Ultra High Performance All-Season tires are for driving enthusiasts who want a combination of a performance appearance, responsive handling and Z-speed rated (or higher) durability along with all-season traction, including in light snow. Ultra High Performance All-Season tires branded with the M+S symbol are often used as Original Equipment (O.E.) on sports cars, performance coupes and high performance sedans.
O.E. Ultra High Performance All-Season 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.
Most of the time when you look at Tire Rack rankings, you will find Dunlops near the bottom (they are 21 out of 25 currently). Now that I actually have experience with the brand, I can agree with those rankings. First off, this is the OEM tire on my wife’s Infinity G37sX, and we live in the Seattle metro area. We don’t experience the snow and ice or temperature range that would make a dedicated snow tire a wise investment, so an excellent all-season tire is the best option. This tire is not it. We are currently getting a dose of winter, and the tight tread pattern won’t clear even light snow effectively. I used the manual option to provide braking on the hill; just touching the brake pedal resulted in a slide. The noise and ride qualities are very good, dry traction excellent and wet traction nearly as good, but it is a disservice to call this tire all-season; it is really a summer or Florida tire. It has a summer Hi-Performance treadlife rating (220) and I anticipate replacing these before next winter. Will look hard at the Continental ExtremeContact DWS at that time.
This tire is such a mixed bag. In dry conditions this tire is pretty sticky with good cornering an responsive turn-in. I have the x”S” package so I am riding on 225-50-18 all the way around. In colder climate the tire rides a lot harder and the grip disappears. I live in West MI and we get a lot of snow. This tire is no where close to being acceptable for snow or ice. In the rain the tire can hydroplane as well. I have managed to pull out over 30k miles on them but it is time to pull these off. They rides more like rocks as they approach the end of their life. Would probably consider if I lived in the south or out west but for an all-season tire there are many other choices that are better for the same price or less. I would pass on these.
Shame on Inifiniti for selecting this ultra high performance A/S Dunlop tire as OE on their G37X coups. In no uncertain terms I have stressed to my dealer here in Denver that my new G37X behaviors poorly, nearly out of control, when driving on rough, uneven or rutted road surfaces with these tires. Aside from their short comings on wet and snow covered roads as others have expressed; conditions I try to avoid at all cost…not easy to do at the foot of the Rockies…the feeling of being out-of-control when driving at highway speeds must be shared with others. By the way, I just replaced them with Michelin Sport A/S Plus tires . What a tremendous difference in handling and control. Can’t wait to drive on snow next winter. The panic I felt nearly every time I drove my car has gone away. Unfortunately I had to fork out 1200 bills to replace them. I hope Inifiniti is listening.
These came stock on my ride. I drive a lot of miles yearly. They were very quiet till the bitter end, 40K. As all season they were average at best. Dry and wet certainly a decent tire. However I have nothing to compare to on this vehicle. If I was the average driver I feel these would be recommended, but I typically drive beyond the “spirited” classification offered in the review. The meats tended to perform better at higher pressures, but that was tried more toward the end of thier life. Really, not a bad tire.
These tires were OEM and on the car when I bought it lightly used. They have good traction and cornering capability dry and I have no experience with them wet (it seldom rains in Southern California). Their noise level on asphalt is OK but concrete freeway is their downfall, with a remarkable level of noise and thumping from the groves and joints at freeway speeds. I have already ordered a set of Michelin Primacy MXM4 as replacement (MXV4 is not available in this size – 225/50/18). I hope for better luck.
I have had the car for 2 years now and these OEM tires have been great, much to my surprise. Dry, wet they hold the road. I have seen other reviews complaining about traction in snow but I don’t get it. As one may remember, we had record snow in Chicago this winter and my car went through deep snow like a champ. In fact it felt much like my old Pathfinder without the ground clearance. These are the first OEM tires that were good enough that I didn’t have to replace them after 6 months because I hated the handling. I would definitely recommend these tires. If I don’t buy them again it will only be because I want to try something new.
Bought these tires to replace the original Dunlop’s (Sport SP-01 A/S), they lasted 32k. The Dunlop Maxx tires are a much firmer riding but less responsive around corners at higher speeds, the current tires have 21k and are down to 3/32 will most likely be replaced before 25k. I do not intend to buy these again due to short life span.