I used to run Dunlop SP Sport Maxx on my S4 and they were awesome. Great balance of wet & dry handling, fairly quiet, and very sticky. Loved em.
Essentially, these tires are fantastic, as stated in my original post. They are quiet. I base this on driving the car 1200 miles in one go from Seattle to LA; I felt that I suffered very little ear fatigue and did not have to try and \"crank\" the radio to be able to hear my music. In daily driving, the tires are solid performers. It is easy to double or more the \"yellow sign\" speed on freeway corners. I have put approximately 2 track days on these tires. They are much more impressive in terms of low speed cornering, as I have been unable to cause significant understeer exiting tight corners at full throttle. There high speed grip (on track) did leave a little to be desired, however this feels more like a reflection of the suspension geometry of the vehicle than the fault of the tire (not enough camber gain). If you would like some sort of concrete comparison of how these tires perform, I can only tell you they performance wise out performed any previous tire I've driven on. I also passed an NSX in the corners of Streets of Willow Springs; grip is not an issue. Lastly, rain performance. LA is a brutal test of wet grip, because if the ground is wet in LA you are actually testing OIL grip. I have only experienced traction issues when accelerating in the rain; if you spin the tires on acceleration, you'll actually have some trouble getting them hooked up again. Hydroplaning seems to be managed very well; braking in wet weather is similarly impressive. *edit* Actually last is wear. The tires wear well. I ruined the fronts pretty bad in two track days because of the Jetta's atrocious suspension setup and weight balance, but normal street driving does not phases these. After 8000 miles including two track days the rear tires show maybe 15% treadwear, I've found this tire to be effective as a street tire in Seattle, LA, and a decent tire on the race track. At $70 a tire for 205/50/R15, you CANNOT go wrong.
I have Dunlop Winter Sport tires riding on 17" wheels during the winter and the ride is smoother and they are not louder than my 18" wheels with summer tires.
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.
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.
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.
Having had bad experiences w/ a few different sets of Dunlop tires (most recently the craptastic SP Sport 5000s on my Genesis which are 90% worn with only approx. 10k miles on them since I run snow tires in the winter), I have to say I'm not a fan of their tires generally speaking.
The OEM A/S Dunlop has a 92 sidewall rating; it certainly isn't "soft." it is, unfortunately, just a weak tire design/build in this case I've lost 3 already as well and currently running a 4th with a bubble... they suck
On my S2000, about 2 weeks ago had brand new Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs installed by a local garage. A few days later, the driver's side rear tires was extremely low on air pressure, that I noticed after the car was pulling to one side during acceleration/letting off the gas pedal.
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