Dunlop  SP Sport 5000 M

The SP Sport 5000M in size 195/50-16 are OEM on my 2002 Mazda Protege 5. When the weathers dry, theyre hard to beat. The car tracks as if its on rails, the tire acts predictably, steering feel is light but well-coupled to the driver. Get in wet weather conditions however, and it feels like you have no control at all. These tires have the worst wet weather traction and are the most susceptible to hydroplaning of any tires Ive owned. Granted, I am used to "summer" tires, but I expected more for tires that appear to be so well regarded in surveys. Ive used Dunlop tires for 12 years (D40/M2 and SP Sport 8000) and loved them, but these all-season tires are actually hazardous to my health. The Protege 5 will torque steer and point itself in any direction other than straight ahead when it breaks grip on any front tire, so the SP Sport 5000M is NOT recommended for this particular platform.

i drive my car from CA to TX, it rain so bad from EL PASO to HOUSTON on I-10, 10 hr drive, rain alomost 7.5 hr, it feel like driving in hell..i was so scare i will die in nowhere, i cant believe that tire is SSSOOOO bad in rain, i feel i was sking at the time, u can picture i was so helpless at the time...this tire is so ---- in rain....but is excellent in dry ....so, u make the call

Dry: a little edgy (could also be the car) but extremely responsive and grippy. Theres just not enough power to make them slip. Do have a slight tendency to follow grooves in the pavement. Wet: they work, but poorly. Hydroplane easily, feel squishy, slide a lot. Key feature: on dry pavement its very hard to get into the ABS - they grip so much you have to back off to keep the person behind from hitting you; in the wet the ABS gets used a LOT. Wear seems to be minor so far, but I dont drive hard and after all there are only 5K miles on the car. Ride is kind of hard, but thats the cars style anyway. Noise OK - quieter than the Dunlop A2s on the Camry. I do hope there are decent alternatives when replacement time comes - especially something that works better in the wet.

These are the OEM tires that came with my vehicle. I really liked these tires for their handling capabilities, corning responsiveness, ride comfort, and noise level. But they wore out EXTREMLY quickly (20K miles). Their cheap and soft and just don't have the endurance I would have expected.

But if you're looking for a relatively quiet tire, that handles and grips really well (in corners, I had a few times where they would lose traction from a start [in a manual transmission vehicle], and under hard excelleration even in 2nd gear) and is comfortable, and do not care about longevity, this is a great tire.

But if you're looking for longevity, this is not what you want.

I won't be purchasing this tire again.

This is my third set of these tires. Ill probably keep the ML until the 09 BMW X-3 comes out.

My next set of tires will probably be the Conti CrossContact LX due to the Superior noise/comfort

levels. Otherwise, if I lived up North Id buy the Goodyear Fortera Triple Tred or the Bridgestone Dueler

H/L Alenza. I really liked the Dunlops, but (safe) tread wear is around 20-25K miles. BTW- mine are

M&S for those trips through Florida mud after storms and those early Northern snow storms when

visiting friends and relatives.

Overnight, at 11,000 miles, these tires went from adequate to useless in the rain, for stopping, starting, hydroplane resistance; I am now very careful when I corner. This low-powered car has an automatic transmission, so I cant really drive the car hard. Tread depth is 7/32 at the front, and 8/32 at the back, although the tires were rotated 5,000 miles ago. These tires are still fantastic in the dry, but its not always dry, and Ive read enough about them to know not to try them in the snow. Steering response with 195/50-16 stock size is great, and nobody complains about the stiff ride, which is as much to do with the suspension, as the tires.

These Dunlops were the factory equipped tires and they were horrible. I had to replace all four tires at 19k miles due to tread wear(I have always gotten atleast 30k out of a set of tires). I replaced them with a set of BFGoodrich G force sport tires(205/50/ZR16) and am extremely pleased with my BFGs, and have nearly 10k on the BFGs with no noticable tread wear! I bought this vehcile new on 1-9-04 and in 3-04 took the car to Spokane, WA to visit friends. I happened to get there while it was raining. They had to use their minivan to push my car into their slopped driveway because the Dunlops would not get any traction to pull the car into their slopped driveway, there wasnt any snow or anything just a wet driveway! And when this happened I had only 5500 miles on the car and tires!!! After the horrible experience with these Dunlops I will never recommend a Dunlop tire to anyone I know. I do alot of driving (my Pr5 is only 11 months old and I have over 29k on the car) and have never had a set of tires that were so crappy in my life. I say dont buy these tires, you wont be happy with them.

OEM tires on my Protege5. Overall not a bad tire. Did much better in the snow than I expected. Wet traction leaves much to desire, but when its dry the tires are very predictable and stable.



www.protege5.com

These tires came stock on my Lancer GTS. There is absolutely no traction in any amount of snow. There is no traction at all when climbing any grade in snow, they break loose very quickly even with the lightest of acceleration. My first time driving in light snow left me shaking with fear. There is not much traction when accelerating from a standstill in rain either. These are great summer tires. Only 18K miles & i have less than 50% tread left. There the worse tires I ever had. I just bought another Lancer GTS(2010) sadly it came with the same tires.

Very bad tires I will be on the phone with the car company 1 inch of snow have to turn left to go foward in snow lost control in snow at 3MPH and hit a curb and scatched my rim Then had to drive 30 miles home took me 4 hr and was in fear of my life the whole time

Simply adding my observations to those of the previous two Genesis owners. This was the 18-inch OEM tire bundled with my upgrade package. I did not anticipate significant winter issues with the rear-wheel drive Genesis, but did not foresee the pitiful snow/ice performance of the Dunlops. They provide virtually zero traction...and should not be used in winter conditions.

Tread wear disappointing, also I had a steel belt break. Vehicle driven by senior only and mostly alone or one passenger. My van has neve seen snow or ice, and is stored indoors every day.

these tires came stock on my gts, and did not expect to have to replace them until at least 20000 miles, now they are down to 3-32nds of tread and slipping in dry conditions

one rotation and i don't burnout on my tires, cause i know how expensive they are. i don't recommend these tires to anyone with this vehicle. I am very displeased and to say the least shocked, how a i4 2.0 could possibly spin these tires, when the torque band is 2-6 rpm when the mivec kicks in but thats 150 pounds of fury wow!!

I did not buy these tires, sadly they came with the car. I've been driving for 6 years. These are the first "All Season" tires that I hydroplaned in while driving. The tires do not respond well on wet/icy/snowy roads. Honestly I expected better for "All Season" tires. Calling these tires "All Season" is a stretch! Buy at your own risk. Tread wear is quick.