In this article we will be looking at independent tyre test data, and real world driver reviews of the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 and the Nokian Powerproof 1 to find out which tyre is best for your own driving.
The good news is that both the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 and Nokian Powerproof 1 are Max Performance Summer tyres designed to be fitted to Passenger Cars, which means comparing the two tyres is relatively simple.
Both tyres are hugely popular in the market place with drivers, and both have been featured in independent tyre tests.
Independent comparison tyre tests are the best source of data to get tyre information from, and the good news is there have been three tests which compare both tyres directly!
Out of these three tests:
While it might look like the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 is better than the Nokian Powerproof 1 purely based on the higher number of test wins, tyres are very complicated objects which means where one tyre is better than the other can be more important in real world use.
Let's look at how the two tyres compare across multiple tyre test categories.
Looking at data from three tyre tests, the Nokian Powerproof 1 was better during two dry braking tests. On average the Nokian Powerproof 1 stopped the vehicle in 0.28% less distance than the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2.
Best In Dry Braking: Nokian Powerproof 1
See how the Dry Braking winner was calculated >>
2025 Summer Tyre Test Shootout 225/40 R18 |
Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:35.2M | ✓ Nokian Powerproof 1: 34.8M |
2025 ADAC Summer Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:37.3M | Nokian Powerproof 1: 37.8M |
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:35.2M | ✓ Nokian Powerproof 1: 34.8M |
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 was better during one dry handling [km/h] tests. On average the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 was 0.93% faster around a lap than the Nokian Powerproof 1.
Best In Dry Handling [Km/H]: Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2
See how the Dry Handling winner was calculated >>
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:118.2Km/H | Nokian Powerproof 1: 117.1Km/H |
Looking at data from three tyre tests, the Nokian Powerproof 1 was better during two wet braking tests. On average the Nokian Powerproof 1 stopped the vehicle in 2.41% less distance than the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2.
Best In Wet Braking: Nokian Powerproof 1
See how the Wet Braking winner was calculated >>
2025 Summer Tyre Test Shootout 225/40 R18 |
Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:31.5M | ✓ Nokian Powerproof 1: 30.4M |
2025 ADAC Summer Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:31.5M | Nokian Powerproof 1: 31.5M |
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:49.1M | ✓ Nokian Powerproof 1: 47.5M |
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 was better during one wet braking - concrete tests. On average the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 stopped the vehicle in 2.31% less distance than the Nokian Powerproof 1.
Best In Wet Braking - Concrete: Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2
See how the Wet Braking - Concrete winner was calculated >>
2025 ADAC Summer Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:38.1M | Nokian Powerproof 1: 39M |
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Nokian Powerproof 1 was better during one wet handling [km/h] tests. On average the Nokian Powerproof 1 was 0.14% faster around a wet lap than the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2.
Best In Wet Handling [Km/H]: Nokian Powerproof 1
See how the Wet Handling winner was calculated >>
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:71.7Km/H | ✓ Nokian Powerproof 1: 71.8Km/H |
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 was better during one wet circle tests. On average the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 was 0.07% faster around a wet circle than the Nokian Powerproof 1.
Best In Wet Circle: Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2
See how the Wet Circle winner was calculated >>
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:14.98s | Nokian Powerproof 1: 14.99s |
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 was better during two straight aqua tests. On average the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 floated at a 1.66% higher speed than the Nokian Powerproof 1.
Best In Straight Aqua: Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2
See how the Straight Aqua winner was calculated >>
2025 ADAC Summer Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:81.2Km/H | Nokian Powerproof 1: 79.1Km/H |
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:81.1Km/H | Nokian Powerproof 1: 80.5Km/H |
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 was better during two curved aquaplaning tests. On average the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 slipped out at a 13.22% higher speed than the Nokian Powerproof 1.
Best In Curved Aquaplaning: Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2
See how the Curved Aquaplaning winner was calculated >>
2025 ADAC Summer Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:3.5m/sec2 | Nokian Powerproof 1: 3.2m/sec2 |
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:3.45m/sec2 | Nokian Powerproof 1: 2.84m/sec2 |
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 was better during one subj. comfort tests. On average the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 scored 14% more points than the Nokian Powerproof 1.
Best In Subj. Comfort: Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2
See how the Subj. Comfort winner was calculated >>
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:5 Points | Nokian Powerproof 1: 4.3 Points |
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Nokian Powerproof 1 was better during two noise tests. On average the Nokian Powerproof 1 measured 0.89% quieter than the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2.
Best In Noise: Nokian Powerproof 1
See how the Noise winner was calculated >>
2025 ADAC Summer Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:72.8dB | ✓ Nokian Powerproof 1: 72.4dB |
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:73.6dB | ✓ Nokian Powerproof 1: 72.7dB |
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 was better during one wear tests. On average the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 is predicted to cover 8.57% miles before reaching 1.6mm than the Nokian Powerproof 1.
Best In Wear: Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2
See how the Wear winner was calculated >>
2025 ADAC Summer Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:41700KM | ✓ Nokian Powerproof 1: 42500KM |
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:39590KM | Nokian Powerproof 1: 31820KM |
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Nokian Powerproof 1 was better during one value tests. On average the Nokian Powerproof 1 proved to have a 10% better value based on price/1000km than the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2.
Best In Value: Nokian Powerproof 1
See how the Value winner was calculated >>
2025 ADAC Summer Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:11.7Price/1000 | ✓ Nokian Powerproof 1: 9.41Price/1000 |
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
✓ Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:9.09Price/1000 | Nokian Powerproof 1: 9.3Price/1000 |
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Nokian Powerproof 1 was better during one rolling resistance tests. On average the Nokian Powerproof 1 had a 5.1% lower rolling resistance than the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2.
Best In Rolling Resistance: Nokian Powerproof 1
See how the Rolling Resistance winner was calculated >>
2025 Auto Bild Summer Performance Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:9.41kg / t | ✓ Nokian Powerproof 1: 8.93kg / t |
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Nokian Powerproof 1 was better during one fuel consumption tests. On average the Nokian Powerproof 1 used 1.79% less fuel than the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2.
Best In Fuel Consumption: Nokian Powerproof 1
See how the Fuel Consumption winner was calculated >>
2025 ADAC Summer Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:5.6l/100km | ✓ Nokian Powerproof 1: 5.5l/100km |
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Nokian Powerproof 1 was better during one abrasion tests. On average the Nokian Powerproof 1 emitted 25.6% less particle wear matter than the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2.
Best In Abrasion: Nokian Powerproof 1
See how the Abrasion winner was calculated >>
2025 ADAC Summer Tyre Test 225/40 R18 |
Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2:91mg/km/t | ✓ Nokian Powerproof 1: 67.7mg/km/t |
Tyre Reviews also collects real world driver reviews for the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 and Nokian Powerproof 1.
In total the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 has been reviewed 92 times and drivers have given the tyre 77% overall.
The Nokian Powerproof 1 has been reviewed 2 times and drivers have given the tyre 88% overall.
This means in real world driving, people prefer the Nokian Powerproof 1.
In conclusion the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 performed better in dry handling [km/h], wet braking - concrete, wet circle, straight aqua, curved aquaplaning, subj. comfort and wear, while the Nokian Powerproof 1 performed better in dry braking, wet braking, wet handling [km/h], noise, value, rolling resistance, fuel consumption and abrasion.
Interestingly, both tyres performed equally well in dry handling and wet handling, showing that they are closely matched in these areas.
Which tyre is best for you depends a lot on your driving style and situation, plus what you want from the tyre. Comparing all the data in the tyre reviews database, on balance Nokian Powerproof 1 seems to be the best tyre overall.
However, it's important to note that both tyres have their strengths.
Remember, the best tyre for you might depend on which of these factors are most important for your specific driving needs and conditions.
Looking for more tyre comparisons? Here are other direct comparisons involving these tyres:
This page has been developed using tyre industry testing best practices. This means we are only comparing tests which have had both tyres in the same test.
Why is this important? Tyre testing is heavily affected by things like surface grip levels and surface temperature, which means you can only compare values from the same day. During a tyre test external condition changes are calculated into the overall results, but it is not possible to calculate this between tyre tests performed on different days or at different locations.
As a result you will see other tests on Tyre Reviews which feature both the %s and %s, but as they weren't conducted on the same day, the results are not comparable.
Lots of other websites do this sort of tyre comparison, Tyre Reviews doesn't.