I just got 4 Sumitomo HTR Z III's and they were super cheap, 300 treadwear rating, pretty sweet tread pattern, and reinforced sidewall, all for $107 a piece from TireRack, pretty reasonable. There's almost no road noise and they grip pretty well, I just hope they last!
My experience is that they balance just fine but yes, they do have a thin (2 ply nylon?) sidewall, which is why I inflate them to 51 PSI as per manufacturer's spec and they do great! This is a diesel Jetta so the fastest I've driven them at a constant speed was about 80mph from central Connecticut to midcoast Maine. I also drove the Jetta from Maine to Seattle 2 summers ago with over a thousand pounds of "stuff" in and on the car. They behaved just fine and did excellent in the horrible rainstorms I encountered in Illinois.
Had them on the Jetta for 2 years now. Great summer tire for general use. Don't expect it to handle sporty or go anywhere in the snow. But they do have a very low rolling resistance and will reward you with better mileage.
I've got them on my Miata. I'm happy with them.
I have directional Sumitomo HTR-Z II tires and I don't have a single complaint after almost 6 months. Very quiet, great grip, great wear rating, and very good wet traction.
I got a set of Sumitomo HTZII's and those are the shizzit, very responsive, good traction, and best of all super quiet.
New tires (Sumitomo HTR-4, 195/50/15) All parts replaced have been done in the last 10 miles.
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