Anyone who’s spent any time driving in heavy winter weather with several inches of snow and slush or (heaven forbid) ice on the roads knows that winter driving has its own set of challenges, to put it lightly. Even if you’re going nice and slow and taking every necessary precaution, it can be difficult to keep your vehicle under control and not slide into the ditch or another car if you have a set of all-season tires on your vehicle. All-season tires are designed for year-round traction, but unless you get a set of all-seasons that have the M+S rating for mud/snow traction or the 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake certification for severe winter service, they’re just about always going to fall short of getting the job done.

That’s when you need a set of dedicated winter tires. Winter tires are packed with various design features specific to winter driving. These include a tread formulation that stays flexible for traction in subfreezing weather and an aggressive winter tread pattern designed to slice and claw its way through snow, slush, and standing water. That brings us to the Dunlop Winter Maxx 2; it’s a tire that leverages some of the latest materials and features to bring you a dedicated winter tire that’s capable of safe, confident performance in some of the most difficult winter driving conditions. It’s a tire that’s designed for grip and control, no matter how harsh the weather is, so let’s go in for a closer look with this product line review:

Features and Benefits

Here are some of the features and benefits that make the Dunlop Winter Maxx 2 a great performer and a great value in a winter tire:

• Silica-rich tread formulation blended with highly functional polymers, carbon black, and natural rubber to stay flexible at subfreezing temperatures while still delivering good wear properties
• Aggressive winter tread with asymmetric tread pattern and a system of water drainage grooves to evacuate water and slush from the tire’s contact patch and resist hydroplaning
• Contact patch redesigned and optimized for better road contact and improved weight distribution, enhancing traction and control
• MAXX grip pattern improves traction on snow, slush
• The dense network of sipes multiplies tread surface area and traction with hundreds of extra biting edges that slice through snow and slush
• 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake rated for severe winter service
• Sidewall and shoulder reinforced to improve handling and cornering ability
• Tread pitch randomized and computer-tuned to cancel certain frequencies and resonances, keeping road noise to a minimum

Pros and Cons

When it comes to the Dunlop Winter Maxx 2, this is a tire where the Pros outweigh the Cons:

PROS:

• Confident traction, short braking distances, and easily-controlled handling in winter weather
• Low noise on most pavement surfaces
• Handling is responsive and quick

CONS:

• Not suitable for temperatures above 40-45 degrees F
• No limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty coverage

SimpleTire’s view on Dunlop Winter Maxx 2 tires

Are you familiar with SimpleTire’s SimpleScore system? SimpleScore is the rating system our team developed to give you a quick, at-a-glance idea of the strengths and weaknesses of any tire that SimpleTire carries. We combine the tire’s specs, customer reviews, and other data points into a score rating of 1-10 for traction, handling, longevity, and an overall average SimpleScore number. For the Dunlop Winter Maxx 2, the SimpleScore ratings look like this:

• Traction: 9.8
• Handling: 9.1
• Longevity: 8.3
• Overall average SimpleScore: 9.1

That’s a pretty impressive set of SimpleScore numbers for any tire, let alone a dedicated winter tire.

The silica-rich tread formulation of the Dunlop Winter Maxx 2 has a lot to do with that stellar 9.8 score for traction. While many all-season tires will stiffen up and make it difficult for the tread to dig into snow and slush, winter-only tires like the Dunlop stay pliable for grip (think about a hard rubber hockey puck vs a flexible rubber boot). Its dense network of sipes and hair-thin slits in the tread help to multiply traction on slick surfaces.

While winter tires have gained a reputation for being a little clumsy, slow, and sluggish when it comes to handling, reviews point to the Dunlop Winter Maxx 2 as having a steering response that’s light and quick and cornering ability that’s consistent and predictable, if not quite up to the handling of a performance tire. At highway speed, the Winter Maxx 2 is quiet and composed, with refined ride quality and manners that stay civilized even on rough or uneven pavement surfaces. Braking is equally admirable, with the Dunlop’s tread pattern and optimized contact patch bringing you to a complete stop easily and safely with shorter braking distances than you might expect on snowy roads. It’s all certified with Dunlop’s 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake rating, a traction rating with a pretty high bar in the tire world. SimpleTire’s price on the Dunlop Winter Maxx 2 starts at $113.50 per tire, putting it well below the price point of many premium winter tires. Like all winter tires, the tread formulation of the Dunlop Winter Maxx 2 is softer and stickier and will wear prematurely on warmer days – Dunlop/Goodyear recommends not using this tire if temperatures are below 40-45 degrees F.

Vehicles the Dunlop Winter Maxx 2 is a replacement tire for

This is a tire you could consider if you live in an area that sees hard winters with lots of ice and snow that sticks around for weeks. It could be a great fit for vehicles such as:

• Buick Envision
• Buick Enclave
• Kia Rio
• Kia Forte
• Hyundai Tucson
• Honda Pilot
• Chevrolet Traverse
• GMC Acadian
• Jeep Cherokee
• Jeep Compass
• Dodge Caravan
• Chrysler Pacifica
• Ford Escape
• Ford Explorer
• Mazda CX-5
• Nissan Murano
• Volkswagen Touareg
• Subaru Forester
• Subaru Cadenza
• Ford Flex