kary993

I have auto-x'ed and tracked the Dunlop Super Sport race tires and found them to be very competitive with Hoosier clad cars. My comparison was based upon other known drivers and my track laps times. The tire heats up quickly in auto-x and on the big track I had no issue running a 30 minute session, meaning the tire held up well and did not go away over the period. The wear has been excellent over the time I have driven them on the street and the track.

As far as a street/track tire I think the Dunlop's are much better than the MPSC and now that tire rack has lowered the price significantly I do not think there is any choice.

I sell the Dunlop's and found out that they are considering discontinuing the liine. These were difficult to get anyway even when they were in production. Not sure what Dunlop's plans to do next. When I find out I'll let ya know! It is too bad they are discontinuing this tire, it is a good tire.

richard glickel

I had them on my 968 at LRP. I liked them better than Kumhos, but not as much as my Pirelli P-zero Corsas which I felt had better grip.

My set was shaved and heat cycled at Tire Rack. Although the price was a bargain, I wrecked the car near the end of the third run and can offer no comment as to wear characteristics (which may not matter much if manufacturer is discontinuing the tire next year).

Richard

RJay

Far enough... I shredded this years Kumho 700s and need a replacement set for my 996. At this price I figure I'll give 'em a try.

kary993

Interesting that you had them sahved. Dunlop does not recommend shaving.

richard glickel

Kary,

One would think that an outfit like Tire Rack would be aware of the tire manufacturer's recommendations concerning the tires they sell and service.

I did not ask to have the tires shaved, or cycled for that matter, but the Tire Rack's representative recommended both! Of course, now you've got me wondering how much of the excessive slide (or loss of adhesion) I experienced while "tracking out" of the driving turn at LRP - and my resultant accident, was due to the tires having been over prepared, i.e., "shaved" and how much is attributable to lack of skill on my part.

Can you direct me to the manufacturer's recommendations to which you refer? Thanks.

Richard

P.S. Please check out Tire Rack's web site info on these tires wherein they (Tire Rack) specifically offer the Dunlops "shaved" for dry track performance. R.

kary993

Richard, normally tires are shaved to avoid heat build up within the tire causing internal tire structure failure with the usual result being tread separation. A bad situation at best. As it was explained to me from my distributor, this tire did not require shaving and was good to go as is. As a tire begins to wear down with this type of tread depth (8/32nds, though tirerack says 7/32nds) it usually gets faster in terms of time on the track until in which case the tread is down where the compound was not meant to be used. I have run these Dunlop tires very hard without any issue starting at full tread depth in a variety of performance driving situations (auto-x, performance driving school, and big track). I doubt that your incident on the track has anything to do with shaving the tires unless these tires were down below the minimum depth at the time of your incident.

On the topic of Tire Rack (and any other recommending shaving and heat cycling) , I would normally agree with you that they know there stuff. Heck, they sell more tires than most businesses I know of! I for one have run Hoosiers heat cycled and not and never found any advantage in track time nor tire wear though tire rack continues to offer and recommend heat cycling of Hoosier tires (at least the last time I bought from them which has been a long time). I know that shaving some of the Kumho ECSTA tires is a must because I have seen these come apart if they were not shaved in big track conditions. Many folks went back to the Victoracrs to avoid this issue.

My point is this, heat cycling tires and shaving tires is just an added charge for the tires above and beyond the cost of the tires. So without any real proof or manufacturer recommendation I am not sure if these types of recommendations from anyone selling these options for tires are motivated in the right direction. Just some food for thought. Nothing is absolute......though I am sure there are many opinions to this topic.

Jim H.

How long can these tires sit before being mounted on a car? I'm stuck out of country for the next 10 months and will be getting back close to fall season next year. I'm thinking about ordering a set or two given the price but the second set might not get mounted until late 2006. If they are properly stored, can they sit for two years?

What do you guys think?

DCLee

You can store tires for a long time wrapped in plastic--not to worry. They're a great buy.

BTW, Dunlops are NOT meant to be shaved-- they are made with a low tread in Germany.

Lee in D.C.

Anir

I drove the 993TT with the Dunlops on the dry street today. Nice feedback, good comfort, and I would say an easier turn-in than the Pirelli P-Zero C's despite the wide footprint. Haven't tried them in the rain yet, but I'm happy I bought them.

kary993

I found out today that Dunlop has no plans on discontinuing this tire. Not sure what Tire Rack is doing.

Phil

Tire rack is selling the sh*t out of those tires.
I got mine last week, and put them on today. Seem good to me.....and the PRICE was right!! My wife said......"for that price, you should have bought them all"......little does she know.....next week will soon be here...

Jeff Curtis

FWIW, I've been on the Dunlop "Test Pilot" program since last February, these tires are FUN FUN FUN, on the street or track. Granted, at the track, they're not the best tire to be on, but they beat the hell out of any other street tire I've seen or driven on.

I have 17" 225 and 245s in "street trim" and recently won 2nd at a PCA autocross on them...so they're not too shabby for "stiction" and you don't have to get them good and hot like a Hoosier R series tire (R3SO3 or SO4) - the guys using the A series Hoosiers (autocross compound) are dedicated autocrossers...I don't have the $$$$$$$ for a fourth set of wheels, with tires that I might use TWICE a year??

Overall, I would buy my 2nd set of Dunlops, especially at that price...I hope that they are not discontinued.

David K. - if no one has claimed future ownership of your Toyos, I would consider it...I have not read the entire thread, so maybe someone has done so, if not, send me a PM - after all, I own half your RSA anyway!

Pistons, Cylinders...chip...

ceboyd

I saw someone with a new set of them on her Audi this past weekend... I was unimpressed with the 'chunking' and the fact that they were 2 year old tires

...you get what you pay for folks!

As an observer.. the tires looked almost done after just 2 20 minute sessions with an S4 AWD in 225 45 17s..

..so you pay half the price of a MPSC but they last less than half as long and aren't as grippy...


If I needed something quick for one or 2 more track days this season.. this is an excellent option.. but for a full season? NO WAY!!!!

ceboyd

they are selling off 2 year old stock.. check the date code on the tires you get!

kary993

The ones I got from the distributor are not two years old. I was not aware that this tire was already two years old since I just saw it in the middle of last year for the first time. I have had no chunking issues and have run them for 1 hour at Laguna Seca. Had very little wear really and I was turning some good fast laps too!