TLAwesome

DUNLOP GRASPIC DS-3 205/60R16

The Dunlop Graspic DS-3 is a rebranded version of the Dunlop DSX2 winter tire that was introduced in Japan last year. It supposedly has all kinds of new technology which I described in my Tire News thread. It was designed to compete with such offerings as Bridgestone's Blizzak WS60 and the Michelin X-Ice Xi2. Tirerack's own independent review of the DS-3 can be found here.

The tires have about 300 miles to them and I've drivent them in the dry, heavy rain and heavy snow that we've had here on Long Island, New York. Becuase the tires are so new, they are technically still in the "break-in" period where they may not have optimal traction due to the presence of mold release agents, so take this preview with a grain of road salt.

Keep in mind, this is a subjective preview in which I'll compare the tire to my last winter tire, the Blizzak WS60, as well as my summer tire the General Exclaim UHPs.

DRY PERFORMANCE
The ride quality of the DS-3 was superior to the the WS-60 in every way except for one: bump & road imperfection absorption. On smooth roads, the tire was more comfortable than my Exclaim UHPs, except when hitting bumps, which was harsher. In fact, it reminded me of my g-Force Sport tires which had the worst ride-quality of any tire I've used on my '99 TL.

The Blizzak WS60s felt like you were riding on soft sponges. In contrast, the DS-3 feels like a hard rubber sponge, or in other words, it feels more like an non-performance all-season tire than a Blizzak. Noise levels were completely unobjectionable.

I did not test the cornering capability, but they feel far more confident in the dry than the WS60s which were quite wiggly.

Braking, however, is the tire's weakness. The tires do not want to stop. On the other hand, they do want to roll, so I would suspect you will get decent gas milage with the DS-3s, especially compared to other winter tires.

WET PERFORMANCE
Slippery. Traction contol kicked in fairly early under acceleration that wouldn't make my fairly worn Exclaims' blink. I'm hoping this was due to the tires being so new.

Cornering, again, was not tested. Braking was worse than the WS60s and the Exclaim UHPs and far worse than the g-Force Sports.

The tires seemed to do well in deep water at crusing speeds. Unfortunately, tirerack does not test hydroplaning resistance, which based upon tread design the DS-3 should excel due to its four, wide, circumferential grooves. I had no problems on the highway during heavy rains.

SNOW & ICE PERFORMANCE
Having been dumped with 12+ inches of fresh snow, and driving through the midst of it all, I can happily report that the Dunlop Graspic DS-3 is a fine winter tire. They provided acceptable handling on packed snow and ice comparable to the WS60s, except I believe DS-3s would let loose in cornering faster than the WS60s. Braking seemed fine for this type of tire. Even my girlfriend who was driving with me was impressed with the winter traction -- and she wasn't even driving.

PRICE
The 205/60R16 Graspic DS-3 were $77 plus S&H at www.tirerack.com. This places them at the low-end of the price range for Studless winter tires, as well as the low-end for winter tires in general. I purchased them with a $25 MIR, which I received after a few weeks.

WOULD I BUY AGAIN OR RECOMMEND?
No. Even if these tires last three seasons (which they should -- the WS60s only lasted two seasons which is why I won't recommend them), in three years the technology will change and I'll get something completely different. As for those of you considering purchasing winter tires now, I believe a better value would be the Continental ExtremeWinterContact, and if money is your primary concern, the General Altimax Arctic are even cheaper. In light of the excellent reviews of the ExtremeWinterContact, there really isn't any reason to consider the far more expensive WS60s or X-Ice Xi2.

Additional Photographs:

SIDEWALL DESIGN OF THE GRASPIC DS-3


MACRO CLOSE-UP OF TREAD BLOCK

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

Thanks. Nice review!

Jesstzn

Nice review .. what tire pressure were you rinning in them? Also this comparrison isn't valid "Slippery. Traction contol kicked in fairly early under acceleration that wouldn't make my fairly worn Exclaims' blink." as thay are 2 different purpose tires.

The only relevant info is the comparrison between the Dunlops and the Blizzacks .

I have the last generations Graspics on my 06 TL for the last 3 winters and found them exceptional in thier intended purpose .. snow .. Anytime a product is exceptional in its intended purpose it will have weaknesses in others. The Exclaim UHP which I do have also will be lousy in snowbut obviously better in dry & wet than the Graspics.

TLAwesome

32 front and 32 rear.

I give the most information I can and let the reader decide. Since these are subjective reviews, the most accurate comparison I will be able to give is between the DS-3 and the Exclaim UHPs which I just removed from the car. Any comparison between the DS-3 and the WS60s is going from my recollection of how well the WS60s would have handled the same conditions as did the DS-3.