After speaking with the nice gentleman at Discount Tire, I opted for a Dunlop Direzza DZ101 in 205/50/R15. Wow. The Dunlops offer an impressive amount of grip. Thus far, just in irresponsible city driving, I have not been able to get the tires to lose their traction. In first gear cornering, punch the gas at almost full lock will not produce any tires spin. In long fast(er) cornering, there is not wallowing or any wiggling. In corners that I am familiar with, I am able to take them at much higher speeds, but feel much more in control and almost feel as though the car is going slower because it is very much more predictable. Overall, I am satisfied with the tires. For $70 a piece in my size, I believe they are the best money I've ever spent on a car. My on complaint is that they sit a little strange on my wheels because they have an extra edge to protect your rims from curbage. But oh well. They're fast, smooth, and even quiet.
The tires are great in the rain, great in the dry, quiet and give a good ride quality. People have had bad luck with bubbles, yes, but I had no such luck in the past.
They're excellent tires in wet & dry conditions, but as other people have mentioned, they're very prone to sidewall issues and tend to bubble.
Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 225/40ZR18 Excellent wet tire traction and durability. After 20K miles, they begin to lose their good aquatic capability. Medium to Low noise. Good-Excellent grip with less than 20K miles on them
I have the WinterSport M3 205/55R16 on steelies on my 20th. This is my second winter on them. Great Tire.
I installed a set of Dunlop SP Winter Sport M3's. This is a quick review of my thoughts on the handling and performance, so far. Wet Grip: Amazingly capable. Dry Grip: The tires grip reasonably well. Snow Grip: Amazing. Truly amazing. Ice Grip: grip was still very good. Low-speed Handling: I am fairly impressed with how these handle. High-speed Stability: Well, these are winter tires and feel well-suited to a sedan driven in a commuting style. Noise: None, so far. Comfort: Still, these are quite comfortable.
Pretty much any replacment market tire will corner better than the OE tire. The OE tires are tuned to the OEM requirements, where ride and noise are the primary concerns for 95% of all OEM fitments. since you have winters, get a good Max performance Summer tire like the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS D3. It was just rated the best all around max performance summer tire in the latest issue of Eurotuner magazine. In the end, any Max performance Summer tire will be far better at cornering than your OE tires.
Not much noise, but have seen an uneven wear pattern, even with periodic tire rotation. For my Passat, at least, the rear tire position begins to create a "finned edge" to the shoulders of the tire.
I hated the Dunlop's that were OEM which is what they have. They never balanced and wore out in 12k.
Each of our TRegs have these Goodyear Wrangler HP tires: the 06 v8's became "cupped on the inside" with nil tread-wear ( see this http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3316272 ), despite the dealer checking and rotating each 5k miles -- had to be replaced at 12k miles.
Write your review
Help others - share your experience with this part.
Voted AGAINST engine oil RAVENOL on the rating page
The brake pads NIPPARTS got the first review!
The brake discs Hella got the first review!
The brake discs OEM Suzuki got the first review!
For tires OEM Toyota already 25 reviews.
For tires IRONMAN already 25 reviews.
For starter motor OEM Volkswagen already 25 reviews.
In the rating best ignition coil already 13 brands participate!
In the rating best fuel pump already 5 brands participate!
In the rating best turbocharger already 4 brands participate!
In the auto rating headlights for Volkswagen Golf already 5 brands participate!
In the auto rating brake pads for Mazda 5 already 10 brands participate!
In the auto rating brake pads for BMW M2 already 5 brands participate!
Voted AGAINST engine oil RED LINE on the rating page
Voted AGAINST engine oil PENNZOIL on the rating page
