Dunlop Car Tires

Initial Review, 8,000 Miles on Tires
March 06, 2013

These tires replaced some terrible Michelin all-seasons which made the hatchback Mercedes basically a hockey puck in the ice/snow. The LM-60 tires are absolutely the best rubber I've found, hands down, for winter sport tires. This opinion is compared to Dunlop Wintersport M3, D3, Blizzak WS-60, and Nokian Vatiiva. I have used all of these other tires extensively on multiple cars with multiple driving styles, and I would now go with the Blizzak marque in general for ALL winter vehicles from here on out.
Cons- winter tires are always noisier, and the Blizzaks fit the mold. Mileage suffers a bit, and wear is accelerated with the softer rubber. Driving with an average style can prolong life and get you hopefully 4-5 seasons out of them. Start getting some G's on your turns frequently, and you may only get a couple seasons at best. These tires will not wear well on cars with suspension work / increased cambers. Beware.

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
March 06, 2013

This tires are extremely smooth when it comes to ride, and the very low level of noise compared to the dunlop's that it had before it's huge, i ride most of the time in city, but since it's an BMW M it has a lot of torque even in low rpm's so the wear on the tires are common but in this case are better than others that i had, i've had this car since 2004 and i haven't done many tire changes but his time i decided for the michelin's due i was tired of the noise in the previous tires when they start to fade, in this case since the tire draw it's what i call neutral with no extravagant design it's more comfortable when it's fading.

Initial Review, 45,000 Miles on Tires
January 30, 2013

well, after own this tires about 3 winters, time to say something about them. i drove around 30.000 every year and i drove 6months of it on winter tires... so im thinking i put around 45.000km on them and treads not even half way yet... i living in edmonton-alberta and we do get all kinda winter here... every intersection sheet of ice and this tires can do wht they desing for to do... every heavy snowfall i wish to other people luck, because i dont need luck from them about stucking somewhere.. this tires make my car feels like im driving a tank on sandy beach with about a foot high snow... best part of the seen this tires, when you stop somewhere in the pile of snow, takes you out like you driving on the pavement... feel like roads clean for high speed...
on the highway ride very smooth and comfi, noise level not too high at 120km/h above you shouldnt go above the that speed anyways, because winter and they are snow tire not a super sport tires... if you dont know how to use your tires than stop -----ing about tread life is not good because you doing something wrong like high speeding...
like i said i have them about 3 winters and i'll go maybe 4 more winters with them... always remember you paying high price dosent mean it will stay perfect forever, but if you do know how to use your winter tires they will serve you 100.000 clik no problem...
enjoy with your tires...

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
February 03, 2013

It rarely snows in Portland, but some life changes required that we drive over the Cascades to Central Oregon in winter. This is the first set of dedicated winter tires for this car, and I'm very happy with them. I had zero traction issues with my RWD car, even when climbing fairly steep hills with 2-4" of packed snow. No issues descending, either. Sure, I could slide the tail under power if I chose to; but that's not unexpected. At near highway speeds (45-50) in the mountains, I encountered patchy ice with a lot of embedded gravel and chain rutting interspersed with wet pavement at temperatures at or just below freezing. The car tracked beautifully; on occasion I could feel it squirm just a bit but that wasn't even enough motion to light up the ESP warning light...so the car wasn't alarmed by the level of traction. The tires do "sing" more on dry surfaces than my Pilot Sport Al-Seasons, but the level of grip in true winter conditions is far, far superior. I'll only put this set of wheels on when snow threatens or when we need to go over the mountains, so they won't be worn all winter. At this rate I'll get many years of service out of them.

Initial Review, 30,000 Miles on Tires
February 28, 2013

These were the OEM tires on my car on the 19" wheels. I am shocked at how well they've worn. Outstanding grip, especially when warm. I wish they were a little less but for the money I have to admit they're darn good. I got 30000 miles of usage out them which includes commuting, blasting up and down the freeway, plenty of hard cornering, and some serious mountain road driving.

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
February 27, 2013

Hard to believe that this tire is rated below the Dunlop Wintersport M3, which is a fine winter tire but inferior to the Sottozero II's, specially in the dry. Very happy with this tire, they also outperform the OEM Pirelli P-Zero All Seasons that came with the car, which were H-rated and very unstable at high speeds. I highly recommended this tire, it was the most affordable for the original VW GTi's 18" wheels , and as a bonus it performs great in the dry, far better than any All-season tire.

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
February 22, 2013

Simply put the best all around tire I have ever owned, smooth ride, little if any road noise and great traction in all conditions. Just had a major winter storm in St Louis and the tire was excellent in the snow and ice. I would have never made it home or up my driveway with the orginal Dunlops that came as standard on the car. Just an excellent all around tire!

Initial Review, 500 Miles on Tires
February 18, 2013

I just purchased the new ZIIs and ran them for a day at a POC time trial at Willow Springs, and I was very impressed. The dry grip is excellent as expected, but their greatest asset to me is the steering response and communication. I can really feel subtle changes in grip through the steering wheel and seat, which is invaluable for track use. I was the only car in the run group on true street tires (all of the rest were R-comp) and my times were top 6 out of the group of 20 or so). The rear end grip in the slower uphill Omega section of the track was particularly impressive.
I had 7-8 sets of the Z1 Star Specs for track/street use in the past few years, as well as a couple sets of Hankook RS-3 since then. The Z1 Star specs are the best all-around tire that I have experienced in terms of a dual-purpose street/track tire and dry/wet grip for the money. The Hankooks have excellent mid-corner grip in the dry and are dirt cheap, but I felt the sidewalls were too soft and the steering response/communication was not as good as the Z1 Star Specs. They also had no grip in colder ambient temps (below 60 F) and in the wet. The Z1s had excellent grip during the wet track days that I ran them on and would only hydroplane in deep standing water. Judging by the massive tread blocks on the new ZIIs, I am not sure if they will be quite as good as their predecessor in the wet. However, I did have to drive through some slush/light snow in 30 degree temps for a short period on the ZIIs on the way to Willow Springs (which is of course NOT recommended with this type of tire!) and they actually did pretty well! The excellent communicability of the tires conveyed that there was not much grip available and I never felt unsafe. I will report back after more track events (I will run them back to back with my Toyo RA1s at Streets of Willow this weekend), but I am extremely satisfied with the ZIIs so far!

Initial Review, 125 Miles on Tires
February 18, 2013

Ran last autocross season on the Z1 Star Specs and loved them. They were the Street Touring tire of choice and for good reason. They were done after one season and so it was time for a new tire. The ZII had a huge reputation to live up to because of the great success of the Z1. Just recently ran first autocross of the season this past Saturday in rain/snow/sleet/hail/puddle weather condition on asphalt that is slick with sealant even on a dry hot day. So you can imagine the slippery-ness of the surface. And the ZII held great stability and grip. I'm placing a big part of my class victory that day on their amazing wet grip and handling even in extended sub-freezing temperatures.

As for the 'Comfort' ratings I find them to be Not Applicable. These tires are a purpose built tire for autocross/and light-moderate track day use that you can also drive home on. There is road noise and the tread will wear faster than most other tires. This is to be expected and the people who buy this tire more than likely mount them up only for events. I do. However, for the Z1's I had the tread held up very well considering they had 100+ autocross runs, 6 run's on the Tail of the Dragon and driving to/from events on them. The comfort is ok as well. But again you don't buy a tire like this for the comfort of the ride. You buy it to drive. If you wan't a comfortable kush ride then look elsewhere. If you want the most out of your car short of R-Comps or Hoosiers then this is the tire to buy.

Initial Review, 8,700 Miles on Tires
February 22, 2013

After 8700 miles on the OEMtire a bubble grew on the sidewall. VW sent me to dunlop sent me to just tires and it was a big cluster and no warranty coverage. Worst experience with a tire in my life. Dunlop and VW are pretty much worthless in working things out. I have low profile potenzas on my other car and I've never had a problem with those. Dunlop tires are not worth your time

Initial Review, 26,000 Miles on Tires
February 02, 2013

This tire has great snow and ice traction for a non studded tire. I have driven through numerous snow storms in the mountains of Vermont with these tire on a front wheel dive car and never had a problem getting where I wanted to go. These tire are also very good in dry conditions as well. They handle extremely well for a winter tire and feel like a summer performance tire in dry conditions.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
February 04, 2013

I've been using various Dunlop Wintersports for years because that's what everyone recommends for this car. When it came time to replace two I couldn't get them in my size so I bought a pair of the LM60s. Now I don't know why people recommend the Wintersports ... the LM60s are significantly better on snow and ice and at least as good dry and wet. The only unknown is treadware but so far it looks like they should be every bit as good there too. No more Wintersports for me...

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
February 03, 2013

These tires perform extremely good for an all season tire. They feel more like a high performance summer tire than an all season. I had Kumho 4X before these and I sold them after 6 months because they felt so vague that I no longer enjoyed driving my car. These Dunlops transformed the car back to its glorious self. They have very good and linear response to steering inputs and feel very composed in the way they go down the road.

The Dunlops have very good dry and wet traction. Maybe a little less ultimate grip than the Kumho 4X, but more than enough for road driving. They are also reasonably good on snow and ice. Compared to Kumhos similar traction, but a little less cornering grip in winter conditions. They also have good comfort and noise levels, especially when you consider how responsive they are.

I would highly recommend these tires to anyone that needs some winter capability without sacrificing driving pleasure in the other 3 seasons. I will definitely buy another set of Dunlop SP Sport Signatures when it is time to replace them.

Initial Review, 2,500 Miles on Tires
January 03, 2013

Replaced OEM Dunlops with this tire. Have retained excellent traction qualities of old tire plus reduced noise considerably. Lexus is already quiet enough now even quieter. The tire is a little more responsive than the Dunlop but keep in mind this is a soft riding car (I have the air suspension). I expect these tires to last a while given my driving style - the LS430 is not meant to be driven hard. These tires suit that driving style very well without giving up stopping and traction ability. No issues during break-in that I have noticed. Just enjoying this tire day in and day out - I drive about 54 miles a day total for my commute.

Initial Review, 100 Miles on Tires
January 22, 2013

These tires are absolutely fantastic! I purchased a set of 4 tires to replace my factory Dunlop SP5000 tires. Wow, what a difference! My truck drive like a car. Smooth and quiet, and a wonderful ride. I want to drive across country. Drove to South Carolina and back over Christmas, and through heavy rains. No problems and I was not even tired at all from the drive. I highly reccomend these to anyone.

Initial Review, 4,000 Miles on Tires
January 22, 2013

I keep telling people these tires are one of the best Christmas presents I've ever gotten. Just two weeks after they were installed we got hit with a monster blizzard. A six mile drive that typically takes 15 minutes took me over an hour because I had to take four (yes, FOUR) detours to avoid wrecks blocking the highway. Other cars were getting stuck on the side of the road, halfway up hills, and right in the middle of deep snow drifts. With these tires I just drove through it all and barely even slipped. At one point the road around me was clear so I deliberately swerved side to side on the icy, snowy road going about 35 MPH just to see how it would handle. The back end kicked out a little but that was it, I was still in complete control. With All-season tires I probably would have gone sideways. I've also been impressed with the lack of road noise when it's dry, these are much, much quieter than the Blizzaks I used two years ago. So far these are the best snow tires I've tried, I'll definitely get them again.

Initial Review, 300 Miles on Tires
January 21, 2013

I got my RX350 for 2 months and the cars originally came with Michelin Latitude Tour HP. However, Michelins are just too stiff and whenever the car hits the bump, it is like a concrete tire hitting a solid bump and shock just sent straight to my neck.

Dealer agreed to swap Dunlops from one of their 2013 RX loaner to mine. Ride comfort difference is immediately noticed. Bumps are softened and no more harsh shock to my neck.

3rd gen RX suspension is stiffer than 2nd gen for sure and I still feel bumps. But with Dunlops, ride is softened well over bumps even on bad San Francisco roads. Road noise is louder than Michelins but it is still ok. Steering feel a bit less responsive than Michelins. However, ride comfort is my top priority. Will buy again if these tires can last 40K miles.

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
January 11, 2013

This is an update to my previous review with a few more miles on the tires. Still very disappointing. We had some decent snow here a week or so ago, so I could test them. Braking traction is good in all conditions, but cornering is awful. I still feel slippage on turns in dry, wet, and snow conditions. It's interesting that traction in snow is about the same as wet pavement. All season? Not really-not even that great on dry pavement. Sporty? Not unless you like sliding through your turns. A step or two down from the Goodyears that came on the car and many steps down from the Dunlops.