Ultra High Performance Summer tires are for driving enthusiasts who want a combination of a performance appearance, crisp handling and Z-speed rated (or higher) durability along with dry and wet traction. Often used as Original Equipment (O.E.) on sports cars, performance coupes and high performance sedans, Ultra High Performance Summer tires are not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.
O.E. Ultra High Performance Summer tires are typically purchased as direct replacements for worn-out pairs/sets of the vehicle’s original tires. They can also be used for other vehicle applications in complete sets of four or axle pairs if available in an appropriate size, load range and speed rating to match the existing O.E. tires’ performance category and specifications.
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 have 27,000+ miles on these tires. I have had my car 3 years and will be replacing shortly. Granted I typically drive mainly in the city, but I like to test my car to the limits especially in corners and curves. These tires handle really well in those situations, but are not ideal in wet weather. The traction is not that great on wet roads. I do notice more of the road noise now and it can be a little rough. These were the tires on the car when I bought them, but I will not be replacing them with the same. Although I did get a lot of miles out of these tires, between the cost to mileage expectations and the traction issues in wet weather, I will be going with a different brand.
OEM tires on my Mazdaspeed3 . Overall not as bad as you hear. I consider them to be an average tire at a premium price . Will not buy again.
Stock tire. Way overpriced. Getting decent mileage out of the tire wear is pretty minimal so far. Started autocross and after one weekend, the tire feels like it has no grip left. Unpredictable and slides all over now. Gonna use these up on the road and buy some hankook rs3.
I have these on my Mazdaspeed3. Originally when I purchased the car I had Kuhmo Ecsta SPT summer tires, which were not so good. When I was looking to buy a new set of tires, I had the option to buy a whole new set of 2013 Speed3 rims and OE Dunlop tires so I jumped at the opportunity. These are vastly superior to the Kuhmo’s. I don’t know why there are so many complaints. These tires are sticky and handle corners very well. They’re pretty rough but I could care less I like a good handling tire and I know that means a solid side wall. My old Kuhmos would oversteer and screech like crazy, these tires hold their line without much protest. I drive a very modded speed3 pushing 300whp so I need traction and these tires provide a good amount of it. Of course I get crazy wheel spin but not as much as the Kuhmos. One thing I have noticed is that these tires wear fast. It makes sense the tires have a low treadwear rating meaning they’re pretty soft. I’ve driven in the rain once since putting these on my car and I have to say they did very well, at 80mph in moderate rain they didn’t hydroplane much so that’s a plus. Since they are summer tires I expect them to be useless in the snow. I’m in SoCal so I don’t have to worry about that. I will enjoy them while they last but when it comes time to buy a new set I will most likely get super sports.
Tires came stock with the car (when bought it new). I have a lot of complanints about ride/handling/grip but I suspect a lot of them can also be blamed on the car itself so no comment in this area.The car was used mostly for commuting/vacations meaning very rarely the tires were close to their limits. After 16.500 miles there’s maybe half of the thread left (expected I would say).The bad parts:1: Noise. Very noisy especially lately (past 10.000 miles). And the noise is not constant, it’s more like woo-woo-woo2: Dry rot (yes, you read right, dry rot) after less that 2 years since manufacturing date. The cracks are mainly in the grooves (away from the sun). Because one year passed I can’t get replacements and a local shop’s price minus whatever Dunlop gives me is more than a decent set of tires bought online. This means I either drive on them until they get worn or I pay more than I would pay for new tires to get the same tires (and expect dry rot again). Also, the tires were not exposed to ozone or direct sunlight more than you would expect (I live in a wooden area with lots of shade and at work I park in a covered garage).
These were OEM on my new Mazdaspeed3 so I didn’t have an option to go with another tire. The tires performed fairly well when driving spiritedly through mountain roads when I first got them and were fairly sticky when it came to harder acceleration, but they started to loose their stickiness at around 10,000 miles. I never hydroplaned with these tires, but there was a lot left to be desired when it came to traction in wet conditions. I rarely drive this car in the winter months, but the few times I did, they performed horribly in the snow (which was to be expected with summer tires). The ride quality was always fairly rough, but they didn’t start to get noisy until recently. After only 15,000 miles of mixed conservation and spirited driving, although rarely aggressive, it is now time for new tires. I have rotated the tires every 3,000 miles to try and get the most life out of them. They measured today at 3/32 across the board, but one of them has been wearing more unevenly on the inside of the tire and has now worn into the secondary rubber. I realize these tires aren’t rated for a long life, but I am surprised that I was only able to get 15,000 miles out of them with with proper rotation and with driving them fairly conservatively on the highway a good portion of those miles. I will absolutely NOT be buying another set nor would I recommend them to anyone else.
i bought my car brand new and 40000 miles and 3 years later i still have the same set. I push my car to its limits and I am the guy everyone hates because i drive like a maniac. i taken my car in all kinds of roads and weather conditions. including coast coast and 2 rough winters in Iowa. my average cruise speed is above 95 mph. so i think is safe to say that this set of tires stepped up for the occasion. will definitely buy another set again.