The Dunlop SP Sport 01 receives its clearest owner praise for dry grip, handling and tread life, with later-life accounts including substantial mileage. Wear is not universally liked, but favourable mentions outnumber complaints by more than two to one. Road noise is the main recurring drawback, criticised in nearly three in ten reviews, and some end-of-life accounts describe it becoming louder. Wet grip is evenly divided between positive and negative mentions, so it is less dependable as a point of recommendation than dry performance. Ride comfort is also split, while steering feedback leans positive without the same agreement as dry handling.
What owners mention most counted across 95 reviews
These were on the front since 100K and on 125k I changed them to the rears with 5mm I was impressed, and now on 129k and they have 3mm left! Where did the 2mm go in 3k?
Its a good tyre that offeres good grip in wet and dry but not the best I have had. I think they will probably last asbout another 3k and its going to be Michelin PS2 time!
Reaqing reviews to judge the next purchase is difficult. I have had these SP 01;s on since new and they've done just over 30K, and need changing soon. My car is a heavy diesel FWD and the tyres have been rotated, but IMHO getting 30K out of a set of tyres when I tend not to drive to slowly is not to bad. Alternatives I was considering all appear to wear out around 20K such as the Kuhmo KU31's, whats the point of buying cheaper if they last 50% less?. These tyres will take me safely across the uk and back in a day, from suffolk, I can drive in all weathers with no concerns over cornering and road conditions, I find no concern in the wet or dry. Will buy again cos spending ?400 on a new set of tyres only to find you don't like em is not my idea of fun.....
Check out how the BEST all seasons tyres perform against premium summer and winter tyres!
After 26k of mainly motorway driving they still have 5mm of tread on them which is excellent wear so far. and they are not that expensive and perform well, lets face it were not in a F1 grand prix race these are normal roads we drive on so the grip is more than adequate.
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Researching the Dunlop SP Sport 01? Rate the tyres you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
These have been fitted to my Audi for approx 24k and mostly used on the motorway and I must say it is a good wearing tyre. And I still have approx 4mm tread left and they look and perform no different from when they were new. I must admit driving style is average and mainly used on motorways so if they do 35k ill be very happy which they should.
There are so many different thoughts and reviews on so many different tyres, its hard to get your head round it all! I've had these SP01s for about 3 years now and became a bit disheartened recently about the increasing oversteer on what is, admitedly, a heavy engined front wheel drive car with loads of torque, even though tread markers are not even close. This was excacerbated in the wet as felt like I had such little grip whilst cornering. I've come to the conclusion that it's unlikely any other tyres would perform much better. The car is undoubtedly front heavy and has lots of torque. However, swapping the front and rear tyres over should get me maybe 25,000 miles of use from them. Also, grip was superb at first and has only dropped off recently. The one massive plus point I found is that I know exactly where I stand with them when I reach their limits. They have never just given up on me but just give a little warning to step off the power and control is regained instantly. Looked at so many other tyre reviews and, but for the fact I'd like to have a good tyre to compare these against, can't see me going for anything else in future!
Tyres came with the car when bought. Dry grip is very good so cornering speed is very good even in sharp bends. Grip in the wet is good as well. Feedback is good because one can feel if the car is about to lose control though this very rarely happens. Quite noisy on the road, which is expected with sports tyres. The noise got worse as the two front tyres wore down to the legal limit.
The tread wear on these tyres are poor since the two front one need changing after 13000 miles, even though I pushed the car to the limit several times. The rears have better tread wear rate since there is quite a lot of tread left on them.
I probably would not buy again because it is expensive for the type of tyre and the wear rate is poor.
Standard tyres on the 18" Penta XP wheels.
Generally quite happy, lasted really well, got 35k out of the set with rotating front to back, pretty impressive even for mainly motorway use.
Pretty grippy and progressive in the dry, very rare the ESP ever kicked in, with decent feedback, and no real wheelspin issues either, but to be expected with 225/40/18's on a standard hatch, even with a torquey diesel motor. Road noise is fairly high, got worse as the tread got low, but they are wide and low profile on sports suspension, so again to be expected.
Wet grip was average, no real problems with braking or aquaplaining, but pretty poor for steering in wet conditions, feedback disappeared and washed out really easily with no progression.
For that reason going to try something else, probably the Verestein Ultrac's
Supplied on car at purchase, have now covered 42000 miles, tyres changed back to front every 15000 and now down to approx 3mm all round. Grip starting to go in the wet. I have had good wear from these and reluctant to change, but time for a change I think. Initially found the tyres noisy but either I have getting used to the noise or they have quietened down with use. These have been on the car for three years and have now started to perish around the edge of the thread/sidewall. Overall a good tyre suited to the car and would recommend.
I bought this car with 5,000 miles on it and the tyres already showed cracking along the grooves. At under 17,000 miles they are now approaching the wear markers - front and rear almost equally. The front 245/40 x 20s are wearing at the outside corners and feathering slightly so I suspect wheel alignment. The wear on the rear 275/35 x 20s is disappointing as I do not feel I have driven these Dunlops hard. I cannot say much about the tyre noise except that my other wheels, carrying 225/50 x 18 Pirellis are quieter, but the comparison is not valid since they are smaller than the Dunlops.
My rear Dunlops are 275s on a 9" rim and they protect the rim. The fronts, however, are 245 on the same 9" rim and the rims are wider than the tyres so don't get any protection. I feel that the 245s are undersized for the fat 9" rim, and that the tyre protection on the Dunlops would otherwise be adequate.
I'm going to try cheaper tyres next.
At less than 18k miles the front tyres are in need of replacement and the rears won't we far behind. A good tyre but I would not buy again as they don't wear well.
Interesting tyres. Cheap to buy but the wear rate is pretty poor (judging by my first 8000 miles with them), so middle in the value stakes. Then to tyre performance.... on the face of it, these are nothing special. Dry grip is good, wet grip is not bad but nothing to write home about. However, where these tyres are special is the level of predictability you get with them and their responsiveness. Very progressive loss of grip, excellent cornering stability means finding the right line is a doddle, good steering response: basically, you can happily push these to the limit and know exactly what's going on. A drivers tyre, not up there with the best in absolute performance, but I've been very happy with them and the price is good (not allowing for wear!).
Car came with them all round as stock. Replaced the fronts almost right away as grip/traction felt poor and had cracks along the grooves when I got the car with 9k miles on it.
Replaced with Potenza S-03s which were much better.. I was starting to forget how much better until I recently rotated the tyres putting the orginal rear dunlops back on front. WoW, I really appreciate just how good the S-03s are now.
Although I've already ordered some Falken FK452s to try on the front.
