Ryanmgaspard

iTrader: (6)

It's been a year and a half since I put the Sumitomo 315's on. If I didn't go to the track so much then the middle of the tire wouldn't be so bad. The shoulders are probably at 6/32nds. When I first put them on, they stuck decent. I never had trouble flooring it once I got moving and them kicking out from under me. Now at over 12,000's miles on them... they suck. The tires cannot hold power on the street. I have to feather it at a light and once I hit 4500rpm's the back end starts sliding. 2nd gear is jerked sideways for 4 seconds. Handling, any speed that feels like you are slightly pushing the car around a corner, the rear end slides sideways with no grip AT ALL. Taking slight curves and then barely going fast enough to amount to anything and you feel the tires roll first and then they grip. Give it a little more gas and you might be sideways. They are a good tire if you want them to last. If you want performance then these are not it. After a couple thousand miles, all their performance ratings are done. If you want to push your car JUST A LITTLE do not count on the Sumitomos. At the track, burn the hell out of them and they will stick. It's still hard to get traction though. I would recommend these to a daily driver with little handling intentions. I would gladly pay the money now to get a better tire. I would never buy these again.

Kenny H

I threw on a set on our '04 GTO just before we gave it back on the lease. I totally agree with your comments. They were aweful. As a point of reference I had Pirelli P Zero Nieros on the back and they cut 1.9s at the track in the stock automatick. The sumitomos were aweful. While the Pirellis held the car fairly well from a stop, the sumitomos couldn't even hook from a 1st gear roll. Our stock A4 '04 GTO could break them loose from a 15 MPH roll. Pathetic.

Handling, terrible. They did seem to be a relatively quiet tire but any sort of hard driving and they gave up quick.

Just like you said, I would never but them again. I only threw them on the GTO because I didn't want to get charged for new tires.

You are much better off waiting for one of the high performance tires to go on 'clearance' or even buying something slightly used.

98REDZ

iTrader: (3)

I assume your talking about the HTRZ's and I've had mine on for about 12k miles as well. Yes they are definitely not a 'performance' tire,...and are not exactly intended to be. If you want that....get a Drag radial that will last half as long. I've attempted to heat the hell out of them at the track and see what happens and it did me no good, but of course its tough to do in a 5200 flashin torque converter & mid 11sec car. You have got to factor in the price of the tire versus the life. The tire would have lasted me probably 15k+ miles had I never spun the tires, and cost ~100 a tire. Pretty tough to beat when ya got a set of Weld Pro Stars at the house w/ ET Drags IF ya wanna do business.

Ryanmgaspard

iTrader: (6)

yeah the tire at 12,000 miles could have easily gone another 12,000. They are just not performance quality. Mine are loud too. It sounds like a monster truck on the highway (maybe a little exaggerated). Do the Nitto drag's hook well on the street?

2001z

iTrader: (32)

Heating a street tire at the track will do no good anyways the compound isnt going to get any stickier like a drag radial or et street. Htrzs are a cheat tire and i know becouse i have run them for awhile now. the one reason i run them is the price for 315s is to cheap to pass up and ride decent on the street. But if you want performance at the track no non-drag radial tire will not hook very well especially if you have a 6-speed.