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Head-to-head Updated

Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D vs Pirelli Winter Snowcontrol Serie 3 — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): 60% professional tests, 40% owner reviews.

Check price on Amazon · SP Winter Sport 3D Check price on Amazon · Winter Snowcontrol Serie 3
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Tire ADunlop

SP Winter Sport 3D

Winter

Tests – · none yet Owners 65 · 45 reviews

Best test result: #3 of 8 in 2009 Sport Auto Performance Winter Tyre Test (overall ranking)

Tire BPirelli

Winter Snowcontrol Serie 3

Tests – · none yet Owners 69 · none yet

Best test result: #10 of 10 in 2021 Autonavigator Winter Tire Test R16 (overall ranking)

Category by category

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

  1. 64

    Dry

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceSP Winter Sport 3DWinter Snowcontrol Serie 3
    Reviews found online61–
  2. 72

    Wet

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceSP Winter Sport 3DWinter Snowcontrol Serie 3
    Reviews found online73–
  3. 67

    Snow

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceSP Winter Sport 3DWinter Snowcontrol Serie 3
    Reviews found online66–
  4. 66

    Comfort

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceSP Winter Sport 3DWinter Snowcontrol Serie 3
    Reviews found online63–
  5. 63

    Noise

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceSP Winter Sport 3DWinter Snowcontrol Serie 3
    Reviews found online59–
  6. 63

    Treadwear

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceSP Winter Sport 3DWinter Snowcontrol Serie 3
    Reviews found online61–
  7. 67

    Handling

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceSP Winter Sport 3DWinter Snowcontrol Serie 3
    Reviews found online67–
Scores at a glance
CategoryDunlop SP Winter Sport 3DPirelli Winter Snowcontrol Serie 3
Relative Score 66 –
Dry 64 –
Wet 72 –
Snow 67 –
Comfort 66 –
Noise 63 –
Treadwear 63 –
Handling 67 –

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

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
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Important
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Important
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Less important
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Important
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Neutral
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Recomputed
Headline score

SP Winter Sport 3D

Winter Snowcontrol Serie 3

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

The professional test results behind the scores

Each result is shown as % of the best tire in that test. “Same test” rows are the strictest comparison: both tires were measured side by side.

DisciplineCategorySP Winter Sport 3DWinter Snowcontrol Serie 3ΔBoth?
Overall Ranking Overall 33% #3/8 · 2009 Sport Auto Performance Winter Tyre Test 10% #10/10 · 2021 Autonavigator Winter Tire Test R16 +23.3 Different tests

Pros, cons & observations

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

Tire A SP Winter Sport 3D

Pros

  • Outstanding grip and traction in deep and packed snow
  • Confident handling and braking performance on cold, wet roads
  • Great dry-road handling and steering response during winter temperatures

Cons

  • High and sometimes unbearable road noise as the tires age
  • Degradation of grip and hardening of rubber compound over multiple seasons
  • Faster or below-average tread life reported by some drivers
All owner themes in the SP Winter Sport 3D review

Tire B Winter Snowcontrol Serie 3

Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D B · Pirelli Winter Snowcontrol Serie 3
CategoryWinter—
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available21—
Rim diameters16″ – 20″—
Tread depth10/32″—
SidewallBlackwall—
Max pressure50 psi—

Which one should you actually buy?

Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D

Pirelli Winter Snowcontrol Serie 3

Only Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D has enough test and review data for a Relative Score, so there is no head-to-head winner yet.

Tire A · Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D
Check price on Amazon
Tire B · Pirelli Winter Snowcontrol Serie 3
Check price on Amazon

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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.

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