Hi All,

First, let me explain my situation. I just graduated College this weekend and have a job waiting on me starting in June. Until then I am living off of graduation money and my savings, haha.

Anyways, for the past year I have been running Sumitomo HTRZ III and I like them well enough. I can't complain about them - they grip fairly well, last pretty well (im getting 8-10k out of the rears and 20k out of the fronts), and are super cheap!

I've been toying with getting Star Specs as I need new tires, however, they are a little more expensive. ($691 shipped for Star Specs vs. $474 - 50 rebate = $424 for the Sumis).

I wanted to get reviews from people who have run both and see if it's worth the extra $$$ to upgrade. I run the car in the mountains fairly often, but also drive a lot for pleasure and work (32k miles last year). With my new job, I will be having to drive my car for the first 6 training months before I get a company car. I will be getting paid mileage, so that miles on the Star Specs wouldn't be that horrible as I'd be more than able to afford to pay for them.

At the moment, I'm just trying to determine if it's worth it to pay the extra money given my current financial situation. I'm not broke by any means, but also know that I need to spend a little money on new pads/rotors and a valve adjustment.

Any input would be great. I am going to be running the mountains a lot this summer, but am trying to decide if I should get Sumitomos to DD on for work and pleasure trips and buy another set of AP2 wheels with Star Specs once I start my job.

Thanks everybody, sorry this was so long winded, I'm just really at a crossroads and need to make a decision.

~ aCab

 

Depends what kind of driving you do. I've had both the HTRZII and HTRZIII and liked both of them a lot especially for the price. If it's a daily that never goes to the track and you don't eve autocross I'd stick with the Sumitomos. I just made the switch to Star Specs and so far I love them. Definitely offer more grip but I'm also not expecting them to last nearly as long.

 

Thanks for the input! I actually run the mountains pretty hard on the HTRZ III and have done 3 autocrosses with them. (1st in BSP each time) and always in the top 4 raw times. It's really hard to find a tire that fits all of my needs. I really want star specs, but am a little hesitant to DD on them since I put on so many miles.

 

^Well I'll let you know how how they go. I probably only have 1000-1500 miles on mine so far but I also daily drive mine and drive a lot. I probably put on at least 25000 miles last year. I'm just hoping to need no more than two sets of star specs a year. I do plan on flipping the tires though once they start to show some inside wear.

 

hmm havn't driven both, but i have star specs and they're really noisy

 

thanks! When do you notice the noise the most? Noise doesn't really bother me. I do drive an s2000 afterall... but I am interested to know more about what you're talking about and when it started (after how many miles)

 

I noticed that my Star Specs really started getting noisy after 5k miles. It wasn't horrible, and it was mostly at highway speeds. I've read that the Sumi's have a softer sidewall than the Star Specs. That is one thing that I loved about the Star Specs, the nice stiff sidewalls made for an awesome responsive tire!

 

I've had both and I've tracked both.

The Star Specs are an outstanding tire. Period.

The HTRZII and HTRZIII are both good street tires but if you plan to do any tracking or competive AutoX'ing they will leave you dissatisfied.

I kept the HTRZIII for exactly one track day and sold them 1 week later.

 

HTRZ III are adequate cheap and are a great daily driver tire. But Star Specs just feel a million time better when you push the car hard. You owe it to your selves to at least try them once And then you'll know if there worth the extra money for you.

 

Everybody is correct. The HTRZ III is not in the same level of performance. They will be better in the wet and they are going to last longer and save you money. If you are not tracking/autocrossing the HTRZ III will work fine.
If I can help with the tires let me know.