Review of the Sumitomo HTR ZIII For Porsche

When I purchased my 1997 Porsche 993 C4S theSumitomo HTR Z III for Porsche
odometer read 24,000 miles. From the service historyYou see, when I was researching, the Sumitomo
I could see that it had four new tires installedHTR Z III wasn't on the list (just the HTR Z II). It
(Continental ContiSportContact 2s) less than 4,000seems that with the HTR Z III, Sumitomo made
miles ago. This basically matched up with thesome significant improvements. So, without wasting
information from my PPI and with my visualany more time, I went online to The Tire Rack and
inspection upon receipt of the car.ordered four (4) new tires all for $700 delivered.
Enjoying the car as much as I do, I clocked moreThat's a cost savings of almost 45% to my original
than 6000 miles last season (including a great trip tochoice of the Michelin Pilot Sport Rib.
Prince Edward Island). This meant the tires now hadMy 993 was scheduled to visit the shop for a spring
10,000 miles on them and the rear tires were startingcheck-up, 30k service and brake bleed so I opted to
to feel a little worn. It was very subtle at first, a littlehave the tires delivered directly to them. After
chirp around a tight corner or a quick spin on a fastseeing the wear pattern on my old tires I decided to
start. Given these signs I decided to start shoppingdo a four-wheel alignment (they were cupping a little
for new tires.on the interior front edges) along with a hi-speed
The first place I started was the 993 forum onbalance. This way, not only am I starting with a
Rennlist (RL). As a quick aside, if you haven't been tomatched set of four new shoes, but I know they
Rennlist, and you own a Porsche (any type ofalignment and balance is correct. Assuming I keep the
Porsche), you owe it to yourself to check it out. Theproper air-pressure and don't play too hard, I should
recommendations and opinions on RL were varied, toget some significant wear from these tires. First
say the least. Like me, a lot of people felt stronglyImpressions
that you get what you pay for and therefore theSince picking the car up I have turned almost 1500
more expensive tires must be the best. Thankfully,miles on the new tires, each one with a huge smile
especially grateful was my bank account, I/theyon my face. The Sumitomo HTR Z IIIsare as
were wrong.advertised. They are very sticky, with a firm/stiff
Tire Choices for a Porsche 993sidewall that handle great for daily driving (spirited or
Back in January I posted this article "Tire Choices forotherwise). I have not yet used them on the track
a Porsche 993." As you can see I had listed theor in the rain so I can't comment on that aspect.
following tires as my choices:However, for driving on back roads, highways and
1. Bridgestone Potenza S-02anywhere else, I am most pleased. They stick as
2. Continental ContiSportContact 2good, if not better, than any tire I have driven in the
3. Pirelli PZero Rossopast. They seem to blend well with my stock
4. Michelin Pilot Sport Ribsuspension and absorb the bumps and pot holes quite
I even went on to mention the following two tires aswell. I can't comment on road noise as I usually have
cheaper alternatives but I was going to shy awaythe windows open or the revs too high to hear.:-)
from them as I felt "you get what you pay for."All in all, I am extremely pleased with these tires and
5. Sumitomo HTR Z IIwould recommend them highly to anyone, for any
6. BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2modern Porsche, regardless of budget. We all know
As I said, turns out I was wrong. When push camethat there are lots and lots of modifications to do to
to shove and it was time to pull the trigger toour Porsches. So, if you can get a great bang for the
purchase the new tires for my Porsche, I did one lastbuck with this tire, why not turn around and roll the
round of research. What I found was this threadmoney into another mod!! Keep sliding down that
which pushed me over the edge.slippery slope.