I just bought a set of these (205/50 16). They seem to be comparible to the Kumho Ectsa (195/45 16) in handling etc (from Tirerack.com). However, I was just wondering as far as reliablilty these tires have. I have never heard of these tires before and unfortunatly they where the only tire that would fit my car (P5) that NTB had in stock and ready to go. The reason I bought them was because I needed new tires for the winter season. I know that most people dont like all season tires during winter but the stock ones where almost bald and had to go. Anyway back to the point, Good? Bad? Any info is appreciated.

 

I've never heard of Sumitomo as a tire but I know that there is a Sumitomo Chemical of Japan. It's a giant parent company of a lot of other companies.

 

a few years ago, i wanted an odd-ball tire size for my hyundai accent (205x60x13) that were not available in canada, but tirerack in the US carried this size in a sumitomo tire. i bought them even though i had never heard of them. i've been real happy with them for the last 42000 km. good wear and handling summer and winter here in toronto (some snow, not a lot).
i was recently shopping for new tires for my p5, and reviewed the customer survey information on the tirerack site, and looked up some of the sumitomo tires, and they had good feedback too, at least the ones i looked at.

 

On my 16" Koseis I had Sumitomo HRTZII's in 205-45-16.. I was very happy with their wet and dry performance and I got well over 25k miles out of them, there was a good 5-10k miles of safe/non winter driving on the tires when I sold the wheels..

They seem to wear alot better than other high performance tires I've had..

Other than that, they may be a little on the loud side but its not a big deal..

 

Just FYI, Sumitomo is one of the largest banks in Japan and it parents many many smaller companies. There is even a professional baseball team that they own.

 

they are good tires... im thinkin if gettin some for my car...HTRZII i believe they are

 

HTRZII is what I have (205/50 16) I like them so far... I just hope that since they are Z rated they dont go

 

I began a thread in this section of the forum (http://www.protegeclub.com/forum/sho...threadid=18405) for my size tire 195/50/16 (ES, 2001 model) and am leaning towards the Kumho ECSTA Supra 712 which are rated at least as high as the stock Dunlap 5000s and at TireRack for $62 a tire. I am curious about the Sumi's though. I did find them on TireRack but not in my size there. In your size they are $82. Typical uniform wear warranty for first 2/32 of tread and 6 Years - Free replacement down to 5/32 of tread, then prorated to 2/32. If you know if they are available in my size, would you post as to where I can find them. Thanks!

 

depends... do you have the stock wheels? are they the same as mine (Stock Protege5 wheels I believe they are 6 or 6.5" in width)? if so then the 205/50 16 will fit. Its called Plus Sizing. NTB carries these tires (I was told at NTB that 195/50 16 is a very new tire size and not many companies make them yet). Anyway, I recommend them so far, I am having a little odd vibration, it seems, in the passenger side front tire. Im gonna take it to NTB again and have them check my balance and alignment (again).

 

Actually -- they may not be (not sure, I'd have to research it). That's the confusing thing about Japanese businesses, a ton of them have the same name. And they're not all under the same parent company. There is a Sumitomo Chemical Company, which may also manufacter electronics, while there is also a Sumitomo Electronics Company... it's kinda confusing like that

 

Thanks for all the info...yes, the wheels are stock ES 2001s. I'm pretty sure they are the same as the Prot5s...at least I think so. As far as Sumitomo Bank being the Parent of all or at least most of the other Sumitomos including the tire company, I'm pretty sure I"m correct. The logo for the tire company is the same as that of the Bank if that makes a dif. I've been back and forth to Japan over the last 20 years and I was born and grew up there...remember banking with them at one time too.

One other question about the Sumi HRTZII's. I do understand the size up for my wheels, but can they be cross rotated? That would be a deciding factor for me. You can't with the Kumho's as they are a directional tread design.

 

The HTRZ-IIs are also directional. Most high performance tires are, as it dramatically improves wet weather performance and (more importantly for most buyers) it looks cool.

 

I have HTR+, the all-season ones and I love them. When I had the car dynoed, I didn't realize how quiet they were until they put the 2nd car on the rollers. Good treadwear ratings too!