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  #21  
Old 02-05-2019, 03:14 AM
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The great tire hunt. Come join the fun!

I absolutely love using my grandtrek wt M3 DSST (Dunlop name for run on flat).

They are winter tires and I use them year 'round though I also have a set in 235 for when it gets really ugly (drive through 12" fresh unplowed snow for example).

I've gone off road through fields in fresh wet snow 6" deep never felt like close to getting stuck.

I've pulled cars out of iced in parking situations SIDEWAYS. (pulling a car out of a parking space with less than 2' of space between the cars front and back.

They dont make the GrandTrek anymore the next model is the sp wintersport 3D then 4D.

They are a little noisy as you come to a stop make a distinct hum that annoyingly sounds very much like a wheel bearing going bad.

I have STUPID amounts of traction on wet roads on leaves, on wet grass, rocks dirt and the occasional 24" snow bank (though my lower hex grill that looks more like it came from "deliverance" every time I do that).

I did some g-force runs and on slush covered roads I can both brake and accelerate at half the rate of dry ground.

I found they have 255/55/18 at Sam's club for about $220 a tire which is amazing considering the last time I looked for similar tires it was $1100 for the set.

I've seen a few on eBay for about $170.

I've been only using winter tires on my X5 since I bought it. Wife's came with "all season" which made her car drive like a rear drive car on snow. I thought the crappy performance of her car wet or dry was because I had sport suspension but it was mostly the tires.

I bought new rims and a set of used GrandTrek WT M3 and put my older Dunlop winter tires on wifes X5 and it INSTANTLY was awesome.

I've avoided at least one or two accidents specifically because I use winter tires year 'round. When you hit the brakes hard and there is a little oil in the ground because it hasn't rained in a while and end up 1-2' away from the car in front of you, you can bet the farm you'd have hit the car using all season tires.

All seasons have not half the traction on snow and that's being generous. Just a couple days ago I saw my friend spinning all four wheels getting out of a parking spot where I pulled out of the same conditions with maybe 6" of wheel slip. (vs. dozens of yards of slip).

It's cheaper to pay for the extra wear by replacing more often than have a winter and summer set and you'll never know when you'll hit an oily patch or some wet leaves in a corner. I'll take "double the grip" over anything else in those condition.

The tires wear great considering the softer compound even right to the wear bars, they also have dual wear bars: 1) Winter wear bars (when they lose winter effectiveness) and The normal end of life wear bars.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0m5s...WQ#Chicago,_IL

Here's a video of me pulling out of a snow over ice parking hole. I took the video because I had no problem whatsoever driving into or out of this parking space but in a few minutes while I was there I noticed several people in fwd cars spinning their wheels terribly trying to get out of identical situation. Even 4WD cars spinning their wheels like 10 mph. Compare to mine.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0GDM...Dg#Chicago,_IL

Here is a video of me backing into the space (taken just before the video above). The snow is trampled snow onto basically ice. Literally difficult to walk on. FWD cars with all season tires could not move one inch without spinning their tires.

I could tow a car with all season tires across a slippery surface like this if they have their brakes on.

The safety factor alone will keep me on winter tires for life. Never going back.

Also they look badass:

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Last edited by andrewwynn; 02-05-2019 at 03:22 AM.
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  #22  
Old 02-05-2019, 03:33 AM
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I've driven about 30,000 miles on the Dunlop. My first set were the model before the GrandTrek I forget what it was called. They wore great right down to the wear bars. My current set has a little bit of tread block tear out on one tire, prob alignment related. I just used a razor knife and cut off the little bits that were starting to peel off and the problem stopped in it's tracks.

Wife drives more than me: she's getting a little edge wear on her fronts I'm going to swap with the rears. They are at the winter wear bars on the front but the backs have 2-3 32nd more so it'll do well to rotate those.

I'm done looking for life. No interest in a non Dunlop or non winter or non X5. Like einstein with his outfit. No need to waste brainpower once you've decided what works for you.

They make a lower performance model that is a good amount less expensive also available in 255/55/18 that i will put on wife's car when hers wear out. I think they were about $160 vs $220 and other than cornering ability and fine control they should perform quite similarly in normal driving.

I don't use brakes much when cornering, I need maximum cornering ability.

I've been rough on my tires, bruising pot holes, I use a "straight in" parking method where rather than going back and forth a dozen times to get into a tight spot, I just drive in forward, pull into the curb about a foot or so then back into the street. One shot and done, I've done that dozens of times (and may have just solved the mystery of why only one tire has that mystery tread blow out haa haa!)

I've done 4 wheel drift on gravel and I chased a Bentley continental GT up to 105 just trying to say "nice car". They are absolutely stellar tires.
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Last edited by andrewwynn; 02-05-2019 at 03:40 AM.
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  #23  
Old 02-10-2019, 06:40 PM
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Well I picked a tire and will order this week probably.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...port%20Package

I had looked at the ones andrewynn posted but they were more expensive and had a shorter lifespan and didn't do as well in the wet as these are supposed to. Time will tell if I messed up or not.

Thanks for all the input folks.
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Old 02-10-2019, 06:42 PM
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Oh and don't forget to follow that link I posted you have to click the continue on to the site linked when it first loads. Annoying......

Here is what the tire looks like.

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  #25  
Old 02-11-2019, 12:17 AM
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The great tire hunt. Come join the fun!

Looks like a mighty fine tire. Sam's has the Dunlop Wintersport 3D for about $220 can't find from their website just from Google so there is a chance they don't carry it I forgot to ask when I was there.

The assurance I can assure you will be quieter and longer life. I have zero issues with wet traction so I'm wondering about that. Might be just at absolute limits they could be stronger but I can take left turns in the city at 30 without brakes when wet and 800# of tools in the trunk so I'm good with that.


Notably, the assurance are "all season " and the winter sport are winter tires hence the difference in the ratings. For all season the assurance look amazing. I would not mind a test drive on them.
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Last edited by andrewwynn; 02-11-2019 at 01:03 AM.
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  #26  
Old 02-11-2019, 12:23 AM
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https://www.samsclub.com/sams/255-55...lp_product_1_2

that's the tire i think i'll get for wife's x5. she doesn't need the cornering I demand. it's a great price.
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  #27  
Old 02-11-2019, 12:26 AM
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https://www.samsclub.com/sams/dunlop...prod2910089.ip

Here's the winter sport at sams for $227; i figured out why it doesn't show up on the main website; delivery dates end of march! (just in time to not be winter!)

amazon has for 207@: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MWWLLYS..._LOpyCbYFATFR5
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  #28  
Old 02-11-2019, 11:13 AM
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  #29  
Old 02-11-2019, 11:04 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by burninator View Post
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Are you running those on an x5 now? I passed on all the tires with that tread design since the trucks I have with them didn't drive that well but again it may just be because they are trucks. Im trying to avoid changing the way the x5 drives but gain a bit more traction.
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  #30  
Old 02-11-2019, 11:55 PM
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I've not liked handling on roads with similar tires. My last car was ford explorer and had similar tires. I'm picky about slalom performance (s curve on/off ramps etc and also I've found that type of tread block likes to catch on the edge of the road when there is an offset)

I've been always happiest with tires that have the classic "V" tread pattern for a few reasons:

1; it sheds water fabulously.
2; when the tire spins on slush/snow/mud it spits it out the side
3; when cornering, the tread blocks line up in direct opposition to the force of cornering: eg: if you make a right turn, the left front tire pushes away at an angle toward the front left to push the tire back to the right rear, the threads line up in exactly that direction.

The eagle gs-c were the epitome of that concept based on the symmetrical "gatorback" they were 2/3 1/3 with more of the angled tread on the outside edge and wow they worked (until they wore out and then they might as well have been racing slicks)


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