Those bad boys did well in the 7" of snow we got in Philly on Thu. Did not even come close to getting stuck, which is a laugh on 18" 40-series rubber.

Anyway, I rotated them today for the first time, and sheesh, the Max sure put some wear on the fronts. There was a clear difference between the fronts and backs. I know I could have rotated sooner but I hate being a slave to the car if you know what I mean. Anyway, I think the HTR+ is a decent tire for the Max. I'm curious if anyone uses pure summer tires in the winter, and how that worked out. maybe the winter handling was not so much the all-season rating on the Sumitomos but rather the Maxima itself and all the weight on the fronts.

 

I have the Sumitomo HTRZ IIs, needless to say, I don't go out in the snow

 

last winter my 18" kumho ecsta 712's wouldn't even move the car in the snow.** actually - just the cold weather made them crap out!

**for the person who's going to come into this thread and say "i have kumho's on my car and it was fine** i know - this is an exageration - but they are life threatening!

now right now i have 15" all weather tires and they're fine.

 

yeah im riding on kumho's 712s in the snow right now and there definetly not safe ..its actually scary

 

HA, the kuhmo's on my 18's in the snow, I THINK NOT! I'll stick with my all season tires on my 16inch SE rims for the white stuff.

 

Hmmm...very interesting. I guess the "all season" rating on the HTR+ is legit then. I even drove my car into an unplowed extension to my driveway, ie 7" of snow. The car did slip, but I rocked it and was able to back out, so these HTR+ definitely did not get the car stuck and can perform like the factory RS-A's. And 7" is not light snow!!

 

I will never go with a summer tire again. Good choice on the all season.

 

frank -

where did u buy them? tirerack is on backorder!

thanks!

 

I got them from the Tire Rack with 18" rims back in Feb./Mar.?? 2002. Back then they were $135 and I lucked out on rims for $125 each. Too bad I was gonna pick up another rim and they were sold out since they were clearance items. That's too bad they're on backorder, wonder if it's Tire Rack or Sumitomo? They are way more economical to use than the Pilot Sport A/S. I'd like to try Yoko ES 100's but those may not work in the winter from what everyone has said about their summer tires...good luck.

 

Maybe its just me but I ONLY rotate tires if the front tire has almost even wear as the rear tires. You say the difference is clear. I would rather have bought new tires then rotate them. The more worn the rear tires are combined with our 'Multi-link' beam suspension will increase the chances of spining out or atleast loosing grip while cornering or making sharp maneuvers(sp), and its not like we are RWD where we can control the spin while playing with the throttle (or dumping the clutch).

I like the rear tires to have as much thread as possible. I usually just move the rear tires to the front and buy two new tires for the rear.

 

tire rack has the tires (even though the web site says it doesn't ),got mine 2 weeks ago.Really a nice riding tire no matter what the conditions

 

That can be quite an expensive habit you got there, replacing the fronts every time they wear down, instead of rotating. You should keep in mind that, as a tire wears down, it's dry grip actually gets better, and the bad weather grip, rain snow etc, gets worse. If you rotate your tires every other oil change, the wear difference between front and back shouldn't be that bad.

DW

 

I totally agree--I think 7,500 miles is optimum. I was surprised that just letting it go to about 11,000, both the eyes and the touch could tell the difference between the wear on the front and back.

 

How much tread would you roughly estimate is left now on the worn front tires?

For an 18" tire, to go 11k miles and show signs of wear is very normal. 18" tires typically last a lot less than smaller tires even same exact ones.

I had HTR+s for around 10k miles, on 16" wheels and they showed a minimal sign of wear only on the outside due to my poor camber..

HTR+s are rated to have good wear.. they should last quite a while..

I can't wait to get these tires on my 17s...


I rode through snow on Goodyear Eagles on 16s and boy do they suck.. even on dry pavement, if the temperature is low they are much louder and terrible steering response, any minimal snow or slush and they loose all traction...

I work with a guy with a Q45 and he has 18" chromies with Kumho Ecstas... what an idiot, he isn't even thinking of taking them off.. I drove with him, we were just fishtailing all over the place.. RWD + 18" + summer tires = not fun. Kumhos just slip at all speeds no matter how much you baby it, it's like being on skis.

 

woah...dry grip gets better? When my tires were new I could barely break em loose. Now that they are wearing(or worn) its much easier to just spin out first and second (much less dry grip). In the wet...4get about it. I could not imagin rotating those things....

Mileage between rotation plays a role though...also driving habits. So in your case it is alright.

But I guess once you've had the rear end break loose on you at highway speeds (spun out at 120mph)...you just want to take preventative measures to not let it happen again (at any speed). I'd rather spend money on new tires then take the risk. I just wish Nissan kept the independent susp.

 

Yeah, the tire becomes more and more like a slick.

DW

 

Why would have the IRS saved you? The rear beam teamed with front MacPherson struts induces a lot of understeer. Maybe 120mph was just too fast to be be trying your handling skills?


Dave

 

I was traveling along on a empty stretch when I noticed a huge black iron thing in my lane. I had to make a quick lane change to avoid it. As soon as I made that quick move to the right, my rear wheel hit a bump in the road and it felt like it just pulled the other wheel into the spin. I have driven cars with IRS and hit much harder bumps in turns and evasive maneuvers and ONLY that wheel was affected by the impact. With this beam, it felt like the other wheel was just going with the flow.

Then again, those cars were RWD so that could the actual factor not the IRS, as you can control fishtails with throttle steering. I used to drive trucks/buses, and it sort of handles the same (more like trucks). Hit bumps hard enough (by accident) and you can feel the whole rear end shift (at low/medium speeds).

I have cattman coilovers and RSB/FSTB but (at the time) with wimpy tires in the rear. Ever since, I have never skimped out on the thread in the rear tires and its a world of a difference.


Sorry Im going to have to disagree with this... I have never driven on slicks but doesnt traction on slicks increase as the thread temperature increases due to the different compound? Traction with worn regular tires gets worse, it just spins widly through first and second gears....even on ideal surfaces...

 

Let's take 2 tires, a regular street tire with ribs and such to channel water out, and and a hoover's slick. If they are both made of the same rubber or rubber-like compund, in the dry, the slick will way outperform the street tire. In the wet, the complete opposite happens, because the street tires have the threading to get rid of water and prevent hydroplaning, and or siphs in their thread for the snow. The slick, having none of that, is an absolute disaster in bad weather. As the street tire wears out, those ribs and channels become shallower and shallower, eventually completely disappearing. I'm sure you know that your supposed to replace your street tire before that, when the tread has worn down to 2/32" of tread, I beleive. But, if you just keep driving that street tire till the tread is all gone, it will be just like a slick. In the dry, tire grip is simply determined by the surface area of the tire, all other factors beig equal, like rubber compound, nice flat road etc.

You mentioned the tire compound, and that is major factor, but if they have the same compound, then that cancel's out. A perfect example of compound differences is the Pirelli 7000 tire series. There's the Pirelli 7000SS and the plain 7000. Alot of people, like myself, buy the 7000SS b/c it's cheaper and lasts longer. The SS lasts longer b/c of it's much harder tread, but that tread sacrifices grip. The plain 7000 costs more, same tread pattern etc, but it won't last, and will grip like crazy. Alot of people hate the 7000, and it's usually the 7000SS they are talking about, but they don't make the distinction.

DW

 

ahhh...I understand your point now...to an extent...I see your refering to street and slicks that have the SAME compound, (good street tires I would assume). But that still doesnt explain why I cant get traction on bald street tires. I even tried burning out to warm them up (Sumitomo Srixon on 15's) and it did no justice. My parada's on my 18's grip better then the sumitomo's when wearing out (much better tire)...but I doubt it will grip like slicks... I can still spin towards the end of 1st and into 2nd.

I guess its the surface of the track compared to the street. Or I need to see what slicks really feel like, maybe they dont grip like Im thinking they should...


Thanx for clearing up your point.

 

Back to the original point of the thread, I have HTR+ tires (16", 225-50s) and they did suprisingly well in the 7-10" of snow that we got here in the DC area. My stree is STILL snowy, and while I can break them loose @ near-WOT, the grip under "sane" accelleration was impressive. The tail end stayed in place, and there was no real "plowing" effect when taking turns or turning into parking lots or driveways. Overall, I was impressed. BTW, I have about 8K on the tires, and rotated them @ 7500. Tire wear looks to be fairly even.

 

I'm looking to keep my 16" stockies, and was also looking into the Sumitomo HTR+'s....they are about $88 a piece at tire rack....is the 225/50 the recommend size for the stockies? thx

 

That is what I ran on my stockers. They looked nice and meaty, offered a SLIGHTLY smaller diameter, and were plenty wide w/o hydroplaneing(sp?). I like them. I paid less than that @ sears- $346 mounted and balanced for all 4, w/ lifetime balance & roadhazard protection.

 

That's a pretty good price to include mounting, stems and balancing. Do you have any ideal what Sears wanted for 17's?

 

that's an awesome price, and it even includes mounting, balancing, and the lifetime balancing and such....I'll head over to my local sears sometime this week to check it out.

 

interesting reading ...

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...eMake=Sumitomo

also throws fuel to the size fire ... since the they tested on 17"x7" wheels on the IS300 (3rd paragraph).

enjoy!

 

that was a good read indeed....that makes me want to get the HTR+'s even more..i dont justify .3-.4 points higher for an extra $50-$60

 

I just got a set of HTR+ on my wheels.... size 245/40/18.... given all the positive feedback, I think I will like them