I have a set of 205's from sumitomo on my 17x9" rear. They stretched nicely, ride good and were cheap as dirt.
i put yokohama ice guards on this year. we'll see how it goes. before that i had Gislaved Nordfrost tires that were unstoppable in snow storms.
I guess that's the end of my third set of Sumi HTR Z IIIs... I really like those tires for the price. And until that little scare... I ever had a clue the back tires were 1/2 slicks even in the rain.
This was my second year on the Gislaved Nord Frost 5. I've had Blizzaks in the past and have used X-Ice, Nokian Hakepellita R, and Toyo (can't remember the model). The Gislaved is by far the best tire. The deep snow grip is by far the best of the bunch, the ice grip is second only to the X-Ice (which had the worst snow traction). Road noise is very low as well.
Nordfrost 5 (no studs) for the Tig (4motion), Marangoni 4ice on the Passat. I like the Nordfrosts better (had the Nordfrost 3 on the Jetta and loved them there too).
The Sumitomo HTR Z III gets a lot of crap for being cheapbut performance is a very solid performer
I had Falken 512s on a Miata and I hated them. Very noisy at and before the limit. For Foxes, I've always gone with 185/60/14s. Not any real reason. It was the stock size for the Rabbit GTI and it doesn't throw the speedo off too much, which doesn't really matter on a Fox. The profile also looks natural; the sidewall isn't too short or too tall. And the 185 width isn't too wide; not a bad thing on a car that has no power steering. But you should be fine with any similar size. On my current Fox, I have these Sumitomo HTR A/S P01s. I like them a lot. They're a great all around tire. Very quiet, wonderful in the rain, rides nicely and handle well. I'd like a little more dry grip, but, really for a street tire these are great. I had these BF Goodriches on the Fox I sold last summer. They were noisier than the Sumitomos and the steering feel felt a touch heavier, but they were also a nice all around tire and perhaps a bit grippier than the Sumitomos or at least they gave that impression.
Old BMW Alpinas w/ 175/50/13 Sumitomos
Compared to my Winterforce snows that are now year round tires, the handling is great! They do feel a little soft and the last ones I had were very slippery until the wear bars but around that point they got pretty sticky! Plus they were dirt cheap and my last ones lasted forever!
those sumitomos are a good deal but i put those on my wifes passat wagon in april and all them ****s is hopping now. its like they are 'almost' shifted belts.
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