End of the road for my Dunlops

[waveman]

I knew it wasn't going to be good when my wife came up from the garage this morning asking if I knew about my flat tire. I didn't. After the watching the gold medal basketball game (go U.S.A.!), my son and I replaced it with the compact spare. (I HATE those things). There was a screw in the tire, so I took it to a local tire place hoping to get it patched. Unfortunately, they said that the tire was quite worn, so I decided to replace all four tires. I have almost 21,000 miles on them. I probably could have driven another few thousand miles, but I've been noticing less wet traction and more noise, so it's just as well.

I opted for the Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus tires based on positive reviews here and around the 'net. I'm looking forward to getting them installed tomorrow. I'll be sure to let y'all know about any differences in traction, ride, noise, or handling.

 

[mcginnpm]

Be happy you got rid of those OEM Dunlops...and be happy you live in Alabama.

If you ever had to drive in snow with those old Dunlops, you may as well have been driving on Formula 1 racing slicks.

After 2 winters in my Genny, I finally got rid of my Dunlops after only 20K miles on the tires. It just wasn't worth the risk of an accident or injury. They would lose traction in a mere 1/4" of snow!

 

[homeofstone]

I have about 6000 miles on my new set of BridgestoneTuranza Serenity Plus. It is quiet, smooth and man does it ever grip in rain. It is an outstanding tire.

 

[waveman]

Be happy you got rid of those OEM Dunlops...and be happy you live in Alabama.

If you ever had to drive in snow with those old Dunlops, you may as well have been driving on Formula 1 racing slicks.

After 2 winters in my Genny, I finally got rid of my Dunlops after only 20K miles on the tires. It just wasn't worth the risk of an accident or injury. They would lose traction in a mere 1/4" of snow!

I did drive home once after unexpected combination of rain and freezing rain - the roads were fairly slippery. I drove very slowly and made it OK, but didn't have much confidence. We don't get weather like that too often, though.

 

[waveman]

I've driven on the Bridgestones for almost one week in dry, wet, and very rainy conditions. So far, so good. They seem quieter than the Dunlops were, especially near the end, but it's hard to say if that's because I want them to. Road holding is definitely better in curves.

 

[nextcar]

I've driven on the Bridgestones for almost one week in dry, wet, and very rainy conditions. So far, so good. They seem quieter than the Dunlops were, especially near the end, but it's hard to say if that's because I want them to. Road holding is definitely better in curves.

thanks for your honest opinion.
i'm still happy with my dunlops at 17k miles, and still have lots of tread left.
i think dunlops are unfairly criticized by some people on this forum for being loud and harsh riding.

 

[Vince2]

I'm with you Nextcar: the Dunlaps get a bum rap! I think the Dunlaps are more of a summer tire than the so named "All Season" group they are placed. Are they noisier than my present Michelins Yep! Do they ride firmer Yep! But they also turn better and they stop better. It feels like you can have great performance or great comfort with tires! There is always a trade off! The Dunlops are not good in snow! My Genesis is the first sport sedan I've owned and learning to appreciate the suspension was a process for me...there are days when I love the ride and the are those days when I miss driving the living room couch (Avalon) I use to own.

 

[homeofstone]

I'm with you Nextcar: the Dunlaps get a bum rap! I think the Dunlaps are more of a summer tire than the so named "All Season" group they are placed. Are they noisier than my present Michelins Yep! Do they ride firmer Yep! But they also turn better and they stop better. It feels like you can have great performance or great comfort with tires! There is always a trade off! The Dunlops are not good in snow! My Genesis is the first sport sedan I've owned and learning to appreciate the suspension was a process for me...there are days when I love the ride and the are those days when I miss driving the living room couch (Avalon) I use to own.

According to the tests, surveys, and reviews on tirerack.com the Dunlops are at or near dead last in every category. If you check across the different lines of summer tires, all season tires, and grand touring tires and compare performace specs the OE Dunlops on the Genesis are terrible. Goodyear should not be producing such a poor performing tire.

 

[Vince2]

Well those ratings on tirerack.com are a tabulation of user's opinions and it appears that most of the raters of this Dunlap tire are dissatisfied Genesis owners. How big is the review group (dozens? Thousands?)...I'm not discarding the rating but just suggesting that the source be considered.

Check the rating of the Michelin Super Sport on tirerack. It gets highest possible of the group for quiet ride. Yet if you check the user rating of the same tire on the Consumer Reports website half the users complain about the noise of the Michelin tire. Why such a difference in noise rating? The difference just might be the expectation of the user group and the sample size.

Another instance of opinion honed by user expectation is the rating of our Genesis suspension. It appears to me that those owners who drove sport cars previous to buying the Genesis have a higher opinion of the ride than those owners coming from Avalons and Lexus Es.

 

[waveman]

I'm with you Nextcar: the Dunlaps get a bum rap! I think the Dunlaps are more of a summer tire than the so named "All Season" group they are placed. Are they noisier than my present Michelins Yep! Do they ride firmer Yep! But they also turn better and they stop better. It feels like you can have great performance or great comfort with tires! There is always a trade off! The Dunlops are not good in snow! My Genesis is the first sport sedan I've owned and learning to appreciate the suspension was a process for me...there are days when I love the ride and the are those days when I miss driving the living room couch (Avalon) I use to own.

Funny, I've never thought of the Genesis as a sport sedan, at least not in the way my Infiniti G35 was. As for the Dunlops, I thought they were OK early on, but deteriorated more quickly in several respects than other OEM tires I've owned.

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[TEF]

While one might concede that the Dunlops might be summer tires and, therefore, not intended for snow, I got rid of mine (at 16K) because they were frightening in the wet. Most notable when driving on wheel-rutted lanes of some interstates at speeds over 60 mph. In fact, they were the worst tires I've ever driven on in this respect. However, after switching to the Conti's DWS tire and driving the same roads, it was apparent that the Dunlops were substandard by nearly every measure. In fact, this was the only time that I've replaced OEM tires for reasons of safety rather than wear.

 

[robcar]

The OEM Dunlops are truly terrible tires. Very harsh riding, very poor traction in the snow. After an excruciating 8000 miles bouncing over every little bump in the road I finally had enough and replaced them with Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires and the difference was like night and day.

The biggest reason so many reviewers complained about the "nervous, unsettled ride" of the Genesis wasn't because of the suspension; it was because of the Dunflops.

 

[homeofstone]

Well those ratings on tirerack.com are a tabulation of user's opinions and it appears that most of the raters of this Dunlap tire are dissatisfied Genesis owners. How big is the review group (dozens? Thousands?)...I'm not discarding the rating but just suggesting that the source be considered.

Check the rating of the Michelin Super Sport on tirerack. It gets highest possible of the group for quiet ride. Yet if you check the user rating of the same tire on the Consumer Reports website half the users complain about the noise of the Michelin tire. Why such a difference in noise rating? The difference just might be the expectation of the user group and the sample size.

Another instance of opinion honed by user expectation is the rating of our Genesis suspension. It appears to me that those owners who drove sport cars previous to buying the Genesis have a higher opinion of the ride than those owners coming from Avalons and Lexus Es.

Obviously on tirerack.com with over 8.3 million miles reported driven on the Dunlops the survey result includes many car brands and models other than the Genesis.

 

[Vince2]

"with over 8.3 million miles driven..." point taken. I was referencing the reviews submitted. There are ten reviews with half from Genesis owners. I do get that most here are happier with the vehicle after replacing the OEM tires and that's most important. I live in sunny Las Vegas where there is precious little rain so I have little to no experience with the Dunlaps in the wet.

I replaced my Dunlops with Michelins MXV4s on my '10 3.8 and as I drove away from Discount tire I could appreciate the smoother ride. When I made the first big turn I immediately understood the trade off - the crisp turn from the Dunlops was gone. O well can't have it all.

 

[Ernie3647]

"with over 8.3 million miles driven..." point taken. I was referencing the reviews submitted. There are ten reviews with half from Genesis owners. I do get that most here are happier with the vehicle after replacing the OEM tires and that's most important. I live in sunny Las Vegas where there is precious little rain so I have little to no experience with the Dunlaps in the wet.

I replaced my Dunlops with Michelins MXV4s on my '10 3.8 and as I drove away from Discount tire I could appreciate the smoother ride. When I made the first big turn I immediately understood the trade off - the crisp turn from the Dunlops was gone. O well can't have it all.

Vince are your wheels 17 or 18 because I was looking to see if I could use them on my Genesis but I found no applicable 18s listed. I replaced the stock tires on my Infiniti G with the MXV4s. I also noticed a smoother quieter ride but a little loss in turning response. After a little investigation I tried upping the pressure from 33 to 36 lbs. and it made a significant difference. I still have the nice smooth quite ride I first purchased the tires for but they handle considerably better.

 

[Vince2]

Ernie3647 my wheels/tires were the 17 inch variety. Of course that's when I owned the 2010 3.8. Now with my 2012 3.8 the tires are the 18 Michelin "Energy Saver A/S". The Energy Savers are a good, quiet, smooth riding tire. I don't need an A/S tire and I'm anxious to try my first set of dedicated summer tires though, from what I've heard, I've got years of motoring before the Energy Savers need replacing.

 

[nextcar]

Obviously on tirerack.com with over 8.3 million miles reported driven on the Dunlops the survey result includes many car brands and models other than the Genesis.

yeah, i guess my experience here in sunny Calif is different.
it's rare for me to be driving in rain or snow.
on the few occasions that i did, the dunlops seemed fine, but the tires only had a few thousand miles on them.
i will report how the dunlops fare over the next 10k miles (17k-27k miles).

 

[Gunkk]

Well the Dunlop SP Sport Signatures are finally shot on my 4.6 at 37k miles. Got about 20k out of them which isn't too bad.

Looking at Michelin Pilot Super Sports, but wonder if they hold up to the glowing reviews and are really worth the big coin.

 

[Gunkk]

I went with the Michelin Pilot Super Sports, details in this thread: http://genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showpost.php?p=100777&postcount=1

 

[Vince2]

Great Gunkk! Those Michelins are highly rated and with tons of positive user reviews. Please let us know how the Genesis handles and rides with the new Michelins. I'm eagerly waiting for your review.