Does anyone have any experience with these tires? Tirerack did a test on these and they peformed as well as S03's. The kicker for me is they weigh five pounds less.....S03's only come in 215/45/17
I will be doing a few autocrosses and daily driving on whatever I get.
I have R99's so I'm trying to find something good in the stock size.

Shawn G

 

From Dunlop's website, looks like the Sport Maxx falls short of the SP Sport 9000 in performance as it's geared toward the luxury sport class. The Sport Maxx is made to be a pretty tire so as to look great parked in front of Starbucks. Joking aside, the new Dunlop performance king is the Direzza DZ101. It's available in 205/45/17, and lists for $154 (non runflat).

 

Thanks for the info Stevie. Any other suggestions?

 

I'd say the DZ101 is a great choice if you're looking for all-out performance. But don't be alarmed if you don't get 20K miles out of it. My next tire will definitely be the latest greatest 17" runflat. Today that would be the Bridgestone RE050 Potenza. I'm still more of a real world driver than a pretender. Ultimately, I'm very satisfied with my Dunlop SP Sport 9000 DSSTs. If the Bridgestone is an improvement on that, all the better.

 

hummmm.... still not sold on those new Dunlops.

 

I'm not surprised. Dunlop is like a bad word in America when it comes to car tires (American motorcyclist like them just fine). I've always found Dunlops to be quite good, especially wet/dry grip. Here in Germany, they are a top brand, and the fact that DTM uses Dunlop exclusively, there's no wonder. On a tangent, I emailed Michelin to ask them when they were getting into the runflat game. Never got a response.

 

Is that right? huh, i just didn't like how the SP9000's performed
so never bought any Dunlops since. (the SP9000DSST's that came on
my car don't count..they suck regardless in terms of grip).

I used SP8000's exclusively on my 98 Prelude when carving canyons.
very good tires. the SP9000 was suppose to be better plus wet traction...
but those SP9000's never really could match the SP8000's in the dry for
me.

then came the S03's and GS-D3's. that's what i use now.

 

Yeah, I know what you mean about the Dunlops Stevie. They are very, very responsive and that is hard to give up. I've also considered the RE050 rft's but paying over 200 dollars a tire with a 140 tread wear is a little scary.
I'm trying to find a tire I think will be as responsive as the 9000's but with more grip and less cost. That is going to be tough in the stock size.
Maybe I should be looking at 215's.

Shawn

 

I've had the Sport Maxx on my JCW MCS for a little over 2,000 miles now. Before the Dunlops, I had the Bridgestone RE050A (non-RF) which I used for over 5,000 miles. Both in stock 205/45-17 size on S-lites.

IMO, the Sport Maxx is a better all-around tire. Dry grip on the Sport Maxx is comparable with the RE050A, but head and shoulders ahead in the wet, in braking, comfort and noise! The RE050As (like to S-02s and S-03s) are less predictable and slippery in the the wet, and weren't as quiet or as comfortable as the Sport Maxxs. I should also highlight that the inside and outside tread on the RE050A is different (assymetrical?), which means you can only rotate front to back, and not across to even out inside/outside tire wear which I intend to do religiously with the Sport Maxx to extend tire life. Treadwear on the RE050A is also horrible, and combined with the assymetrical tread design, you'll end up spending lots on replacements.

I agree Dunlop has a problem with their brand and image, but having had real world experience with the Sport Maxx, as well as "flagship" Bridgestones and Michelins in the past, I rate the Sport Maxx very highly and recommend it as the best all-round tire available. Dunlop touts the Sport Maxx as their current flagship tire too.

Good luck!

 

That is what I was wanting to hear. Thanks

Shawn