Hi,my 89' wheels are going south by now,since a friend with a 1986 vette bought them from me.- Sold'em cheap,just the money i need to get new tires,i will be installing Fikse FM5's 17" fronts and 18" rears.-
I found a tire supplier that has Sumitomos in the sizes i need.-
- 255/40/17 fronts
- 285/35/18 rears
My concern is that i've been reading on this boards that the Sumi's are real narrow here
But that thread is talkin' about the 315's
So,my question is if all of the Sumitomo sizes are narrow or just this particular 315 size ???


Here are the specs of both fronts and rears :



What you think ???
i've heard good and bad about Sumi's !

 

I think this pic from the othe thread says it all:


The Vrdenstein tire is also one that has a narrow tread width for the size.

What sort of driving do you do with the car? What sort of speeds do you see? Do you autocross or take the car to tracks? What's the weather like? Lots of rain? Dry pavement?

All of thee factors should determine the tire you buy rather than cost or tread width. A few years ago on the CF, the Sumi's were seen as a decent cheap replacement street tire. Not the best mileage from them, but for daily driving, they worked.

Given where you live, I would be looking at Michlein, Bridgestone, Dunlop (as you mentioned in that other tread), or maybe even Kumho or Toyo. Cost will be higher, but IMHO, any of these are much better in overall quality, ride comfort, handling, and tread life.

Also, with 18's on the rear, make sure that your tire shop can handle an 18" wheel for you. Many places don't have the equipment to mount/dismount 18" or larger tires. You sure don't want scratches or gouges in your new Fikse's

 

thanks ! yes the other thread is showing 315's only
that's what i want to know about the other sizes.-
i have asked and i had very good feedback about the Sumi's
i don't drive the car much,i don't take it out in the rain (i hate to drive ANY car on the rain) you can see my car as a sunday cruiser or free afternoon cruiser.-
thanks !

 

I just got a set of Sumitomos for my vette and they are much quieter than the Firestone firehawks that were there, since I only had them on the car for about 3oo miles so far ,I cant give you a report on the wear and tear of the tire .but I dont beat on my vette either

 

But what sizes are your tires ?
Noticeable width differences with the Firehawks ?
thanks !

 

I have had Sumitomos on my 92 coupe since 2005 and have been very happy with them. I have 275's front on 9-1/2's and 315's rear on 11" rims. I have
13k miles on the fronts and they are still great- I just replaced the rears. I must say, my car is strictly a weekend flier and never is on wet roads, so wet traction is a non-issue to me. As far as the 315's being narrower than others, I know this to be true, but I must say, if my rears were any wider they would stick out of my fenders, so I am actually fine with the width of them. From my experience sumi's are

 

thanks for the review
but are the 275's narrower than other brands 275's ?

 

Hi.. Very interested in this as I'm looking at a set of Sumi's as well.. Could you please post a pic of your 275's on 9.5" ????

 

 

I took this pics when both my GSD3´s and Sumis arrived.. I was choked that 315`s could be SO different...


Btw I love my GSD3´s!

 

No offense, but... if your car is just a weekend or afternoon cruiser, why are you so worried about the width?? Your not looking for absolute ultimate traction at the road coarse or dragstrip, so does it really matter? Sounds like your putting on some top notch wheels, why not put on top notch tires too? Just some stuff that ran through my head as I was reading this.

 

I have had the Sumis in 275/40ZR17 and 315/35ZR17. Here is my experiences with my relatively stock 87 Auto Vert(No precats, hi-flow cat, magnaflow mufflers, 1.6rr...so maybe 250 - 260 crank HP) w/ a 2.73 D36.

I was driving home in a torrential rainstorm in mid 2006, with maybe 2000 miles on the set of 4 tires. Going 85mph in horrific rain, they worked great, but keep in mind that it was near full tread depth.

Maybe at 10,000 miles I got stuck out in the rain a block from home, the rear tires had about 1/3 tread remaining and it got a little squirrely.

In the dry, from full throttle when the car and tires are warmed I get a little chirp taking off and decent traction. The 1-2 shift I get a chirp. Not much but I do notice.

Rears seem to be good for about 15 - 18k miles because I primarily tear up very curvy backroads with high speeds and no stops. I'd say that's probably why they've lasted. With more stop and go aggressive driving, I'd say they'd probably be good for about 10 - 12k.

All things considered, I'll probably be getting something different this time around. I've been looking at Vredestein Sessanta Ultracs as well as Goodyear's offerings. My Uncle has had decent luck with Vredestein on his Porsches, never had ends swap around during driving events.

I got these tires brand new by the former owner (corvetteronw), he had to get them mounted to the new wheels for me to test drive it. I just couldn't get rid of new tires that were at least average.

 

I was wondering who took that picture. It seems to pop up everytime Sumitomo is mentioned. Is that a 315 Sumi next to a 315 GoodYear?

I think the Goodyears would make most tires look small, IMO. They are really wide compared to most tires of the same size. I would get a set myself if they werent so damn expensive.

 

Any body got pics of those tires MOUNTED to the same wheel? Seems the beads are going different directionsand the difference might not be there if they were mounted.

 

Why would anyone go 85mph in horrific rain?

I have had sumis on my 87 stock wheels for a year, couple thousand miles. Weekend driver. I think for this application they are fine. I would recomend them for the price.

 

Right now , there are no available tires more than those ...for now
i can swap tires anyway...

 

Emergency situation and needed to get home from about 180 miles away. It wasn't like I instantly got to that speed either.

 

Hope everything was OK.

 

I did notice that the 16 rims" and the firestones and the 17" rims with the Sumitomos were very close to the same size ( 275/40 zr17)

 

For the money, I say they're a pretty good tire. I have the 315/35/17 on the back, these on 9.5 rims. They actually look about the same as the 285/40 Coopers I had before, they are a little wider of course, but do not stick out of the fenders.

I was looking for the 255/40's for the front but apparently Sumitomo dropped that size & I couldn't find them. I guess I didn't look hard enough. So I am having the 245/45's put on this week. I think I am going to look like one of those old school drag racers. Oh, well.

But, if I didn't drive it every day of my life, thus going through the tire ritual every spring, I would pony up for a little more than "affordable". But, buying from tire rack, the whole set cost me $328 plus shipping. That is about 1.33 of a Goodyear GS D3.