RobJ

Hey All,<p>My 98.5 Avant with Sport package is a beauty--except that I just took a road trip and something along the way gashed the right rear tire. The tear is right where it says 'Dunlop' on the sidewall, and I'm wondering if Dunlop covers road hazards. Thanks for info.

Dan Alwood

No, they don't. You can go to your local Dunlop tire dealer (ex. Discount Tire), however, and buy a road hazard policy; essentially it's tire insurance.<p>I learned this the hard way too on my 98.5 1.8T w/ the Sport Package. After two sidewall punchures (one "fatal" - had to replace tire at ~2000 miles), I nicknamed my Dunlop 8000 E's "Dunlop Tenderfoots". They have excellent "stick" for the price, but insufficient sidewall protection IMHO.<p>I don't know what your replacement experience was, but finding 8000 E's (w/ emphasis on E) was hard. I finally had to mail order it from Tire Rack. It wasn't fun driving on the mini spare for a week.