Dunlop vs Mother Nature

henry74

henry74

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Guys
I just wanted to test the waters and see if anyone else has experienced the same as me (which i hope is not the case as my ringpiece has only just got back to normal after a real brown-trouser moment coming home from work on Saturday night!). Basically since getting the car last September i've noticed that i tend to get what i would call excessive aquaplaning when driving in heavy rain or if there is running water crossing the road. I was happy to put this down to the width of the tyres as they're by far the widest tyres i've had on a car. However on my way home on Saturday night, in fairly light rain on open country roads, i came across a patch of road where the water was draining off the fields and running across. It could only have been 2 - 3mm deep but caused me to aquaplane like a *******! I did some skid-pan training last year but that was in a MOD Land Rover on an airfield not on the open road in an A4. Needless to say when the tyres regained grip i'd overdone the steering input (i was entering a corner when it happened) and i was shot across to the other side of the road. Luckily i got it all back under control before meeting oncoming traffic! The tyres in question are Dunlop SP Sports, 205/55R16 and have done 10,000+ miles. To me the tread pattern looks llike it couldn't shift a teaspoons' worth let alone water in the quantities we've been having recently! Has anyone else had this problem with the same tyres?

Cheers

Richard :detective2:
 
Dunlops are by far the worst tyre I've ever had on a car, so I'd get them swapped for practically any other brand. I had them from the factory on my A3TS and you could wheelspin in practically any gear in anything approaching damp conditions. Even in the dry they were appalling.
 
Goodyear Eagle NCT5's (I think the NCT5 bit is right) are absolutely crap too!

Best dry weather tyres I've ever had are Yokohama AVS Sport
Best wet weather tyres I've ever had are UniRoyal Rain Sport 2
 
UniRoyal Rainsports are what i have on, and last week during the torrential flooding in Belfast they stuck like glue.
 
Dunlops are total *****, as are Bridgestone Potenzas i had on my STI TypeUK. I have Toyo proxes on and there cracking in any condition, wear a little quick though.:o.k:
 
46TheDoctor said:
Dunlops are total *****, as are Bridgestone Potenzas i had on my STI TypeUK. I have Toyo proxes on and there cracking in any condition, wear a little quick though.:o.k:
Click to expand...

Fair bit of generalisation there. I'm sure some Dunlops are decent tyres and not all Bridgestone Potenzas are bad.

I've had 2 sets of Bridgestone Potenza RE720s on our Bora and they were excellent tyres. Absolutely no "moments". No idea about RE050s, RE040s etc and of course there is the Impreza "loon" factor to consider :)

We had Conti SportContact 2s on our A4 from new and although OK in the wet they don't last very long. We've now got GoodYear Excellence and have had absolutely no problems at all. They also seem to be lasting well.

BTW, our A4 is on 235/45 tyres.

Personally I'd change the tyres if your not happy with their wet performance. 205/55 is not particularly wide so shouldn't have the issues your experiencing. I looked at the ratings on MyTyres.net and decided on the GY Excellence. So far so good.

Dave
 
"Fair bit of generalisation there. I'm sure some Dunlops are decent tyres and not all Bridgestone Potenzas are bad."

No, Dunlops are ***** - it's official, I think they also state this on their web site. They do however last forever, 69k miles on the rear of a GTi company car I used to have, which kind of tells you they are not going to grip well.
Grip = wear, you can't have both, that's just simple physics, so you have to compromise between the two.
 
I've got a set of Pirelli P-Zero Rosso's (235/40-18) on my A4 and I am more than happy with them. Just replaced the front 2 today and gave it a bit of welly on the way home in the wet and they stick superbly. Would recommend them to anyone. Not pricey either, £260 for both fitted. :)
 
Yep I've got Pirelli P Zeros on mine and they are great for grip, not sure about wear but I'll know in a while! Mine are 235 45 17's
 
Guys
Thanks for all your replies and validating what i'd come to realise in that Dunlops are absolute *****! You're right about the long wearing as well as i was waiting for them to wear out before replacing them but they don't seem to have changed at all since i've put the 10k on the clock. i put Toyos on my last 2 motors and was well impressed so i think i'll be going down that route. Now do i stick with the standard rims or change for something bigger and better! - can+worms=opened! :)
 
I have Pirelli P6000 on mine, they are not too bad in wet, can oversteer abit if you push it though, but are fine through puddles on the road.
 
henry74 said:
Guys
Thanks for all your replies and validating what i'd come to realise in that Dunlops are absolute *****! You're right about the long wearing as well as i was waiting for them to wear out before replacing them but they don't seem to have changed at all since i've put the 10k on the clock. i put Toyos on my last 2 motors and was well impressed so i think i'll be going down that route. Now do i stick with the standard rims or change for something bigger and better! - can+worms=opened! :)
Click to expand...

Price of new set of 4 decent tyres = £400'ish

Price of set of 17" RS4/6 replicas with ok'ish tyres =£600'ish

Worth the extra couple of hundred quid in my view, even if you get mid-range tyres on them they'll be better than the Dunlops! I run Michelin Pilot Sports, mainly cos thats what the car came with! They stick nicely to the road in my 3.0 Quattro Sport, the Quattro helps a wee bit too mind you!
 
gaz j said:
I've got a set of Pirelli P-Zero Rosso's (235/40-18) on my A4 and I am more than happy with them. Just replaced the front 2 today and gave it a bit of welly on the way home in the wet and they stick superbly. Would recommend them to anyone. Not pricey either, £260 for both fitted. :)
Click to expand...

You've got to be kidding - Pirelli P-Zero Rossos have got to be THE shytest tyres on the planet! They are utterly fcuking awful, and dangerous too.

I have them on my RS4, and I don't really think that wheelspin in 4th gear (yes, quattro 4 wheel spin), and total aquaplane lift-off at 40mph could be described as anything but lethal. Furthermore, the sidewall profile offers ****-all rim protection compared to say Dunlop SportMaxx, Conti SportContact2, or Michelin PilotSport PS2.

Finally, take a read in the B7 section over on rs246.com, and be truely shocked by the pathetically weak and dangerous carcass of the Pirelli.

To henry74, the OP, yes, Dunlops are shyte, but Pirellis are considerably worse than Dunlops!

If you want the absolute best tyres on the planet, then Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 are the ones, and they are priced on a par with similar offerings from Yoko/Bridgestone/Dunlop/Goodyear - which, from my personal experience are all noticeably worse than the Michelins.

If you are not after the "ultimate" in grip, then I would recommend Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2.
 
Best tyres I've ever used on a few cars now are the GoodYear Eagle F1 GSD3s amzing in the dry and wet...
 
AL4N said:
Best tyres I've ever used on a few cars now are the GoodYear Eagle F1 GSD3s amzing in the dry and wet...
Click to expand...

But they are old technology, and there are considerably better, more modern tyres than the GSD3.

Just take a look at Goodyears own www - they are discontinuing them - ask yourself why! :think:
 
Thanks for the heads up mate had a look on the Goodyear site doesn't say anything about them being discontinued??? The Asymmetrics look good mibbe give them a shot next time I'm changing tyres...
 
AL4N said:
Thanks for the heads up mate had a look on the Goodyear site doesn't say anything about them being discontinued???
Click to expand...

Ohh - it defo did state they were being discontinued - that was about three months ago though. Perhaps they still have a huge batch of old stock to get rid of, and don't want to advertise the fact they are still selling old, outdated, discontinued technology.

AL4N said:
The Asymmetrics look good mibbe give them a shot next time I'm changing tyres...
Click to expand...

Yup - definately the way to go, especially if you like to "enjoy your corners" :icon_thumright: .

Incidentally, even Dunlop have now released a top of the range assymetric - the SP SportMaxx GT (still would'nt recommend Dunlops though)!

BTW, what size boots are you running, perhaps I can offer some recommendations.
 
Teutonic_Tamer said:
You've got to be kidding - Pirelli P-Zero Rossos have got to be THE shytest tyres on the planet! They are utterly fcuking awful, and dangerous too.

I have them on my RS4, and I don't really think that wheelspin in 4th gear (yes, quattro 4 wheel spin), and total aquaplane lift-off at 40mph could be described as anything but lethal. Furthermore, the sidewall profile offers ****-all rim protection compared to say Dunlop SportMaxx, Conti SportContact2, or Michelin PilotSport PS2.

Finally, take a read in the B7 section over on rs246.com, and be truely shocked by the pathetically weak and dangerous carcass of the Pirelli.

To henry74, the OP, yes, Dunlops are shyte, but Pirellis are considerably worse than Dunlops!

If you want the absolute best tyres on the planet, then Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 are the ones, and they are priced on a par with similar offerings from Yoko/Bridgestone/Dunlop/Goodyear - which, from my personal experience are all noticeably worse than the Michelins.

If you are not after the "ultimate" in grip, then I would recommend Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2.
Click to expand...

I understand this is an old thread but I can't accept that they are the worst tyre. Dunlops must be the worsed! I've had numerous Pirelli's and found them to be superb. I had Michelins prior and wouldn't by those over priced tyres again! The Rossos are used by Porche and Ferrari so I can't see them being shyte! I for one would have them again? Do you work for Michelin??
 
IMHO:
Dunlops = Sh*te
Pilot Sports = Sh*te
Potenza's = Excellent
P Zero's = Excellent
Proxes T1s = Average but good value for money

Weird how all our driving style's and preferences can make such a difference of opinion. We're all entitled to it I suppose.
Incidentally when I had my Dunlops fitted a few years back I didn't check them before driving away in the rain. After several hairy moments within minutes I got out and had a look and low and behold they had put the front two tyres on backwards!! Got them changed and they were still crap!
 
Amazing how different everyone's experience/perception has been on the same makes/brands, but I think we're all agreed that Dunlops are shyte.
 
Yeah & there customer service/engineers are complete tossseeerrsss, had a tyre blow out on my S4 B6 avant, for no reason what so ever, no damage to the tyre at all, just blew, no road debri, nout, nadda, nothing, then they say we cant fault the tyre we cant do anything about it, £150 down the toilet, not impressed, so thats Direct Line & Dunlop in the D letter of alphabet of companies never to use again.
 
Dunlop track tyres however, are some of the best you can get!

The Goodyears have been replaced by the GSD F1 Assymetrical. I have them on my RS4 (275/30/19) and they rock! And to say that the old ones were outdated technology is a little extreme, as they're brilliant tyres also.

P-Zeros are about the worst I've had (apart from the shiney ones that come with the replicas for the S3), Michy PS / PS2 are very good, as are the Potenza'a.
 
ChriS3 said:
Dunlop track tyres however, are some of the best you can get!
Click to expand...

Pity the half a billion drivers in the world dont drive on a track then, lol, lol

Typical, track get good actual paying consumers get *****, urrm sounds about right for a large company.
 
Just put a set of Dunlop Roadsmarts on my motorbike and have to say they are fantastic. Funny how different divisions of the same company produce such varying results.
 
I can't believe it either you'd think being owned by Goodyear some of the excellence from the F1's would have rubbed off on them. Dunlop just seem to concentrate on making teflon tyres that never wear out. Great if you're still alive to make use of their longevity!
 
lol, good point, thing is if they were so good then ytf did mine blow for no apparent reason, I inspected that tyre like a fly inspects a cows **** for ****, lol, no damage nothing, oh well I'll stick to cheap crap that for years has done me just as good & far cheaper
 
I honestly think you can't generalise how good or bad a certain tyre is as its evident that the performance of any tyre differs greatly depending on its size and profile along with the way the car handles itself in regards to the stiffness of the suspension and weight distrubutions.

I used to have Bridgestone Potenzas on an MR2 I once had and it was almost imposible to wheel spin or oversteer on them, they where supurb. (Now some people have said they are rubbish) But after discontinuing the size I tried those Toyos everyone was raving about and ended up taking them back as they where IMHO considered to be dangerous as they felt like I where driving on water balloons! Now I'm sure they are very good on others cars.

So... the real question should be which is the best tyre for 'a particular vehicle' and in 'a particular size'.
 
No you can certainly generalise about bad tyres, a shyte tyre is a shyte tyre no matter the size or the vehicle. The best tyre, however, is, as you say, dependent on a larger number of factors including driving style as well as size & car.
 
correct tyre pressures make a HUGE difference to the way a tyre behaves in the wet, and directly affects sidewall stiffness, which if its too soft causes any tyre to roll-up at the outside under cornering and will be scary in the wet.

Wide low profile tyres need higher pressures than older type tyres, mine are conti sport contacts, and at 28psi they are ****** lethal in the rain, at 30 they grip like buggers unless really pushed hard, at 32psi they start getting slippery in the wet again - I thought they were crap when I first got the car, then looked up the correct pressure and experimented a wee bit to get the best compromise in comfort & grip, now they feel sure under any conditions.

It is true that hard, long life tyres are not so good in the wet OR the dry, I had metzler plastic tyres on my bike and they were pants-filling on any surface, but would last forever if you didnt crash it cos of the ****** grip lol. I changed them for soft compound pirrelis, and it transformed the bike.

I reckon soft rubber, high grip tyres with the right pressure are the best compromise as long as the sidewall stiffness is good, by design or otherwise, imho
 
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