Across 46 owner ratings the Sunny SN3970 averages 56%. Owners rate Dry Grip highest at 7.1 out of 10 and Wet Grip lowest at 4.9. 14 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles. 37% of owners score it 70% or better.
Got these fitted to the fronts at the moment, and I don't have a bad thing to say about them. They have been on about 6 months / 4500 miles, and I drive 60% town and 40% motorway. Too early to comment on wear yet, but when first fitted, they seemed noticeably quieter than the Michelin pilot sport, and I don't detect any lack of performance, at normal driving styles.
I'll have no hesitation fitting these to the rear, when needed. Couldn't buy them at a local tyre fitter, so they were ebayed with free delivery from Ireland, then fitted locally for about £15 / tire. These tyres offer outstanding value, just a shame we can't make them in the UK!
Not as bad as some people suggest, overall wear well and very well priced nearly 1/3 of the price of branded tyres, which you have to bear in mind. Fitted to my 535d estate and still hold on in the dry with some 450ft lb of torque. As with most road tyres drive to the conditions in the wet and not the best in cold/ ice. For the price I'd recomend
Check out how the BEST all seasons tyres perform against premium summer and winter tyres!
Had these on an e46 330d fitted when i bought the car ok in the dry but break away in wet very easily on tight corners and roundabouts you needto take it very easy gave me fair few scares and had to drive like miss daisy in wet, would not buy these myself e46s are much better fitting at least nankang ns2 or falken fk42 if you have short funds dont just take my word check out any bmw forums
Which tyres do you drive?
Researching the Sunny SN3970? Rate the tyres you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
I drive 230km/h frequently and they are not too worn after 14000 miles of driving (German technical control check). Considering the price, I find them extremely good compared to my old Bridgestone Turanza ER300. Just like with the Bridgestone, drive slow in sharp bends/roundabouts when wet. Not had any problems on highways at any speed, but I've not tested bends in the wet at 230km/h (130km/h has been no problem on wet surface). The tires are a bit more noisy than Bridgestone at high speeds (not legal speed in most nations), and they are way better on snow once I had a surprise snowfall and even on black ice (I did however see many accidents of others' on that day). With Bridgestone I've experienced aquaplaning (sunny day with wet road in France) even when driving slow (80km/h), but that could be due to wear. So far, no such problems with Sunny (except slippery in roundabouts). Unless you're a racer on the wet, these tires are likely good enough for most drivers. I drive a BMW 330D.
I had these tires for two years on my 1991 190 e. I was driving the highway and a accident ahead caused the truck in front of me to come to an abrupt stop and I admit I was to close to break. I yanked the wheel to the right and lurched into the right land and yanked it left to straighten out. Tires never gave out and the car and tires saved my life. My experience but they worked very well for me and my driving style, but then I do not have a race car or drive like I own one.
these came on a car I bought, took it for a drive over the pennines on holiday and the road surface was slightly damp. after a straight there was a slight bend in the road, I was doing well within 'comfort zone' driving and the whole car fish-tailed accross the road with these. also noticed the traction control kicking in under acceleration. as soon as I got home they came off and a set of bridgestone turanzas went on, never had any further issues!
This follows on from my previous review of these tyres which were already fitted to the car when I bought it in January 2012. I was shocked back then at how little grip these provided in the cold and wet winter conditions; but having lived with these tyres a little longer I feel I can now give a more balanced view.
On a hot dry day on a good road surface, overtaking is still a heart in the mouth job as the traction control cuts power mid overtake. On a dry road even the temperature difference caused by the shadow under a tree can cause them to break traction, and no I don't drive it like I stole it (I'm afraid to!).
I have now thrown in the towel and fitted four Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymetric 2's which are far from expensive but highly rated on this site. The difference is like night and day, the traction control hasn't interfered since they were fitted, the appalling road noise is gone, I can finally drive the car with confidence in both the wet and dry as it stays glued to the road and I can feel what is going on.
I'm mystified that reviews are still praising this tyre, and can only imagine the drivers are driving well within the limits of themselves and their cars. But you need to pray you don't need these tyres to stop you in an emergency or steer you out of trouble, because in my experience they wont.
just about to buy a set of sunny tyres so thought i would read some comments ...mmm..!!!!
all i can say is , if you want to go SHARK fishing you dont fish with a worm ,, if you want to drive your high performance car like an F1 driver you dont fit budget tyres ,, simples ...
Now, like you, I looked at the reviews on this site to help me decide which tyres to buy. I had found the Sunny SN3970 on ebay for buttons so I thought I'd check them out.
The first question was "who the 'kin'ell is Sunny"??? It turns out atht it is a division of South China Tyre & Rubber (SCTR). They have a modern production facility with over 5000 staff and make millions of tyres each year under the Sunny and Wanli brands - not exactly a back street sweatshop - this is a heavy-weight company. So the credibility stands up.
But what about the actual rubber??? Read the reviews and you wold think that they were only for those with a death wish!! Well I needed to replace the Nexen N6000's on my manual Volvo S80 so a nice new set of Sunny (admittedly, naff name) SN 3970 boots were fitted. On the way home I took the car for a spin arround the Cheshire back roads and motorways. The weather was, as usual, a mix of sunshine and showers. And guess what? I made it home in one piece. The car didn't skid off the road in a ball of fire and there was even some tread left after the 40 mile journey!!
The S80 is a big heavy car with loads of torque. My Car is fitted with active suspension and the ride can be set on ether Sports or Comfort settings - both gave a perfectly acceptable ride comfort and the tyres are quiet on even rough road surfaces so no bleeding eardrums to worry about.
So all in all, if you ignore the rants of muppets in scooby's, the Sunny SN3970 seem alright to me - only miles will tell how long they last - hopefully longer than the 12000 miles I got out of the N6000's
84%
Member
BMW
225/45 R17
7,000 miles
Mostly Town
Average
I have these on my 2005 318 M Sport Touring. I usually stick with Michelin Pilot sport or Bridgestone...but as the car gets older and less valuable I was reluctant to spend £225/tyre. So I bought Sunny 3970s..in fact I bought them on ebay for peanuts. They were new and I reckoned worth a punt.
I don't drive like a boy racer - mostly commute to work and take my son to football so not pushing the speed limits.
I'd say for normal everyday driving they are fine, they are 'softer' so actually like the comfort they give over bumps, they are not noisy and for a 2 litre car I don't feel they lack grip - maybe pushing 3 litres of power is different but for my car they are fine.
I doubt they will last as long as Pilot Sports but then they are a (small) fraction of the price...on that point I wasn't impressed with Bridgestone for durability.
So if I had a new ish car I'd buy Michelin again but if it's an older car and you do normal driving I'd recommend sunny - no worries. The guys who describe them as ditch finders are probably ditch seekers who drive harder than I feel is safe.
Dangerous in the wet, dangerous if it's cold, drive like miss daisy or your going to get hurt!
I bought my Z4 coupe 3.0si with these already fitted and I can say hand on heart my Volvo S40 1.6 TD is quicker on any Twisty B road, because it doesn't feel like it's going to slide into the ditch at every corner. I'm sure if I parked the Z4 on a wet road and pushed the side of the car it would slide sideways!
I have brought a Vectra 1.9 CDTi 16v from a dealer and I found it had 4 new tyres fitted “Sunny 3970†I have had cheap tyres before on cars and found that they are fine so long as you don't drive past 80% of the cars capability. Well, after reading the reviews from the first few comments I nearly panicked and started looking at spending £600+ the next day. I am so pleased I decided to live them for a few weeks to see if all the negativity was right, well I am pleased to say it wasn't and I have driven them on the motorway “they are quiet and comfortable†in the dry they stick like glue – in the wet! Well yes drive above 70-80% of car and they will give way. I would have no issue buying another set and seeing that the price is 60% cheaper, BRING THEM ON
