The Sumitomo HTR Z III is a summer performance tyre with mostly favourable owner verdicts on wet grip, tread life and value. Dry-grip opinions are divided, and some owners find its traction or cornering grip insufficient when driving harder.
The Sumitomo HTR Z III receives mostly positive owner verdicts, with useful tread life and generally good wet grip among its more consistent qualities. Both attract four favourable accounts against one critical account, while value for money also receives praise. Longer-use reports include satisfactory service over several sets, although one end-of-life reviewer criticises wear. These experiences give it a reasonable case for everyday road use where cost and useful mileage matter.
Dry grip is less settled, with four positive and three negative accounts among those discussing it. Handling receives praise too, but some owners describe inadequate traction or cornering grip when driving harder. Wet-weather reports are generally favourable, while a minority question traction or lateral grip. This is an assessment from 14 owner reviews alone, and the differences between their experiences prevent a claim of uniformly strong performance near the limit. Noise, comfort and steering have too few detailed mentions to establish broad advantages.
The quick answer
Owners say83%from 14 owner reviews77% would buy againRead the reviews
Tests saySorry, we don't currently have any test data for the Sumitomo HTR Z III
Strengths & weaknessesGenerally good wet gripUseful tread life in several longer-use accountsDivided opinions on dry gripSummarised from owner reviews
Built from every independent test result and vetted owner review we hold for this tyre - the evidence is all further down the page. Data updated September 2025.
What treadwear rating and mileage warranty does the Sumitomo HTR Z III have?
In the US, the Sumitomo HTR Z III carries a UTQG treadwear grade of 300, with traction AA and temperature A. UTQG treadwear is relative: a tyre graded 400 lasted four times as long as the reference tyre, graded 100, on the government test course. Sumitomo gives it no mileage warranty.
What do owners say about the Sumitomo HTR Z III?
Across 14 owner ratings the Sumitomo HTR Z III averages 83%. Owners rate Dry Grip highest at 8.7 out of 10 and Handling lowest at 8. 6 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles. 77% of owners score it 70% or better.
How comfortable and quiet are the Sumitomo HTR Z III?
Owners rate the Sumitomo HTR Z III 8.6 out of 10 for comfort and noise across 14 reviews.
How well do the Sumitomo HTR Z III wear, according to owners?
Owners rate the Sumitomo HTR Z III 8.2 out of 10 for wear across 14 reviews. 6 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles, and the typical review covers 5,000 miles.
Would owners buy the Sumitomo HTR Z III again?
77% of owners say they would buy the Sumitomo HTR Z III again, based on the 13 owner reviews that answered the question. 54% of them gave it the highest possible answer.
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Owners of the Sumitomo HTR Z III are mostly satisfied overall, with wet grip and tread life attracting more praise than criticism. Longer-use reports include useful service life across several sets, although one end-of-life account criticises wear. Dry grip is less consistent, with four favourable and three critical accounts among those discussing it. Handling also receives praise, but some owners find traction or cornering grip inadequate when pushing harder. Wet-weather experiences are mostly positive too, though the minority complaints about traction and lateral grip prevent a uniformly reassuring verdict.
What owners mention most counted across 11 reviews
Tap one to read only the reviews that mention it.
Owner ratings averaged from 14 ratings
Owner score83%
Dry Grip87%
Comfort86%
Road Feedback85%
Wear82%
Wet Grip80%
Handling80%
Featured reviews
Most helpful 89%
“Had these on my BMW e46 318ti staggered fitment. Best tyres I had on that car. Note comments apply to car driven in Australia so no real cold sub-zero weather or snow. I got nearly 40000 km out of them with spirited...”
“I bought this 1month ago and for some reason at first i put these in rear of my car (which should be 255.30.19) and amazingly it was the best tire i ve ever had in my rear axel , it was the best grip i v ever had , and...”
“These are a solid wet weather tyre with excellent wear properties over standard OEM (Bridgestone Re040) tyres. They are a little skidish during hard cornering on dry services and lack a fair amount of dry grip. I'm a...”
Probably more extreme use than most owners will ever see, but ran a set of these on my CTR. Completed 4 laps (with cool down in between) of the Nordschleife. This was back in April, and have ran them since! At present there is minimal wear after nearly 5k of hard driving! Purchased these mainly due to the impressively low price point, but they're definitely on a par with some of the "premium" brands. For a daily driver... highly recommended.
Had these on my BMW e46 318ti staggered fitment. Best tyres I had on that car. Note comments apply to car driven in Australia so no real cold sub-zero weather or snow. I got nearly 40000 km out of them with spirited driving mix of suburban and country. Good feedback and handling car felt really well planted on the road. Fantastic grip in the dry and pretty good in the wet. Road noise was ok nothing to complain about. Wear was ok given I could not rotate the tyres due to staggered fitment. Would have happily bought another set if they were available. The massive side guards really stick out and help protect the rims.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tyres perform against premium summer and winter tyres!
Love these tyres. Have them on the front of a 911 and like everything about them. Quiet, solid side wall, great feel through the steering wheel. Would buy again 100%
Which tyres do you drive?
Researching the Sumitomo HTR Z III? Rate the tyres you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
These tyre's worked really well on my Golf mk7 GTI in summer weather conditions. I've used both Good Year Efficient Grip and Falken tyres at the front wheels and I felt them a bit less stable at higher speeds and especially very grippy such that when you brake hard the vehicle used to swerve/float at high speeds, this was not experienced with the Sumitomo. Excellent tyre for handling, this is my second pair at the front. The only downfall is that on hard acceleration there is a lot of spinning as compared to the other brands and the tyre's don't last long.
Running theses on my 2002 MINI S. These tires are perfect for spirited driving and fantastic in heavy rain. I like them so well I'm on my 8th set on this car! I get about 23-28,000 miles on a set. Ran Pirelli (run flats) Kumho, and Coopers. Sumitomo's are by far my favorite. BTW....277,000 miles on my MINI
they are what they are, a summer tire maybe one of the best in that matter and on wet surface they work very good but the real problem is their side grip on wet surface , you can brake and be sure that they will stop the car in rain on a straight line but if you are not experienced enough their side skiing can make a disaster, trust me many times i felt their side instability not in corners! No, they dont need corners to ski even the change in asphalt materials can make you lose control, As a mechanical engineer I ONLY recommend them if you live in a dry place.
I bought this 1month ago and for some reason at first i put these in rear of my car (which should be 255.30.19) and amazingly it was the best tire i ve ever had in my rear axel , it was the best grip i v ever had , and then i found the michelin pss and put these in there right place in front axel , and now these are very bad in cornering and braking , use these tires just in rear of your car
Member
Ford
245/40 R17
100 miles
Mostly Town
Spirited
I was recommended 245/40/17s by ian diffan and they were incompatible with the traction control as the diameter was incorrect but sumitomo did come to the party and replaced with 245/45/17s that cured the problem but proved not only to be no where near as good for grip or traction as the pirelli's they replaced but look terrible to the point of replacing them within a week to my loss
