I think the Dunlop SP8000's are a great tire.  For my next set I will be
going with the Khumo 712.  They have a higher treadwear, W rated, and about
$20 per tire cheaper than the Dunlops.

Mer

SP8000's are good, but they're downright scary in the
rain.  The Kumhos are comparable to the SP8k's in the
dry and much better in the rain.

However, you do get what you pay for, as such the
Michelin MXX and Bridgestone S02, S03 Toyo T1S are
much better tires...

-josh

I've been very happy with my SP9000's for almost three seasons now.  I don't
beat the crap out of my tires, so they've lasted quite a long time.  I
probably have another season left on the treads (spring, summer, fall).
They're great in the rain, and excellent on dry roads.  I can only get the
tires loose if I launch the car.  I haven't gotten them to squeal, but then
I don't really corner extremely hard, though if I had my OEM Michelins,
they'd make noise going around a curve at 20mph.  I love long, sweeping
curves at 60+mph.  :)

Last winter I bought Blizzak LM-22's, which is their H-rated snow tire, in
OEM-sized 205/55-16.  I think they get the job done, too.  The best
experience I can recall is the last bad snowstorm we had in PA when it took
me 4 hours to drive home (only 15 miles!).  I had to drive on twisty, hilly,
narrow roads that were slippery in some places, and most other places felt
like I was driving on the moon.  I felt pretty good that my GTI drove right
past all kinds of SUV's, Mercedes', BMW's, Neons, Mustangs, etc.  :D  I
never came close to getting stuck with those tires.  In PA, the roads aren't
snow-covered all winter long, so an H-rated snow tire suits me fine because
most of the time the roads are either dry, wet, or covered with slush, dirt,
sand, rocks, and salt.  :0  If we had more heavy snow, then I'd have bought
the balls-out Blizzaks (MZ-01, or the other type -- can't remember . . .).

> I've heard the sp9ks have longer life and equivalent grip to the sp8ks
> but they're mega expensive.

I'm running SP9ks (16"ers, mind you), and I love 'em.  They seem to be much
grippier than the (15") Pirelli P700s I ran before 'em, and they've been
outstanding in the rain.  I managed to impress a few friends of mine on a
particularly twisty stretch of road...  :)

I haven't been fortunate enough to try the SP8ks, though, so I can't compare
"old" versus "new".

Mike Carlson
'95 GTI VR6
'84 Scirocco Wolfsburg Edition
http://members.home.net/mikes.vws

> I haven't been fortunate enough to try the SP8ks, though, so I can't
compare
> "old" versus "new".

I've driven on both the SP8k's and SP9k's.

In the wet:

The SP8k's were fine in the rain, and I've never had problems with traction
or aquaplaning unless the treads are almost non-existent. The SP9k's were
definitely better against aquaplaning.

In the dry.

The SP8k's are much better . . . response, grip, behavior at the limits. The
SP9k's felt a little spastic in comparison . . . turn the wheel, and it'll
respond, but not as quickly, and it just doesn't inspire the same kind of
confidence in corners because it doesn't provide as much feedback, feeling
kinda numb . . . maybe because 'comfort' was taken into consideration when
being designed.

Also, the SP9k's do squeal when pushed. And I don't like squealing, else, I
would've gotten the more affordable Kumho's.  Heck, even the Michelin Pilot
Sports squeal when pushed.

Next on my list to try would be the S-03's.



Chun

My wife ran sp5ks in the stock size amd I found the grip in the summer
very good to excellent (she still had the stock suspension on) and they
worked pretty well in the snow. Ian is right on both counts, they pack
up with snow pretty well but still not quite as nice as the Pirelli
snows I had on my car
Ryun

I'll chime in, being an Audi Car Club of America instructor and Tire Rack 
dealer.  I'll chime in with some personal experience, with a lot of 
personally driven miles:

The dunlop SP8000 is a wonderful tire for the price.  Can wear quickly if not 
a smooth driver, but I got 20,000 miles from a set on my GTiVR6.  Dunlop 
SP9000s are less sporty but better in the rain (not that the 8000s are bad).  
I put these on my *mother's* Lexus ES300, and will probably put a set on her 
BMW 330xi (can you tell that I chose her cars?).  I would be unhappy with the 
9000s for myself.
My summer tires on the Audi S4 are Bridgestone S-03s.  Wonderful tires, great 
capabilities, but very streetable.  Highly recommended, but $$$.  Much better 
all around over the S-02s.
R-compound tires are a big "no-no" for the street.  They simply are NOT built 
to take potholes, big stones, dead squirrels, and any other normal impacts 
you'd see on the street.  They are also optimized for (approx.) 180 degree 
CORD temperatures, which are difficult to get on the street, and impossible 
on the street in the rain.  They chunk easily under these conditons and fail. 
 If you live in southern California, and have perfect roads, and no cold 
stops, and run 1.5 (min) negative camber, and don't care about longevity, and 
never drive in the rain.... then OK.

I hope I've helped,
Mark Rosenkrantz
Marker510aol