Pirelli Dragon Sport

I’ve had these on my 2011 Mazda 3 MPS Luxury for just over 3 years and have done roughly **55,000 km** on them.

Even now, they still have usable life left. The only reason I’m replacing them is because the **inside shoulders are worn down close to the belts due to a bad alignment / rotation issue**. If that hadn’t happened, I genuinely think I would have seen **another 10,000 km** out of them.

For a car like mine, that’s impressive. It’s running around **215 kW**, which is above stock, on **factory 18-inch wheels and stock suspension**, so I expected it to chew through tyres a lot faster than it did.

What impressed me most is that **even near the end of their life, they still grip extremely well**. Dry grip has stayed strong, wet grip has remained confidence-inspiring, and they still corner very well. They are starting to feel a little looser now as they’ve aged and worn down, but even in that condition they still put the power down far better than I expected.

I’ve run a range of premium tyres on this car over the years, and honestly these are **probably the best all-round tyres I’ve had on it**. Excellent grip, very predictable handling, surprisingly strong wear, and they held up far better than I expected on a tuned MPS.

The only downside is comfort — they’re not the quietest or softest tyre — but for the balance of grip, handling, and longevity, I’d absolutely buy them again.

If Pirelli still made these and they were easy to get, I’d happily run another set.

These shouldn't be marketed as a sports tyre. They're a replacement to the P1 Cinturato - a passenger tyre.

They're cheap for Pirellis and seem like a good deal for an entry level performance tyre. They're not performance focused though. Front end grip is not strong, heavily understeer biased, steering is a little sloppy due to softish sidewalls. At least they're safe dynamically at their low limits. Wet performance fine.

The reality is these should never have been called Dragon Sport - They're most like am entry level touring tyre from any of c the major brands - which checks out when you look at the price.

If you want an entry level performance tyre just get RE003 or Michilin Pilot Sport instead. Even tyres like the Dunlop FM800, which is similarly priced but marketed more as a Touring tyre - has a more sporty handling characteristic than the Dragon Sport.

I bought these tyres to replace my worn out Michelin Pilot Sport 4. I bought it because of the high treadwear rating of 400. Quite expensive I must say and more so than the outgoing Michelins. Instantly, felt this tyres made my ride more comfortable and despite being a performance oriented tyre, it performs like a luxury tyre with minimal tyre noise. Very good in the wet and enjoy taking corners with confidence. Best part of all is that, I hit a large rock in the middle of a dark road at 80km/h and amazingly enough the tyre did not rupture. My rim was damaged and the tyre shop could not believe it. This tyre is one tough tyre! Now the downsides, for a long distance commuter like myself, it did not last as long as I had hoped. After 24,000km I had to replace all 4 corners considering that I am gentle on throttle and I rotate and inflate my tyres regularly. As a high mileage driver, I would not buy it again.

My Audi A 3 came with the Cinturatto P7 as OEM tires. I blew 3 of them because of potholes, so I changed it for the Dragon Sport. My take: Dry: Great Grip and traction, they gives you confidence for spirited driving. They have good braking ability, something I didnot expect because the treadwear is above 400. Wet: they have above average performance in the wet, they were a little below the Cinturatto P7. Still they have good overall performance in the wet. Noise: the noise is ok, noisier than the P7 Cinturatto, but aceptable. Tread: the tire has a hard compound, I drove the car for around 16000 miles and they seem to have mid life. Design: The tread design is assymetric and sporty, the sidewall has a Dragon with the letters which it looks cool. Conclusion: It is a great aftermarket sporty tire, it handles well in wet and dry, stiff sidewall which helps with the handling and the price is just above midrange tires but with Pirelli premium quality. And by the way it is a UHP Tire, not a extreme neither max performance tire.