I had 2 sets of Dunlops on an older car. First set could not keep a balance. Always had some vibration in them. They wore out fast. Went to the same place to get a new set and was told that all my issues were known and fixed with the new design. It was not! They did last longer but still could not keep a balance. After that I will never buy from that shop or from Dunlop. I have heard the same complaints over and over about Dunlop. I went to Yokohama and stayed with them for 3 sets on that car. They were great tires at a very good price from Tirerack.
You don't hear much about Dunlop
- Thread starter Finklejag
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My dad replaced RS-As with Signature Sports on his Civic. His main complaint was that they were a lot noisier (which I'm not totally sure is valid, since he doesn't hear so good anymore). Pretty soon after he got the tires he traded for another Civic that also has RS-As... and he's happy with the tires again.
Not sure the size is the same though. I think the Civic has 16s.
Not sure the size is the same though. I think the Civic has 16s.
My friend got Dunlops - don't know exactly what type he got - because they were the cheapest on the rack. They wore out TWICE as fast as any other tire he'd ever owned. Finally had to replace them when one broke a steel belt, and the tire was not round anymore. Never again, he said.
blackdiamond,
Which Dunlop tires did you just replace? The model & even size are required for a proper comparison. This is one reason the user reviews of tires on TR (& really any place) are worse than useless (i.e. misleading). I understand folks swearing off (and at) a company when they have a bad model tire, but it may not be fair to the rest of the line. And yes, I do realize that you qualified your statement that others in their line may be better.
bernie,
Why is tire wear rate so important to people that they will sacrifice traction (to a great degree sometimes even)?
OP,
I would recommend the Dunlop or Goodyear. There is nothing wrong with a Dunlop tire although they can have bad model tires like anyone else. They certainly shouldn't be written off at first glance.
Which Dunlop tires did you just replace? The model & even size are required for a proper comparison. This is one reason the user reviews of tires on TR (& really any place) are worse than useless (i.e. misleading). I understand folks swearing off (and at) a company when they have a bad model tire, but it may not be fair to the rest of the line. And yes, I do realize that you qualified your statement that others in their line may be better.
bernie,
Why is tire wear rate so important to people that they will sacrifice traction (to a great degree sometimes even)?
OP,
I would recommend the Dunlop or Goodyear. There is nothing wrong with a Dunlop tire although they can have bad model tires like anyone else. They certainly shouldn't be written off at first glance.
Look at a 215-45-17. You may have many more choices available. As for the Dunlops, I had a set of SP 9000's once for about 5k. Never could get them to balance correctly. Swapped them for a set of Eagle F1 GSD3's and was more than pleased. Got 45k out of them too. Now have the F1 All Season and, although they are fine, I am already looking for replacements.
Sell and really like the service of Dunlop Signature. Signature Sport, not so good.
Bob
Bob
Bob,
Good to see ya back.
What do you not like so much about the Signature Sport - tread life too low that customers complain?
Good to see ya back.
What do you not like so much about the Signature Sport - tread life too low that customers complain?
Yes,
Bob
Bob
I think the important thing to point out here is that all tire manufacturers have good and "not so good" tires. Take Goodyear for example, with the dreaded RS-A's on one hand and something like the Eagle GT on the other.
Over the years I've had 4 sets of Dunlop tires, 2 of which have been very good to me. Two sets were SP Sport 2000 tires in 225/70-15 size for my Caprice. One set was SP Sport 300E in size 205/65-15 for my Maxima, and the last set was Grandtrek TG28 in a 265/70-16 size on my Montero. The SP Sport 2000 and Grandtrek were manufactured in Japan. The SP Sport 300E was manufactured in Australia.
The SP Sport tires were extremely decent, which was why I went out and purchased a second set before the car was sold. The SP Sport 300E tires were alright, although they wore out pretty quick. At $137 a piece, I wasn't too happy with how fast I had to replace them. The replacements were Pirelli P7's, which were much better in all repects. The Grandtrek was only fair, especially on wet pavement, and I replaced them with much better Pirelli Scoprion STR's.
Over the years I've had 4 sets of Dunlop tires, 2 of which have been very good to me. Two sets were SP Sport 2000 tires in 225/70-15 size for my Caprice. One set was SP Sport 300E in size 205/65-15 for my Maxima, and the last set was Grandtrek TG28 in a 265/70-16 size on my Montero. The SP Sport 2000 and Grandtrek were manufactured in Japan. The SP Sport 300E was manufactured in Australia.
The SP Sport tires were extremely decent, which was why I went out and purchased a second set before the car was sold. The SP Sport 300E tires were alright, although they wore out pretty quick. At $137 a piece, I wasn't too happy with how fast I had to replace them. The replacements were Pirelli P7's, which were much better in all repects. The Grandtrek was only fair, especially on wet pavement, and I replaced them with much better Pirelli Scoprion STR's.
I suppose that in a rigid technical or statistical sense, my comment is unfair, but on the other hand, we lived these anecdotes. First, my 88 Civic came with a set of Dunlops. They were absolutely, utterly awful. And the worst part is that, having decided to be frugal and make the best of them, I ended up putting myself into a position where I had to live with them much longer than I'd normally do. I left active duty in 91, started law school, and became a "starving student". About six months later, the 'lops started getting real bad. Sidewalls full of cracks, scary cracks. And even my torque-free Civic could easily spin the tires when the humidity in the air hit about 80%, nevermind in actual rain (OK, that's a tad bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea). Since I wasn't going to take food out of my kid's mouth to buy tires, I had to make do -- for over two years. I'm not sure who not to forgive -- Dunlop for making such trash, or Honda for being willing to install it.
Fast forward another ten years. We get my wife a nice 01 Sequoia to replace the Sable wag she'd stayed with for over ten years. And you guessed it -- came with Dunlops. And they were almost as awful as those on the Civic.
I'm sorry, Dunlop might make some decent tires, but in their two chances with me, they've shown no evidence of that. I won't be giving them another try. . .
Fast forward another ten years. We get my wife a nice 01 Sequoia to replace the Sable wag she'd stayed with for over ten years. And you guessed it -- came with Dunlops. And they were almost as awful as those on the Civic.
I'm sorry, Dunlop might make some decent tires, but in their two chances with me, they've shown no evidence of that. I won't be giving them another try. . .
I had a '90 Civic with Dunlop tires as well. S21 or something like that. HORRIBLE !!
They taught me what Darrell Waltrip was talking about when he said his tires "went away" and the car "pushed" terribly.
They taught me what Darrell Waltrip was talking about when he said his tires "went away" and the car "pushed" terribly.
I think that Dunlop as with Good Year was once a good tire years ago....but no more....it is just a name from the past...
I have Dunlops on my car now, the Signature series...treadwear rating is 700. They are very good tires, excellent grip and wear. I think they have gotten more grippy and quieter as they aged. I did not get quite the wear that I had expected, they have 35k on them now and are very close to the wear bars. I figure they will give me about 50K miles once I rotate the others to the back. I would definitely recommend them, and Tire Rack has a sale on them now.
ek,
I would never judge a tire mfg based upon OEM tires. OEMs pick the low bid that meets their spec. You do indeed need to be blaming the OEM in this instance. You can't (resonably) blame the tire mfg for making a cheap tire if the OEM will accept it & that gets the order.
I would never judge a tire mfg based upon OEM tires. OEMs pick the low bid that meets their spec. You do indeed need to be blaming the OEM in this instance. You can't (resonably) blame the tire mfg for making a cheap tire if the OEM will accept it & that gets the order.
+1 on what benjamming wrote.
Priorities for typical OEM tires are quite different... high mpg, low noise (initial at least), comfort are usually the key requirements. Everything else like dry/wet grip or long wear don't matter much.
Priorities for typical OEM tires are quite different... high mpg, low noise (initial at least), comfort are usually the key requirements. Everything else like dry/wet grip or long wear don't matter much.
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