Tire: SP Winter Sport 4D
Category: Performance Winter / Snow
UTQG (treadwear): Not rated
The SP Winter Sport 4D is another tire in performance winter category from Dunlop that has been designed to provide winter traction under dry, wet, and ice/snow conditions. This tire in particular is made to be a replacement for low profile tires, and the sizes available reflect that. There are not a huge amount of options in the low profile, winter tire segment, and it's good to keep that in mind when looking around. The SP Winter Sport 4D uses a silica based tread compound that has been derived from snow rally racing, and specially designed to provide grip in very low temperatures and on wet surfaces. The internal structure uses twin steel belts reinforced by Dunlop's JointLess Band to help the tire maintain shape at high speed. Dunlop recommends that you only install these tires in sets of four. These tires have been built to the industry standard for severe snow service.
This is a newer tire than others that Dunlop manufactures in this performance winter category, so longevity is a bit of a hard thing to assess. However I know a number of drivers that have been running these tires, and I think the overall impression is very positive. Even people with high horsepower, rear wheel drive sedans are able to dead start on inclines in deep snow. That is impressive. Although I would probably say that with the track record of other tires in the Dunlop stable, it might be worth going with a more established tire until this one can be more proven. Not that this is a bad tire, just my opinion. Another great aspect that drivers have pointed out is that this is a relatively quite tire in the grand scheme of winter tires, so if you don't want a lot of road noise, this tire might be one to keep in mind.
