Sumitomo HTR Z III vs Hankook Ventus V12 evo2
 

Im trying to make up my mind between Sumitomo HTR Z III vs Hankook Ventus V12 evo2 and was wondering if anyone had experience with both or either of these tires.
Im looking for an inexpensive replacement for my OEM tires as they are getting close to worn out and id like an upgrade in grip for autox/daily driving without ruining the natural characteristics of the car. It appears the 2nd gen v12 evos generally have better grip but have a rather narrow traction limit that makes them more difficult to deal with at that limit. All the comparisons ive been finding between the sumitomo and the hankook are against the 1st gen v12 evo tire which was supposed to be worse off. Tire feel and response are very important to me.

i have Sumitomo HTR Z III in 245 wide on 17x9 wheels. they have good traction but they feel like they are soft in the sidewalls. there is give.

I wouldn't buy either tire. Instead go with any of the 4 listed in this test. Especially if daily driving, wet traction with solid dry performance are your priorities.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=192

If you want more dry performance, then step up one category to TW200 rated tires.

My spare track tires are Sumitomo HTR ZIII's. Compared to true EP summer tires, the sidewalls are soft. Also grip is down. Most EP tires like a bit of heat and start gripping around the temps where the Sumitomos become greasy and chunk. For example:

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3938/...bdb50017_b.jpg

On the plus side, the Sumitomos are nice and progressive, and communicate (tire squeal) well before they let go. They also have a nice ride on the street.

Great value for the price, but probably won't last long if you're pushing your car pretty hard.

I had the Sumitomo HTR ZIII and they were pretty good in the dry, but bad in the wet. I just instructed in an E36 M3 during a driving school that had the Hankook tires, and these seemed to be quite good in both dry and damp conditions. Generally, the newer design in a particular tire category is better, since each manufacturer tries to beat their competitors. The Sumitomo had been around a LONG time without any changes; I think the updated Hankooks would beat them on almost every measure.

Sorry I'm not really all that interested in a tire category that compromises more for wet traction. I'm perfectly fine with and used to driving in the wet on more aggressive tires. I would also prefer something around the 300 mark due to my current situation. I can pay more if i want to but would simply rather spend a little less money and focus on other things for now (if you have a different suggestion you can let me know).

I'm definitely interested in a tire that is very communicative. which is what drew me to the sumitomos. That treadwear chunking is not that great but if it doesn't last as long i get what i pay for i guess which means a different better tire set in the future (yay!) Might anyone have any experience with the v12 evo 2s? possibly experience with both? I know it's a lot to ask.

Edit: sorry Black Tire, didn't see your full comment before. How did the hankooks feel at the limit? I was at first leaning towards the hankooks since it is true what you say that newer tires are going to be generally better all around which is shown in the tirerack reviews and survey stats as well and the sumitomos look to have been around for QUITE a while but i was a little nervous about when they mentioned that the limit of grip on the hankooks was guite narrow at the peak and harder to deal with. It just makes it difficult because i don't know for certain how bad it really is and whether it's something i could deal with/overcome or whether it really interferes a lot. I know it certainly has better performance, but a bit worried on how refined it is.

If your constraints are Max Performance Summer for $300, you're not going to have many options. Gently used tires might be your best bet.

+1 on the soft sidewall as I can feel the tire flexing during corners. I think it's a good tire for the price though. Apparently Sumitomo was my first summer tires haha, but the grip is much much better than performance all season tire. If it'll be your daily/occasional autox, then I think Sumitomo will do fine. It's cheap too!

Had the Sumitomos in 255/40-17 on 9" wheels on a different rwd car (much heavier). The Sumis were a good value, considering price, but they didn't age well. I replaced them with Continental Extreme DW in the same size and found the dry grip easily as good, better breakaway, quieter on the road, and night-and-day in the wet as a nice bonus.

Just recently somewhat decided on the Continental extreme, similar in price and higher ratings(low noise too) Check it out.

I recently got the Hankook Ventus V12 evo2 here in Australia, and immediately after installing them, on the weekend I was beating on them hard on some A & B (mostly mountainous) roads for 1000km in my boosted 86 (300rwhp), and from my experiences they are an excellent tyre.


They are a slightly noisy tyre (about a 7/10 for noise, 10 being quiet, and 0 being super noisy), but have excellent dry grip, and excellent damp grip (I haven't driven them in the full rain, but have driven them on cold (10c) and damp roads). Braking distances are also good. I would probably rate the side wall flex to be medium (not the firmest nor the softest I've come across). In terms of what I've experienced in them the only thing I can't give review on its what its treadlife is going to be.


For the price (here in Australia), they are an excellent tyre.


Cheers


Gav