Hey all, I'm in need of new tires for my 308 and I'm at a loss regarding what I should do. The car presently has Dunlop 235/60-14 GT Qualifiers on it which I like the agressive look of however they are on backorder at Tire Rack (and I'm going to be there this weekend for One Lap of America!). I was really hoping to pick up some tires while at the "Rack" because I have a wholesale account with them and this will save me the $40 in shipping. So since I can't get those, I'm leaning towards the Sumitomo HTR 200 205/70HR14s. I did find the Michelin XGT H4 at Super Buy Tire out in California but they want $134/each for them (I am going to call them tomorrow to get a dealer account with them though, so maybe the price will drop quite a bit). However if the XGTs are still rather pricey after the dealer discount, I guess I'll either wait for the GT-Qs to come back in stock or else snag four HTR 200s while I'm in South Bend. What would you all do? By the way, the Michelins were a 225 rather than a 235 size, and I think they might look too "small" anyways. Cheers, Aaron '82 GTSi
In the correct OEM size 205/70 x 14. They're quite good for the very modest money, HR rated. They run smoothly, balaced nicely, and in short are well worth the money, if that's the size you wish to use. Look at it this way - for the money, how bad could they be? If you don't like them for some reason, then simply trash them and move on to something higher up the food chain! Cheers - DM
Well, I wound up picking up 5 Sumitomos this morning while at Tire Rack. I'll be putting them on this week and will let you all know how they work! By the way, I was reading some info on these tires and it seems that everyone recommends keeping the pressures around 40psi due to sidewall flex. Anyone care to comment? Cheers, Aaron '82 GTSi
40 psi HOT at the track might be ok, the sidewalls are plenty stiff. Follow the standard XWX pressures. -Peter (whew, I remember when you could buy XWX's without going to Coker...)
Me too. They were a performance tire then. Still are today, in a 70s sort of way. Perfect for a stock early 308.
Wow, at 40 psi for a street car, your teeth fillings would soon be falling out. I run my Sumitomo's on the street at 1~2 psi higher than the label on the driver's door at each corner, and have no complaints. Cheers - DM
Ran Sumi's HTR200's on my Dino 246GT and loved 'em. They are a great deal. I ran at Ferrari's recommended pressures and had no problems. I switched to XWXs from Coker when I hit the lottery last year. The Sumitomos are on my mechanics honda now, I believe. DM
