CharlieNewbieMax

iTrader: (1)

someone pls clearify this for me, what's the difference between ultra high performance tires and ultra high performance all season besides the snow ratings? The reason i am asking is that i am looking at sumitomo HTR +(all season) and sumitomo HTR Z II on tirerack.com, the all season HTR + seems to be better than Z II in every aspect and yet still a bit cheaper than HTR +. Is there any advantage of summer tires that yeilds the higher price? Which would u perfer if u live in socal? i am looking at the 235/40-18s. Any help would be appreciated.

Charlie

bacid

well summer tires will most likely have more aggressive tread and stickier compound compared to all season tires.

if you live in so cal there is *NO NEED* to have all season, have you ever seen it snow??

i live in canada and even i dont bother with all season tires, i have dedicated summer and winter tires..

Mike H.

I'm currently using HTR+ (for the last 300 miles at least). I've used 2 sets of HTRZIIs before that. I chose the HTR+ because it has a tread rating of 360 compared to 220 (the HTRZIIs were out quick as hell). Also, the HTR+ are non-directional so you can properly rotate the tires and evely wear them out. My HTRZIIs were really difficult to wear out evenly. I actually rotated them around to get a more even wear. Furthermore, I don't do any racing and I drive around 75-80mph (405 traffic), so high speed superperformance tires are not necessary for me. Plus I take it to Big Bear during the winter, so the HTR+s should help some as well. Oh yeah, granted that there is a lot of crap on SoCal roads, the HTRZIIs puncture very easily. My last set actually had a tire blow out.

Frank Fontaine

I have the HTR+ as well with around 6k on them, 235/40-18. I'm sure Tire Rack knows what they're doing but all 4 of my tires seem to be wearing funny, both front and rear. I had an alignment when these things were brand-new. Anyway I would think that the HTR Z II would be stickier, so if you're in So Cal why get an all-season when you don't have any chance of bad weather? my .02

black019

lets make this simple, you live in SO.CA and have not absolute need for all season tires unless you plan on taking your car to some place in CA where there is snow.

iwannabmw

iTrader: (3)

Summer tires grip much better, the all seasons are too much of a compromise and are mostly marketing. They don't stick well enough for me in the dry, and they suck in the snow. I prefer summer tires and then swap to snow tires. I still think the Max is horrrible in the snow even with snow tires, but maybe because I grew up driving a Jeep

You're kinda of a different case, since using snow tires in your case would be a little overboard. Just don't expect the all season's to perform that well at Big Bear.

WaarrEagle

iTrader: (1)

Do summer tires still perform in the cold? I live in Alabama and it gets below 20 sometimes but hardly ever snows.

slickrick

iTrader: (12)

how much more expensive are summer tires, 4 instance pilot sport a/s and the regs. and is the tread life shorter. hows the ride and wet traction compare.

deezo

iTrader: (3)

The warmer they are, the better traction you will get. Summer tires will make a lot more road noise when they are cold.

CharlieNewbieMax

iTrader: (1)

i do understand i don't need all season in socal since it never snows here but the reason i am asking is that since HTR + all season, according to the servay result of tirerack.com, is better in every aspect and has a much higher tread rating so i thought why not? But thanks to you guys now i might be getting HTR Z II since many of you pointed out that summer tires do have better traction than all season, however i still want to know on which wears out more evenly since mike and frank takes on a different stand. Any one else out there tried these tires?

Charlie

CharlieNewbieMax

iTrader: (1)

the summer tires are only like 6 bucks more and it heas tread rating of 220 compares to 360 of all season. both ride and wet tractions is better on all season according to tirerack servay.

charlie

Frank Fontaine

I have the HTR+ as I said. I like the AA traction rating which few newer tires lack. But they're still lurking out there, like the RE950.

Anyway, my RS-A stockers lasted 57k, and the treadwear is 240. they had tread left. True, the HTR+ will last 63% longer than the Z IIs, but you're probably gonna get at least 35k out of the summer tires and they'll be stickier. The only time I'd be concerned is if you have a treadwear of 140 or 180, then you may only get 15k out of the set. And yes, treadwear isn't the final word, it's just a way to compare tires under uniform conditions ie UTQG ratings. We don't drive in a laboratory but we do need some means to compare.

slickrick

iTrader: (12)

so which tire lasts longer?

CharlieNewbieMax

iTrader: (1)

tread rating is indeed one of my biggest concern. my current tire dunlop w-10 that come with the wheels didn't last too long and the noise level is just unacceptable. So basically now i am looking for a tire that is quiet, have good tread rating, and a decent grip. This is why i perfer HTR+ over ZII in the first place even tho it might not grip as good. What do u guys think?

charlie

CharlieNewbieMax

iTrader: (1)

htr +

slickrick

iTrader: (12)

all i want is quiet long lasting tires, i dont care about grip,cuz 17;s provide plenty of grip, i only go fast in a str8 line.

CharlieNewbieMax

iTrader: (1)

that's pretty much what i am looking for as well, but yet i still want a decent grip for one of those times. i guess htr + is the one for u then.

charlie

Mike H.

Well, like I said I had used up 2 sets of HTRZIIs... wasn't happy with the wear because they were a pain in the butt to keep even. They lasted quite a bit though. I've only been on HTR+s for a couple hundred miles now. The noise difference is significant, it's so much more quiter with the HTR+. As far as grip, I'm taking the same turns at the same speed as I was with the HTRZIIs, no loss in grip whatsoever. So I guess, the choice is whatever floats your boat. IMO both are great tires, but I though I'd give the HTR+s a try due to the higher tread wear and mainly because it's non-directional.

CharlieNewbieMax

iTrader: (1)

thx for the update.

charlie

DR0832

Is Tirerack the cheapest place to get the HTR+ ? If not then whats a better place to buy them.

Frank Fontaine

Yeah, I've had my HTR+ for about 6k now, or just under, and really don't have any complaints. At first I was ready to feel all kinds of bumps in the road riding on 40's, but I don't feel that at all. I actually feel no difference over the 215-16's except in cornering, where I can seem to take curves faster. I think the 235's give it a nice look especially on the fronts and the 40's have a business look about them, along with the 18x8 rims.

Because the Maxima is not a great handling car, I feel imho that $131-$150 is a reasonable amount to spend on a tire, but $247 like a Pilot A/S is a waste of money.