Phil3
02-02-2008, 10:41 PM
I am new here, but thought I would contribute my finding on experiences with Goodyear F1 GS-D3 and Sumitomo HTR Z III tires on my bone stock 1998 M3 sedan.
The Goodyears, when new, were very quiet, and have unbelievable wet weather grip. In the dry, I found them very good, and while only rarely a hard driver, found very little to complain about. They even wore well, but after the tread is about half worn, noise begins to creep in, and from then on out, the noise becomes REALLY loud. The tread develops a sawtooth like surface, and since the tires are directional, you can't flip them to the other side to possibly even the wear out. With the relatively long wear, I endured the noise for a long time. Worse, due to uneven tire wear front to rear, and replacing each axle at different intervals, one set of tires on an axle was always noisy. Finally, I scrapped worn out fronts and a half worn set of rears for new Sumitomo HTRZ IIIs.
At $429 delivered from TireRack, these were almost half the cost of the Goodyears. I have very miles on them, but am pleased so far. They are quieter of course than the worn Goodyears, but think they may not be as quiet as the Goodyears were when new. Still, noise is OK. Ride seems little different, but turn-in seems slower, but still precise. I need to check pressures. The Sumitomos can be flipped to the other side and run in the other direction, which may help even out tread wear patterns and resulting noise. TireRack personnel said the Sumitomo surprised them by its performance, so am optimistic. Even if the performance turns out not to be not quite top of the line (don't know, I have not pushed them), the value is unbeatable for my generally tame driving. With more miles, I'll report again.
- Phil
The Goodyears, when new, were very quiet, and have unbelievable wet weather grip. In the dry, I found them very good, and while only rarely a hard driver, found very little to complain about. They even wore well, but after the tread is about half worn, noise begins to creep in, and from then on out, the noise becomes REALLY loud. The tread develops a sawtooth like surface, and since the tires are directional, you can't flip them to the other side to possibly even the wear out. With the relatively long wear, I endured the noise for a long time. Worse, due to uneven tire wear front to rear, and replacing each axle at different intervals, one set of tires on an axle was always noisy. Finally, I scrapped worn out fronts and a half worn set of rears for new Sumitomo HTRZ IIIs.
At $429 delivered from TireRack, these were almost half the cost of the Goodyears. I have very miles on them, but am pleased so far. They are quieter of course than the worn Goodyears, but think they may not be as quiet as the Goodyears were when new. Still, noise is OK. Ride seems little different, but turn-in seems slower, but still precise. I need to check pressures. The Sumitomos can be flipped to the other side and run in the other direction, which may help even out tread wear patterns and resulting noise. TireRack personnel said the Sumitomo surprised them by its performance, so am optimistic. Even if the performance turns out not to be not quite top of the line (don't know, I have not pushed them), the value is unbeatable for my generally tame driving. With more miles, I'll report again.
- Phil