Topic: Dunlop SP Wintersports M3 short review

[aquadorhj]

so, Calgary has finally seen some measurable snow fall.  more than 10 cm, and it's piled up on side streets and ..everywhere.


i thought this was an excellent opportunity to finally test out the winter tires that came with my first rear wheel driven car, Dunlop SP Winter Sport M3 tires.

sized like the OEM normal tires, 225/45-18 front and 255/40-18 in the rear.  tread depth is outstanding, is almost new.

I was excited!!!

and immediately was disappointed.

on dry roads, they are excellent tires. grips almost like all season tires in dry roads, no squeal, almost no flexing on lateral load etc.

on fresh powder.....

acceleration           :  it gets going. not very well, though.

cornering               :  you have to be really careful.

stopping                :  pretty ok. 

on compacted Snow covered road...... 

acceleration           :   difficult, to say the least.  might be the driven wheels..., but i don't think it is...

cornering              :    straight up understeer....   even at marginal speed (anything over 10km/h), there's a risk that my front end will just push. there's no grip.

stopping                :  ...could be worse.

on  ice/slick condition

acceleration           :   ...nearly impossible.   as dsc kicks even at slightest modulation of accelerator.

cornering              :     ....it's like i have no control.

stopping                :   ...yeah, it got worse.


thru local round-about, i literally drifted the whole way round, taking up both lanes, without meaning to do so.
so............. i'm dumping these tires next season.  i'm gonna get x-ice.....   i don't understand how these tires are so expensive...

but it WAS SO MUCH FUN spinning around empty parking lot...     unfortunately, with dsc off, i could NOT hold drift for any sort of distance.... 

my reference points for comparison are : bridgestone blizzak WS50, LM25, Continental Extreme wintercontacts, Toyo observe something, Pirelli Sotto Zero.  Dunlop M3 Winter falls short in ALL category to all of the above except maybe powdered condition and dry condition in corners.

[tortoise]

I wonder if narrow tires would help.  255 seems wide for a winter tire.

[rrocket]

I wonder if narrow tires would help.  255 seems wide for a winter tire.

It's the tire.  It's a sporting winter tire.  More emphasis on "sport" less on "winter".  Had the same issue when we fitted sporty winter tires to the IS.  Waste of money, IMO.  Never again.  Only "winter first" tires from now on if they are available in our sizes..

[johngenx]

You have a few things going against you.  First, the tire size is really wide and a low profile, meaning the contact patch is the "wrong way" for good snow/ice performance.  You want a patch that is longitudinal, so long and skinny, not wide and short.  See if it's possible to downsize (might not be on an M3) for your winter boots.

Next, the compound of those tires is meant to provide decent dry road performance for your high HP car, and the snow/ice traction is very compromised by that compound.  It would be a pretty decent tire if you had something else to drive most days and just wanted to take the M out on nicer days, but wanted to drive to Banff and know that if the weather changed, you'd be poorly off, but not totally sunk.  Or say, just for using in that little bit of snow left on the approach road to a ski hill, but not on a heavy pow day.

Having logged literally hundreds of thousands of winter km's in RWD cars (including a 276hp car), I learned quickly not to waste my time with anything other than full on soft compound winter tires.  Bummer: forget using that HP when the roads are good.  You could do what I did with my 911: put 'er away in the winter and drove low-power MB sedan...

(Yes, some 911 owners use their cars year round, but I couldn't stomach having my pristine machine shot-peened with the rocks (not sand...) put down by the city.)

[quadzilla]

I find your results quite interesting and am also wondering if the width isn't helping. I had the similar 3D's on my Mazda 6 Wgn and loved them. I was able to drag that car through snow up to the undercarriage without any problems.

Are you sure yours are 'like new' condition?

[rrocket]

Having logged literally hundreds of thousands of winter km's in RWD cars (including a 276hp car), I learned quickly not to waste my time with anything other than full on soft compound winter tires. 

This.

[aquadorhj]

I find your results quite interesting and am also wondering if the width isn't helping. I had the similar 3D's on my Mazda 6 Wgn and loved them. I was able to drag that car through snow up to the undercarriage without any problems.

Are you sure yours are 'like new' condition?

width most likely has adverse effects on ice/snow. 

they are "like new", if they has those injection nipple/pins on the side, people would think they were new.  i checked depth when i bought the car, and they were 90% at least.

fresh powder isn't really so bad.. it's the other winter conditions, like slush, compacted snow, ice that flummoxes my tires.

[vdk]

I have 215/55/17 M3s on the GTI. They are sport tires like RR said. If its dry they're good, in snow they're okay, in slush and rain they're .

Funny part is they're expensive as .. Stupid OEM winters.

[aquadorhj]

I have 215/55/17 M3s on the GTI. They are sport tires like RR said. If its dry they're good, in snow they're okay, in slush and rain they're .

Funny part is they're expensive as .. Stupid OEM winters.

tire rack doesn't even have my size!!    but closest size is $200 per tire from tirerack.    checked canadian tire and they are $400 per tire!!. 

....i would definitely rather get something else....  (weirdly though, they are rated very well on tirerack surveys. )

[rrocket]

I have 215/55/17 M3s on the GTI. They are sport tires like RR said. If its dry they're good, in snow they're okay, in slush and rain they're .

Funny part is they're expensive as .. Stupid OEM winters.

tire rack doesn't even have my size!!    but closest size is $200 per tire from tirerack.    checked canadian tire and they are $400 per tire!!. 

....i would definitely rather get something else....  (weirdly though, they are rated very well on tirerack surveys. )

Get an extra set of rims, preferably in 17" and get anything you want...Full set of wheels and Xice2 for your car from TireRack for ~$900 USD.

[johngenx]

Well, they are much better than a pure summer tire.  My Dad's SO has a Honda S2K on ultra high perf. summers, and it literally can't move an inch on any snow.  We just needed to move the car onto the driveway and back into the garage, and we had to just push the car with the engine off.

[ktm525]

I will echo the comments of soft compound winter tires. Even the stickiest winter tires in those sizes will allow your car to merely survive, not thrive in winter conditions. In the dry your HP will literally shred those softies so take it easy. I had ContiExtremeWinter Contacts on the G8 last year. I downsized the width from 245 to 225 and much taller sidewall. This setup along with traction control allowed the high HP RWD car to survive tough conditions (fine in the dry aside from tread squirm) but in no means was it dominating the road. For that you will need AWD. My Ridgeline and LR3 are so good in the slick stuff it is ridiculous compared to what I was driving last year (RWD G8) I just mash the gas and go.

Perhaps a winter beater Subie is in your future...

[Jaeger]

Defiitely sounds like too much sport and not enough winter in those tires.  I also agree with those who suggest narrower might be better.

Jaeger

[airbalancer]

I have 215/55/17 M3s on the GTI. They are sport tires like RR said. If its dry they're good, in snow they're okay, in slush and rain they're .

Funny part is they're expensive as .. Stupid OEM winters.

tire rack doesn't even have my size!!    but closest size is $200 per tire from tirerack.    checked canadian tire and they are $400 per tire!!. 

....i would definitely rather get something else....  (weirdly though, they are rated very well on tirerack surveys. )

see Arthur and get one of his beater for the winter and bring the M out on dry sunny days 

[sailor723]

Haven't put the LM-25's on the BMW yet but it may be a good thing that I went with the Blizzaks over these Dunlops.

I am a little surprised though as we had an earlier model Dunlop RFT winters on the Mini and thought they were pretty decent. It may be a combination of tire size and big HP through the rear wheels in this case.

[mmret]

Have the M3 (or the predecessor 3D? Not sure) on both the TSX and the Z4. For Toronto winters they've done fine. Traversed a few blizzards on the 401 as well from GTA to Ottawa.

Its still slightly dicey with the Z4 depending on snow condition but manageable. Most of the time we have nearly dry roads in winter.

The GLK has Pirelli Scorpion Ice&Snow which I believe should be a bit stickier, but they're still H rated so probably not Blizzak like.

[safristi]

SPORT WINTERS are for Tennessee and SOUTH-WARDS..imho..use the REAL THANG IN Canada....even then there are variants according to your geographic area..I NEVER SAID IT WOZ EASY PEASY... ..

damn i needs ta lie down after 10 daze on Hilton head island on the golf courses   and I comes back ta SNOW in SW ONTARIO.....