Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Wheels & Tires New tires...thoughts?

Just wondering if anyone has had experience with Dunlop SP Sport 5000's and if there are any other recommendations? I like the Dunlops because they are all-season and have done a pretty good job, but the time is coming soon for replacements. Any thoughts are appreciated! Thanks!
Sean

I just went through the same exercise. I assume being in Chicago and from your post that you're looking for that holy grail of tires...the sport all-season? I was too.

My list included:

Sumitomo HTR+
Continental ContiExtreme
Pirelli P Zero Nero M+S
Kuhmo Ecsta ASX

Obviously price and value were a big deciding factor for me. I ended up going with the Sumitomo HTR+ in 205/55/16. They were on sale at Tire Rack for $59/tire with $30 shipping and $60 to have them mounted and balanced. Hard to beat the price.

While I haven't driven them in the winter yet, so far the dry driving has been about 80-90% of the tires I replaced. I used to have 225/50/16 Toyo Proxes FZ4 that the previous owner put on. They handled dry and even wet exceptionally, but were horrible in the winter.

I had originally ordered 225/50/16 of the HTR+ too, but Tire Rack suggested not ordering that size again because of the shape of the sidewall on the HTR+ might rub more than the Toyo's did (which wasn't much usually). Now that the 205/55/16 are on, the steering is a lot lighter and I like that. The HTR+ are a little 'looser' than the Toyo's, but I expected that. It was worth the compromise to me (especially at the price). The car is still so capable that tires are only one factor.

I had not looked at the Dunlop's, Goodyear's, etc. because the price seems so out of line with the gains. That's my two cents on my similar situation.

I have about 30K mi. on my SP Sport 5000's and they're the best tires I ever bought. I had been running 215/50 KDW's. The Dunlops are better in every respect except they roll over slightly more under hard cornering (could be due to the size difference rather than construction - the Dunlops are 205/55). I expected slightly worse traction due to the all-season tread, but they actually turned out to be better than the KDW's in all conditions. Add to that the better treadwear and decreased noise, and it's turned out to be a great tire. I also used them all winter, which was pretty snowy here last year, and no problems.

Thanks alot guys! I think the final judgement is going to be price, and so far the Dunlops are winning.
Sean

on the p-zero nero's i just put them on, tire rack had a good sale. but in less than 10 thousand miles the are fairly worn. evenly but worn. though they do grip very well. i had my best luck with potenza re-950's. they gripped like a son-of-a-[censored].

Im lucky in that i just got another set of rims for the winter and for the summer im going to see about some G-force ta KDW's.

I had the Dunlop SP 5000's in stock E0 size a few years ago. I agree that they WERE the best tire I had ever driven on. Unfortunately, they only lasted about 7000 miles for me (I'm a little rough on my tires... 8-)> )

However...

I just last month put 4 Continental ContiExtreme (or whatever they're called) tires in the same stock E0 size on the car. After about 500 miles use, I can honestly say that these tires absolutely rock! I've driven them on dry & wet and they perform awesome! I drove home form work @ 2am the other night in the rain and was doing 55 - 60 mph down a winding twisting Rt. 85 through Bolton, MA...with confidence.

Dry grip in straight line and in hard cornering is excellent.

They were $78 ea. from Tirerack.com

Hope this helps!