Dunlops almost killed me today. Little help pls...

Dunlops were the worst tire I've ever had on any vehicle (which is many). Horrible traction in any kind of wet. Gone at 8K miles.

 

I have had them on FWD cars they were OK on plowed but snow covered roads however nothing beats a real snow tire with the little picture of the mountain on it if you are in an area where it snows a lot. I guess the bottom line expensive, and the traction was not as good as I expected for the price.

 

I also thought the Dunpukes sucked, sucked bad enough that I shit canned them at 2300 miles. No good on dry road, no good on wet roads, no good off road, that about sums it up.
Went with Goodyear Silent Armors, nice quiet soft ride. Do great in sand. Snow?, you'll have to ask someone else.

 

Because I have Dunflops, I drive more carefully. Can't wait til they wear out so that I can get my favorite: Michelins. I have used Michelins for years but just cannot justify spending good money at this time....

 

We have had one of our worst winters ever up here in Mass. I haven't had any problems with my dunlops.. I've gotten everywhere I need to go and I've been able to stop everywhere I need to stop...of coarse there's better tires out there.. You can have the best tires in the world and still lose traction.. In the end I believe the person in the drivers seat may be more to blame then the tires...

 

I hear ya, but that's exactly what I don't want to do. I've "put up" with shitty tires for too many years and I just don't want to risk it with these. I guess because it's a brand new truck and all, even more motivated to run a good tire.

Yup, as I mentioned, I should not have been going that fast, in those conditions, on tires I didn't know. I CAN drive around very cautiously for the next 3 years without incident but I prefer not to, hence the thread asking for peoples help suggesting a good tire. As you can see from the responses, many people agree that they are an avoidable liability as well.

 

1. If you see heavy water/ light slush, you need to slow down.
2. Why would you give the salesman shit for not "offering a solution upfront"? What did he do wrong? Not inform you that the tires are below your standards?

 

I replaced the stock Dunlop tires yesterday with the Cooper Discover AT3, at 34k miles, and that includes having my winterforce UV with studs on from October to March...and better yet, out the door price with tax and mounting in the 265/75R16 size $653 including used tire fee and excise tax...

While I have bought many Dunlop tires over the years, including many sets of k491 for the BMW Airhead motorcycles, these are not the better ones...don't dis the whole company due to one bad OEM tire.

The best OEM tires I have bought in YEARS were the Bridgestone Dueler that came with the Wrangler Sahara, we got 45k out of them.

Think of the stock dunlops as "starter" tires, like a starter house

Howard

 

This pic looks just like the guy from Jack's Wholesale Windows of Portage MI who does those weird TV commercials. If you're from SW Mich you probably have seen him.

The first time I drove on snow/ice with this new truck I kept thinking, where is the ABS? Is it not working? Then when I finally pushed the pedal hard enough and it kicked on it dawned on me - I wasn't running on Dunflops anymore! Even these cheap old Daytons are far superior.

 

Thanks Dad but, you weren't there, you don't know the exact conditions I was driving in so please reserve your sanctimonious rhetoric for your teenager. The tires are sub par, I would have liked the option of an upgrade at the dealer. Is that ok with you?

In the mean time, thanks again to all those who have offered tire suggestions. This thread is super helpful.

 

This is what I have in mind. Since the OP spend 95% on road (highway) so this seems a great choice, cheaper too. When it is time for me to replace the OE tires I will get this LE2. TireRack rates #1 in its category....

 

??

He's dead.

 

I saw the thumbnail and came into this thread just for that hahaha

 

The salesman did nothing wrong. If I were him I would have told you to go pound sand and stop your whining. Time to grow up and be an adult. I have the Dunlops on my Tacoma, I live in Canada where there is lots of snow. I adjust my driving based on the conditions and drive smart. Sure, ANY tire can give you a scare once in a while if you are not careful. Being an idiot and blaming the salesperson for your ignorance is plain stupidity!!! Maybe the Tacoma is too much truck for you to handle. You might be better off driving a Volvo wagon. Or maybe just stay home when it snows.

 

Yeah, these Dunlops are pretty shaky on snow and ice. They're adequate, barely, in 4WD. BFG AT KO's for me as soon as fiscally possible.

 

Didn't think of Billy Mays. Nah this is who I was referring to:

http://youtu.be/d4Lwh8KMfzc

 

I understand that you would like to drive spirited, but please do be careful, because there isn't a tire out there that will be able to compensate for unsafe driving.

As others have said, all season tires, Michelin LTX M/S 2, Cooper, and dedicated winter tires, Blizzaks, or Nokian Hakkapeliitta
studded tires if allowed in your area.

I have been driving in this crap for several years, and I think that slushy roads are the most dangerous, because they can be so deceiving. Next is snow over glaze ice. Plain snow, especially dry snow, is the best winter driving IMHO.

 

Whats up fellow Newfoundlander?

I drove the stock AT20's for the first two years when I got my truck, I swapped them out during the winter however.

I am currently running General Grabber AT2's purchased from Crappy Tire. They are a good deal, mounted and installed for under $900 if I remember correctly. I believe they usually offer the fourth tire for free. They are good in the snow and quiet on the road. The tread pattern is similar to BFG All Terrains, Costco quoted me over $1300 installed for a set of those.

The only downside is the weight, which perhaps I only notice because I drive a 2.7 4 banger. They are about 45lbs each. My brother in-law is running Firestone Destination A/T's without complaint, purchased from Cal Tire in 265/75/16's for close to $1000.

Good luck with whatever you get, hopefully we wont see anymore snow for a while.

 

On my 2006 Tacoma, I swapped out the Dunlops @ 8k for Goodyear Silent Armors that are snowflake rated in the stock size that came on my truck, 245/75/15.
They were a nice all around tire that
did well in the Vermont winters as well as heavy rain on the highway.
I got decent mileage out of them approx 45k.
When I started towing more in the winter, I switched to a dedicated winter tire, studded Firestone Winterforce again in 245/75/16.
Those tires worked awesome in towing up in the mountains for I see a lot of packed wet snow, ice build up for the plows gingerly clear the roads for environmental reasons.

On my tundra I again went with Goodyear Silent Armors but my experience wasn't as great with this set for one tire was messed up & neither the tire dealer nor the mfg cared to fix it.
Screw the 30 day ride guarantee....
In the winter I ran Hankook Ipike studded tires.

Now on my 2013 I am sticking with the BFG Rugged Trails but picked up a set of mounted Blizzaks on the Black Baja rims that come on the Rugged Trail edition tacomas. Next season I will try those bad boys out & see how they do!

Not sure if this helps or not to the OP.
Many here have had good luck with Michelins, Hankooks, Coopers, Firestone Destinations.