I am on a budget and I bought two Sumitomo HTR T4 tires for my Vw Golf. The front tires were bald. The local tire shop, which was highly recommended, suggested these tires and said they’re very good. I’ve been researching and some reviews say they’re terrible in rain, but not bad in snow. Does anyone have experience with these tires, before I buy two more after the first of the year.
The tire shop I use says that if you only purchase two new tires they should go on the rear to prevent hydroplaning. Also for normal sensible driving you should be fine with the Sumitmo tires.
I had a set on a Mercury Sable a few years ago. I liked them a lot. I had no issues with hydroplaning, even on a road that would flood I had to use during my commute.
Here’s more info on them at tirerack. The buyer reviews put them right in the middle (11 of 21) of similar tires.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Sumitomo&tireModel=HTR+T4
Here’s the ranking:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=ST
I put Sumitomo all season tires on the front wheels of my 2006 Chevrolet Uplander. I had to replace on rear tire earlier because of a puncture and the other rear tire seemed to have good tread. I bought the tires because a friend had lost a previous job and had taken the job at an NTB store to make ends meet. Since he was on commission, I decided to help him out. At any rate, I had no hydroplaning or handling problem with the tires. I don’t think that they lasted as long as the Goodyear that came with the Uplander when it was new. However, they still had tread when I sold the Uplander to my son. I think the tires went about 45,000 miles on the front wheels. They did do better than Firestone tires that came on my 2011 Toyota Sienna. I did rotate these tires and still had to replace them at 35,000 miles. I replaced these tires with Michelin all season radial tires that I purchased at an independent tire store (my friend no longer works at NTB). The price was right on the Sumitomo tires and I am not certain that the extra cost for the Michelin that I just bought for my present Sienna minivan was really cost effective in terms of the tire wear. You will probably do just fine with the Sumitomo tires.
I did not mean to imply that the sumitomo tires were subject to hydroplaning. In Texas there is a lawsuit because someone had two new tires put on the front of their front wheel drive car and had a fatal accident because of the rear hydroplaning. The tire shop I use and trust will only put the tires on the rear of any vehicle if you just buy two tires.
I really have never encountered rear tires “hydroplaning”. The front tires push the water out of the way and the rears simply follow in the wake of the front tires. Rear tires would have to be bald to hydroplane. I don’t dispute the rear tires spinning out and/or losing traction but I don’t believe the traction was lost due to hydroplaning of the rear tires.
My oldest son has had these same tires on his Camaro for about 6 or so years now and they’ve been fine in all conditions.
As to hydroplaning, I keep the best tires on the front. The way I look at it is that the tires with the best tread need to be shoving water out of the way so the rear tires which are worn can follow along in the tracks made by the front.
If a car goes sideways due to hydroplaning then tread depth on the rear isn’t going to mean a whole lot.
As an analogy, I ride a motorcycle in all weather conditions and in the rain I always tuck in behind a semi and let the cycle follow on the tracks made by the trailer wheels. It makes a huge difference and one could consider the truck the new front tires and the cycle the worn rears.
Old argument. All the data supports putting the best tires on the rear. People who disagree always support their argument with anecdotes or hypothetical scenarios. Do a little research and you will quickly find that DATA supports “best tires on the rear”. For those who wish to argue, don’t bother unless you can back it up with DATA and RESEARCH. Put your tires on wherever you like. I won’t stop you.
To the OP: You didn’t tell us what YOU expect out of the tires - long wear? great traction? Good fuel economy? Tire are a compromise and they can’t do everything well. How are we supposed to know if they will be good tires in your eyes without knowing what is important to you.
OK. I don’t want them to kill me when it rains or snows. I work at a newspaper and I have to get to work no matter what. I live about 12 miles away. and the tires on on the front because the back tires aren’t save to put on the front of the car. One of them has an awful vibration.
MyVW,
Are you the OP? Or are you someone else who has just stumbled in?
Nevertheless, if tires aren’t safe enough to put on the front of the car, they aren’t safe enough to put on the rear. You may think the rear end of the car doesn’t do much, but the important thing is that you want the rear of the car to remain behind and not get ahead.
Without reading every response, I gather you now have different tires on front then on back? Big mistake. Just the traction imbalance from different tires regardless of tread depth can cause big problems in slippery going. If they are poor in some conditions while your others are better and you have them on the rear, you’re just as bad off loosing control. I would get 2 more of these same tires, ASAP. You’re committed to them economically !
I have to wait until January to get them. I have to pay my mother’s property taxes first. If I don’t, she’ll lose her house. The taxes will wipe me out financially. So I have to wait.