tirewheelguide

Dunlop SP Sport Maxx ROF looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.

Head-to-head Updated

Dunlop SP Sport Maxx ROF vs Michelin Pilot Sport 5 — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews. Based on 0 + 23 road tests and 10 + 6,449 owner reviews. How we score

Pilot Sport 5 is ahead, 86–55

Check price on Amazon · Pilot Sport 5 or SP Sport Maxx ROF on Amazon
Add your size for an exact match
/R

Both Amazon links then search this exact size.

TireWheelGuide may earn a commission from purchases made through these links.

Michelin Pilot Sport 5
Tire BMichelin

Pilot Sport 5

Summer

Tests 84 · 23 tests Owners 82 · 6,449 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 20 in 2026 Autobild Summer Tyre Test (subj. dry handling)

“Put some 235/45 R17 ps5’s on my 9-5 They fill up the arches quite nice!”

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 57

    Dry

    Pilot Sport 5 +32
    89
    Why this score
    SourceSP Sport Maxx ROFPilot Sport 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 23 tests≈ 61 (est.)92
    Reviews found online5284

    SP Sport Maxx ROF: 60% × 61.3 (est.) + 40% × 51.7 = 57

    Pilot Sport 5: 60% × 92.2 + 40% × 83.8 = 89

    No road tests of dry for SP Sport Maxx ROF. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.40).

  2. 60

    Wet

    Pilot Sport 5 +30
    90
    Why this score
    SourceSP Sport Maxx ROFPilot Sport 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 23 tests≈ 62 (est.)92
    Reviews found online5687

    SP Sport Maxx ROF: 60% × 62.3 (est.) + 40% × 56.4 = 60

    Pilot Sport 5: 60% × 92.4 + 40% × 86.7 = 90

    No road tests of wet for SP Sport Maxx ROF. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.56).

  3. 58

    Comfort

    Pilot Sport 5 +17
    75
    Why this score
    SourceSP Sport Maxx ROFPilot Sport 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 9 tests≈ 65 (est.)71
    Reviews found online4881

    SP Sport Maxx ROF: 60% × 65.5 (est.) + 40% × 48 = 58

    Pilot Sport 5: 60% × 71 + 40% × 80.6 = 75

    No road tests of comfort for SP Sport Maxx ROF. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.

  4. –

    Noise

    No comparison
    47
    Why this score
    SourceSP Sport Maxx ROFPilot Sport 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 15 tests–33
    Reviews found online–≈ 67 (est.)

    Pilot Sport 5: 60% × 33.2 + 40% × 67.3 (est.) = 47

    No owner ratings of noise for Pilot Sport 5. The owner half is the owners’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.

  5. 46

    Treadwear

    Pilot Sport 5 +36
    82
    Why this score
    SourceSP Sport Maxx ROFPilot Sport 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 6 tests≈ 55 (est.)87
    Reviews found online3375

    SP Sport Maxx ROF: 60% × 55.5 (est.) + 40% × 32.7 = 46

    Pilot Sport 5: 60% × 87.2 + 40% × 74.7 = 82

    No road tests of treadwear for SP Sport Maxx ROF. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.31).

  6. 47

    Handling (owners)

    Pilot Sport 5 +36
    83
    Why this score
    SourceSP Sport Maxx ROFPilot Sport 5
    Reviews found online4783
Scores at a glance
CategoryDunlop SP Sport Maxx ROFMichelin Pilot Sport 5
Relative Score 55 86
Dry 57 89
Wet 60 90
Comfort 58 75
Noise – 47
Treadwear 46 82
Handling (owners) 47 83

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Recomputed
Headline score

SP Sport Maxx ROF

Pilot Sport 5

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A SP Sport Maxx ROF

Pros

  • Good everyday highway stability and handling
  • Low road noise levels
  • Aggressive and appealing aesthetic on large wheel sizes (e.g., 20-inch)

Cons

  • Significantly fast and disappointing tread wear mileage
  • Poor grip and confidence in wet weather conditions
  • High replacement costs typical of run-flat tires
All owner themes in the SP Sport Maxx ROF review

Tire B Pilot Sport 5

Pros

  • Outstanding wet and dry traction with high resistance to aquaplaning
  • Superior tread life and longevity compared to competitors and previous generations
  • Noticeable improvements in ride comfort and a quieter cabin over rough road surfaces

Cons

  • Softer sidewalls can lead to initial steering vagueness or understeer during hard cornering
  • Higher price point compared to some tier-one competitors
  • Performance and grip degrade significantly under intense track heat or heavy circuit use
All owner themes in the Pilot Sport 5 review

What real owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score

Tire A

Dunlop SP Sport Maxx ROF

We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.

Tire B

Michelin Pilot Sport 5

Positive

Community opinion on the Michelin Pilot Sport 5 is overwhelmingly positive for daily street driving, praising its exceptional wet grip, tread longevity, and quiet comfort compared to run-flats and older performance tires. However, several enthusiasts note downsides for aggressive or track use, specifically citing softer sidewalls, muted steering feedback, and poor heat resistance leading to delamination under track conditions. Most drivers consider it an outstanding premium all-rounder for sporty street cars rather than a dedicated track or extreme-performance tire.

r/DubaiPetrolHeads ·3 upvotes ·2025-07-15

“Had both on my ST. The 4S is more performance oriented but it wore out much quicker in approximately 35k kms. PS5 is more comfortable and the wear is slower however it does get noisy towards its end of life. After the 2 sets of Michelins, I tried the Falken FK520 for half the cost of the Michelins but found it to more comfortable for daily driving as it is comparatively softer.”
cliosport.net ·5 upvotes ·2024-02-07

“I’ve done 20k on a set of fronts that still have ~2-2.5mm left. They’re wearing very well IMO.”
f30.bimmerpost.com

“I've used the PS4S, potenza s001's & sports contact 7. Currently on Pilot Sport 5's and I think they're the best all road "do it all"road tyre I've had on my RWD . The asymmetric 6 is also supposed to be great but I havent tried that.”
Top themes
#wet grip performance#tread wear longevity#daily driving comfort#track heat delamination#soft sidewall steering feedback#road noise levels#comparison with ps4s

Based on 174 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Dunlop SP Sport Maxx ROF B · Michelin Pilot Sport 5
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available—66
Rim diameters—16″ – 22″

Which one should you actually buy?

Dunlop SP Sport Maxx ROF

Michelin Pilot Sport 5

Winner: Michelin Pilot Sport 5 — better treadwear, handling and dry. It leads or ties in every category we score. Dunlop SP Sport Maxx ROF rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 10 reviews), so read this result as provisional.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Michelin Pilot Sport 5 scores 82 vs 46 on treadwear.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Michelin Pilot Sport 5 scores 83 vs 47 on handling.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Michelin Pilot Sport 5 scores 89 vs 57 on dry.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Pilot Sport 5 scores 90 vs 60 on wet.

Tire A · Dunlop SP Sport Maxx ROF
Check price on Amazon
Tire B · Michelin Pilot Sport 5
Check price on Amazon

TireWheelGuide may earn a commission from purchases made through these links.

SP Sport Maxx ROF or Pilot Sport 5?

Which is better in the wet, SP Sport Maxx ROF or Pilot Sport 5?

Michelin Pilot Sport 5, 90 vs 60 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, SP Sport Maxx ROF or Pilot Sport 5?

Michelin Pilot Sport 5, 89 vs 57 on our dry score.

Which is more comfortable, SP Sport Maxx ROF or Pilot Sport 5?

Michelin Pilot Sport 5, 75 vs 58 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, SP Sport Maxx ROF or Pilot Sport 5?

Michelin Pilot Sport 5, 82 vs 46 on our treadwear score.

How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology