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The Winter Maxx WM02 is Dunlop’s second-generation Winter Maxx tire developed for the drivers of family sedans, coupes, minivans and crossover vehicles looking for confident traction and braking in dry, wet, snowy or icy conditions.
The main sidewall branding of the Winter Maxx WM02 reads “Winter Maxx,” so in order to differentiate the second generation from its predecessor, our naming references the pattern code WM02 branded immediately below the tire name near the bead area.
The Winter Maxx WM02 features a winter-focused compound molded into an asymmetric pattern. The broader profile of the Winter Maxx WM02 compared to its predecessor provides more even pressure distribution across the footprint for improved handling and wear characteristics. The wide, circumferential grooves and lateral notches help evacuate water and slush from the contact patch for enhanced hydroplaning resistance, while increased sipe density creates additional biting edges to provide traction in snow and on ice.
Internal construction of the Winter Maxx WM02 consists of a two-ply polyester casing beneath two wide, steel belts. A spirally-wound, polyamide reinforcement ply enhances handling and provides high-speed capability.
Winter Maxx WM02 tires meet the industry’s severe snow service requirements and are branded with the three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol.
Note: Snow platform indicators (the equivalent of “snow wear bars”) are molded into the Winter Maxx WM02’s tread grooves to inform the driver when winter traction will be reduced as the tire’s tread reaches the point where the remaining tread depth becomes less effective in deep snow and slush.
Founder at Tiresout. Used to be working as an engineer at Bridgestone Tires Akron Technical Center. The responsibilities included but were not limited to technical computing, indoor & outdoor testing of new tires.
I’ve never owned dedicated winter tires before so this review may be biased…because any dedicated winter only tires will probably perform similarly. Having said that, these tires are the bomb! My all season tires were completely worthless in the winter on my front wheel drive Acura CL. The thing would slide around and i could barely get up our slightly inclined driveway. That has all changed now. These tires have transformed this little car into a snow machine! I even did some off road riding without issue. A snow covered gravel road that was not plowed and had 8″ of fresh snow and only a few tire tracks from other Jeeps was NO PROBLEM. I could probably do snow rally racing in them. Get these tires they are awesome! I do expect them to wear out quickly but that is what they are designed for. I will have to change them for summer tires in the spring, but that is a small price to pay for the performance they give. I don’t need my AWD anymore.
Bought these to survive Michigan Winters since I sold my winter beater. Was able to cruse down the highway at 60mph, during a medium snowfall, in a RWD sports car, while everyone else in 4×4 vehicles struggled to maintain 40mph. Cons: diminished steering response; heavyPros: Increased snow confidence/ drastic improvement in snow and ice handling compared to all-season.
This is a great tire on my Kia Stinger GT AWD. Comfortable and handles the weather nicely.
For Pacific Northwest winters in Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland areas, I’d highly recommend this tire. In the typical near freezing temperatures with mainly rain, occasional slushy snow, and ice that we see here, this tire performed exceptionally well compared to other winter tires that I’ve tried over the years for these conditions.I have had the rated “best” winter tires Nokian Hakka R and Michelin X-Ice previously.The Hakka R is hands down the best one for pure deep snow and ice, but was downright scary in the wet, and braking and handling felt very squirmy and unpredictable.The X-ice in my opinion was a better all round tire ( for our winter conditions ) that gave improved handling and wet weather performance at a very slight sacrifice to ice traction but definitely a noticeable decline in deep snow traction over the Hakka.The Winter Maxx 02 was very similar to the X-Ice in snow and ice traction, however where it blew the Hakka and the X-ice out of the competition was in handling, steering response and wet braking abilities. Simply outstanding. I didn’t think I’d ever say a winter tire could handle well, but this one does due to a fairly stiff sidewall and robust construction. Ideal for performance driving.The treadwear seems to be very good as well. In 10,000km I have not even worn through 1/32 depth. Its low rolling resistance is also impressive as I get better fuel mileage with these winters than with my summer tires.Only thing I’d want Dunlop to improve is making it a bit quieter, however that would probably come with a decrease in handling as treadwear life as they would need to go with softer compound.In summary, for the Pacific Northwest if you don’t plan to drive in the back country with deep snow and your driving is mainly mixed city/highway, this is the tire to go with.
I bought these tires in lieu of the Blizzak’s & figured I would give these a try a sthey were just a little bit cheaper. We just experienced our 1’st big snow fall of the year in upstate, NY last night (around 12″) and these tires did well. The corning aspect felt a tiny bit unstable as there was very deep ruts & packed snow/ice on the asphalt. I had no problem making it up steep inclines or stopping anywhere. A few times it felt like the back end was “floating”, but then again I was driving in 12” on very wet, deep, snow ¿ I just took my time & had absolutely no trouble. Tires performed very well on dirt roads that did not see any plow trucks with 10-12” of snow. They reacted very well in melted/slushy snow conditions. Very glad I purchased these as all-seasons just don’t cut it in the North East!
Although the tire is a little bit noisy and has a lower comforted ride than I like, these tires have performed as expected. Reasonably priced, as well! I feel confident driving these tires in the slush of Northern Indiana and can steer and brake with an appropriate response when the roads aren’t completely plowed/salted.
Great tire at a reasonable price. I needed a new winter setup on my 2015 Subaru Impreza Sport and these have worked perfectly so far. I have been driving on them for about 7000 miles, including a long road trip. They have handled well in moderately warm dry conditions, heavy rain, and light snow. I have noticed very little to no road noise at highway and interstate speeds. At this point I would recommend them to anyone looking for a good winter tire.