Bern

I put a set of Sumitomo HTR+ all-seasons on the stock rims about 2 months back. So here's the deal. They feel lighter and turn in quicker on dry pavement than the stock Yokohama tires. They don't tram/wander along every road groove and imperfection. They're infinitely quiter than the Yokohama's with an improvement in ride quality. Then finally there's snow handling. We had 18" of snow last week and the Evo had no problems slaloming around stuck vehicles or clawing it's way through unplowed roads (including a pretty steep non-plowed hill). With a front weight bias and fairly wide tires, it was still pretty easy to fishtail in a turn, but it was also so easy (and fun) to catch the car and steer it a bit with the gas. The limitations of an open front differential and fixed front to rear torque split were pretty apparent too. There's a definite tendency to pull right a bit when bringing up a little boost on slick roads. But the bottom line is that the Evo got through it about as well as a mid-size SUV.

If you want to drive your Evo in the winter and you live in the snow belt, try these. They perform so well on dry pavement that there's not much reason to take them off. The stock Yokohamas give up an awful lot of street capability to scratch a couple hundreths off of the lap time. If you find yourself spending that much time on the track, buy some real R rubber for track use only.

992gnt

iTrader: (5)

Good to hear; I have the Sumitomo's on as well but no snow yet. They don't tram like the Yok's but the tread blocks squirm like they're made of jello. You turn the wheel, THEN the car turns. Weird how you experienced the opposite. Can't wait to get the A046's back on.

Bern

Greg -- you might want to check the wheel alignment/toe adjustment. It sounds like the fronts may be riding the inner edge of the tires too much. That would account for what you describe. Check the inflation pressure too. Underinflation will obviously have a similar effect, but if the tire is too overinflated the contact patch will start to crown and the weight of the car will not distribute properly across the normal contact patch. You shouldn't be experiencing that with the Sumis. I've had them on two other dedicated sports cars and the worst I've found is that the rubber compound is just a little less sticky than the best of the summer performance tires.

Good luck!

Neal@tirerack

iTrader: (25)

Remember too that this is a brand new tire molded at full tread debth. The Yoko is molded at 9/32 tread debth, the Sumi at 11/32. Since the tread blocks are taller on the Sumi, not worn down, the tire will seem a bit squirmy for a few hundred miles. It should tighen up over time. Good to hear they are performing well for everyone

992gnt

iTrader: (5)

That's what I attribute it to. A half worn A046 won't turn in the same as a brand new HTR. They are starting to feel better though. My first thought after driving on the for the first time: I should have had Tire Rack shave these things!

wmcorcor

iTrader: (1)

I'll agree that the Sumi's are great and in the snow they were great. But I also can't wait to get the ADVANS back on. Don't get me wrong it's an unfair fight in the dry and the Sumi's are OK in the dry...they're just no-Advan in the dry.

HIGH REV

I need new Advans, but my Sumitomos are working just fine, as expected. It just started snowing a lil' bit here.