Well, I had my heart set on a set of Continental ContiExtremeContact (235/45/17) variety, but now I hear everyone swearing by Sumitomo HTR+. And seeing how the Sumitomo HTR+ are on special (235/45/17) for $20 cheaper a tire, I'm reconsidering. Any opinions/feedback would be appreciated.

 

Check tirerack.com. Personally, $80 difference isn't much. So if I were you, I'd spend the extra $80 to get better tires. Nonetheless, the HTR+ performs nearly as well as the Continentals.


~limsandy

 

their ratings are very close.. The difference is probably not going to be felt much, if at all..

I also know someone with those Continentals who says they wore out only after 10k miles +/- ... wtf.

but then again, that's the only person i know of like that.. they seem to have great reviews on tirerack.


HTR+ are awesome and i had them and can vouch for them. They were good enough for me. However, i did hear some issues about inside of the tire wearing despite of good tire pressure and rotation..

basically.. i'd go with either one, but probably the Sumitomos.. 80$ is money too.. that's like an extra tire worth. that is $ that can be used for balance and installation and possibly an alignment.

 

I have 235/45R17 HTR+s and they are super grippy in all kinds of weather (dry, cold, wet, snow). The price is good, but be aware of some things:

1) My HTRs have worn more in the middle than the outside. I can't figure it out. I run 32-33psi which is completely normal. The tires are balanced and the alignment is perfect. All I can think of is that the tires are too wide for the rim (235s on a 7" rim) therefore more weight is displaced in the middle and the sides aren't bearing the load they should. The outside of the tires have a 1/3 more tread than the middle.

2) After 13K miles, I'm on the center tread wear bars (outsides 1/3 better) on the front tires and I'm about 1/8" off the wear bars on the rear tires. I'm going to rotate the tires this weekend, but I'll be lucky to get 18K miles out of these tires. I don't do burnouts or spin the tires, but with their massive grip, I do push them in the turns. That probably accounts for a lot. Most people are lucky to get 20K miles out of ultra high performance tires (Z-, W-rated) so getting 18K isn't uncommon.

3) After 13K miles, the tires are fairly loud, but that is to be expected of nearly all ultra-high performance tires when they're close to worn out.


Even with these small issues, I'm going to go with HTRs again. They do wear out quickly, but they give me the feel, feedback, and awesome braking I desire. This time I'm getting the correct size tire for my 7" wide rims which is a 215/50 not a 235/45. I'll be giving up .6" of tread width, but the ride should get even better, the wear will hopefully equalize, I'll shed some weight from the tires (-3lbs), noise should go down, and they're cheaper at $74 I looked at other brands and they're too expensive and many don't get very good ratings. The HTRs are a close 2nd to the Pilots which is awesome. The Pilots cost 2X as much.

If you want a 30-40K mile tire, these aren't them. They'll deliver the performance, but be prepared to replace them every 20K miles.


Dave

 

The Contis have the highest federal tread wear rating 400 AA A
Look into it I wouldnt touch those HTR+'s

 

Higher tread wear rating means better mileage, but worse braking and handling. It's all a trade off. I prefer the handling and braking over an extra 5K miles of use. That's just me though.

The HTR+s were tested against much more aggressive tires (Pirelli SuperSport, Pilot) than the Contis. The handling, ride quality, noise, and braking tests show the HTR+s to be a more aggressive and better tire than the Contis, overall.


Dave

 

Thats not true. The HTR+'S do not perform as well as the Conti's. Check the tirerack websie and compare them. The HTR+'s are good, but not up the level of the Continentals. I was going to buy the HTR+'s, but I figured that for 20 bucks more the Contis were a much better tire.

 

I did compare them. Check it out again. ContiSports got a 6.55 in Road and Track Handling where as the HTR+s got a 7.29 (higher number the better). In almost all the tests the HTR+s got higher numbers than the Conti-sports. The Conti-Sports aren't in the same class as the HTR+s. I say this because the tested tires in the Conti-sport comparision included the Goodyear RS-A, Yokohama AVS, and Pirelli's Nero. These are more geared towards the all-season design. The HTRs are compared with the Pilot A/S and Pirelli Supersport which are more focused on the performance.


Dave

 

Yeah and did you compare the miles that were reported for each tire?

 

You aren't comparing the correc tires, heres the proper comparison. The Conti's clearly are the better tire, but not by too much. Both are A/S UHP tires. And BTW....You cant compare different performing tires....IE Summer vs All Season

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar...345WR7HTRPL_=4

 

Wow, thanks for the feedback guys. Nice arguementive debate, didnt think I would get this much info from my thread I'm going with the Contis though, after I get my car back from the shop Thanks again everyone.

 

I have a whine in my right front that the dealer is blaming on my HTR+ tires. Taking it to a performance wheel shop this coming Monday to get a second opinion. Will see...

Pedro