How is the wear on S-03s?

I had the Sumitomo's on my 330i, and I have S-O2's on my 911.

The S-O2's (previous generation) are pretty sticky, even more so than the Sumitomo tires were. Since I am going to replace the tires soon, I will go with the S-O3's on the Porsche because wear is not a concern of mine.

I bet the Sumitomo's will last about 30% longer than the S-O3's, but they are less grippy. They are also only about 65% the cost.

If you track your car, or autocross, and ultimate grip is essential, get the SO-3's.

If you drive hard, fast, and enjoy taking corners on the street (no track use), I would get the Sumitomo's in a second. They are an excellent tire with few rivals. I never reached the limit of my Sumitomo's on the street (you shouldn't be doing that anyway).

Personally, I think the S-O3's are overkill for the street.

I am autocrossing, which is definitely taking its toll on my street tires. Ultimately, I'll have to buy a set of R-compounds, both to be competitive and to reduce the stress on my street tires. I think I want to finish this season on street rubber, though, because I suspect the lower limits are better for learning car control.

S-03s it is, then.

Emission said:

I had the Sumitomo's on my 330i, and I have S-O2's on my 911.

The S-O2's (previous generation) are pretty sticky, even more so than the Sumitomo tires were. Since I am going to replace the tires soon, I will go with the S-O3's on the Porsche because wear is not a concern of mine.

I bet the Sumitomo's will last about 30% longer than the S-O3's, but they are less grippy. They are also only about 65% the cost.

If you track your car, or autocross, and ultimate grip is essential, get the SO-3's.

If you drive hard, fast, and enjoy taking corners on the street (no track use), I would get the Sumitomo's in a second. They are an excellent tire with few rivals. I never reached the limit of my Sumitomo's on the street (you shouldn't be doing that anyway).

Personally, I think the S-O3's are overkill for the street.

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JST,

You bring up a good point - dedicated wheels/tires for the track events:

At some point you need to cross the line and put that $1000 aside for wheels and tires (I'd get a nice set of used wheels and put some 'R compounds' on them for my money).

Understand that 'R compound' tires will put more stress on your brakes and suspension (less slip)... so you start pouring more money into your car!

Upgrading tires is the easiest/least expensive mechanical improvement you can do for your car.

Attending an autocross or driving school is the best thing you can do as a driver.

JST said:

Trying to decide between the ($$) S-03s and the ($) HTRZ-IIs for new tires. Given the rave reviews I've read of the S-03s, I'm inclined to spend the extra cash, but I am curious about wear. I know max performance tires wear quickly, but I'm wondering if the S-03s are likely to last longer than the Pilot Sports I have now (which probably lasted about 15K miles).

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Mine will probably last me well past 15K miles...That may all change once I start going on the track. But for mostly highway driving, so far after ~8,000 miles there's sh*t load of tread left.