Grassroots Motorsports

Register Log in to GRM
- Community

Birthdays
Recently on the Classic Motorsports forums

Subscribe get a full year for only $23.95 Sample Free Test Drive—no strings attached

Login to post Forums » Grassroots Motorsports » Sumitomo tire experience.

Nov. 6, 2010 7:55 p.m. porksboy Dork

Anyone have Sumitomo HTR 200s on a daily driver? I have them on my Spitfire but havent driven it much and not in the rain. These would be in size 175/70R13 for my CRX that is daily driven 70 miles each day to and from work. The car CRX has been lowered on Konis all round. My Spitfire has 185/70R13 on it, I considered putting the ones from the Spit on the CRX but I would have to dissmount and remount and I just dont want to.

Looking at the review on Tirerack people dont seem to like the Sumitomo.

Looking at the Kuho Solus also.
Nov. 6, 2010 8:14 p.m. Streetwiseguy HalfDork

The ministock class I run in has fairly draconian tire rules, and in 60 series, non directional tread, 300+ treadwear rating, they are by far the best performing tire out there. Never driven them on the street, though.
Nov. 6, 2010 8:22 p.m. tincetti New Reader

I've got 10,000 miles and 20+ autocross runs on mine. A little on the "greasy" side for autocross,(H Stock Escort GT)) but predictable and not too noisy for street. They have about 3000-5000 miles left. I'd buy them again because the are so cheap. (205/50-15 on a 5 1/2 inch rim)

P.S. I am in central Texas. They seem fine in the rain, but it doesn't rain much here....
Nov. 6, 2010 9:10 p.m. spritedriver28 New Reader

I've got them in 14" on my daughters Miata. They seem fine in rain and while they aren't great as dry tires they are quiet and reasonably grippy. Oddly enough, I have Solus' on my wife's Honda CRV. They are very quiet and seem like they'll last a while (we've only got about 5k on them so far). The prices for these are just too good to pass up IMO.
Nov. 6, 2010 9:15 p.m. Toyman01 SuperDork

I have a set for streets for the RX-7. They aren't a bad tire. A little loose on a autocross course, but make a good cheap street tire that's better than a all season. They will feather at full tread depth if you autocross them a lot. When this set is gone I'll probably buy another set.
Nov. 6, 2010 9:23 p.m. chknhwk Reader

I ran the HTRz's on the street and the track - wore like iron and had excellent feedback and breakaway characteristics. That's the extent of my experience with Sumitomo...
Nov. 6, 2010 9:31 p.m. Jensenman SuperDork

The b-i-l has them on his Dime. Nothing but good things to say. It's not a race tire but then it wasn't intended to be.
Nov. 6, 2010 9:56 p.m. porksboy Dork

Thanks guys while autocross is in this cars future I will put some 195/50/15's on it for that. I just need some decent street tires for now and new wheels just ain't in the budget.
Nov. 6, 2010 11:16 p.m. SkinnyG Reader

I run them on The Lethal Locost for the street. They're fantastic as a street tire. And cheap, too. They are NOT a performance tire.
Nov. 6, 2010 11:25 p.m. oldsaw SuperDork

I have them on my Prelude.

As noted, they are not a great performance tire if you are acquainted with high grip levels.

As a DD tire, the HTR's are a good choice made better because of the low cost.
Nov. 7, 2010 12:33 a.m. EvanB Dork

I had some on my Miata. I never autocrossed with them but I would say that they are as good if not better than Ziex 912s
Nov. 7, 2010 7:27 a.m. Woody SuperDork

When I was building a Miata for the track, I needed four tires that would hold air while I pushed it around the shop. New Sumitomos were about as cheap as buying used tires ($33 each) so I bought a set. I ordered online, but someone from Tire Rack called me to warn me that these have a Summer only compound and I wouldn't want them year round in New England. I explained my need for them and they shipped them out.

I did use them for one autocross when I wanted to do a pre track test of the new suspension and after a few runs, they were missing very noticeable chunks of rubber. I know that they were not meant for autocross so I wasn't surprised, but I'd never seen tires show wear that quickly before.

But, if you're in Georgia, you're cheap, and you will never autocross on them, you'll be fine. They're round and they hold air.
Nov. 7, 2010 2:58 p.m. CarKid1989 Dork

I had a set on my old miata. loved them for the price to performance ratio. not a big fan of them in rain. I auto crossed the crap outta them literally to the point where it started getting a flat tire cause the tires were down to nothing. Bad idea...did not realize they were that bad at the time.

They perform best when then are half used.
Nov. 7, 2010 10:12 p.m. Vigo Dork

Had a set WAY back on my dynasty and loved the hell out of them. Honestly, probably the best experience i ever had with a set of tires. I guess the way i would say it is they never did less than what i expected, and a lot of other, higher-performance rated tires HAVE done less.

I have some on my Honda Insight right now. As stated, they are very quiet. If you drive nice you can get 50k miles on a set. I drove em hard on the dynasty and got 30k.

They handle rain pretty well.

It's amazing to me that after all these years (it is an OLD tire) these things are still relevant and compare favorably to new tires (I have some ziex 912s on another car and agree the htr200 is better). Combine that with the cheapness and the availability of small sizes, and its a win.
Nov. 7, 2010 10:19 p.m. m4ff3w SuperDork

I had them on my X1/9. I was very pleased with them.
Nov. 7, 2010 10:21 p.m. oldopelguy Dork

Had great experience with them on both my Opels and my Scion Xb. Only advice I have is to ignore whatever your car thinks it's supposed to have for tire pressure and go ahead and run closer to 45 psi in them. The side walls are not so stiff, and the tire pressure helps.
Nov. 8, 2010 6:38 a.m. Klayfish Reader

I've run many sets of them, both on the track and the street. Sure, there are better tires out there if your money tree is well watered. But if you're on a budget, they're impossible to beat. Like other said, they wear like iron, stick pretty darn well on the track and are just good all around.
Nov. 8, 2010 6:51 a.m. Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork

I have HTR-Zs on my 911. I am not sure if they are the same compound as the 200 but if they are I'd say you really can't go wrong. I've run them on the track (not good, really, but predictable and safe) and for over 12k miles on the street. On the street they are comfortable and grippy with decent wet performance. In the cold- below 40F they get a little "flat spotty" for the first mile or five. The rears are almost used up but the fronts look almost new. So... after 12k they cost me another $200 - $250 for a 17" high performance street car tire. I'll buy another set.

You'll need to log in to post.