break away more suddenly, but it isn't hard to manage, as long as I'm paying attention. The small sidewall isn't conducive to drag racing though.
Anyway, regarding tire pressure, since my wheel and tire package is larger than stock, I used the max cold tire pressure (51psi) minus 10 psi as a guideline, and then tuned from there. Right now 36front/38rear seems to be working well.
bkochuk says:
07:16 PM, 01/19/09
I've got Sumitomos on my 2001 S4 and they've been a good tire. Fairly long wear, and the car is so quiet for the first 10,000 miles. Worth a look, I think, especially on older cars when there are so many other things to pay for...
johnnyr3 says:
03:43 AM, 01/20/09
I'm curious. Why not Kumhos Ecsta ASX's?
omfg says:
07:17 AM, 01/20/09
Kumhos Ecsta ASX
Because they suck. I have them. Terrible.
actualsize says:
08:00 AM, 01/20/09
Sumitomo Rubber Industries holds a 25% stake in another brand of tire that we're all familiar with: Dunlop.
They used to hold 100%, but they went into a joint venture with Goodyear about 10 years ago, so Goodyear now holds the 75% that pertains to Europe and North America.
If you buy a car made in Asia and it has factory Dunlops on it, chances are that Sumitomo engineers developed the tires. Or, to put it another way, any Dunlop wearing the "Made in Japan" label is a Sumitomo tire.
So the new Sumitomo tires on our BMW M3 were developed by the same guys who make Dunlop tires.
jbond04 says:
12:41 PM, 01/20/09
I've been running these tires on my M3 since April...they're awesome. I've only taken them to the track once, but they performed great, especially considering the price tag.
estreka says:
11:21 PM, 01/20/09
I'm glad you guys decided on cheap tires. I hope this trend continues.