I've been shoping for new tires for my 2003 Civic, and wanted to make sure that whatever I replace the OEM's with had a Low Rolling Resistance. I found this report from greenseal.org that is pretty good. The Sumitomo HTR 200 look surprisingly good. I did a comparison between the Sumitomo, Bridgestone and the OEM Dunlops
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar...&startIndex=10

and as expected, the OEM Dunlops didn't fair too well. The Bridgestones are way expensive considering what you get. The Tempature rating is a B as is the Traction rating. Sumitomo rates A/A with a longer treadwear at about 1/2 the price. I'm a firm believer that you get what you pay for, but I can't figure out why the Bridgestones are so much more expensive. The Sumitomo is listed as a 'High Performance Summer' tire whereas the Bridgestone is 'All-Season' but given the traction rating for the Bridgestone, I don't think there would be much difference in light snow.

Does anyone have any experience with either Sumitomo HTR 200 or Bridgestone B381.

P.S. Not that it matters with a Hybrid, but the Sumitomo also has a higher speed rating, H vs. S (130 mph vs. 112mph).

 

Did you check out the user reviews at the tirerack?

 

I haven't done research, but Sumitomo is the #3 tire maker in the world. They come highly recommended. I put them on our old 2000 CRV and they made a world of difference over the Bridgestones.

Just my 2 cents.

 

I have Bridgestone b381. I had 60k on the first set ,while they passed inspection their traction was deteriorting at that time. Ride comfort (bumpiness) at that mileage increased. throughout the life of these tires I was impressed with their snow ability, but recoznized that in deep snow, with the hybrid built so low, the car and tires are not a snow vehicle. I drive 5 miles over speedlimit and are pleased with the bridstontes especially up to the 70 percent of their life. When the tread wears, the tires performance degrades(duh) but their was legal tread into the 60k span. New tread nice. On second set

 

I had the Bridgestone B381s on my car when I bought it new. I put 60,000 miles on them. I switched to the Dunlop SP20s simply on cost. I have over 60,000 miles on those now. It's time for new tires, and they WON'T be Dunlops, or Bridgestones. FWIW, I liked the Bridgestones better than the Dunlops, but not for 2X the price.

 

I have the sumimoto on my car. They did a much better job handling the rain. The FE didn't go any higher (remained the same, maybe a tiny bit better) but the handling of the car did improve. My only complaint is that they are a little louder than OEM. This is not a all weather tire though, so traction in the snow is not that great. I have a winter set for that time period. The combined cost came close to what the OEM tires go for, so you are not paying a penalty for 2 sets really... not to mention the tire last a whole lot longer.

 

I asked this exact stream of questions a few months ago in another thread. I have yet to find anyone who actually owns the HTR200. I wanted to know if they were any good in the winter or rain. I too see that it looks like a great deal for the money, but I really want an all-season tire.

The green seal report is so old now that few of the tires on it are available anymore. I emailed them last week pleading to have them renew the report with reviews of current models. They thanked me for the suggestion and said they have no current plans to revisit the topic. There is nearly zero other info about LRR tires anywhere else that I can find, and that green seal report was the only one that reviewed specific tires. It should be a normal rating category like speed or load ratings IMO.

People seem to hate the dunlops at tire rack, but frankly I have had no problems with them as the oem tire. I have over 50k miles on them and they're definitely ready for replacement, but they have been good tires for me.

 

As I posted earlier... I own the HTR200. They are much better than OEM. Just make sure to own a winter set if you live in an area where there is a lot of snow.

 

Meaning a set for spring/summer/fall, and a set for winter, or something totally different (like Blizzaks) for winter?

 

I'm pretty sure livvie meant something totally different (like Blizzaks or Michelin X-ICE) for winter tires. The Sumi's are NOT all-season, and therefore likely quite poor in snow. If you get ANY snow you must drive in in the winter, I'd be iffy about using a summer tire then. Traction will not be good. Rain and/or cold is no problem, but snow is another matter. That said, some people *get by* with summer tires all-year-round. All-season tires are (of course) better for this purpose, but compromises are made to achieve all-season.
Summer tires typically have better traction, wet & dry braking, & cornering abilities than all-season tires.
True winter tires (Blizzaks, X-ICE) are vastly superior to all-season (and summer) tires in snow and slush.

Getting a totally separate set is not really more expensive over the long run, other than getting a second set of wheels to mount them on. Many people do the steel wheel thing, or even buy inexpensive alloys for the winter set of tires. Road salt and slush take their BITE out of rims in nasty winters anyway. Let it eat away at cheaper rims!
Storing the out-of-season set of tires/rims can be an issue, however.
Some people opt to swap the tires on the same set of rims, but that's hard on the rims, and gets expensive (mounting & balancing costs). Plus you still have to store the out-of-season tires. And the single set of rims are at the mercy of the winter sludge and salt.