The established winter tyre from Dunlop is the Winter Sport 4D, but how has it performed?
This tyre comes with 4 dimensional sipe technology! Not 2D or even 3D but 4D technology! Lets start by taking a look at this winter offering.
What’s nice about the 4D is that it’s produced in a wide range of sizes, most manufacturers have a certain pattern for 15″/16″ then something else for 17″ upwards, but the 4D is available across the board. Also to their merit it works well in a range of sizes. If you look through the tyre test reports this tyre has an array of top 3 places but in a range of sizes including; 205/55R16, 225/45R17 & 225/40R18.
Sizes available: 15″, 16″, 17″, 18″ 19″ & 21″
Speed ratings:T (118mph), H (136mph), V (149mph)
Suitable for – a wide range of vehicles from small 15″ car right up to 21″ SUV
A selection of the test results includes the following:
1st: 2011 Auto Bild Performance Winter Tyre Test (225/40 R18)
1st: 2012 Auto Bild Performance Winter Tyre Test (225/45 R17)
2nd: 2011 Auto Express Winter Tyre Test (225/45 R17)
2nd: 2011 Sport Auto Performance Winter Tyre Test (225/45 R17)
3rd: 2012 Auto Bild SUV and 4×4 Winter Tyre Test (235/55 R17)
3rd: 2012 EVO Winter Tyre Test (205/55 R16)
3rd: 2011 Auto Bild Winter Tyre Test (225/45 R17)
Auto Bild describe the tyre as follows, “Winter tyres of the highest class with the best traction and shortest braking distances on snow, secure handling in wet conditions and excellent cornering and short braking distances, very quiet, good aquaplaning properties”. You can’t really ask for much more than that in a winter tyre can you!
I’ve supplied this tyre in a range of sizes and feedback from customers has always been really good. What’s more is that they appear to be really hard wearing. I’ve had numerous reports of drivers using these for many miles and are surprised that they have hardly worn down. The tyre is also praised for being firm and offering excellent driving precision, whatever the weather.
Personally I have used these on a BMW 1 series and I was pretty impressed! We are talking about a 1 series which are about the worst car out there for winter driving but this product added a lot of confidence to my driving. I previously had a budget winter tyre on there (not something I would recommend at all, but was suffering from stock issues) and the difference that the Dunlop made was vast!
Also worth noting is that the Winter Sport 4D is also made in run-flat applications for BMW and others. All in all a great product, not cheap, but a very safe winter tyre.
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Have you used this tyre? If so please leave your comments below, many thanks.
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I’ve used these for the last 2 winters on my Golf R – excellent in wet and snow but get a bit squirmy in the dry once the temp is above about 5C. Not sure if they will manage a 3rd winter (3-4) months. Secret is to buy early and fit only when the temp is in single figures to keep the wear in check-they don’t work well when the tread is near worn out.
Fitted these in 215/65×16 to my wife’s VW Tiguan R Line 2.0 TDI which is tweaked to c. 175 bhp. I find it hard to believe there’s a better winter tyre out there for the Tiguan. Long journeys on roads covered in several inches of snow were completed without so much as a twitch of the ABS or any intervention by the ASC. Due to a number of factors we also ran them through the course of a whole year without experiencing undue wear. Excellent tyres…!