Why all the "dislike" for Dunlops???

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I don't think I'd buy a set of Dunlops for my 4runner. However my brother has a set of Dunlop SP60s on his Subaru Forester and they perform awesome in all conditions. He's lives in Reno/Tahoe so he definitely gives them a work out year around.

 

[Mellow77]

I can't speak to them on my 4Runner but it only took one set on my street bike (they came on it) and race bike to realize I wouldn't run "Dunflops" again. Tire sponsor payouts are actually one of the higher yields in motorcycle racing but even so as racers we'd all joke about how many races you'd have to win on those crappy tires to justify just once when you ended up wadding your bike because you lost the front/back or both to an unpredictable tire. :ybrick:

I know it's not an apple to apple comparison but if Dunlop's tolerances on a tire manufactured to be run at high speed (150mph+) with a contact patch of 2-3 inches when the structural integrity and rubber consistency was so poor won't have me supporting their products on any vehicle I own.

 

[LBeard87]

I bought my 4Runner with 36k miles on it with the oem dunlops. With about 38k on them they started to dryrot and they had little to no traction unless the pavement was dry. I felt unsafe in the rain and decided to buy new tires immediately because winter was right around the corner. I couldn't be happier with my Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revos.

 

[Ilovesnow]

I had an '03 Tacoma before my current '07 4R. That came with BFG Rugged Trails, which rode well, but were kind of a glorified street tire. I replaced them with Firestone Destination AT's. They improved the ride and grip in all terrains dramatically, and actually were quieter than the Rugged Trails.

When I bought the 4R, it had 39k on it, with the original Dunlops. Based on the depth of tread remaining, I estimated I could get 15K out of them still. After a month of driving the vehicle, I'd definitely picked up on how vague the 4R felt, especially compared to the Tacoma. I had issues with the traction control coming on making turns in the rain, and I'm not a wild driver. After 2 months with the Dunlops, I'd had enough, and bought my Revo's. It's completely changed the handling of the vehicle for the better. I think the Dunlops are a poor choice for a vehicle that expensive; ironically, the sales manager said the same thing. His Sequoia had the same tires, and he replaced them prematurely for the same reason. They offered to put new tires on for me, or discount the cost of tires from the selling price (or so they phrased it). I opted for the discount, so I could take some time to research what I wanted.

I think my experience is a similar sentiment to others on this forum, even those doing mild off-roading.

I agree with the4Rdan... I bought my 4Runner in June '09 with approx 17k miles and ended up swapping the Dunlops for a new set of Revo's at 20k. This was when the Revo 2 was coming out, and I couldn't pass up the deal the local shop I go to was having on them.

I'm not sure why Toyota decided to put the Dunlops on the Sport Edition models as the standard tire... I would have been happy with the Michelin Cross Terrains.

Check out tirerack.com. This line of Dunlops has some of the worst reviews.

 

[Metzbower]

I got 58k miles out of my Dunlops on an 07 T4R 4wd and always ran 32 psi. I went to Yokohama Geolanders and have not regretted the change. Better handling, quieter, but the mileage dropped about 1 mpg when I changed. And I run 32 psi in these too. The quieter part is what sold me. I go offroad about once a month on dirt trails, but most offroad is on sand, when I lower the pressure to 18-20 psi so I don't get stuck in soft sand. Now that combination (sand and low pressure) really kills the mileage. Part of my entertainment budget.

 

[PerfectAgent007]

I run an 07 Sport 4x4 V8 and I ran my Dunlops to about 38K. I bought the car new so they were original tires but when I had to take an incline to get home one winter they couldn't handle 2 inches of POWDER snow! :wow::wow:

There was absolutely nothing underneath, no ice or anything. I admit I had forgotten about locking my differentials at the time but considering the tires couldn't handle just mere powder on their own I decided it was time to replace them.

Now I've been using a set of Toyo A/T Open Country's for the last 20K or so and have not had a single problem them, locked differentials or otherwise.

Edit: I never over inflated my Dunlops but I run my Toyos at 34 psi.

 

[morphius909]

My doneflops saw approx 30,000 miles (46,000 kms). Got Michelin X-Ice on right now but gonna get new summer boots this spring.

What's a good White Walled Summer tire?

 

[MICA4R]

They have a bad rep for a reason...

They suck. Even if you are 90% on road: the wet traction is bad and the snow traction is horrible.

90,000 miles on a set of Dunlops on a truck... Thats gotta be some kind of record.

Ducman I totally agree with you that these tires are crap for anything non dry and paved. I have to disable ATRAC and VSC even when it rains otherwise the stupid tires slip and the system activates. I have 40,000 on my tires and they have 8 mm left. The guy at Discount Tire wouldn't believe me when I told him that they were originals. Snow traction is crap also. See pic this is with 40K miles.

- 08 with 40K miles

I agree with Jeff in the sense that these tire is pretty damn good for what Toyota is trying to achieve! They want to make the truck have better mileage so they put a lightweight low rolling resistance tire on as stock! The govt mandates automakers have certain average efficiencies as a whole amongst all models. Plus it makes the car more marketable to the people who are trying to compare other suv's vs. 4r.

Anyways here is a pic of my '94 with about 100K miles on the Goodyear Wranglers

BOTTOM LINE: the '94 in 2WD goes almost as far as the '08 in 4WD :redbrick: YES tires make a huge deal!


My $0.02: there are a lot or better tires out there, but if you are on the road the Dunlops ain't all that bad...

 

[Jerrydog]

We bought a set of Dunlop touring tires for my wifes deville come to find out the road force on two of them was thru the roof. Couldn't balance them couldnt align it and the vibration was terrible. It eventually got so bad we just replaced them with Michelins...

 

[Jeff T]

Pretty impressive.

I can imagine a scenario where you'd get that many miles and, of course, that scenario includes the miles being nearly all highway, but I'd have to also guess that you ran more than 32psi, don't drive aggressively, and that it was mostly interstate mileage between cities.

How'd I do?

Bingo!

 

[Jeff T]

Check out tirerack.com. This line of Dunlops has some of the worst reviews.

I did and noticed there were a few that ran pretty high miles on them.

 

[2k54RUNNIN]

When I bought my 06 sport, it just came in on the truck, and they allowed me in the garage to look at it while they were going to put it through their toyota inspection. Anyways the Dunlops were bald, at 35k, so the sales guy through in new dunlops, I have put close to 20k miles on it and I am replacing in a couple of weeks. There is still plenty of tread on it, but the tread itself just looks smooth, sorry no pics. Poor wet traction, I can feel the tires spinning as your driving down the highway on rainy days. Even worse for driving in the snow. Wished I replaced it this fall before all these snow storms we been having.

 

[DaveS]

I just checked my records - I have 54,500 on the Dunlops - and they are completely finished in my view, unless I need a set of slicks..