the Dunlop SP Sport MAXX were.

Would have gone with the usual 225/45/17 but they were sold out.

With about 300 track miles or so.

The old set of Goodyears I had, I put about 300 track miles on as well, but I believe I got about 25k miles out of them.

'course it might that I'm running 275/35/19 on all four.

Break in period was horrible. Felt like I was on marbles for the first 500 miles or so. With the brand new Goodyears on it and less than 100 miles, I'm already feeling confident to push it in turns.

Tramlining was just insane. Driving northbound on the east bench of I-215, the left lane would cause the car to shimmy all over the place due to tramlining. Compared to the Dunlop wintersport 3d's and the Goodyears, both of which barely tramline in that exact same section of road, its obvious the SP Sport MAXX that is the issue. Its part of my daily commute, so I drive it all the time.

At the track I swear the SP Sport MAXX was slower than the Goodyears I had on previous (both were 225/45/17, the brand new Goodyears yet to be tracked are the 235/45/17). When I did the Audi Club event in May 2006, I was able to easily hit 120mph on the full front straight (tires were at about 4/32nds tread). Compare later in Sept 2006 with the 1+ month old Dunlops and I was struggling to get over 115mph.

Tire life was horrible. I don't have the exact numbers, but I got maybe 15,000 miles out of them. And not even 2 full summers either. Again, don't have exact numbers, but the previous Goodyears I had I got about 25,000 miles on them. Both saw a small amount of track time (roughly 250 miles each).

In the cold, the Dunlops are marbles. Sub 50F, a little bit of moisture, and OMG hold on. I drove the Goodyears in snow (June 2005 in Park City, about 3 inches of slush on the road) and they did about as well as can be expected. Acceleration was fine, handling was ok, never tested emergency braking coming down Parleys that day.

Was never happy with the hydroplaning resistance of the Dunlops, even at full tread depth.


Maybe I got a bad batch. Maybe the tire size matters that much. But I'll stick with Dunlop for winter tires (had the M2's loved them, now have the 3D's and love them). But never again will I go with Dunlop for a summer tire.

and tramlining for me is no different than any other tire, but I'm driving a VERY aggresively tued suspension on my M3. I'm getting good wear out of them. 20k on the rears and I'm still on my first set of fronts at 30k. Cold temps are not so nice to these tires below 40f but I've had no issues with water or wet roads except when the rears needed replacing.